I wiped the blood off my face with the back of my hand.
I looked at my reflection in the blade.
My eyes looked cold.
There was still some blood on my lips.
I slid my tongue across it, tasting it, and then wiped it away with my thumb.
After they died slow and painful deaths, I finally sighed.
I breathed in deep, trying to calm the storm inside my heart.
I was happy, like I couldn't stop my face from smiling.
There was this smile stuck on my lips, and it just wouldn't go away. My hands wouldn't stop shaking, my heart still racing — thrill and relief all tangled up together. For the first time in years, it felt like the weight inside me had finally moved.
The vow I'd been biting down on all this time—the one I kept whispering in my head, 'One day, one day'—one piece of it was done.
It wasn't just words anymore. Not a scream into empty air. It actually happened.
My hand tightened on the dagger until my knuckles hurt. I tilted my head and watched the sky.
"I did it," I whispered.
Everything went quiet for a moment. No wind, no sound. Just me breathing.
Then, faint—so faint I almost missed it—a voice touched past my ear.
"…thank you…"
Chen Wu's voice. Weak, broken, but real.
I closed my eyes. The grip on the dagger got tighter. The sound faded, just like that.
My heart was steady now, but heavier.
Like all that anger I carried finally had a place to rest.
One name crossed off from my list.
Many still left.
I stood there in front of Liu Fang, Zhao Min, and He Jian's bodies, just watching them.
I can smell the air filled with their blood. My shoes squelched wet and sticky with it.
They had the monster cores in their bags. I didn't need them to grow stronger, but I still needed them for the test.
So I bent down, picked the monster cores one by one, and shoved them into my bag.
Then I stopped midway. My fingers froze halfway to my bag, my palm twitching — like it already knew what it wanted to do next. Devour.
I could feel it again — that pull. The urge. The hunger.
It whispered, soft and cold, somewhere at the back of my head. Devour them.
I shook my head. "No…" I whispered under my breath.
They're dead anyway.
Waste not what's yours.
The voice was clearer this time. Deeper. Calm. Too calm.
It didn't sound like my own spoken voice but more feel like my inner voice.
My throat went dry. I took a step forward… then took a one step back.
I didn't want to. I really didn't.
Because I knew what would come next — the voices, the pain, the echo that wouldn't shut up.
'Power is pain,' the voice said. Pain is proof you're alive.
You said it yourself. You'll devour even me.
Then it laughed.
Not loud. Not crazy. Not the kind of laugh that bursts out or shakes the air.
It was small… steady… like someone breathing against my ear.
It didn't rush. It didn't end.
Just rolled slow and cold, curling through my head until I could almost feel it sitting there, smiling at me from inside of me.
Then — in my head, like a hiss of snake — it whispered: Show me. How will you devour a devourer?"
My jaw clenched hard. "Shut up…"
The laugh didn't stop. It just got softer.
'Prove it,' it said, fading into the back of my head, still smiling in the dark.
My breath came heavy. I could almost feel it grinning in the back of my head. That cold, twisting voice, low and patient, like it had all the time in the world.
But I also knew what I'd said back then.
"I'll devour that too."
Even the Abyss. Even its whispers.
If I stopped now, if I turned away, what would that make me?
All those vows, all those words — they'd turn into lies.
My hands were shaking now, not from fear, but from fighting myself.
I clenched my jaw and looked down at them again.
"Fine," I muttered. "If the Abyss wants to whisper, let it scream."
I raised my hand. Then slowly, I lifted my chin, eyes cold, lips curling into a grin. The rage inside me burnt quiet, steady, and sharp.
"I said it before," I whispered. "And I'll say it again… I'll devour it too."
"Void Eater".
The ground darkened under my feet for a second. In front of my eyes, dozens of shadow snakes turned their bodies into nothing within a few minutes.
The screens blinked one after another, lines of text flooding my vision:
[Void Eater Activated]
[Devoured: Liu Fang (F-1)]
[Rare Bloodline Skill Acquired – Foxfire Step (F)]
[Effect: Ignites the user's body with a light flame aura, increasing speed and leaving burning afterimages.]
[Speed Boost: +35%]
[Additional Function: Foxfire Mirage]
[ Creates one flame clone by will. The mirage mimics movement and explodes on command or after 10 seconds.]
[Cooldown: None]
[Experience Gained: +1000]
[Devoured: Zhao Min (F-1)]
[Skill Acquired: Bloodline Skill Acquired – Thorn Bullet (F)]
[Effect: Shoots condensed poison thorns]
[Cooldown: 5 seconds]
[Experience Gained: +1000]
[Devoured: He Jian (F-1)]
[Skill Acquired: Bloodline Skill Acquired – Iron Fist (F)]
[Effect: Transforms the first into iron and increases striking power by 30% for 10 seconds.]
[Cooldown: 10 Seconds]
[Experience Gained: +1000]
[Seed Growth: +45]
[Taint: +30]
[WARNING: Taint exceeded the first echo stage limit. Host mental stability may be affected.
[Taint Level: 37]
[Stage: Resonant Echo]
[Whisper Detected: Liu Fang]
[Whisper Detected: Zhao Min]
[Whisper Detected: He Jain]
I stared at the glowing text, my heart beating slowly and calmly.
The word "Taint" flashed in front of my eyes. And I knew it already by now — otherworldly beasts die quietly. Humans don't. They scream into you, keep screaming until their cries drown your own.