Sai stood in the eerie silence of the Forgotten Zone, his fingers tightening around the small tal insignia the mysterious woman had left behind. The weight of the object felt heavier than it should, as if it carried sothing more than just its physical form.
His mind raced.
Who was she? If she wasn't with the Hidden Order, then who did she work for? And what exactly did she an by "You're not ready for what's coming"?
Sai exhaled, shoving the insignia into his pouch. One problem at a ti.
Right now, he needed to decide what to do next.
He had barely escaped the assassins, and his body was still sore from the battle. If they were still hunting him, he couldn't afford to stay in one place for too long. But at the sa ti—
His gaze flickered toward the ruined structure before him.
The System had reacted to this place.
It wasn't just another part of the wilderness. It was important.
And if he wanted answers about the Lost Gates, about why he was being hunted—this might be his best chance to find them.
Sai adjusted his grip on his daggers and stepped forward.
The entrance to the ruins was half-buried, overgrown with vines and moss. Ancient carvings covered the stone archway, similar to the ones he had seen in the Lost Gate—but these were more faded, as if ti had tried to erase them.
The mont he stepped inside, a chill ran down his spine.
The air was different here. Heavier.
It felt like sothing was watching him.
He exhaled slowly and moved deeper.
The passage led to a large chamber, dimly lit by faintly glowing blue crystals embedded in the walls. The floor was cracked, but beneath the layers of dust, Sai could make out more of the strange symbols.
He knelt, brushing away so of the dirt.
The markings weren't just random carvings. They ford a pattern—a sequence of symbols, almost like a map.
Then—
A notification blinked in his vision.
[Lost Gate System Reacting...]
[Deciphering Ancient Record...]
Sai tensed.
The System is reading this?
Words appeared before him, translated from the faded script.
[The Abyss was never ant to be opened.]
[Yet it calls to those who hear it.]
[The first hunters sealed it away, but the chains weaken with ti.]
Sai's pulse quickened.
The Abyss? Was that what the Lost Gates were connected to? And if they had been sealed away...
Then why was he able to enter them?
His thoughts were interrupted by another sound.
A faint drip.
Sai's muscles tensed. He slowly turned his head.
Across the chamber, sothing moved.
A shadow, barely visible in the dim light, shifted along the far wall.
Sai rose to his feet, daggers in hand.
The shadow moved again—this ti taking form.
A figure stepped forward, its body shrouded in darkness, its face obscured beneath a hood.
Sai took a cautious step back, his grip tightening.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
The figure didn't answer.
Instead, it raised a hand.
The shadows around it twisted, expanding outward, swallowing the room in darkness. The faint glow of the crystals flickered and died.
Then—
A voice.
"You were not supposed to co here."
Sai barely had ti to react before the shadows lunged.
The darkness rushed toward him, moving like a living creature. Sai dodged instinctively, flipping backward as tendrils of shadow slamd into the ground where he had just been.
The entire chamber shook.
This wasn't just so illusion.
It was an attack.
Sai landed in a crouch, his mind working rapidly. He had fought monsters before, assassins, even mages.
But this?
This was sothing else entirely.
He activated Critical Sight.
For a brief second, the shadows flickered, revealing glimpses of the figure beneath them.
A person.
Not a monster.
That ant—they had weak points.
Sai surged forward. He dodged another strike, twisting mid-air to close the distance. His dagger glead as he slashed at the figure's chest.
The blade connected—
And passed right through.
Sai's eyes widened.
No resistance. No wound.
As if the figure wasn't even real.
"You cannot kill what does not belong to this world."
The voice whispered in his ear.
Sai spun—but the figure was already behind him.
A pulse of dark energy exploded outward, slamming into Sai's chest.
Pain erupted through his body as he was sent flying backward. His back hit the stone wall with a sickening crack.
He gasped, struggling to breathe.
The shadows moved again, gathering around the figure like living armor.
Sai gritted his teeth, forcing himself back onto his feet.
He was injured. His stamina was running low. And his attacks weren't working.
He needed another approach.
Then—
A notification appeared.
[Lost Gate System Synchronization: 18%]
[New Ability Unlocked: Shadow Step (F-rank)]
[Effect: Allows the user to rge with ambient darkness for 2 seconds, evading physical attacks.]
Sai barely had ti to process the words before the figure attacked again.
Instinct took over.
He activated Shadow Step.
For a split second—everything changed.
The world beca hazy, as if he had stepped into another plane of existence. The incoming attack passed through him, missing entirely.
Then, just as quickly, he reappeared.
Sai's mind reeled.
He had moved within the shadows themselves.
He didn't hesitate.
Instead of retreating, he used the ability again, slipping into the darkness as the figure attacked. This ti, he moved through the enemy's form.
And in that brief mont—he saw it.
A faint glow within the shadows. A core.
A weak point.
Sai lashed out.
His dagger pierced the core, the blade sinking into sothing solid.
The figure let out a distorted scream, its form shuddering violently. The shadows fractured, breaking apart like shattered glass.
Then—
Silence.
The figure was gone.
The darkness around him faded, the crystals flickering back to life.
Sai stood there, panting, his body aching.
He had won.
But before he could even catch his breath—another notification appeared.
[Lost Gate System Update...]
[You have destroyed a Fragnt of the Abyss.]
[Synchronization has increased.]
Sai's blood ran cold.
A Fragnt of the Abyss?
He exhaled sharply.
This place—the Lost Gates, the Hidden Order, everything—it was all connected to sothing much bigger.
And he had just stepped right into the middle of it.
His fingers tightened around his dagger.
If the Abyss was real...
Then he needed to find out what it was.
And more importantly—
Why it was calling to him.
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