The vibrations from the command beacon were faint, but constant. Fade clutched the organic device in his palm. The twisted veins were still warm. The surface of the device pulsed like the heartbeat of living skin.
"Which direction is it taking us?" Darin asked, scanning the surroundings.
Kaela looked at the beacon. "Southeast… but the signal's unstable. It's not anchored—it keeps shifting."
Zeyna narrowed her eyes toward the darkening forest horizon. "That means it's either a trap… or someone else has noticed it."
Fade began walking without saying a word. Every step echoed a silent determination beneath the soft soil. In the night, moonlight filtered between tree trunks, and every shadow behaved as if it were watching him.
Deep within the forest stood an old concrete structure, seemingly swallowed by time and nature. The signal had centered here. The entrance was half-collapsed. Hanging cables, moss-covered panels… Time had abandoned this place. But as they tried to enter, a voice echoed in Fade's mind:
"Every crossing through this gate takes a piece of you."
Fade paused. That voice… it was familiar.But colder now.More judgmental.
"Fade?" Kaela called to him. "You okay?"
"Yes," he said simply, and stepped inside.
The underground bunker was suffocating. The walls reeked of mold, and a black, threadlike substance hung from the ceilings. Their lanterns cast flickering shadows along the walls. Fade's instincts screamed: this place wasn't just abandoned. It was dormant.
At the end of the corridor, a wide chamber opened up. In the center sat a massive, pulsating lump—spiral-veined, like a piece of organic technology resonating with the System. It was motionless. But there were patrolling figures around it. Four of them. Humanoid but faceless, bodies half-metal, half-flesh, cables protruding where eyes should be—Hive Guardians.
[Hive Guardian – Level 15]
Abilities: Adaptive Combat Protocols, Neural Echo Defense, Regenerative Loop
Warning: Sync field detected. Attack patterns will evolve mid-combat.
"If we go in, we won't get out easily," Darin said.Zeyna grinned. "I don't like easy fights anyway."
Zeyna struck first—but the creatures began analyzing her moves by the second attack. Fade activated Quick Strike II. He lashed his chain. Shadow Chain wrapped around one of the enemy's arms and yanked it back… but then something unexpected happened: the creature detached its own arm before unbinding the chain. The lump of flesh fell, but the enemy remained standing.
Fade narrowed his eyes. This fight wasn't just System-based. This… was a learning mind.
He tried summoning Shadow Chain again—but the system didn't respond. No rings of shadow formed. He reached for Shadow Contract—nothing. The darkness had turned its back on him. His eyes widened.
[Error: Willpower Threshold Not Met – Shadow Contract denied activation]
[Warning: External Authority Override in Effect]
The darkness no longer served him—it judged him. Fade realized, for the first time, that his powers could abandon him.
As the fight dragged on, Kaela ran out of bullets. Arven took a heavy blow to the shoulder. Fade tried gathering his shadows for one final strike, but a voice echoed in his mind:
"This darkness is not yours… not yet."
"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!" he screamed inwardly.But the voice gave no answer.
It was as if even the voice was deliberating. Wanting to see how far Fade would go. Perhaps it was no longer the time for help, but the time to prove who you are when help has left you !
One Hive Guardian cornered Fade. He used Wraithstep to escape, only to find another enemy behind him. Darin shoved him out of the way at the last second. Fade fell to the ground. His chest heaved. He could feel the limits of his power—every stat, every skill granted by the System… was not enough.
Zeyna shouted: "FADE! Either take that thing down or we're all dead!"
Fade rose—not with strength, but with resolve.
[Active Skill Unavailable – Shadow Contract Rejection]
[Dark Form – Locked: Morality Check Failed]
Fade's gaze lingered in the void where his shadows used to be. Even his inner scale had turned away.
The system shut down every dark path.Fade was alone.But he stood.
"So my shadows abandoned me… fine. I'll handle it without them."
And he ran—without shadows.With only his blade. Only his humanity. Only his will.
Blood spilled.Steel cracked.But Fade remained standing.
Despite the growing silence inside, he did not step back. There were no shadows. But even so, the chain was still in his hand. Worn, dimmed—but forged with him.
When one creature lunged at him, he wrapped the chain around its legs and yanked. As it lost balance, he slashed diagonally. The blow struck at a joint—the first guardian dropped to its knees.
The second advanced on Arven. Fade leapt onto its back, grabbed its head with both hands, and pulled backward with all his strength. The crunch of a snapped spine echoed through the tunnel.
He dueled the third in close combat. His sword was bent, weakened. But he knew where to strike. Warrior's Instinct served him even in passive form.
[Passive Ability: Warrior's Instinct – Target pattern prediction enabled.]
The fourth was headed for Zeyna. Fade hurled his chain with all his might—one strike wasn't enough, but the rings coiled around the guardian's arm. As he pulled it back, Zeyna delivered the finishing blow.All four guardians fell.But this wasn't victory—this was survival.
When the battle ended, the spiral structure at the center remained motionless. As Fade touched it, an image formed—a vision.
A silhouette in pitch-black darkness. Back turned.Bone wings on its shoulders.And that familiar voice:
"Fade… I chose you. But now, you must choose yourself."
[New Quest Added: "Death's Trial – The Choice of Death"]
Objective: Withstand the Call of Power. Decline, or Embrace?
Reward: Unknown.