The place Velzahar called the "Hell Dungeon"—was not a dungeon at all.
It was a fragment.
A torn piece of the Abyss itself.
A separate dimension where light had long since died, leaving behind only decay, darkness… and hunger.
The sky above wasn't truly a sky. It was a swirling expanse of dark crimson, as if the heavens themselves had been skinned open and left to rot. Below—stretching endlessly—was a land covered in corpses.
Bones.
Skulls.
Half-decayed remains of creatures unknown.
And something else lingered in the air.
A thick, invisible presence.
Abyssal Energy.
Unlike Ether, it did not nurture.
It devoured.
The moment a normal human came into contact with it, their vitality would be drained instantly—reduced to nothing but a hollow skeleton within seconds.
And right now—
Noah was falling straight into it.
"WAAAAAAHHHHHHHH—!"
The scream tore out of his throat as his body plummeted from the crimson sky, the wind howling violently past him. The ground rushed closer at terrifying speed—at least a kilometer below.
His instincts screamed.
Move. Now.
In that split second before impact, Noah forced his focus inward. His will snapped into place as he drew Ether directly from his core and forced it beneath his feet—
WHOOSH—
His descent stopped abruptly.
His body hovered—
Just an inch above the corpse-filled ground.
For a moment, everything went silent.
Then—
"Huff…! Huff…!"
Noah dropped to one knee, breathing heavily, his heart racing uncontrollably.
"Th-That… was way too close…"
He steadied himself slowly before expanding his senses outward.
What he felt—
Was death.
Everywhere.
A crimson wasteland layered with corpses, bones half-buried beneath ash-like soil, and an unnatural stillness that made even breathing feel wrong.
"…This place…"
Before he could finish—
The System chimed.
[Host has broken the Chains of Mortality][First Existence Rank achieved — Sapphire {Rank: Gold}]
Noah's eyes narrowed slightly.
But the next message—
Changed everything.
[Talent 'Limit Breaker' is refusing this result]
['Limit Breaker' is overriding Rank]
[Sapphire {Gold → Black}]
[Overall stats have exceeded natural limits]
[Host has entered an unknown realm of power]
"…What?"
Before he could process it—
Pain struck.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH—!"
It wasn't external.
It came from within.
His chest burned violently as if something inside his heart was collapsing and reforming at the same time. Noah clutched his chest, falling to both knees as blood spilled from his mouth, nose—even his ears.
Inside him—
His core trembled.
The golden sphere began to distort, space around it warping unnaturally as cracks of pressure spread across its surface.
Then—
It changed.
Gold—
Darkened.
Collapsed inward—
Until it became pitch black.
A perfect sphere.
Smooth.
Dense.
Terrifying.
Dark energy swirled around it like smoke, compressed to a level that felt impossible.
[Existence Rank Achieved — Sapphire {Black}]
[First in the Universe]
Silence followed.
Noah's breathing slowed.
Shaky.
Unsteady.
"…Sigh… damn it…"
He wiped the blood from his lips, forcing himself upright.
"Did I make a mistake taking 'Limit Breaker'…?"
A faint laugh escaped him—dry, strained.
"…Feels like it's trying to kill me instead."
Still, he stood.
Barely.
But standing.
His senses expanded again.
And this time—
He felt something else.
Something wrong.
A thick, black miasma drifting through the air.
"…What is this…?"
Before he could analyze it—
His instincts exploded.
Danger.
Without thinking, Noah vanished from his spot, his body breaking the sound barrier as he reappeared dozens of meters away.
He turned—
And froze.
A creature stood where he had been.
Grotesque.
Massive.
Its body stretched over twenty meters, resembling a monstrous sand-worm. Its skin was a sickening shade of purple, pulsating as if alive in the worst possible way.
Noah's throat tightened.
'…I didn't sense it?'
[WARNING!]
[Abyssal Creature Detected — Abyssal Sand-Worm]
[Threat Level: Cannot Calculate]
[Recommendation: Do Not Engage]
For the first time—
The System warned him.
Not advised.
Warned.
A crushing pressure descended upon him, thick and suffocating—but it stopped just short of touching him.
Infinity.
It was repelling it.
Still—
Noah knew.
He wasn't ready.
Not for this.
Not yet.
His mind raced.
Faster than ever before.
Cold.
Sharp.
Calculated.
'Running won't work… there could be more like it…'
'So I either die running…'
A pause.
'…or fight and gamble everything.'
A slow breath escaped him.
"…Heh."
Noah lifted his hand.
"Guess I don't have a choice."
Ether gathered instantly.
This time—not from the surroundings.
From his core.
A dense point of energy formed at the tip of his finger, swirling violently into a vortex.
Across from him—
The Sand-Worm didn't move.
It observed.
Testing.
Waiting.
It didn't even recognize Noah as a threat.
That was its mistake.
Noah's eyes sharpened.
His will surged.
Intent wrapped around the forming sphere seamlessly, compressed to perfection.
"Doom Shard…"
He fired.
WHOOOOOOOSH—
The beam tore forward at blinding speed, space itself distorting around it.
For a split second—
The creature realized.
Danger.
Overwhelming.
Fatal.
It reacted instantly, Abyssal Energy forming a dense shield around its massive body—
But—
Too late.
The shield shattered like glass.
The Doom Shard pierced through effortlessly.
And struck—
"SCREEEEEEEEEEEE—!!"
A horrifying scream tore through the Abyss as blinding white light swallowed everything.
Then—
Silence.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—
The explosion ripped through the land, shockwaves tearing corpses apart, clearing a massive fifty-meter radius into nothing but bare, ashen ground.
Noah gritted his teeth, barely holding his ground as the force pushed against him.
When it finally settled—
He expanded his senses.
And froze.
"…It's… gone?"
No—
Not gone.
Destroyed.
Completely.
Reduced to nothing but scattered remains.
"…What the hell…"
A laugh escaped him.
Uncontrolled.
Almost disbelieving.
"Hah… haha… hahaha…"
"This is insane…"
His voice dropped.
"…I really became a monster…"
Then—
His senses caught something.
Not one.
Not ten.
Not even a hundred.
Thousands.
His expression changed instantly.
"…No way…"
A hundred meters away—
The ground shifted.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
More.
Massive forms moving beneath the surface.
Coming.
Toward him.
Fast.
Noah's voice came out low.
Cold.
"…At least a thousand…"
Silence.
---------
[A/N: I know you guys are thinking that there are no more Characters other than Noah, but this Arc is just his training Arc, He will meet many others as we progress through the Story...and they will have Character developments as well.
And Lastly this Arc might be short, but the Next Arc is going to Blow your Mind! ]