Ethan struggled as the Abyssborne Warden’s iron grip tightened around his throat.


    The pressure was unbearable. His lungs burned as his body dangled helplessly, feet barely scraping against the fractured stone beneath him. The Warden’s glowing violet eyes bored into him, its featureless helmet revealing no emotion—no satisfaction, no anger.


    Only judgment.


    "You are not ready."


    The words weren’t spoken aloud.


    They resonated inside his mind.


    His vision flickered, black spots creeping into the edges of his sight. His hands clawed at the Warden’s arm, but its form was solid as the abyss itself.


    This wasn’t like fighting the Shadowmind.


    This wasn’t a test of skill or strength.


    This was punishment.


    The Warden was not an opponent.


    It was an executioner.


    And Ethan was the condemned.


    A voice slithered through Ethan’s thoughts.


    "You cannot win."


    The pressure increased, his ribs creaking under the crushing force.


    "You are not worthy."


    A sharp pulse of pain tore through his body. His mark—the sigil of the Abysswalker burned into his chest—flared violently. The heat was unbearable, scorching him from the inside out.


    Ethan gasped, but no air came.


    This wasn’t just a fight anymore.


    This was a choice.


    He could feel the Abyss watching him, waiting for him to submit.


    To let go.


    To fade into nothingness.


    But something inside him refused.


    Not out of fear.


    Not out of desperation.


    But out of something stronger.


    Something that had carried him through every fight, every loss, every painful moment since the system descended upon the world.


    Will.


    A will that had never broken.


    A will that never would.


    Ethan clenched his fists.


    And then—he acted.


    Ethan stopped resisting.


    Stopped struggling.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Instead, he focused.


    The Abyssborne Warden’s grip was still tight, still crushing his windpipe, but Ethan could feel something else beneath it.


    A connection.


    A thread of abyssal energy, linking them together.


    It was faint—almost imperceptible—but it was there.


    <blockquote>


    If it can affect me… then I can affect it.


    </blockquote>


    His body went still.


    The Warden hesitated for half a second—just long enough for Ethan to lash out with his own power.


    The sigil on his chest flared violently, sending a shockwave of abyssal energy surging outward.


    The Warden recoiled.


    Its grip loosened.


    That was all Ethan needed.


    His hand shot forward, grasping the Warden’s wrist.


    The Abyss reacted instantly.


    Blackened tendrils of energy erupted from Ethan’s palm, wrapping around the Warden’s arm like living chains. For the first time, the Warden’s movements faltered.


    Ethan felt it.


    The shift.


    The power dynamic between them was no longer one-sided.


    The Warden had recognized his resistance.


    And now?


    It was forced to acknowledge him.


    Ethan twisted his body, using the momentum to wrench himself free from the Warden’s grasp. He hit the ground hard, rolling before coming up into a crouch, one hand pressed against the broken obsidian beneath him.


    His chest heaved, each breath sharp and ragged.


    His neck throbbed, but the pain was already fading—his regeneration surging to mend the damage.


    The Warden stood motionless, its violet eyes locked onto him.


    For a long moment, neither of them moved.


    Then, the Warden raised its hand once more.


    Its abyssal blade reignited, burning with an energy even darker than before.


    Ethan grinned through the pain.


    "Round two, then?"


    The Warden moved first.


    Its blade cut through the air in a lethal downward arc, a perfect, controlled motion aimed to end the fight in a single strike.


    But Ethan was ready this time.


    His own blade—now humming with abyssal energy—met the attack head-on.


    The collision sent a shockwave ripping through the battlefield, cracks webbing outward from where they stood.


    For the first time, Ethan didn’t just react to the Warden’s attacks.


    He matched them.


    Strike for strike. Blow for blow.


    He could feel the Abyss flowing through him, adjusting, refining his movements, sharpening his instincts to match the Warden’s own perfection.


    This was more than just a fight now.


    This was a duel between equals.


    Ethan’s perception shifted.


    The Warden wasn’t unstoppable.


    ts movements weren’t unpredictable.


    It had patterns—flaws he could exploit.


    It had tested him before. Now he was testing it.


    The Warden slashed high—Ethan ducked low, countering with a sharp, precise stab toward its core. The Warden twisted, avoiding the blow, but Ethan was already moving, his blade shifting to match its counter.


    Their weapons clashed again and again, each strike faster than the last.


    The Warden fought with cold efficiency.


    Ethan fought with adaptation and will.


    And slowly—strike by strike, counter by counter—he gained ground.


    He could feel it.


    The Warden wasn’t treating him like an intruder anymore.


    It was treating him like a potential successor.


    Like a Warden in the making.


    The Warden attacked again, a powerful horizontal slash meant to force Ethan into a corner.


    But this time?


    Ethan stepped forward.


    Instead of dodging, he pushed through the attack, weaving inside the Warden’s guard.


    His dagger lashed out—not toward its body, but toward the mark on its chest.


    The moment his blade connected, the world shifted.


    The Warden froze.


    A sharp pulse of abyssal energy rippled outward, shattering the remnants of the battlefield.


    And then, for the first time…


    The Warden spoke.


    "You have passed."


    Ethan barely had time to process those words before everything went black.


    [SYSTEM UPDATE ]


    [New Ability Unlocked:]


    ?? Abyssal Resonance (Passive): The Abyss recognizes you. Your presence influences abyssal entities, allowing certain creatures to hesitate before attacking—or submit


    When Ethan opened his eyes, he was no longer in the shattered battlefield.


    He was back in the void.


    The Master stood nearby, watching him with an amused expression.


    "Well," he mused. "I have to admit—I wasn’t entirely sure you’d survive that one."


    Ethan exhaled, flexing his fingers. His body felt different.


    Not just stronger.


    More attuned.


    The Master grinned. "Congratulations, little predator."


    He took a step forward, his silver eyes gleaming.


    "You are now recognized by the Abyss itself."


    Ethan clenched his fists.