The massive Echo landed with a crash that shook the entire block. Windows shattered, concrete cracked, and dust rose like a gray storm around Arman. The street had become a war zone in seconds.
Arman's shadow pulsed violently around him. Tendrils slithered across the ground, wrapping over debris, snaking along overturned vehicles, and striking down smaller Echoes before they could reach him. The air itself seemed to thrum with the pulse of his power.
The massive Echo roared, a sound that wasn't sound, a vibration that made the very street tremble beneath him. It moved with a fluid, unnatural grace, its body shifting like smoke yet solid enough to crush a building.
Arman's fists tightened. This was it. The test. The moment where his power either chose him… or destroyed him.
A voice echoed inside him. "Control it. Do not fear. Do not hesitate. Absorb. Become."
He exhaled slowly, centering himself. The shadows responded, coiling around him like living armor. With a sudden surge, he pushed outward, sending a pulse of black energy through the street. The smaller Echoes were caught mid-leap, their bodies pulled into his shadow and dissolved into fragments of violet light.
The massive Echo froze for a split second, its eyes narrowing. It recognized the energy.
Arman's pulse quickened. He had never felt such a connection before—not with a Vein, not with an Echo. But now, something inside him resonated, thrumming like a second heartbeat. It was the Abyssal Vein.
A flicker of understanding struck him. This wasn't just power—it was symbiosis. Every absorption, every strike, made him stronger, yes, but it also tested him. If he lost control, it would consume him.
The massive Echo lunged.
Arman reacted instinctively, shadow tendrils forming a barrier around him. The impact shattered the street beneath his feet. He was thrown backward, but his shadow extended like anchors into the rubble, pulling him back upright. The Abyssal Vein hummed, responding to his will.
He clenched his teeth. "I… will not be consumed!"
The Echo roared again, this time faster, striking multiple times. Arman had to move, and instinct guided him. Every step left a trail of black energy that dissolved any Echo that touched it. Civilians screamed from behind broken walls, but Arman barely noticed. His focus was complete.
Then he noticed her—the Diver. The woman in the black armor with a Resonance rifle. She had taken cover atop a crumbling building, observing him intently. Her eyes were wide, calculating. She wasn't attacking… yet.
He realized something frightening.
The Divers were trained to fight Echoes. But none of them had power like this. None of them had an Abyssal Vein.
Arman inhaled sharply. Shadows coiled around him tighter, like a living exoskeleton. He raised both hands and shouted, "Enough!"
A shockwave of shadow erupted from him, knocking back the massive Echo. It screeched, its body trembling as violet energy rippled through it. The smaller Echoes around it dissolved instantly into shards of darkness, feeding Arman's power.
The street had become a black-and-violet storm. Dust, rubble, and screaming civilians swirled in chaotic patterns, but Arman was calm, centered. Every heartbeat synced with the Vein above.
And then he saw it—a fracture forming in the massive Echo's chest, glowing faintly violet. It pulsed like a second heart.
The voice whispered inside him. "Its core. Absorb it. Merge it. Become one with the Abyss."
Arman's shadow tendrils surged, moving faster than the eye could follow. They wrapped around the massive Echo like living chains, piercing toward its core. The creature screamed, body twisting violently. Energy surged back at him—dark, cold, ancient—but Arman didn't falter. He welcomed it.
A violet vortex exploded around him, shards of light and shadow spinning together. The Echo's body began to unravel, but instead of collapsing outward, it dissolved inward, absorbed entirely by the Abyssal Vein flowing through Arman.
For a moment, silence fell. The air seemed to hold its breath. Dust hung motionless, people frozen in mid-scream.
And then—the Diver moved.
She leapt down from her perch, landing in the street a few meters away. Her Resonance rifle was raised, but she didn't fire. She studied him, carefully, like one studies a wild predator.
"You… you absorbed it," she said, voice low, almost incredulous. "No Diver should be able to do that… and yet…"
Arman looked at her. His shadow flickered around him, still pulsating with stolen energy.
"I'm not a Diver," he said, voice steady. "I am… something else."
Her eyes narrowed. "Something else? You just absorbed an Abyssal Echo by yourself. That's… impossible."
A shiver ran down Arman's spine. He had felt the power inside him growing exponentially with every absorption. But he also felt hunger. The Abyssal Vein pulsed violently, a reminder that this power was ancient, primal… and demanding.
Another rumble shook the street. Arman glanced up. The Abyssal Vein above him had thickened, writhing like a living storm. Smaller cracks spread across the clouds, glowing violet. More Echoes were forming.
The Diver stepped closer, rifle lowered but ready. "You have power, yes… but do you control it? Or will it control you?"
Arman swallowed. He didn't know yet. But one thing was clear: he wouldn't run. Not this time.
He clenched his fists. Shadows surged around him, forming jagged armor. "I'm not afraid of control," he whispered. "I will master it… and I will protect them."
The Diver nodded slightly, almost in approval. "Then let's see what you're truly capable of."
Before he could react, the first wave of Echoes hit again. Smaller, faster, but now coordinated. They swarmed like a black tide, converging on the civilians.
Arman's shadow erupted, whipping around him, slicing through the creatures, absorbing them one by one. Each absorption fed him, strengthened him, but he could feel the Abyssal Vein's pull—a warning that he must not overreach.
A massive shockwave tore through the street. Arman barely maintained his stance as an Echo exploded near him, leaving a crater in the asphalt. Shards of violet energy flew into him, burning, consuming, yet binding.
He could hear the whispers now. Voices from the Vein, ancient and commanding, guiding him, demanding obedience.
"Merge. Become one. Do not resist."
Arman's eyes glowed black. Shadows coiled tighter, forming jagged wings behind him. He felt power unlike anything he had known, and yet… it was terrifying.
The Diver shouted, "Watch yourself! That power… it's unstable!"
"I know," Arman replied, voice echoing with shadow energy. "But I have no choice. I am the Vein's host now."
The remaining Echoes paused, sensing his aura. Then, in a coordinated surge, they lunged again. But Arman was ready. His shadow erupted outward, expanding in a perfect circle around him, obliterating everything within range and drawing the energy into himself.
Silence followed. The street was devastated. Civilians were shaken but alive. The Abyssal Vein above pulsed violently, then calmed, almost as if acknowledging him.
Arman's chest heaved. He could feel it—the Vein inside him had grown stronger, hungrier, and yet… responsive. He had passed the first test, but the Vein's whispers promised it was only the beginning.
The Diver approached him slowly. "You're… extraordinary," she said. "But extraordinary power always comes with a price. Are you ready for it?"
Arman looked up at the swirling Abyssal Vein. His shadow flared, wrapping around him protectively. "I don't know the price yet… but I will pay it."
The sky above cracked, pulses of violet energy signaling the awakening of even more Abyssal Veins across the city.
And deep within, Arman felt a voice, ancient and cold, echo in his mind:
"You are not ready… but you are the host. The world will bend, or it will break. Choose wisely, mortal."
Arman's fists clenched, shadows writhing like living chains around him. "Then I will master it… and the world will remember my name."
The ground shook again. New Echoes were forming. Larger. Smarter. Hungrier.
Arman took a deep breath. He was ready. Or at least… he had to be.
This was only the beginning.