"Gotta run! Gotta run! Gotta ruunnn!!"
Speedy's voice sliced through the chaos like lightning, bouncing off broken stone and sizzling energy cracks across the battlefield. It was manic, playful, and impossibly fast yet beneath the humor, there was steel. That dangerous kind of energy that only came from someone dead serious about what they were doing.
This wasn't just a skirmish.
It was a hunt.
And the prey?
Anyone who dared come for Key.
"I won't let you hurt him!" she shouted, voice like thunder riding on light.
In a blink, she was gone.
A sonic boom erupted behind her as she broke the sound barrier, leaving only a streak of blinding white in her wake. The air rippled violently where she had been, fracturing under the sheer speed she wielded like a blade.
She had only met Key today, but the guy… clicked. Something about him matched her tempo, her madness. The moment he spoke, it was like tossing fuel into her engine.
And now?
These Abyssal shitheads needed a reminder of their place.
"And I'll gladly deliver it!"
Her grin stretched as she shot forward, fists clenched, ready to crash through the monsters like a living missile.
"Sonic… BOOM!!"
The impact shattered the air itself.
A cataclysmic wave of force rippled out in a wide arc, blasting through the Abyssal creatures like a divine storm. Blood, bone, and void ichor scattered in every direction as she ripped through their frontlines, bodies flung like ragdolls. The horde fractured, then scattered momentarily stunned by a force they couldn't see, much less outrun.
From the rear, Key grinned as he watched the fallout.
"Damn Speedy! Good shit!" he called, though she was already a blur in the distance.
Not that he needed to see her.
He could feel her.
Speed was her element, and she moved like a damn myth. Like the Flash himself had been dropped into the battlefield.
But he didn't have time to admire.
His eyes narrowed.
More monsters surged forward, waves of them.
[Abyssal Werewolves LV.4] (x50)
[Abyssal Reapers LV.6] (x20)
[Void Runners LV.5] (x30)
[Blackheads LV.3] (x15)
The Reapers hovered in midair, their scythes gleaming with dark energy. The Void Runners screeched as they lunged forward, their twisted, humanoid forms radiating an unnatural hunger. The Blackheads, their grotesque tendrils writhing, pulsed with ominous purple orbs, ready to release a devastating blast.
Key's smirk returned.
There was only one skill for this kind of situation.
He thrust his hand outward.
"Increase Aura. Activate Blackhole."
[Overwhelming Aura LV.1 has increased!]
[Blackhole LV.1 has been activated!]
A pulse like an earthquake rolled out from his core.
Dark violet tendrils of energy exploded from his body in all directions—screaming, spiraling, devouring. The Abyss itself responded, cloaking him in a shroud of chaotic gravity.
The world warped.
Air bent unnaturally, sound dulled. Time slowed.
The monsters?
They froze.
Some stood paralyzed.
Others trembled.
A few turned and ran.
But the Blackhole didn't care. It consumed.
Reality folded inward as the swirling maw expanded above the battlefield, ripping through stone, monsters, and space itself.
Key's grin sharpened. He clenched his fist.
"Bansho Tenin… or whatever the hell Pain said."
With that, the void collapsed.
A thunderous clap echoed as the gravitational force snapped shut, obliterating a huge portion of the charging Abyssal horde. The aftermath was a crater, smoking and hissing with purple Abyssal Energy.
But the celebration didn't last.
A Void Runner blinked into existence right in front of him.
"Shi—!"
BOOM.
A fist collided with his jaw. Pain exploded across his face.
He staggered, then another form emerged beside the Runner.
A grotesque, floating eyeball, covered in stringy hair, with two gangly legs and pulsating tubes slithering around its head like alien dreadlocks.
[Void Oculoth LV.5]
It glared.
Pure hatred radiated from its grotesque iris.
Then… it glowed.
A portal, massive and spiraling with violet mist, ripped open behind Key.
"NO KEY!!" came the voices of the others.
But it was too late.
The force from the punch shot him straight into the portal.
A slicing gust of wind trailed behind him as the rift snapped shut with a boom.
Elsewhere
Key's body flew through a vacuum of colorless mist, his limbs limp until—
THUMP
He landed against something warm, soft—and weirdly comforting.
"Wow… that was a helluva punch from that Runner!" a familiar voice chimed.
His eyes fluttered open slowly, disoriented.
Speedy was holding him, smiling like nothing had happened.
She gently placed him down, her warmth lingering as he rubbed his bruised cheek.
"Shit..he definitely bout knocked my ass out. I appreciate you for catching me though, and am I tripping, or did I see Gaara's eyeball looking at me?"
She giggled.
"You're welcome. And oh—the Void Oculoth? Easy to kill, but dangerous if you don't take 'em out quick. They create Stasis Portals like this one. Basically similar to game stages. If you complete it, you leave. You don't… well, we're stuck and fucked."
Key blinked and chuckled at that. "Welp… at least I have you, right?"
She beamed. "Yep! And by the way, if you focus your Abyssal Energy, your wound will heal itself faster."
"Oh for real? How do you do it?"
"Like this, watch closely."
She stepped back, took a breath. The mist around her pulsed like it was responding. Her body shimmered with a clean, white aura that ran down her limbs like liquid light.
Key watched, stunned, as a small scrape on her arm closed before his eyes.
"Damn…"
She peeked open one eye. "Cool, right? Just breathe, focus on your core, and guide the energy like you're pushing hot coffee through a cracked pipe. Hurts at first, but it flows smoothly."
Key raised a brow. "Like Chakra in Naruto..got it."
He closed his eyes.
Focused.
'Come on..flow.'
A pulse answered.
A slow, thunderous beat—like the Abyss itself had whispered welcome back. He felt it. From his chest outward—warm, electric, and alive.
[New Passive Skill Unlocked!]
[Abyssal Regeneration LV.1]
When you focus your Abyssal Energy on a damaged area, minor wounds begin to heal passively. The stronger your connection to the Abyss, the faster your body restores itself. Higher levels increase damage capacity.
Then another sound, crystalline and sharp.
[Void Pocket: Access Available]
Whenever you use 'Blackhole Absorption' or a similar devouring ability, the Residues of consumed enemies are stored in your Void Pocket.
Current Residues: 275