Aeron's breath came in short, controlled bursts as he stared at the army of spectral warriors before him. Each one a fragment of the Keeper's will, shadows clad in ancient armor, their soulless eyes glowing dimly in the darkness.
Kael shifted beside him, rolling his shoulders. "Tell me we're not fighting all of them."
Aeron tightened his grip on his blade. "We are."
Kael groaned. "Great."
The Keeper raised his hand.
The moment it dropped, the warriors charged.
The first came at Aeron fast—too fast. He barely dodged as a sword whistled past his face, slicing through the air where his head had been. Another warrior lunged from behind, forcing him to twist, parrying just in time.
Clang! Clang!
The force of the impact numbed his arm. These weren't just illusions. They hit like real enemies.
Kael was already deep in the fray, his sword carving through the warriors, but for every one that fell, another took its place.
"There's no end to them!"
Nyxus' voice echoed in Aeron's mind.
"Do not waste your strength. This is a battle of endurance, not numbers."
Aeron gritted his teeth. Endurance?
That meant the trial wasn't about killing them all, it was about lasting long enough until the Keeper deemed them worthy.
"Then we just have to hold out."
He shifted his stance, dodging another attack instead of countering. Every move now was about survival.
Kael caught on quickly. Instead of pushing forward, he started falling back, moving just enough to avoid lethal blows. The longer they lasted, the more the shadows began to shift.
Aeron noticed it first.
The warriors' forms flickered, their strikes becoming less coordinated.
"It's working," he muttered.
But the Keeper wasn't done.
From the darkness, a towering figure emerged.
It was larger than the rest, its armor heavier, its presence suffocating. The air around it warped as if reality itself rejected its existence.
Kael let out a sharp breath. "Oh, come on."
Aeron didn't respond.
Because for the first time since the battle started, he felt true danger.
The final phase of the trial had begun.
The colossal warrior stepped forward, the air around it rippling with raw energy. Its armor was ancient, engraved with symbols Aeron didn't recognize, but something about them felt unsettlingly familiar.
Its weapon, a massive two-handed greatsword, was twice the size of Aeron himself, pulsing with a dark, corrosive aura.
Kael exhaled sharply. "Alright, new plan—got any bright ideas?"
Aeron didn't answer. His eyes remained locked on the warrior.
Nyxus' voice whispered in his mind.
"That is no mere specter. It is an Echo— a fragment of a once-living champion, cursed to guard this place."
Aeron tightened his grip. "Weakness?"
"None that you can exploit—unless you wish to die."
Helpful, Aeron thought grimly.
The Echo moved.
It wasn't fast—but it didn't have to be. Each step was deliberate, its presence alone making the shadows around it shudder.
Aeron braced himself.
Then it swung.
The greatsword tore through the air, bringing with it a wave of black energy.
Aeron barely rolled aside in time. The impact shattered the stone floor, sending cracks spider-webbing across the chamber.
"That thing's strong."
Kael darted in from the side, his blade slashing toward its exposed flank.
Clang!
The moment steel met armor, a shockwave erupted, sending Kael hurtling backward.
He crashed into a pillar, coughing as he struggled to rise.
"Damn it—what is this thing made of?"
Aeron narrowed his eyes.
No wasted movements. No excess force. Just raw, perfected destruction.
Nyxus' voice was calm.
"You cannot overpower it. Outsmart it."
Aeron's gaze flickered to the cracks in the ground. Destruction.
He had an idea.
"Kael keep it focused on you."
Kael wiped blood from his mouth. "Oh, sure. Let me just put myself in the way of that giant death machine. Sounds fun."
"Just do it."
Kael sighed. "Fine."
He charged in again, weaving between attacks that could end him in a single blow. His movements were sharper, more calculated , he was buying time.
Aeron, meanwhile, moved around the battlefield.
The cracks were growing deeper. The chamber was unstable.
"One more swing should do it."
Kael dodged left. The Echo followed. Its greatsword rose once more.
Aeron saw his chance.
He lunged forward, planting his palm against the stone floor.
"Nyxus—channel it!"
The shadows beneath him trembled.
A black pulse erupted outward, forcing the fractures to expand.
The moment the Echo brought its sword down
The entire section of the floor collapsed.
A deep roar echoed through the chamber as the Echo plunged into the darkness below.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then, from the abyss, two glowing eyes flared to life.
Aeron's breath caught.
"It's not dead."
The Echo was climbing back up.
Kael stared. "Yeah, I really hate this place."
Aeron's fists clenched.
The trial wasn't over yet.
The Echo's glowing eyes burned like twin embers in the abyss. Stone crumbled as its armored form clawed its way back up, undeterred by the fall.
Aeron's breath came ragged and sharp. His limbs ached, his stamina was dipping dangerously low, and his vision blurred at the edges. His body wasn't keeping up.
Kael groaned beside him, wiping the blood from his temple. "I thought that would work."
"It should have."
Nyxus' voice was eerily quiet.
"This isn't an ordinary Echo. It is feeding on the very shadows of this dungeon, growing stronger."
Aeron's fists clenched. It's adapting. If this keeps up...
The Echo lunged upward, gripping the edge of the broken floor. The moment its feet hit solid ground, it didn't hesitate, it charged.
Aeron barely had time to react.
The greatsword swung in a brutal arc.
Too fast.
There was no dodging this one.
I'm dead
But at the last second, something inside him snapped.
The air around him shifted.
A pulse of darkness erupted from his body, and suddenly, everything slowed.
The blade that should've torn him apart felt like it was moving through water.
A system notification flared in his vision.
---
[New Skill Awakened – Abyssal Instinct]
When facing overwhelming force, your body instinctively channels latent shadow energy to enhance reaction time and combat instincts.
---
Aeron's pupils dilated. His mind sharpened as if something ancient had been unlocked inside him.
He didn't think.
He moved.
The greatsword's edge barely grazed his shoulder as he twisted, slipping past the attack.
The Echo, for the first time, hesitated.
Aeron felt it.
His aura had shifted, grown heavier, darker, more tangible. The shadows around him seemed to coil at his will, responding to something deep within.
Kael stared. "What the hell ?"
Aeron didn't answer. His instincts screamed attack.
He launched forward, faster than before.
The Echo swung again, but Aeron ducked under it with unnatural precision. His fingers curled into a fist coated in blackened energy.
And then
He struck.
The moment his fist collided with the Echo's armor, the impact sent a shockwave through the room.
Cracks webbed across the ancient plating.
The Echo staggered, its form flickering.
It was weakening.
Nyxus' voice was pleased.
"Good. You are learning."
Aeron didn't hesitate.
He surged forward, his aura flooding the battlefield.
The trial wasn't over.
But for the first time
The Echo was on the defensive.
---
The air was thick with tension, the weight of the battle pressing down like an unseen force. The Echo stood across from Aeron, its fractured armor glowing with eerie energy, its form shifting unnaturally in the dim dungeon light. The creature was weakening, but it wasn't done yet.
Aeron's body still thrummed with the remnants of Abyssal Instinct, his senses sharper, his movements lighter, his mind clearer. The world around him pulsed with shadow, as if something inside him had connected to the deeper forces at play.
Kael watched him cautiously, gripping his weapon. "What the hell happened to you?"
Aeron flexed his fingers. He could still feel the dark energy coursing through his veins, the sensation intoxicating yet dangerous. He had no idea how long he could hold onto it or if it was even something he could control.
"You are beginning to awaken," Nyxus whispered. "But you are not yet complete."
The Echo moved.
A blur of dark steel and shifting shadows.
Aeron reacted instinctively.
His body twisted, narrowly avoiding a sweeping strike that would've cleaved him in two. The sheer force of the attack cracked the stone floor where he had just been standing.
Kael wasn't as lucky. The shockwave from the impact sent him flying backward, crashing against the dungeon wall with a grunt.
Aeron clenched his jaw. He needed to end this fast.
The Echo charged again, but this time, Aeron met it head-on.
He didn't retreat.
His shadow-cloaked fist collided with the creature's chest, and this time—
The armor shattered.
A piercing shriek filled the air as the Echo's form began to break apart, tendrils of dark energy unraveling like threads pulled from reality itself.
Nyxus' voice echoed in his mind.
"Now, consume it."
Aeron hesitated.
The remnants of the Echo's power swirled around him, reaching for him as if drawn to his very existence. It wasn't just dying—it was offering itself to him.
Something primal inside him stirred.
Kael pushed himself up, wincing. "Aeron...?"
The power was right there.
All he had to do was take it.
What will you do?
---
Aeron took a slow breath. His heart pounded, his muscles burned, and his vision flickered between reality and something deeper. The remnants of the Echo's power swirled around him like living shadows, tendrils of dark energy pulsing with the last echoes of its existence.
"Now, consume it."
Nyxus' voice was a whisper in his mind, cold and commanding.
Aeron clenched his fists, hesitation flickering for only a moment. Then he reached out.
The darkness lunged toward him, wrapping around his arms, sinking into his skin. A rush of raw power flooded his veins, burning through his body like liquid fire. His breath hitched as his muscles tensed, his mind splitting between pain and something far more dangerous—hunger.
It was unlike anything he had felt before.
His vision darkened for a second, and in that void, he saw.
A battlefield of endless shadows. Warriors long forgotten, their spirits bound to the abyss. Chains rattling in unseen hands. And above it all, a presence—something ancient, something watching.
Then, it was gone.
Aeron gasped, stumbling forward as the last of the Echo's power fused with him. His body felt heavier, denser, stronger. His skin pulsed with the remnants of abyssal energy, and deep inside him, something shifted.
[ New Skill Acquired: Abyssal Consumption ]
[ Abyssal Consumption ]
Effect: Allows the absorption of fallen enemies' remnants, converting them into temporary enhancements.
Current Status: Unstable – Excessive use may lead to unknown side effects.
Aeron barely had time to process the notification before Kael grabbed his arm. His friend's eyes were filled with both awe and concern.
"What the hell was that?"
Aeron exhaled sharply, his body still tingling with newfound strength. "I don't know yet."
But he could feel it—the abyss was starting to recognize him.
And he wasn't sure if that was a good thing.