The system had never spoken like that before.
Not in warnings.
Not in whispers.
And not in fear.
---
Hari stood alone in the crimson aftermath of his hunt, the scent of scorched grass and blood thick in the air.
His system flickered — glitching.
> [SYSTEM NOTICE: Corruption Layer Detected]
Source: Unknown
Signature: Ancient Protocol
Attempting Isolation…
Isolation Failed.
[NEW OBJECTIVE INSTALLED]: Seek the Forgotten Citadel
Location: Ocean Rift — Depth: 11,900 meters
Hari blinked.
He'd heard of that name before.
> "The place where even gods drowned."
---
That night, Hari sat beside a ruined cliff, staring into the distance.
The stars looked different now.
Closer.
Brighter.
He clenched his fists. His blood hummed with too many powers. Shadow, fang, soul — and something… primordial.
> "The system isn't broken."
"It's being rewritten."
And somehow, he was the pen.
---
The next morning, he walked into a small port town built near the ragged edge of the world — where the cliffs dropped off into the endless black sea.
It was called Krenthal, a dying fisherman's village with broken statues and whispering winds.
Locals stared.
Not at his weapons.
Not at his scars.
But at his aura — an unnatural silence clung to him, making even the sea hesitate.
He approached the old dockmaster.
> "I need a way to the ocean rift."
The man froze.
His voice cracked.
> "Y-you don't come back from there…"
> "Good," Hari said. "I'm not planning to."
---
At midnight, with a stolen deep-sea relic suit and a modified system dive capsule, Hari submerged.
The ocean welcomed him like a grave.
Black.
Pressure.
Silence.
Down.
Down.
Deeper.
> [Depth: 1,200m… 4,000m… 8,500m…]
> [Warning: Biological Threat Detected]
[Approaching: Leviathan-Class Entity – Bone Drake Variant]
From the void, a massive skeletal serpent swam into view. Glowing violet eyes.
Skull horned with coral and barnacles.
Teeth like towers.
> [New Challenge Activated: Kill or Bypass]
Hari whispered:
> "I don't bypass predators. I become them."
---
The fight beneath the sea was a blur of light and darkness.
Hari unleashed Refraction Dash inside currents. His Shadow Doppel confused the beast. His claws tore into its undead flesh, igniting Soulburn Touch.
Still, it bit him.
Cracked his armor.
Shattered his ribs.
But Hari stabbed its skull with the soulbrand relic.
> [Absorption Triggered: Partial Success]
New Trait Fragment Acquired: Depthborn Hunger
→ Increases survivability in high-pressure zones
→ Enables passive sonar-like awareness in voided regions
The Bone Drake sank, finally dead.
Hari swam deeper.
---
Depth: 11,900m
The Forgotten Citadel waited.
A massive, sunken city made of black stone and glowing veins of forbidden light.
Statues of eyeless gods lined the gates.
As Hari approached, something stirred in the dark.
> [SYSTEM INTERFERENCE: ESCALATING]
"Who walks unthreaded?"
"Who defies the loom of fate?"
"You… are not welcome here."
Hari stepped onto the citadel's obsidian platform.
And grinned.
> "Too bad."
---
To be continued in Chapter 19: The City of Drowned Gods
---