Abel stands in his room, staring at the obsidian key in his hand.
This key he is holding, if he is able to conquer what it leads to, then he truly would be different from everyone else.
Everyone can gain an Arcane and Arcium and so they can evolve.
If Abel wants to fight against the gods then it means he needs to become stronger than everybody else.
Him now learning that everyone has the system did shock him, but it doesn't change the fact that he still needs to be the strongest in the world.
But if he is going in, he isn't going unprepared.
He moves calmly, packing everything like he is going on a long trip instead of walking into a dungeon filled with monsters stronger than anything he has faced before.
Even fang who is considered a calamity class monster would be nothing compared to what he is about to face.
Clothes (In case he runs out of mana to maintain his mana clothes) food, water, extra weapons—one by one, everything disappears into his inventory.
The faint glow appears and everything settles into place.
Abel nods slightly, then turns toward his bedroom door
He walks up to it, raises the obsidian key and inserts it into the keyhole.
For a moment, nothing happens.
Then the key turns.
The door opens.
The air changes instantly, pressing down on him even before he steps through. Darkness begins to pour out from the door, thick and heavy. It is nauseating.
"…So this is it."
Without waiting, Abel steps inside.
---
The moment his foot touches the ground, everything changes.
Gravity slams down on him.
"—!"
His body drops hard, the ground cracking under the force as he hits it. It feels like something is pushing him from all directions at once, like the world itself is trying to crush him.
"…Tch."
He forces himself up slowly, his muscles shaking as he adjusts, and then he sees it.
Something is standing ahead of him.
Humanoid.
Tall, way too tall, with a body that looks like it is made out of darkness itself. But the thing that stands out the most is its chest.
A black sun.
It isn't glowing. It isn't shining.
It is pulling.
The air, the light, even space around it looks warped, like everything is being dragged toward it.
Abel narrows his eyes.
"…You're the one guarding this place."
The creature doesn't answer.
It disappears.
"—!"
Abel's instincts scream, but it is already too late.
BOOM—
He is slammed into the ground so hard the air leaves his lungs instantly.
"Ghk—!"
Pain shoots through his body, something cracking in his ribs as he struggles to breathe. Before he can recover, the pressure increases again, forcing him deeper into the ground.
"Your fast."
[ Notice ]
[ Boss detected ]
[ Name: Eclipse ]
[ Title: The night terror ]
[ Level: 200 ]
He pushes himself up, blood dripping from his mouth, but his eyes are calm.
"The difference in our strength is too large."
"Doesn't mean it's impossible."
He lifts his sword.
"Tempest art"
His body blurs and vanishes, turning into wind for a split second before reappearing behind the creature.
"Gale step"
He swings his blade without hesitation—
But it stops.
Not because it is blocked.
Because the space between them stretches.
"…What?"
The distance warps unnaturally, his attack isn't reaching the creature. It just stays, in mid Air.
The creature turns and punches.
BOOM—
Abel's body flies across the ground, crashing and rolling before finally stopping. He tries to stand immediately, but his arm shakes, pain shooting through it.
"Spatial distortion?"
He wipes the blood from his mouth and steadies himself.
"Tempest art," he says in a low voice. "Razor Current."
Invisible blades shoot forward, cutting through the air toward the creature.
But the moment they get close—
They bend.
Twist.
And then disappear into the black sun.
"…It absorbs attacks too?"
The creature steps forward slowly, like nothing Abel does matters at all.
The pressure in the air suddenly increases again.
"—!"
Abel's body slams into the ground, unable to move as the gravity crushes him down. His bones creak, his vision shaking as he tries to resist.
"…Tch…!"
"Tempest art: Tempest Guard"
Wind explodes around his body, spinning violently and pushing back against the pressure just enough for him to move. He forces himself up again, breathing harder now, blood dripping from his head.
Storm Domain
The air around him changes, wind spreading outward through the battlefield. The pressure lessens slightly, and his movements shift back to normal.
"…That's better."
"Tempest Art."
He launches forward, his body covered in compressed wind as he charges straight at the creature.
The ground explodes on impact—
"Tempest Drive."
But the creature doesn't move.
Not even a little.
"…What—"
The black sun pulses.
And suddenly—
Space twists.
Abel's body bends unnaturally, his arm snapping out of position as pain explodes through him.
"AAAGH—!"
He drops to the ground, his breathing breaking as blood spreads beneath him. His arm won't move properly, and every breath makes his chest burn.
The creature walks toward him slowly.
Step.
Thump
Step.
Thump
His heart seems to slow down with each step the creature takes.
Abel tries to stand.
His legs shake.
He almost falls.
"…So this is… SS rank…"
His vision blurs slightly, but he forces it back into focus.
"…No…"
He clenches his fist.
Images flash through his mind.
Images of his old life as a god, the betrayal of the other gods and even his life before all that.
"…No."
His body trembles as he forces himself up again. His instincts are telling him to stop, he is facing a creature he cannot defeat right now, but he still stands, using his sword to help get himself up.
"I didn't come this far…"
His voice is low.
"…just to die here."
Mana surges.
The wind around him starts to howl, responding to his will.
"I will kill them."
The air splits.
"Tempest art," he screams.
"Sky Rend"
He raises his blade and swings upward with everything he has left.
The wind tears through the air, a massive arc shooting into the sky before crashing down like a falling blade.
The dungeon shakes.
The ground cracks.
Everything in front of him is swallowed by the attack.
Silence.
Abel stands there, barely alive.
His body is broken, blood running down his whole body, his breathing uneven.
But he doesn't fall.
"…I'm not done."
Through the dust—
The black sun flickers.
And Abel smiles.
Not because he is winning.
But because—
He is still alive.
And as long as he is alive—
He can keep fighting.
But—
Even if he has the resolve, he doesn't possess the power to beat this calamity bringer in front of him.
He picks himself up.
Is there anything he can do to bring this monster down.
Then he remembers.
There is one skill that he possesses that might turn the battle in his favor.
It is unstable but there is no other choice.
He closes his eyes.
And activates it.
[ Skill: Override Mode Activated ]
[ Due to low mana level, estimated duration: 3 minutes ]
---
The world goes silent.
Then—
BOOM.
Black mana erupts from Abel's body in a violent explosion, tearing outward like a storm breaking free from chains. The ground beneath him cracks instantly as the energy surges higher and higher, swallowing light itself.
The air twists.
The space around him darkens.
The black mana rises like living smoke—then a dome forms around him.
A massive sphere of pure black energy, sealing him inside as if the world itself is being rewritten.
Eclipse moves instantly.
For the first time.
Its body blurs forward, distorting space as it drives an attack straight into the dome—
But the moment its force touches the black barrier—
It deflects, making its way back towards Eclipse but Eclipse releases another wave, cancelling it out.
The black dome pulses once.
Then releases.
BOOOOM—!!!
A massive wave of black mana erupts outward in every direction, forcing Eclipse backward for the first time since the fight began. The ground is shredded beneath the shockwave, space itself trembling as the pressure reverses.
Eclipse slides across the ground, its body stabilizing only after several meters.
The black sun flickers.
Inside the fading surge of energy…
Abel stands, two feet taller than before.
His hair is now pure white, falling sharply around his face.
His eyes glow red—sharp, vertical slits like a dragon's gaze, cold and inhuman.
His injuries are gone.
No blood.
No cracks in his bones.
As if everything that just happened has been erased.
His clothes have shifted entirely—black leather boots, fitted black pants, a dark shirt beneath a black jacket left unzipped, hanging loosely as the remaining black mana curls around him like smoke.
Even his ears have become pointy, like an elf, but not as long as one.
He exhales slowly.
Calm.
Dangerously calm.
Abel picks up his sword.
And points it at Eclipse.
"…This should even the odds."