MTLNOVEL Chapter 5: Chapter 4 – The Abyssal Baptism
Darkness.
It wasn't just an absence of light but something deeper, more oppressive—an abyss that coiled around Kael like a living entity. He had thought the pain of his rebirth had ended, that his suffering was behind him. But the moment he opened his eyes in this unfamiliar world, he realized something far worse awaited.
The abyss whispered. It moved. It pulsed with an intelligence beyond mortal comprehension.
Kael floated in a void that was neither hot nor cold, neither solid nor liquid. His body, though reborn, still carried remnants of the pain from his previous life. The agony of betrayal, the fury of helplessness. But there was something new coursing through his veins—a primal force, an energy unlike anything he had ever known.
His fingers twitched, responding to his will. A foreign sensation, something more than just flesh and bone. He looked down at himself and froze.
His skin was dark—not in the way a human's might tan under the sun but something deeper, shifting between shades like living obsidian. Lines of silver and deep crimson pulsed along his body, ancient runes appearing and disappearing beneath the surface. His fingers ended in sharp, talon-like claws, and when he flexed them, power crackled in the air.
His race had changed.
Kael inhaled sharply, and the void around him trembled.
Then, the whispers turned into voices.
"Welcome, stray soul. Welcome to the Abyss."
A thousand voices, layered upon each other, speaking in tongues both ancient and new. The abyss wasn't just a place. It was a sentient force.
And it was watching him.
---
A New Identity, A New Fate
Kael clenched his fists. He was no longer the weak, powerless human who had died in agony. He had been reborn—reborn into a world where strength was the only law, where he could no longer afford to trust blindly.
The whispers grew louder, and suddenly, the void itself rippled. A form began to take shape in front of him.
A floating black cube, its surface etched with eldritch symbols that twisted and reformed endlessly. Its presence sent shivers down Kael's spine.
"Ah, another one joins the fold…" The cube's voice was neither male nor female, an amalgamation of countless echoes.
Kael narrowed his eyes. "What are you?"
"I am the Abyssal Codex. Your guide, your tormentor, your salvation. Call me whatever you wish."
The cube hovered closer, and Kael felt an invisible force invade his mind. It wasn't painful, but it was overwhelming—flashes of knowledge, information flowing into his consciousness.
A blue screen materialized before him.
---
[ Abyssal Codex ]
Host: Kael Draven
Race: Abyssborn (Evolvable)
Rank: Mortal (Newborn)
Core Trait: [Predation] – Devour and assimilate the essence of beings you defeat.
Abilities Unlocked: [None]
---
Kael exhaled, his mind racing. Predation. A power that allowed him to steal and evolve using the strengths of others. A trait that made him a natural predator in this new world.
He grinned. This… this was what he needed.
"You have been chosen by the Abyss. Survive, evolve, and you may claim the right to exist. Fail… and you shall be devoured."
The cube pulsed, and suddenly, the abyss around Kael shattered.
---
A Baptism of Fire
The void collapsed around him, and Kael was falling.
Wind roared past him as he was hurled through an abyssal rift, his body spiraling downward like a meteor. Below him, a massive black citadel emerged from the shadows, surrounded by rivers of molten darkness.
A throne stood at the center of the citadel. And on that throne sat a woman.
She was breathtaking in a way that defied logic—long flowing hair made of pure darkness, cascading down her shoulders like the night sky itself. Eyes like crimson stars, piercing and filled with an authority that sent shivers down Kael's spine. Her form was regal, wrapped in intricate robes woven from the abyss itself.
And most importantly—she was waiting for him.
"You are late." Her voice was neither warm nor cold, but it carried the weight of absolute dominance.
Kael landed hard on one knee, the impact shaking his bones. He looked up, meeting her gaze. "Who are you?"
A smirk played on her lips.
"I am your mother."
Silence.
Kael's mind went blank.
His… mother?
His first thought was disbelief. His second? An undeniable pull, something deeper than instinct. It wasn't just attraction. It was something primal, something written into his very being.
His Abyssborn blood stirred.
The woman's smirk widened as she stepped forward. "You feel it, don't you? The bond. The hunger."
Kael clenched his fists.
The Abyss had given him a new life. A new race. A new purpose.
And now, standing before him, was his first test.
Would he resist? Or would he embrace his new nature?
The answer, he realized, was already written in his blood.