[The abyss within you is overflowing with Darkness...]
As Cade registered the Spell's voice, the world shifted beneath him. He was falling— spiraling into an infinite abyss that stretched beyond comprehension.
Cade was momentarily shook by the sudden sensation.
But he quickly realized that this void wasn't unfamiliar; no, it was a place he knew all too well.
It was his very own Abyssal Void.
The descent eerily reminded him of his first attempt to enter his Soul Sea after the transformation. Back then, he had plummeted through the endless darkness just like this, his very existence unravelling into the abyss.
But he had long adapted to the visits to his devastated Soul Sea. And so, just as he had done multiple times before, he closed his eyes and willed himself to stop.
When he reopened them, the sensation of falling vanished. He was suspended in the emptiness, his Void brimming with the weight of True Darkness. Silence pressed against him like an oppressive weight, and the expanse stretched in every direction without boundary or form.
Cade's gaze swept across the nothingness, searching for changes, some ripple or fracture hinting at something new. But the Abyssal Void remained stubbornly unchanged. It was exactly as it had been when he'd first ventured here— vast, unyielding, and enigmatic.
Yet Cade felt that there was a difference; it was subtle but undeniable.
He could sense the Darkness within the Void, bubbling beneath the surface, like a restless current waiting to surge forth. The sensation was familiar, somewhat reminiscent of how he perceived and controlled his True Darkness in the material world. But here, it was... fragmented, incomplete.
The usual clarity that the Darkness granted him— the way it amplified his senses, feeding him raw, undeniable truths— felt clouded. The information it provided right now, slipped through his grasp, splintered and distorted. Something vital was amiss, lurking just beyond his comprehension.
Cade frowned, frustration gnawing at him. The Darkness, once an extension of his will, now defied his attempts to unravel the Void's mysteries. And the weight of that obscured knowledge pressed heavily against him.
There was something else too. Another difference that unsettled him, this one much more profound.
In the few weeks following his transformation, whenever Cade had plunged into his Abyssal Void, it had always been deliberate— conscious and controlled. He had only ever done so in a secure environment or amidst safer surroundings.
After all, it wasn't as though his physical body entered the Void. No, it was merely a part of his consciousness that descended there. Even while immersed in the vast blackness, he always remained tethered to the material world, fully aware of his surroundings.
More importantly, he had always retained control over his body. If danger arose while he navigated his Abyssal Void, he could react, defend himself, and act as though nothing was amiss.
But not this time, though.
Right now, something was profoundly wrong. He couldn't move— couldn't so much as twitch a finger in the material world. His body was still there, yet utterly inert, like a lifeless corpse sprawled amid the grotesque battlefield.
He could sense everything though— the guttural roars of the Shadecoils, the sickening wet thuds of flesh colliding, the acrid stench of blood thickening the air. He could hear the frenzied chaos of the fight raging around him. He could even see it through eyes that no longer obeyed his will.
But control? Control was gone.
He was a prisoner within himself, helplessly aware of every threat and danger, yet incapable of commanding his own body. And that vulnerability gnawed at him more than the mysteries surrounding him ever could.
Cade's gaze, though detached from his will, tracked Maya's every move.
The icy girl fought like a decent enough swordsman, slicing through the Shadecoils with controlled and decisive strikes. One after another, the grotesque beasts fell to her icy blade.
Her voice cut through the chaos— calling his name, desperate yet unwavering, as she stole glances his way to check if he was still conscious. Despite the fear threading through her tone, she never faltered. Each swing of her blade kept the Shadecoils at bay, not allowing a single one near his unmoving body.
Pride and joy surged within Cade, momentarily eclipsing his frustration. Maya's training and hard-work had paid off. She was holding her own against the Shadecoils with a ferocity he hadn't really expected.
But that pride was fleeting, overtaken by the strange dissonance of witnessing the battle unfold from this disconnected state. Cade was a passenger in his own body, helplessly confined to its senses— seeing through his eyes, smelling through his nose, and hearing through his ears— yet unable to act.
He tried to adapt, to find some semblance of comfort in the alien sensation, but it was impossible. The feeling was just too unnatural, too disturbing. Every instinct demanded control, yet all he could do was watch, a prisoner within himself as chaos raged around him.
A wave of unease crept over Cade, tightening his chest.
What the fuck is going on? he thought, scanning his Abyssal Void.
True Darkness stretched endlessly around him.
Cade should've felt at home. After all, he was Stygian— a vessel for True Darkness. He was one with it, so he should've felt calm in its embrace.
Yet right now, that same Darkness was like an unsettling stillness that pressed in on him from all directions. Cade tried commanding it, willing it to stay in its place. He was used to controlling True Darkness, after all. But here, the Darkness simply refused to obey him.
Growing even more uneasy, Cade gave up trying to gain control of his Abyssal Void. Instead, he strained to reclaim control over his body in the material world... only to be interrupted by the venom-laced voice of the Spell, bubbling with malice:
[The Darkness within you is taking shape...]
Finally...
The tension in Cade's shoulders eased slightly. Relief replaced the gnawing worry that had taken root when the Spell's voice had fallen silent.
As the Spell announced the formation of his new Core, a warmth flickered in his chest, soothing the nerves fraying at the edges of his thoughts. Instinctively, Cade brought a hand to his chest— and froze.
His fingers brushed against bare skin.
He glanced down, realizing with dawning surprise that he was completely naked. The Ebonveil Plate he'd been clad in when he'd plunged into his Abyssal Void was gone, as though stripped away by the Void itself.
Normally, this wouldn't have been an issue. No one could access his Abyssal Void, after all— no prying eyes to see him in such a vulnerable state. And even if someone could enter here, they'd be hard-pressed to spot him through the suffocating veil of Darkness that permeated this place.
But there was a problem.
Maya.
She'd come to sit beside his unconscious body, her breathing steady but tinged with exhaustion after vanquishing the last of the abominations. Her icy presence pressed against the edges of Cade's awareness, cold and unyielding.
She couldn't see him, of course. Not here. Yet Cade felt as though he were sitting stark naked right in front of her— a profoundly awkward realization.
During the past two weeks, Cade had grown to care for Maya. She was a friend and a trusted companion. Hell, in this strange world, she was essentially his only family. So, sitting here, feeling utterly exposed beside her, was unnervingly uncomfortable.
Very, very awkward, Cade thought grimly, willing himself to find composure amidst the bizarre turn of events.
Cade steadied himself, focusing on the heat steadily rising within his chest. The realization that he was naked had caught him off guard, but he pushed aside the unease, clinging to the feeling of warmth that permeated his chest.
He'd feared that the formation of his new Core would be as excruciating as the first— a memory seared into his mind with agonizing clarity. But this was different. Surprisingly different.
The warmth intensified, growing to an almost searing heat, yet it remained bearable— a mere whisper of discomfort compared to the harrowing agony he'd endured during the birth of his first Abyssal Core. The difference was startling, almost surreal.
Then, the Spell's voice echoed once more, venomous and accusatory, as though condemning Cade for some unspeakable crime:
[The Abyssal Core has been formed].
Cade's lips curved into a wide grin, triumph coursing through his veins. Finally.
After putting himself through absolute hell... After facing hundreds of abominations clawing at his very existence... After enduring the worst pain imaginable...
Finally. He had done it.
He was a Monster now.
A wave of joy and satisfaction flooded his senses. This new power— it was going to make him stronger. Stronger than Sleepers had any right to be; at least the ones without Divine Aspects.
Or Unholy ones.
His heart raced with exhilaration.
It's only uphill from here, he thought gleefully. Demon Core, here I come!
And just as Cade came to terms with this new breakthrough in his progression, he focused on retreating from his Abyssal Void. The excitement buzzed through him— he couldn't wait to tell Maya about the formation of his new Core...
But then, something strange happened.
As Cade tried to retreat from his Abyssal Void, as he'd done multiple times before, an unsettling realization dawned on him— he couldn't.
No matter how intensely he focused, his consciousness remained locked within the Void.
W—What... the... hell? he thought, panicking slightly.
He gritted his teeth, willing himself to be ejected back to the material world, but his efforts were futile. A flicker of panic sparked within him as he struggled, but then he noticed something even more bizarre.
A sudden sensation hit him, and he stared down to look at his body. What he saw made his breath catch in his throat.
His hands... they were rippling. The edges of his fingers blurred, indistinct and unstable, as though his very being was unraveling. He quickly scanned his arms, his legs, and his torso— all of them flickered and phased like distortions in water.
It was as if something hidden within him was trying to claw its way out.
Before he could process the full horror of what was happening, the Spell's voice thundered through the Void.
Or at least, it tried to.
But somehow, the words came distorted, as if the Spell were... glitching. As if something were holding it back from speaking to Cade.
But still, there was no mistaking the barely restrained rage and contempt, as the voice tried to condemn Cade for a grave transgression but failed to channel its rage:
[Y... b..ng.. i. s..it..ng...]
The distorted voice echoed ominously, sending a chill down Cade's spine.
Then, Cade felt it once again.
The pain.
Blinding and excruciating, it slammed into him with a force that obliterated every other sensation. He knew this agony intimately— after all, he had endured it twice before.
Once, when he was torn from his own world and flung into this strange and merciless one. And again, when he had formed his first Abyssal Core.
But this... this was somehow worse.
This was the kind of pain that defied reason, the kind that shredded the mind and soul alike, leaving nothing but raw, trembling nerve endings in its wake. It was the agony of being torn apart at the seams and forcibly rebuilt, over and over again, without mercy.
Clutching at his bare chest with both hands, Cade tried to rip the pain away, desperate to claw it out of his very being. His nails dug into flesh that barely felt real anymore.
He tried to scream, pouring every ounce of his torment into it, but his voice failed him. No sound escaped his throat— just suffocating silence.
The agony transcended anything mortal. It was worse than death. Worse than fire searing flesh or blades flaying skin from bone.
It wasn't just unreal. It was unimaginable.
After an eternity of blinding agony— time stretching beyond decades, centuries, perhaps even eons— the pain finally began to recede.
Cade's breathing was ragged, his chest rising and falling as if he'd just survived being crushed beneath mountains. His eyelids felt impossibly heavy, as though weighted by the burden of his suffering. He fought to pry them open, his body trembling with the effort.
Through a narrow slit of vision, he caught sight of...
Himself.
At least, it seemed that way.
There, standing— or perhaps floating— in the Void, was a perfect reflection. It wasn't a mere shadow or a distortion shaped by the dark. No, it was him, down to the faint birthmark near his temple and the strands of sweat-matted hair clinging to his face.
It was like staring into a living, breathing mirror.
But as soon as his brain began to comprehend this impossible sight, the figure dissolved into the surrounding Darkness, vanishing like smoke scattered by a cruel wind.
The Void trembled beneath him, as though something fundamental had shifted. The oppressive atmosphere thickened, crackling with latent energy.
What followed was a stillness. A suffocating stillness. A silence so intense, it weighed against Cade's ears, oppressive and unyielding, like the echo of a scream that simply refused to fade.
Cade felt his blood run cold. He gulped, his throat dry. He looked around. He felt like this calm, this oppressive calm wasn't going to last.
And he was right...
For at that moment, the voice of the Spell roared, seething with the weight of unrestrained fury and no longer sounding distorted:
[THE ABYSSAL CORE IS COMPLETE!]
Cade flinched. The sudden sound had hit out of nowhere, originating from the silence that had reigned here mere moments ago.
He remained wary for a while. He felt like this— whatever it was— wasn't done yet.
But as a few moments passed, Cade realized that nothing else was changing. This was it.
He sighed, rubbing his ear as if the sheer force of the Spell's words had physically struck him. The sensation still lingered.
Geez... he thought wryly. That Spell should honestly consider going into therapy...
However, despite the attempt at humor, unease still prickled beneath his skin.
What the hell was that? he wondered. That pain... looks like it's gonna hit every time I form a new Core. Fuck. Just when I thought I was free of it.
He tried to think about what he had seen— a perfect replica of himself.
Was that for real? Or did I simply imagine it? I was a little shook from the remnants of the pain, so... I'm not really sure.
He reluctantly pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind. He'd have time to think about it later.
In the next moment, Cade summoned his runes:
Name: Arcadius.
True Name: Shroudkeeper.
Rank: Dreamer.
Below that, new runes were shimmering in the darkness. They read:
Class: Monster.
Abyssal Cores: [2/7]
Fragments of the Abyss: [0/2000]
As Cade stared at the runes that read 'Class: Monster', he smiled darkly.
Almost killed me with the pain, the damned thing... he mused, before letting his thoughts drift away.
Because at that moment, something else caught his attention.
There was another string of runes below the counter showing his fragments, runes that hadn't been there before. They read:
Class Abilities: —
Class Abilities? Cade thought, his eyes widening slightly. What does that mean?
A sudden realization hit him. He recalled a detail from the original story. As beings other than humans evolved and formed new cores, they unlocked different abilities.
Sunny's Shadows, for example, gained new abilities every time they formed new cores.
That wasn't the case for humans, though. Cade guessed that it was probably because humans weren't supposed to possess multiple cores in the first place. Apart from that, they already had their Aspect Abilities. So, even if humans with multiple cores existed, they didn't gain any new abilities from forming new cores.
At least, not directly.
There were many other benefits, though. For example, Sunny gained a new shadow every time he formed a new Shadow Core. Mordret could use his soul cores to form Reflections, while Nephis could detonate hers to obliterate her enemies.
So, even if they didn't gain any new abilities per se, there were lots of other benefits to forming new cores.
However, that didn't seem to be the case for Cade. It seemed like he could gain actual abilities as a result of forming new Cores.
He covered his face with a palm and sighed.
I mean, am I even human at this point? he thought, exasperated. Honestly, I've got more in common with Nightmare Creatures than I do with people...
Still, he couldn't really complain. The fact that he could gain new abilities without having to ascend— or rather, descend, in his case— to higher Ranks was... very satisfying.
Suddenly, he felt as if the excruciating pain he'd just endured had been completely worth it.
But Cade noticed that he hadn't gained a new ability yet. He guessed that it was because he was a only a Monster.
He recalled Sunny mentioning that Nightmare Creatures having four defiled soul cores or more possessed different kinds of strange abilities. In fact, Saint had gained new abilities immediately after becoming a Demon.
So, Cade guessed that maybe he would be able to gain new abilities when he became a Demon, or maybe after he became a Devil.
So, this isn't too useful at the moment... he thought, growing slightly disheartened. But his attention was drawn to something else immediately.
There was another difference, this one much more subtle but nevertheless noticeable.
The string of runes representing his Memories.
In the past, the runes of his very first Memory, the Arcane Keystone, had always been dim, lifeless and gray compared to the radiant glow of the others. But now...
They gleamed just as brightly as the rest.
Cade's brow furrowed.
Well, that's... strange.
He traced the runes with his eyes, disbelief gnawing at the edges of his thoughts. Maybe it was just a trick of perception? He focused harder, searching for the familiar dimness he was certain should be there.
But no. The runes remained illuminated, vibrant and pulsing with light.
Does that mean I can summon it now?
A thrill of anticipation coursed through him. If that was true, it was monumental. The Arcane Keystone was an Unholy Memory. It had always been elusive, locked away beyond his reach. But now...
He dismissed the runes and closing his eyes, he centered himself, drawing his focus inward.
Come on... just materialize.
The air around him grew taut with energy as he concentrated, willing the Memory to take form. The Void responded, rippling with unseen currents. His senses sharpened, narrowing to a single point of focus—
And then something shattered his concentration like a hammer to glass.
A disturbance tugged at his awareness, pulling him toward the material world. Cade's eyes snapped open. His senses extended outward, and what he saw made his heart lurch.
Maya.
She was locked in a brutal struggle with a hulking, serpentine abomination. The creature coiled and writhed, its blood-drenched and scaled body glistening with a sickly sheen under the dim light. Jaws lined with jagged teeth snapped at her, each movement faster and more ferocious than the last.
Icy winds swirled around Maya in a desperate blizzard, but she seemed to be struggling to control the winds. The monstrosity pressed forward undeterred. Its sheer size and mass dwarfed her slender figure.
Maya was giving it everything she had, but it wasn't enough.
Cade's pulse thundered in his ears. The Memory could wait. The new abilities could wait. Right now, there was only one thing that mattered—
Getting her out of there alive.
___________________________
Hey, so what'd you think, huh? A lot of mysterious stuff happened in here, didn't it? Mysterious aura farming at its peak... (shout out Canine_9_6438, lol)
Anyway, I thought about splitting this into two, but decided against it. Y'all would've killed me in the comments if I did that. Still, it's 3,290 words. That's a lot!!
So, do you people have any theories on what happened in the Abyssal Void today?
How'd you think I described it? Was it good? Do let me know!
Also, I finally decided to post this fanfic on the official SS Discord. Just search for "Arcadius of the Forgotten" in the fanfic section and you'll find it. I'll probably not be too active on there but someone said it'll boost the reach, so I decided to do it.
Also, we hit 200k views! Another milestone! Thanks much, people!
In any case, hope you enjoyed the chapter! :]