Adam stood alone in the suffocating darkness, the faint glow of the Compass of Desire the only light left in this endless void. His breath was steady, but his mind was racing.

’This is pointless,’ he thought, crimson eyes scanning the featureless black. ’I can’t fight something I can’t see. And I can’t chase something that keeps teleporting me around like a game piece.’

He needed mobility. Something faster than Mirage Cascade. Something that could counter the darkness’s spatial manipulation.

He pulled up his system interface, the translucent blue screen flickering to life before his eyes. His skill points had been sitting unused for too long.

[Skill Points Available: 20] 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

His fingers scrolled through the shop, passing skill after skill—most of them useless, some of them intriguing, but none of them quite right. Then his eyes landed on an entry near the bottom of the list.

[Shadow Step – Cost: 7 SP]

[Allows the user to step into shadows and emerge from another shadow within a limited range. Activation is near-instantaneous. Effective range scales with skill level. Can be used to evade attacks, close distances, or reposition during combat.]

Adam’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

’Shadow Step...’ He read the description again, then again. ’Step into shadows and emerge from another shadow. That’s exactly what I need to counter this spatial manipulation.’

He glanced at the darkness around him—thick, absolute, and everywhere.

’And there’s no shortage of shadows here.’

He pressed the purchase button without hesitation.

[Skill Purchased: Shadow Step (Lv. 1)]

[Cost: 7 SP]

[Remaining Skill Points: 20 → 13]

The knowledge flooded into his mind like water through a cracked dam—instincts, techniques, the subtle art of feeling for shadows and willing himself through them. His body tingled as the skill settled into his bones, becoming as natural as breathing.

But something unexpected happened.

[Skill Resonance Detected!]

[Mirage Cascade (Lv. 7) + Shadow Step (Lv. 1) + Burrow (Lv. 1) are resonating.]

[Compatible skill fragments detected. Merging...]

Adam’s eyes widened as the system notifications scrolled across his vision. The three skills in his mind began to twist and intertwine, their knowledge bleeding into each other, forming something new.

[New Skill Synthesized: Abyssal Step (Lv. 1)]

[Effect: The user becomes one with shadow and matter itself. You may instantly step into any shadow, any solid surface, or any patch of darkness and emerge from another within range. Movement is near-silent, traceless, and extremely difficult to detect. Maximum range: 50 meters. Can carry one additional person (range halved).]

Adam stood frozen for a moment, processing the cascade of notifications. Then a slow, dark smile spread across his face.

’Abyssal Step...’

He tested the skill. His body seemed to lighten, as if the shadows themselves were welcoming him. He could feel them now—not as an oppressive weight, but as extensions of his own will. Every patch of darkness, every crack in the stone, every shadow stretching across the floor was a doorway waiting to be opened.

He looked at the Compass of Desire in his hand. The needle pointed stubbornly forward, toward whatever the darkness was hiding.

’Let’s see how your spatial relocation handles this.’

Adam took a breath, then stepped into the shadow beneath his own feet.

[Abyssal Step – Activated]

The world twisted.

The moment he activated the skill, his body melted into the shadow beneath his feet as if the darkness itself had welcomed him home. There was no resistance, only a fleeting sensation of weightlessness as he became one with the void.

In the next heartbeat, he emerged fifty meters ahead, stepping out from the shadow of a broken pillar without a sound.

The surrounding darkness hissed and writhed, clearly confused. It could no longer track him properly.

Adam clenched his fist, feeling the new power thrumming through his veins. His smile widened into something sharp and predatory.

"Much better."

The Compass of Desire in his hand pulsed brighter, its needle still pointing forward, deeper into the heart of this ancient prison.

"Now... let’s see how this place handles someone who can walk through its own darkness."

Adam activated Abyssal Step again, his body melting into the shadow beneath his feet without a sound. He emerged fifty meters ahead, stepping out from the darkness between two crumbling pillars.

The shadows around him writhed, searching, but they could not find him. He was no longer moving through the darkness—he was part of it. The prison’s spatial traps triggered uselessly around empty space, grasping at echoes of his presence that had already faded.

’This is good,’ Adam thought, a cold satisfaction settling in his chest. ’They can’t track me. I’m like a ghost to them now.’

He pushed forward, Abyssal Step after Abyssal Step, each one carrying him deeper into the heart of the ancient prison. The darkness grew thicker, more oppressive, pressing against him like a living thing.

But he noticed something.

The shadows were becoming denser. More concentrated. As if they were pooling around something ahead.

’We’re getting closer,’ Adam realized, his crimson eyes narrowing. ’The darkness is thickest where the Abyssal Bloom should be.’

He slowed his pace, his Hunter’s Tri-Sense extending outward despite the oppressive interference of the void. Something was ahead. Multiple somethings.

Three presences.

They were waiting in the darkness, motionless, patient. And they were strong.

Adam pressed himself against the shadow of a broken pillar, his form blending seamlessly into the darkness. He extended his senses further, probing the presences ahead.

[Red Templar – Lv. 81]

[A corrupted knight bound to the Void’s will. Its armor is fused with shadow and malice. Wields a greatsword of solidified darkness. Extremely aggressive. Vulnerable to light-based attacks.]

[Nightwraith – Lv. 80]

[A spectral entity born from the dying screams of the Void race. Intangible, can phase through solid matter. Attacks by draining life force through physical contact. Vulnerable to fire and light.]

[Vacant Eyes – Lv. 80]

[A hooded figure whose single massive eye can paralyze those who meet its gaze. Wields shadow magic. Extremely dangerous in groups.]

Adam’s jaw tightened, his crimson eyes narrowing as he studied the three presences ahead through the veil of shadows.

’Three level 80 guardians...’ His internal voice was cautious, uncertain. ’What are they doing here? Are they guarding something?’

He pressed himself deeper into the shadow of a broken pillar, his form blending seamlessly with the darkness. The presences hadn’t noticed him yet. They stood motionless, patient, as if waiting for something.

Adam’s brow furrowed.

’Maybe they’re protecting the Abyssal Bloom. Or maybe... there’s something else here.’

He retreated silently, Abyssal Step carrying him back several dozen meters until the presences faded from his senses.

’I need a plan. Charging in blindly against three level 80 monsters in their own territory is suicide.’

He reached into his Pouch of the Hoarding Gnome and withdrew the bag of monster cores Azrynn had given him. Dozens of cores spilled into his palm, their faint glows illuminating his face in the oppressive darkness.

’Time to harvest some new skills.’