Heaven’s Forsaken System

Chapter 14: The Abyss Stirs

Shen Liang lay on the cold cavern floor, his breath ragged as his body screamed in protest. The battle had pushed him beyond his limits, and though the celestial enforcer was gone, the echoes of their clash still reverberated through the air. The abyss within him pulsed, restless and demanding.

[System Notification: Status Unstable – Abyssal Corruption at 12%]

Shen Liang's eyes flickered open, and the world around him blurred between reality and shadow. The sensation was unlike anything he had experienced before—a pull, deep and insistent, as if something ancient was stirring within him. He clenched his fists, feeling the abyssal energy coil around his fingertips like a living entity.

"Not yet," he murmured. "I won't lose myself to this."

The system chimed again.

[New Quest: Walk the Edge – Resist or Embrace the Abyss]

Shen Liang let out a dry laugh. "Figures. It's never easy."

He forced himself to his feet, every muscle aching, every breath a struggle. But there was no time for rest. The cavern walls groaned, cracks forming where abyssal energy had seeped into the stone. This place was no longer stable.

A new presence made itself known. A whisper, ancient and knowing, brushed against his mind.

"You took what was not yours. Now, we shall see if you are worthy to keep it."

The abyss itself had awakened.

The darkness surrounding him thickened, shifting like a living thing. Shen Liang felt his heartbeat slow, matching the rhythm of something deeper, something vast and eternal. The whisper grew louder, morphing into a chorus of voices, each one layering over the other in a haunting symphony.

[Abyssal Trial Initiated: Prove Your Worth]

A surge of pain shot through his body as abyssal energy flooded his veins. His knees buckled, and he barely managed to steady himself. It was as if the abyss itself was weighing him, testing him.

Then, the world around him shattered.

Shen Liang blinked, and suddenly, he was no longer in the cavern.

He stood on an endless black plane, the ground beneath him swirling with shadows. In the distance, towering figures loomed, their features obscured by the abyss. A throne sat at the center of this realm, jagged and pulsing with dark energy.

A figure sat upon it.

"Mortal," the figure intoned, voice echoing through the void. "You stand at the precipice of oblivion. Do you think yourself worthy to wield the abyss?"

Shen Liang met the figure's gaze, his expression unwavering. "Worthy or not, I have already claimed it. The real question is whether the abyss is worthy of me."

A ripple of energy burst outward from the throne, a silent acknowledgment. The abyss did not tolerate weakness—but it respected defiance.

The shadows around him shifted. His trial had begun.

The figures surrounding the throne stepped forward. Each one was cloaked in swirling void energy, their forms shifting between humanoid and monstrous. Their eyes glowed with abyssal fire, filled with hunger, curiosity, and judgment.

One spoke, its voice layered with thousands of whispers. "To wield the abyss is to forsake the light. Are you prepared to pay that price?"

Shen Liang exhaled sharply. "I've already been forsaken. The heavens turned their back on me long ago."

A deep rumbling spread through the plane, the abyss responding to his words. The figures moved as one, circling him, their energies intertwining. The air thickened, pressing against him like an invisible weight.

[Abyssal Suppression Detected – Strength Reduced by 50%]

Shen Liang clenched his fists. So this was how it would be.

"Then fight," the figure on the throne commanded. "Show us the depths of your will."

The figures attacked.

Shen Liang barely had time to react before the first one struck. A clawed hand lashed out, black flames licking at its edges. He twisted to avoid the strike, but another figure was already upon him. A fist, wreathed in abyssal fire, slammed into his ribs, sending him skidding across the void.

He coughed, tasting iron. Too fast. Too strong.

The figures did not relent. They moved like shadows, relentless and inhuman. Shen Liang dodged, parried, countered where he could, but they adapted. Every blow exchanged left him weaker, his abyssal energy draining at an alarming rate.

[Warning: Vitality at 32%]

A tendril of darkness wrapped around his throat, lifting him off the ground. The leader on the throne watched impassively as the figures closed in.

"You are not yet worthy," it said.

Shen Liang's vision blurred. Was this it? After everything, would he fall here, consumed by the very force he sought to master?

No.

Never.

The abyss within him roared. It refused to be tamed. It refused to be judged.

His body convulsed as something deeper awoke inside him. The darkness around him buckled—not in opposition, but in recognition.

[System Alert: Abyssal Core Awakening – Overload Imminent]

Shen Liang opened his eyes, and for the first time, the abyss flinched.

A surge of power exploded from within him, shattering the tendrils binding him. The figures recoiled as waves of abyssal energy rippled outward, reshaping the void itself.

Shen Liang landed, his body steady, his presence undeniable.

The leader on the throne leaned forward. "Interesting."

The other figures hesitated, uncertain. They could feel it—the abyss was no longer resisting him. It was bending to his will.

Shen Liang raised his hand. The void coalesced, forming a blade of pure abyssal energy. He met the throne's gaze and smirked.

"Shall we continue?"

A moment of silence stretched between them before the figure on the throne chuckled.

"Perhaps you are worthy after all."

The figures faded into the darkness, and the throne itself dissolved. Shen Liang remained standing, his heart pounding, his breath heavy.

[Abyssal Trial Complete – New Title Acquired: Abysswalker]

The world around him shifted once more. When he opened his eyes, he was back in the cavern. The trial was over, but the path ahead was clear.

He had claimed his place in the abyss. Now, the real test would begin.