Kael dodged just in time.
The Abyssal Warden's chains slammed into the obsidian ground, cracking the stone like glass. The impact sent a wave of shadow pulsing outward, and Kael rolled to his feet, blade in hand, heart pounding with a rhythm not entirely his own.
> [Warning: Host body unstable]
[Soul Reaver adapting...]
"What do you want from me!?" Kael shouted.
The creature didn't answer. It moved like smoke—fast, formless—yet the chains moved with surgical precision. One coiled around Kael's leg, dragging him across the jagged floor. Pain shot through his nerves, but something inside him refused to yield.
> [System Override: Instinct Unlocked]
[Skill Activated: Shadow Lash – Rank I]
Kael's right hand burned. The sword in his grip twisted, lengthened, and transformed into a whip-like tendril of darkness. Without thinking, he lashed it forward.
The whip struck the Warden's chest. A crack formed in its bony mask. It reeled back, snarling—not in pain, but in recognition.
"You are not empty," it hissed. "You carry a seed... of the Abyss."
Kael didn't wait. He pressed forward, striking again and again. Every hit seemed to drain something from the creature—and feed something inside Kael. He could feel the energy, cold and raw, entering him.
> [Soul Fragment Absorbed: +15 Void Essence]
[Progress toward Skill Evolution: 7%]
"What is this power...?" Kael muttered, breathing heavily.
> [System Response:]
"You are a Soul Reaver. Feed, or fall."
The Warden raised its lantern again—this time glowing with a blinding white flame. Dozens of lost souls swirled within, screaming silently. It hurled the lantern at Kael.
Everything slowed.
Kael raised his weapon. No—not a weapon. A part of him. The darkness surged from his chest and consumed the light mid-air.
> [Skill Gained: Soul Shield – Rank I]
[Trait Unlocked: Abyss-Touched]
A flash.
Then silence.
When Kael opened his eyes, the Warden was gone. All that remained was its shattered mask... and a pool of writhing shadows swirling like ink.
He fell to his knees, trembling. Not from exhaustion—but from clarity.
He wasn't just alive. He was becoming something else.
> [First Trial Complete]
[The Abyss recognizes your will.]
[You have earned your title:]
🩸 "Keeper Initiate"
Kael looked around the darkness. The shadows whispered now—not in threat, but in anticipation.
They were waiting for his next move.
So was the Abyss.