Ezra never imagined owning anything more valuable than the tattered boots on his feet.
Now, he owned a Gate.
And not just any gate—a living, breathing dungeon, bound to him through something called a Warden Shard. No one explained the details, not fully. Not Riven. Not Commander Harlan. Not the smug techs who stared at him through glass like he was some freshly captured beast.
But he didn't need their words to feel it.
The Gate pulsed in his chest like a second heartbeat.
The Butcher's Cathedral.
[Gate Ownership Confirmed]
Current Status: Dormant (Tier 1)
Dungeon Type: Evolutionary, Corrupted Origin]
Linked Shard Detected – 67% Compatibility
You may now access your personal domain.
WARNING: Corruption Level rising.
Warning: Hollow Signature growing stronger.Begin Hollowborn Path?
Ezra stared at the text for a long time.
Hollowborn Path.
He didn't know what it meant—but he knew what it felt like. Cold. Heavy. Real.
He tapped [Confirm] without hesitation.
Hollowborn Path Activated.
Necromancer-Class Progression Unlocked.
Unique Trait Evolved: Echo of the Hollow → Whisper of the Bound
Your undead retain echoes of their memories, emotions, and identities.Their loyalty to you may grow into devotion… or rebellion.
Ezra swore under his breath. "Rebellion?"
The system didn't answer.
It never did.
The cathedral had changed.
When he re-entered through the Gate—a pulsing black tear hovering in an alley three blocks off-grid—the atmosphere hit him like a wave of cold ash. The same tall spires loomed, but their angles were sharper now. Twisted. The stone walls bled shadow in places. The air crackled.
It was like the dungeon was aware.
And it was watching.
Gloom and Skulk followed, now moving with more coordination. They didn't look as brittle as before. Instead of dragging their limbs, they almost walked.
He stared at Gloom. "You good?"
The creature tilted its head—once, slowly—then returned to its mindless scan of the area.
Yet Ezra could feel something shifting between them. The connection was no longer one-way.
[Gateholder Controls Unlocked]
Name Your Domain:[Butcher's Cathedral → ????]
Ezra hesitated.
He looked at the crumbling pews, the shattered stained glass, the altar covered in dried blood.
This place wasn't holy.
It was his.
[Renamed: Hollow's Sanctum]
The system pulsed.
Dungeon Title Registered: Hollow's Sanctum
Gate Level: Tier 1 (Evolving)
Resource Generation: Minimal
Undead Spawning: Controlled by Gateholder
Current Energy: 13/100
Would you like to invest energy into the Sanctum?
Ezra had no idea how. But the thought of building this place—shaping it—sent something dangerous curling in his chest.
He'd never had power before.
Now it tasted like potential.
[Invest: 10 Energy → Sanctum Core]
The air rippled.
At the center of the cathedral—beneath the altar—a black crystal emerged, rising like a spine from the floor. It pulsed with faint light, humming with life.
Ezra stepped forward.
His palm hovered just above the surface.
Hollowborn Core Linked
Dungeon Progression Unlocked
Construct Options Available:
Crypt (Summoning Chamber) – 10 Energy
Boneforge (Undead Enhancement) – 25 Energy
Gravewell (Energy Harvest Node) – 15 Energy
Warden's Watch (Gate Defense) – 20 Energy
Next Unlock at Tier 2
He grinned. "You've got to be kidding me."
This was more than a dungeon.
It was a home.
A twisted, cursed, terrifying home… but his.
The Crypt pulsed with green fire as it formed beneath the cathedral floor.
He descended slowly into the spiraling tunnel, where bones shifted in the walls like veins. A summoning circle etched itself across the chamber, glowing dimly. The scent of ash and rot clung to the air.
[Crypt Constructed]
Summoning Undead costs 1 Energy per unit.
Limits based on Intelligence and Willpower.
[Undead Summon: Select Template]
Bonewalker
Carrion Hound
Hollow Scout
Ezra selected Bonewalker.
Summoning...Core forging complete.
Trait Assignment: Inherited Memory (0.3%)
The bones stirred.
From the circle, a figure began to rise.
This one was different.
Taller than Gloom or Skulk. Broader. Its skull had markings—runes that pulsed faint blue. As it straightened, its jaw clicked open.
Then it spoke.
"...Ezra."
Ezra nearly fell backward.
The voice was rough. Garbled. But unmistakable.
It had said his name.
He stared in shock. "What the hell?"
The undead cocked its head.
Then dropped to one knee.
Gloom and Skulk did the same—echoing the gesture.
Ezra's stomach twisted.
"Whisper of the Bound" in effect.This undead remembers your name. It remembers… loyalty.
Ezra stepped back. "Who were you?"
The undead didn't answer. Not in words.
Instead, memories bled into Ezra's mind—fractured images. A burning building. Screams. A child. A hand reaching out. Death.
The undead had once been someone. Someone who died trying to protect.
Someone… like him.
District Watch – Surveillance Division
Commander Harlan reviewed the latest Gate scans.
The Hollow's Sanctum was stabilizing far faster than projected.
"Sir," an officer called out. "Update on the Gateholder. He's renamed the territory and started construction."
"Already?"
The officer nodded. "And… his undead have begun to evolve."
Harlan exhaled. "What about personality bleed?"
"Confirmed. He's gained a trait that lets his summons remember parts of their old lives. They're not just drones."
The room went silent.
That was dangerous.
Undead weren't supposed to think.
"Monitor him. Quietly. Don't provoke him."
"Yes, sir."
Harlan stared at the still image on the screen—Ezra standing in the shadows of his cathedral, his undead kneeling like knights.
"This boy isn't just a Gateholder," he muttered.
"He's something new."
Later That Night
Ezra lay in a hollowed-out pew, using his jacket as a pillow.
Gloom stood sentinel. Skulk paced the perimeter. The new one—Ezra had named it Ash—sat silently at the base of the altar, as if deep in thought.
He couldn't sleep.
Not really.
The system messages still floated in his vision.
[Level Up Available]
Ezra Vale – Level 3 (Unranked)
Stats Gained: +2 STR, +2 WIL, +1 INT
New Passive: Boneweave (Rank I)
Your undead have a 5% chance to resist critical damage.
Rank Evaluation in Progress…
Ezra frowned. "Evaluation?"
As if answering him, a new message appeared.
[Rank Evaluation Triggered – Mandatory Test Initiated]
Time: 12 Hours
Location: Assigned
Complete to unlock F-Rank classification.
His stomach dropped.
The world didn't hand out power for free.
The evaluation wasn't a form to fill out. It was a trial.
And if he failed… there wouldn't be a second try.