I Awakened The SSS Class Abyssal Warlord

There was a time when Damien Blackthorn had it all.

Fame. Wealth. Glory. He was one of the most renowned adventurers of his generation, a rising legend whose name echoed across Darwin.

His blade was sharp, his will unshaken, and his companions respected him.

But above all else, he had a family.

His wife, Maria—the woman who had stood by his side long before he became a legend. His daughter, Sophie—the little girl who would run into his arms, giggling, calling him her hero.

For years, everything was perfect.

Until it wasn't.

It started subtly, a creeping change he dismissed at first.

Each time he meditated to absorb Meta Essence, it felt… slower. Then, one day, it stopped completely.

No matter how long he trained or how much he pushed himself, his body refused to advance.

At first, he thought it was fatigue. But then he noticed something far worse—his body was aging.

The truth hit him like a blade to the gut.

He had contracted Meta Essence Decay Syndrome—a rare and incurable condition that prevented warriors from absorbing Meta Essence beyond a certain threshold.

For Damien, that limit was Level 2—Adept.

That was the moment everything spiraled out of control.

He drained his wealth seeking a cure—healers, scholars, alchemists, mystics.

But nothing worked.

Then came the betrayal.

His party—his closest companions—abandoned him.

"You're a liability now, Damien."

"You know how it is. We can't afford dead weight."

"We'll remember you, though."

His contributions meant nothing. His glory was erased overnight. The world moved on.

But Damien didn't.

He drowned himself in alcohol. Found company in strangers. He avoided going home—too ashamed to face Maria and Sophie.

Eventually, he stopped going home altogether.

And when he had nothing left, he turned to crime.

A bandit. A predator of the weak.

His years as an adventurer had taught him who to target, how to avoid the strong, and how to exploit the desperate.

He was good at it.

Yet, no matter how much gold he stole, how many caravans he looted, how many helpless travelers he cut down—

The hole in his heart never vanished.

Because Meta Essence Decay Syndrome still clung to him.

Because no matter how much he stole, he could never steal back his future. Because leveling up was not just about power. It was a path to immortality.

And Damien was running out of time.

Then, the man appeared.

A robed figure, his presence shrouded in shadows, offering Damien a cure.

For the first time in years, Damien felt hope.

Until he heard the price.

"To free yourself, you must sacrifice those most dear to you."

Just like that, his hope was crushed.

He had avoided Maria and Sophie for years. He had drowned in sin and abandoned them.

But deep down, he knew the truth.

They were still the ones he cherished most.

He was about to refuse—when the robed man uttered his final temptation.

"Death will not be the end."

"Our people have been working on a way to revive the dead, and with the right connection in the living world, they can be brought back."

"And you, Damien, will be that connection."

That was the final nail in the coffin.

****

Damien had not been himself ever since he contracted Meta Essence Decay Syndrome.

He had been a proud warrior, a man of strength, a leader.

But the disease had taken everything—his power, his future, his purpose. It hollowed him out, leaving behind a husk of the man he once was.

And tonight, as he stood before the house he had abandoned for years, he still wasn't in his right mind.

He pushed open the door.

The air inside carried a familiar warmth, and the scent of home-cooked food filled his senses. It was comforting yet foreign to him now.

Then, he saw her.

A young girl stepped out of the kitchen, carrying a plate of food. She had grown. The last time he had seen her, she had been a little girl who could barely reach his waist.

Now—she was almost a woman, her features a mirror of her mother's.

For a moment, she simply stared at him, frozen.

Then, the plate slipped from her hands, shattering against the floor.

Her voice trembled.

"Dad…?"

Then, louder—"Dad!"

Before he could react, she ran toward him, throwing herself into his arms.

"Dad, I missed you! I knew you'd come back! I told Mom you would, but she didn't listen!"

Damien's arms wrapped around her, his grip tightening.

But his face remained blank.

He did not smile.

He did not cry.

He simply held her tighter.

Then, the front door opened.

"Thank you for dinner," a woman's voice said, carrying a light tone of amusement. "You didn't have to—"

Maria stopped mid-sentence.

She wasn't alone.

A man stood beside her—well-dressed and comfortable in her presence.

Damien's eyes flicked between them, and for the first time in years, an emotion surfaced.

Jealousy.

While he had been suffering, fighting, and searching for a way to fix himself—his wife had been here, moving on.

Something snapped.

"Dad… you're hurting me."

Sophie's voice was small at first.

Then, it turned into a scream.

Damien's grip had become crushing.

Maria's eyes widened in horror. "Damien—!"

Before she could finish, Sophie let out a final, strangled cry—

And then she burst.

Her body detonated in his arms, blood and flesh splattering across the walls.

Maria stood frozen, her face covered in her daughter's blood. Her lips parted, about to scream—

But before she could, Damien's hand clamped over her face.

"Don't worry, darling." His voice was eerily calm. "This is only temporary."

"I will bring you back. Trust me."

Then, with a single motion, he ripped her head from her shoulders.

The man who had come home with Maria collapsed in shock. His body trembled as he struggled to breathe.

Damien turned to him.

"Don't worry," he said coldly. "You're no longer needed."

Then, with one swift strike, he silenced him forever.

Damien didn't resist when the authorities arrived.

He turned himself in.

Confessed to the murder.

With the Crucible being his sentence.

But he wasn't concerned.

Because the organization had promised him something.

That Maria and Sophie would return.

That his family would live again.

Yet, weeks passed. Then months.

And the organization never contacted him.

Doubt crept in. Had he done this for nothing?

Then, as if on cue, a message arrived.

"In your next match, one of your opponents will betray their team. Use this to your advantage. Victory is essential."

"An artifact to guarantee your success will be delivered before the battle."

"Once you win, your family will be returned to you."

Damien closed his eyes.

It was almost time.