It was cold, heavy, and absolute.
Kael didn't know how long he had been unconscious. The last thing he remembered was the collapse—the roar of the dungeon tearing itself apart. Then… silence.
When he opened his eyes, it wasn't the same dungeon.
It was something deeper.
A new notification glowed before him:
> [System Activating…]
[Initializing Core Transfer… Success.]
[Shadow Core Accepted.]
He blinked. Pain surged through his chest. His fingers trembled as he pulled himself up from the cracked obsidian floor.
The air felt thick—almost alive—with mana.
> [New User Registered: Kael Virek]
Class: Unassigned
Status: Critical
Location: ??? – Sub-Dungeon Root Layer
His body was weak, but something inside him burned. A whisper… a presence.
From the shadows, it emerged.
Chains rattled softly as a shape materialized—vague, monstrous, ethereal.
A creature of shadow, half-formed, bound to his will.
> [Shadow Guardian Acquired – Rank C+]
[Servant Slot: 1/3 Active]
[Vitality: Linked to Host]
[Command Protocol: Awaiting Orders]
Kael's heart pounded. Was this… real?
He looked around. The dungeon had changed. It was no longer the crumbling ruin of before—it was something ancient, forbidden. Symbols pulsed with crimson light across the walls, warning of a seal… a prison?
Then came the voice.
"You should not be here, mortal…"
Kael stood, breathing heavily, and whispered:
— Then kill me.
The shadow did not attack.
Instead, it bowed.
---
From that moment, Kael knew—
He wasn't a hunter anymore.
He was something else.
Something born of the dark.
And the world would never be the same again.
---
📌 To be continued in Chapter 2 – The Shadow Pact…