Shadow slave: Sovereign of the Unknown

The twisted remnants of the Trial Site faded behind Ash as he advanced toward the doorway that had appeared in the distance. It loomed like a monolith, black as the abyss, its surface rippling with faint, unreadable inscriptions.

His body ached. His breathing was still uneven. Abyss Fang's aftereffects lingered, a dull burn settling in his muscles. Even with the stat absorption from his Abyssal Tyrant, it wasn't enough to erase the strain entirely.

Beside him, the spearman limped forward, wincing with every step.

"...So, what now?"

Ash didn't answer immediately.

His gaze remained locked on the door ahead.

Without hesitation, he reached for it.

The moment his fingers brushed the surface—

The world lurched.

---

The Descent

The air was ripped away as the ground beneath them vanished.

For a fleeting moment, Ash felt himself falling—

Then, a violent pull.

His vision blurred, shapes twisting into an endless void of shadows and flickering lights. Something was dragging him downward, faster and faster, until—

Thud.

He landed.

Hard.

The impact sent a jolt through his legs, but he forced himself to remain standing. The floor beneath him was solid, unlike the shifting nightmare-scape he had left behind.

The spearman landed beside him with a groan.

"That was unpleasant."

Ash looked around.

They were somewhere new.

---

The Veiled Ruins

They stood in a vast, abandoned city, its structures reaching impossibly high into the darkened sky. The buildings were massive, constructed from obsidian-like stone, etched with intricate symbols that pulsed faintly.

No wind. No movement.

Just the heavy, crushing silence of something ancient.

Ash narrowed his eyes.

"...A new trial?"

The spearman shook his head. "No. This feels... different."

Then—

A low, resonant chime echoed through the ruins.

Not the same bell as before.

This one was deeper, older.

And somehow, far more ominous.

Ash felt the weight of something unseen press against him.

His instincts screamed danger.

Something was here.

Watching them.

Waiting.

And this time—

It was far stronger.

---

Ash's Status Update

As tension filled the air, Ash glanced at his status.

[Status Window]

His stats had increased slightly from the trial battle, but it still wasn't enough.

His energy reserves were still low. If another fight broke out—

He'd have to be careful.

---

The Marked One

A voice shattered the silence.

"You're not from this Nightmare."

Ash spun around.

A figure stood atop a nearby ruin, partially concealed by the shadows.

Tall, clad in tattered dark robes, a faint red glow emanating from a symbol carved into their forehead.

Ash immediately tensed.

The presence radiating from the stranger was... different.

Not like the creatures he had fought.

Not like the spearman.

This person was stronger.

And yet—

There was something off.

Their stance was casual. Unthreatened.

As if they were simply observing.

Ash met their gaze, voice steady.

"...Who are you?"

The figure tilted their head. "A better question is—"

They vanished.

And reappeared a step behind Ash.

"—Who are you?"

Ash's sword was already moving.

A blur of steel, aimed directly at the stranger's throat—

Only to cut through empty air.

The figure faded like a mirage, reappearing back at their original position.

They chuckled.

"Interesting."

Ash's grip on his sword tightened.

Whoever this was—

They weren't normal.

And worst of all—

They were playing with him.

---

The Unspoken Choice

The stranger's voice was laced with amusement.

"You've already seen it, haven't you? The truth behind this place."

Ash didn't respond.

The ruins. The shifting space. The unnatural trials.

Everything here felt deliberate.

Like something was guiding it.

The figure stepped forward, their red-marked eyes gleaming.

"You're not supposed to be here, outsider."

Ash felt a chill creep down his spine.

They knew.

Before he could react, the figure raised a hand.

And the world lurched again.

---

A Glimpse of the Abyss

Pain flooded Ash's mind.

For an instant, he saw something else.

A vast, endless abyss stretching beyond comprehension.

A city drowned in eternal darkness.

A throne—

Empty.

Then—

It was gone.

Ash staggered back, breathing hard.

The figure smiled.

"You're already marked by it. The Abyss recognizes you."

Ash's heart pounded.

The Abyss.

What did they mean?

Before he could question them, the figure's form began to fade, as if slipping between reality itself.

But before they disappeared completely, their voice echoed one last time.

"Survive, outsider. If you can."

And then—

They were gone.

The air remained still.

Only the distant chime of the ruins remained.

Ash exhaled sharply.

This Nightmare was only beginning.

And someone—or something—already had its eyes on him. The stranger had vanished.

The suffocating pressure they left behind lingered in the air, curling around Ash like unseen chains. His breath came slow and steady, his body still poised to react—ready for another sudden appearance.

But nothing came.

The ruins were silent once more, save for the distant chime that reverberated through the air.

The spearman exhaled harshly.

"Who the hell was that?"

Ash didn't answer right away. His mind was racing, piecing together everything that had just happened.

That figure wasn't a Nightmare Creature. Their presence was too... composed. Too controlled.

And yet, they weren't human either.

The red mark on their forehead... Their ability to fade in and out of existence... And, most importantly—

"You're already marked by it. The Abyss recognizes you."

Ash's grip on his sword tightened.

Something was happening. Something bigger than just a Nightmare Trial.

He wasn't just being tested.

He was being watched.

---

The Spearman's Concern

The spearman rubbed his forehead, sighing. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting real tired of these cryptic bastards."

Ash gave him a look. "This is your first time seeing something like that?"

The man nodded. "Yeah. Usually, you get thrown into a Trial, kill some Nightmares, and fight your way through to survive. This?" He gestured toward where the figure had disappeared. "This is something else entirely."

Ash was inclined to agree.

The challenges so far had been straightforward—monsters, combat, survival.

But this? A presence that toyed with them, left warnings, and spoke as if they knew things Ash himself had yet to uncover?

That was new.

And it wasn't something he could ignore.

---

Exploring the Ruins

For now, though, standing around wouldn't solve anything.

Ash looked toward the tallest structure within the ruins. It stood at the far end of the cityscape, looming over the other abandoned buildings.

"If we're going to get out of here, we need to move," he said. "Standing still in a Nightmare is a death sentence."

The spearman groaned but nodded.

Together, they started moving through the ruins.

Every step was taken with caution.

The eerie silence was unnerving. There were no monsters lurking, no immediate signs of danger. And that, in itself, was a warning.

Because nothing in a Nightmare was ever this easy.

As they walked, Ash kept his senses sharp, scanning every shadow, every possible threat. His instincts had already saved him once before—he wasn't going to let his guard down now.

Then—

A faint hum filled the air.

Ash stopped.

The spearman tensed beside him. "You hear that?"

Ash nodded.

It was coming from one of the nearby ruined structures.

A soft, rhythmic pulsing.

Like something was breathing.

---

The Hidden Warning

Ash approached the structure, cautiously stepping over shattered stone and decayed rubble. The entrance was half-collapsed, but there was enough space to slip inside.

And the moment he did—

His breath hitched.

The walls inside the structure were covered in markings.

Symbols, scratched into the stone, glowing faintly with an unnatural red hue.

They pulsed.

Almost like they were... alive.

The spearman hesitated. "What the hell is this...?"

Ash narrowed his eyes.

They weren't just random etchings.

They were words.

Warnings.

A message left behind by someone who had been here before.

Ash stepped closer, reading.

---

"Do not speak its name."

"Do not look at the one with the Mark."

"The deeper you go, the more it sees."

"There is no exit. Only choice."

---

The last line stood out.

Ash frowned.

"No exit?"

He turned to the spearman. "Who left these here?"

The man shook his head. "I don't know, but whoever they were... they didn't make it out."

Ash's gaze shifted toward the last part of the message.

"Only choice."

A choice between what?

Escape? Survival?

Or something else entirely?

He had a bad feeling about this.

But he wasn't about to stop now.

---

The Path Forward

Ash stepped away from the markings, turning his focus back to the ruins beyond.

The tallest structure in the city remained in sight, looming in the distance.

"If someone left these warnings, that means they were trying to go deeper," Ash said. "And since we don't have any other leads, we do the same."

The spearman exhaled sharply but didn't argue.

They pressed forward.

As they did, Ash couldn't shake the feeling that they were walking into something far worse than the first trial.

That this Nightmare wasn't just another test.

It was something far bigger.

And they had only scratched the surface.