The wind howled across the mountainside, carrying with it the scent of pine, blood... and impending death.
Arata Alexander stood at the cliff's edge, muscles tensed, arms outstretched, holding the tiny, trembling body of a child. Behind him, the earth crumbled, gravel slipping into the void. One wrong move, and they'd both plummet to their deaths.
"Hold on!" he gritted through clenched teeth.
The child whimpered, clutching at Arata's forearm. The ledge beneath them cracked again.
He looked up.
No one was coming.
The hiking group was too far back. The kid had run ahead chasing a butterfly — now they were both paying the price.
Save the boy... or save yourself?
There was no choice.
Arata took a deep breath and did what came naturally — he flung the child upward with the last of his strength.
The boy screamed as he soared — caught moments later by a scrambling adult.
Relief. Regret. Then... nothing.
The cliff vanished beneath him.
Arata fell.
The sky spun. Wind ripped past his ears. He didn't scream. He didn't beg. He just... accepted.
"I hope he lives," he muttered to no one.
Then the world turned black.
[SYSTEM BOOTING...]
...
[YOU HAVE DIED.]
...
[CALCULATING SUITABLE VESSEL...]
...
[ERROR: UNSTABLE FATE DETECTED.]
...
[OVERRIDE ACCEPTED. ENGAGING SUPREME SHADOW SYSTEM.]
...
[WELCOME, ARATA ALEXANDER.]
Pain.
Not the pain of falling — that was over.
This was... something deeper. Something primal. Arata gasped, lungs burning, as if dragged from the bottom of the sea.
He opened his eyes.
Darkness.
He lay on cold stone, surrounded by shadows that seemed alive, pulsing and whispering like serpents in the dark.
His body was whole — but not the same, he was younger, younger than his original age!. His hands looked sharper somehow. The air tasted metallic. His heartbeat was slow... unnaturally so.
"What... is this?" he muttered, voice echoing in the cave.
A soft blue light blinked into existence before his eyes — a screen floating midair.
[SUPREME SHADOW SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
Soul Synchronization: 98%
Shadow Adaptation: Initializing...
Primary Objectives:
— Survive
— Grow
— Devour the light
Arata's breath caught.
"A... system?"
The screen shifted.
Welcome to Elarion. You are currently in the Abyssal Fringe — Level 0 Threat Zone.
Tutorial Mode: Disabled
Starter Perks:
— Shadow Core (Rank F)
— Skill: Shadow Step
— Title: [The Fallen One]
Quest Received:
Survive for 24 Hours in the Abyss.
Reward: 50 Shadow Points
Penalty: Permanent Death
The screen vanished.
And the growling began.
From the shadows around him, eyes blinked open — dozens, maybe hundreds. Feral. Starving.
Arata stumbled to his feet, heart hammering.
"No weapon. No armor. No tutorial?" he hissed.
A movement to his left — a long-limbed creature crawled out of the darkness. It had no eyes, only jagged teeth and twitching limbs. Its body flickered like a shadow not yet solid.
Shadowbeast... Level 1? he guessed.
Another screen appeared.
Skill: Shadow Step — Available
Cost: 10 SP
Remaining SP: 50
Arata clenched his fists.
"I guess this is it."
The first creature lunged.
He activated the skill instinctively — and vanished.
His body dissolved into smoke, then reappeared behind the beast in a blink.
He kicked out with brutal precision — a hit square to the creature's neck. It shrieked, crumpling, but not dead.
-15 HP
Shadow Points +5
The rest of the pack began to move.
Too many.
Too fast.
He ducked under a claw swipe, rolled, and slammed his elbow into another's head. Blood splattered. The system chimed.
Shadow Points +3
Skill Progress: 6%
"Not good enough," Arata muttered. "I'm gonna need more than this."
He ran.
Shadow beasts gave chase.
He wove between jagged rocks and thick mist, leaping over cracks, using Shadow Step twice more to evade. Each time drained more of his SP. He was learning fast — movement, angles, the weight of his new body.
But stamina was running low.
He stumbled into a clearing — a shrine?
A crumbling obelisk stood in the center, ancient symbols glowing faintly. At its base, a corpse — human-shaped, armor-clad... and holding a black dagger.
The shadow beasts hissed at the edges of the clearing, pacing but not entering.
A system prompt appeared:
You have found: Forgotten Altar of Umbra.
— Shadow Resonance Detected.
— Would you like to bind this location as your first Shadow Point?
[YES]
Arata pressed the screen.
A pulse of darkness rippled out — the beasts shrieked and scattered.
Silence returned.
Arata fell to one knee, panting.
The dagger's handle was cold and wrapped in old cloth. He pulled it from the corpse slowly. Its blade shimmered black — as if absorbing light.
You have acquired: Shadowfang (Rank F+)
— Bleed Chance: 20%
— Passive: Shadow Echo — chance to strike twice
System Update:
New Path Unlocked – Assassin's Branch
— Skill: Shadow Fang Slash available for learning
Shadow Points required: 20
SP Available: 58
Arata looked at the weapon, then at the empty darkness beyond.
"This isn't a dream."
He looked up at the sky — or what passed for one in this place.
"This... is where it begins."
Quest Complete: Survive 24 Hours
+50 SP
Level Up: [Level 1 → Level 2]
HP Restored
New Stat Points Available: 5
The system hummed quietly in his mind.
And in the distance... a pair of golden eyes opened.