It had only been moments since the System's voice faded from his ear when Kim felt the air vanish around him. There was no wall, no ground, not even his body as he knew it. Everything was white, stretching endlessly. The Realm of the Void.
A strange echo stirred inside him—not from outside, but from the core of his soul.
— "You have passed the first trial… now begins the next step."
Kim raised his head, but saw only a thick fog gathering before him. Slowly, the fog began to take shape… a transparent body, a glowing spirit with blazing eyes.
The voice drew closer, whispers wrapping around him like serpents:
— "You have slain hundreds… their blood was not wasted… their souls are now here."
And indeed, behind the glowing figure, dozens of shadows appeared—then hundreds—dancing in the void like flocks of black crows. Some were twisted humans, others horned beasts, and some creatures he had never seen before. All of them screamed, groaned, stretching their hands toward him.
Kim's chest trembled for a moment, but the System whispered:
— "Do not fear. If you do not consume them… they will consume you. This is the toll of the Void."
He shut his eyes, then opened them with force. His hand stretched out, and black veins burst from his arm, like the roots of a tree of darkness. They lashed forward, coiling around the first spirit. Its scream tore through the horizon before being dragged into his body.
Heat surged through Kim's veins, as if a black fire scorched his heart.
He gasped, mouth open: — "It's… it's their power… entering me?!"
One after another, the spirits rushed at him, but they no longer resisted. They were being pulled into him. Each soul absorbed gave him something new:
The roar of a giant beast lent strength to his bones.
The soul of an ancient sorcerer whispered forgotten incantations.
The echo of a demon filled his eyes with blazing crimson energy.
But with every soul consumed, something else eroded—a piece of his humanity.
Then suddenly, a different spirit appeared before him. Unlike the others, it did not cry or scream. It looked at him with deep calm, eyes heavy with wisdom and sorrow. It was the spirit of an old woman—the same shadow he had seen at the moment of death in the plaza.
Her voice was gentle, resonant:
— "Kim… or Tiger of Death… the path you walk is not without cost. Every soul you take leaves a scar within you. Are you ready to become a graveyard of spirits?"
His heart trembled, but he clenched his fist and said slowly:
— "I don't live to be a victim, nor a hero… but to forge my fate. If I must swallow your hell to shape my world… then I will swallow it."
He stretched his hand and devoured her soul as well.
A piercing scream split the void, followed by a surge of energy so violent that the fog exploded in all directions.
Then a screen appeared before him, for the first time in blood-red, as if dipped in gore:
> New Path Activated: "Soul Eater."
Acquired Ability: Absorption of souls and demons.
Side Effect: Humanity erosion by 2% per 10 souls.
Reward: Void Gate unlocked.
Kim gasped, his body trembling, but a cold smile curved his lips.
— "Good… this is the path."
Suddenly, the void beneath him shattered, as if the ground that never existed had collapsed. He fell into a black vortex, spirits screaming around him, shadows tumbling after him.
When his eyes opened again, he stood upon land unknown to him. A cracked red sky above, and an endless plain of skulls beneath. Another world.
The System whispered softly:
— "Welcome… to the second step of your resurrection."