The system window materialized before Veeryan once again, its runic text shimmering against the dim, twisted sky.
Congratulations. You have killed 23 ghosts. You may now absorb their Eldricth Force to increase your own strength.Notice: A new ability will be unlocked upon killing 50 ghosts.
As the message faded, the battlefield stirred. A strange, black energy began to seep from the mangled corpses surrounding him. The misty substance coiled through the air like streams of smoke drawn toward a flame, twisting unnaturally before surging straight into Veeryan's body.
The sensation was… indescribable. It burned and froze at once, flooding his veins with something alien yet intoxicating. His muscles trembled, his mind sharpened, and for the first time since entering this nightmare realm, he felt… power.
His eyes drifted to the corpse nearest him. The ghost's flesh was tough, leathery, its pale surface laced with faint black veins that pulsed faintly even in death. Without hesitation, he drew the jagged tooth he'd used as a blade earlier and began to cut.
The skin peeled away in uneven strips, releasing a faint, metallic scent. He wrapped it around his own body, stitching it in crude layers until his chest and arms were covered. The hide clung to him like a second skin, heavier than cloth, yet somehow comfortable — as though the Abyss itself approved of his choice.
Then… the temptation hit.
It came not from hunger, but from somewhere deeper — a primal urge rising from within, coaxing him to consume the flesh of his enemies. His breathing quickened. He tore a chunk from the ghost's shoulder, raised it to his lips… and bit down.
The taste was strange — neither foul nor pleasant, but rich with a raw energy that rushed into him faster than the black mist had. One bite became another. Soon, Veeryan's hands were slick with the remnants of his foes, and the corpses around him grew fewer.
By the time he was finished, he stood wrapped in the skin of the Abyss itself, his form almost unrecognizable from the man who had first arrived. His eyes burned with a faint crimson glow, his presence heavier, more predatory.
Ten Years Later
The Abyss had changed. Or perhaps Veeryan had changed so much that it simply looked different to him now. What had once been endless stretches of red-blue sand was now a maze of floating stone platforms, drifting islands of land suspended in a sky torn by black lightning.
Somewhere among those islands, a ghost fled for its life.
It was not like the mindless husks Veeryan had fought in his early days here. This one was different — intelligent. Its body moved with desperate purpose, eyes darting for any possible escape.
But there was no escape.
The ghost stumbled, collapsing to its knees. Its breath came in frantic, rasping pulls. Then, a shadow fell over it.
Veeryan stood there.
His armor, still stitched from ghost-skin but now layered with hardened scales taken from creatures far worse, radiated a quiet menace. His voice was calm, almost casual.
"Until you answer my question," he said, "I won't let you get away."
The ghost's eyes widened. "Please… leave me, sir. If I answer you, I'll die."
Veeryan raised one hand, a faint red glow beginning to coil around his index finger. "Answer my question, and I'll let you exist."
"But—" the ghost's voice cracked. "If I answer, I'll die anyway."
Veeryan's lips curled into a faint smile. "Then my way of killing you will be far harsher."
Before the ghost could respond, reality warped around them. The air shimmered, the ground beneath shifting into an endless, glassy black surface. Above, the sky turned into a swirling vortex of frozen stars.
"This," Veeryan said, "is my pocket dimension. Here, the spells binding your tongue cannot reach you. Speak, and you will not die… unless I will it."
The ghost froze, eyes darting around. For the first time, it realized the oppressive weight of the Abyss was gone. The crushing presence of whatever had cursed it was… absent.
Slowly, cautiously, it spoke.
"Sir… the Ghost Emperor is not in the Abyss."
Veeryan's eyes narrowed slightly, but he remained silent.
"The land you were taken into… the land where we live… is only one layer. Just as you have a pocket dimension like this, so does the Emperor. That is where he hides." The ghost's voice dropped to a whisper. "To reach him… you must go to the center of the Abyss. Not just its surface, but the very center of space and time itself."
The ghost shivered. "But it is not possible."
Veeryan's smile returned, faint but sharp.
"Do I get to exist now?" the ghost asked, its voice trembling.
The black surface beneath them rippled. The vortex above twisted — and suddenly, the familiar red-blue sands of the Abyss returned. Veeryan turned away, already walking.
The ghost, stunned, realized it still lived.
Then the system window appeared before Veeryan, glowing brighter than ever.
By conquering the Second Layer of the Abyss, you have killed over 5,000,000,000 ghosts.Remaining to reach the center: 30,000,000,000,000.
Veeryan exhaled slowly. The number was a mountain beyond comprehension. And yet… he kept walking.