The deafening silence was a slap in the face, more agonizing than his father's actual blow.
The once-grand training arena now felt like a cold, empty tomb. Lucian's blood dripped onto the obsidian floor, a silent witness to his shattered pride.
He was a broken heir, a cruel joke played out before his entire clan. Every corner of the arena seemed to whisper his father's chilling words: "My greatest disappointment."
Those words cut deeper than any sword.
Behind an obsidian pillar, a shadowy figure touched a hidden comms device in their ear. Their voice was low, emotionless - like a machine:
"Target is mentally destroyed. The stage is set according to plan. The Aurelius legacy will soon crumble from within."
Lucian didn't hear the whisper. He was drowning in despair.
With stumbling steps, he left the arena, dragging his sword behind him like the weight of the world.
He didn't head towards his luxurious quarters, but in the opposite direction...
Into darkness. Towards the lower district, where society's outcasts and those who failed to evolve rotted in desperation.
The air in the lower district was suffocating - thick with rust, decay, and poverty.
Crumbling pipes dripped mysterious fluids into narrow, dimly lit alleys.
This was a world away from the glittering spires of Clan Aurelius's tower.
And now, he stood here - a prince discarded like trash.
Suddenly, a soft voice called out, halting his steps.
"Lucian, wait! We need to talk, please don't leave like this!"
Seraphina stood there, breathless, her elegant gown starkly contrasting with the filthy surroundings.
Her face was pale, eyes brimming with guilt and deep-seated fear.
Lucian turned slowly, his gaze cold, empty - warmth extinguished.
"What is there to talk about, Seraphina? How you stood by silently while I was humiliated in front of everyone?"
"I had no choice, Lucian! Your father... he'd destroy my family if I defied him. You know his power!"
Lucian laughed, a harsh, bitter sound that didn't reach his darkened eyes.
"Choice? You always had a choice, Seraphina. You simply chose the side you thought would win - the stronger side."
"This isn't about picking winners!" Seraphina's voice trembled with emotion.
"It's about surviving in this cruel world! Valerius can protect me - he'll keep my clan safe! But you... You'll only drag us both down into ruin!"
Every word from Seraphina's lips was a fresh dagger to Lucian's already-shattered heart.
He felt not only abandoned but justified in his abandonment by her painfully logical betrayal.
"Then go. Enjoy your protection from that spineless lapdog," Lucian spat, venom dripping from every word.
"Hope he keeps you warm at night while the Dark Monsters scratch at the Dome's walls."
Seraphina's face drained of color.
She wanted to speak, perhaps an apology, perhaps a final defense - but only a stifled sob escaped.
"Don't ever look for me again," Lucian added, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper.
"To the world, Aurelius's heir is dead today. Consider me dead to you, too."
He turned without waiting for a response, leaving Seraphina crying silently in the doorway to hell.
He'd severed his last tie to the past. Nothing could hold him back now.
When he walked deeper into the labyrinthine alleys, another voice echoed in his mind -not his father's, not Seraphina's...
This one was older, darker.
"See? They all abandoned you. Discarded you like trash. Power is the only thing loyal in this world..."
It was the Echo of the Abyss - a forbidden evolution whispering back to life.
Lucian's unsteady steps drew unwanted attention. Three burly figures emerged from the shadows, blocking his path. They reeked of cheap alcohol and malice. Their faces twisted into hungry grins at Lucian's high-quality, tattered clothes.
"Look what we've got here, friends," their leader sneered, a scar marring his cheek. "A little canary has fallen from its gilded cage. Lost, prince?"
Lucian didn't flinch, his eyes empty, seething hatred simmering beneath.
"Silent, huh? Maybe you're too proud to speak to us commoners," the second man spat on the ground. "We'll teach you some manners. Hand over everything, and maybe we'll let you leave with a few intact bones."
The third man jeered, pointing at Lucian's slung sword. "He doesn't even carry his sword right. Pitiful heir of Aurelius.
"No wonder your father discarded you like trash," the third man sneered.
Lucian's anger ignited. Without warning, he lunged forward, swinging his sword with his last ounce of strength.
The leader easily parried the attack.
CLANG!
The shockwave traveled up Lucian's arm, making him wince in pain. His damaged core pulsed with agony.
"Is that all you've got, spoiled brat?" the leader laughed, kicking Lucian's stomach hard.
Lucian crashed into the damp stone wall, sliding to the ground. Sharp pain exploded through his body, leaving him breathless. He coughed, a drop of blood staining his lips.
The thugs closed in, like wolves circling dying prey.
"I'll enjoy breaking every finger on those soft hands," the leader sneered, approaching with sadistic glee.
Just then, Lucian's hand brushed against something odd on the wall - a warm, pulsing object hidden in a tiny crevice.
A shard of black crystal glimmered with faint purple light, as if breathing.
"Take it..." a voice whispered in his mind - the voice of the Abyssal Echo, stronger now, more tempting.
"That's your destiny. True power. Destroy them all and show them your real self," the Abyssal Echo whispered seductively.
Fear and despair battled within Lucian. Legends said the Abyssal Echo would consume its user's soul, turning them into a monster worse than darkness itself.
But gazing at the thugs' cruel faces, recalling his father's cold stare and Seraphina's betrayal, Lucian's doubts vanished.
This world had already destroyed him. What difference would becoming a monster make?
"You'll pay for this, filthy dogs," Lucian growled, voice low and hoarse.
The leader laughed. "Oh yeah? With what? Your tears?"
With desperate resolve, Lucian grasped the black crystal shard.
Agonizing pain erupted from the point of contact - like thousands of burning needles piercing every cell. Dark energy surged through his bloodstream, racing towards his damaged core.
"AAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!"
Lucian screamed, a non-human shriek of suffering and newborn power. Black veins crawled up his arm like living spider webs, pulsing purple light.
The thugs stumbled back, grins replaced by horror and confusion.
"What... what's happening to him?" one stammered.
Before their eyes, Lucian's wounds closed at an unnatural pace. His bright blue eyes now glowed with the same purple light as the crystal.
A chilling aura erupted from him, forcing the thugs to stumble backward.
In Lucian's vision, a familiar system interface flickered, now distorted and unstable.
Blood-red text flashed before him:
[WARNING: FOREIGN POWER SOURCE DETECTED!]
[INITIATING FORCED ASSIMILATION WITH 'SHARD OF OBLIVION'…]
[YOUR CORE IS CRITICALLY DAMAGED… TRIGGERING BANNED EVOLUTION PROTOCOL: ABYSSAL ECHO!]
Pain peaked. Lucian's vision blurred, the world spinning wildly.
The last thing he saw was the thugs' terrified faces before darkness consumed him entirely.
His body collapsed to the ground. The crystal shard merged with his palm, leaving a strange, pulsing scar.
In that dark, filthy alley, something new and terrifying was born from the ashes of a fallen heir.
[ASSIMILATION 1% COMPLETE… USER CONSCIOUSNESS FAILED… INITIATING EMERGENCY SYSTEM REBOOT…]
Suddenly, Lucian's chest heaved. His purple-glowing eyes snapped open...