The air trembled above the crater.
The second sphere of light floated in the dark sky, its cracks glowing like molten gold. Jinwoo stood at the center, eyes fixed on the storm that was forming.
The soldiers had already evacuated the area. Only silence and the hum of energy remained.
The sphere pulsed once.
Then it broke apart.
A roar echoed through the sky as creatures began to fall through the air, dozens of them, each leaving trails of dark fire. They landed across the ruins of the industrial zone, shaking the earth with their arrival.
Jinwoo felt the mana in the air twist violently. These were not ordinary monsters. Their presence was heavy, ancient, filled with hunger.
The first creature rose from the rubble — a hulking beast covered in black scales, eyes glowing blue like frozen fire. It opened its mouth and released a scream that shook the buildings around it.
Jinwoo's shadow expanded behind him, spreading like ink across the ground. The air darkened.
From the shadow, figures began to rise — his soldiers, the first few he had ever created. Igris, the Blood Red Commander, stepped out first, kneeling before him. Behind him came Iron, Tank, and Beru. Their forms flickered faintly, as though still reawakening from long rest.
"My lord," Igris said in a deep voice, "your power has returned."
Jinwoo nodded slightly. "Not yet. But it will."
He looked up at the growing swarm. At least twenty creatures now surrounded the crater, their bodies burning with strange symbols.
Beru's wings opened with a hiss. "Permission to destroy them, my liege."
"Granted," Jinwoo said quietly.
The shadows surged forward. Igris led the charge, his greatsword cutting through the air with blinding speed. The first creature roared as the blade sliced across its chest, spraying black light instead of blood.
Tank leapt into the fray, crushing another beast under his massive claws. Beru moved like a flash of lightning, tearing through the sky and ripping through the creatures that tried to escape.
The night became a storm of battle.
Yet even as his shadows fought, Jinwoo could sense it — something was wrong.
Each creature that fell dissolved into mist, but instead of disappearing, the mist floated upward, gathering into a single mass above the crater. The energy condensed again, forming another shape, larger than before.
Jinwoo's eyes narrowed. "A core creature," he murmured.
The shadow of the new being stretched across the entire district. When it fully formed, its presence dwarfed everything else. It stood more than fifty meters tall, its wings spreading wide like a mountain of darkness.
Its voice echoed across the city. "Sung Jinwoo. You erased the old world, but you cannot erase what was beneath it."
Jinwoo floated into the air, his eyes glowing faintly purple. "Who are you?"
"I am the memory of the Abyss. The first shadow before you claimed the title."
Jinwoo studied it carefully. It had no heartbeat, no true form. It was an echo of something ancient.
The ground began to shake as its wings moved. A shockwave blasted through the ruins, knocking over entire structures. Jinwoo shielded himself with a wall of shadows, then commanded his soldiers to fall back.
"Igris," he said. "Hold the line. Do not pursue."
The creature lowered its head. "You will face us again, Shadow Monarch. When the gates of the Omega open, the Abyss will return in full."
Before he could respond, the monster dissolved into a thousand fragments of light, vanishing into the clouds.
The System appeared again before his eyes.
System Notice
First Wave Complete.
Classification: E to D Rank Beasts.
Next Emergence: Unknown.
System Integrity: 69 percent.
Jinwoo stared at the numbers. The System was repairing itself through battle. Every time he fought, it grew stronger. But whose will was controlling it now?
He turned to his shadows. "We are done here. Return."
They bowed, fading back into the ground one by one. The city was silent again, except for the distant sirens of approaching forces.
He walked through the smoke and rubble, the wind tugging at his coat. The smell of burnt metal filled the air. The world had changed once again, and there was no turning back.
As he reached the edge of the destroyed zone, he saw someone waiting — a young hunter in training uniform, trembling but standing firm.
"Sir," the young man said, "are you Sung Jinwoo?"
Jinwoo stopped, studying him. "Who sent you?"
"The Association. They said you would come." The young man swallowed nervously. "They want you to lead again."
Jinwoo's expression did not change. "Tell them the world does not need a monarch. It needs to remember what peace feels like."
He turned away and walked past the boy. The hunter hesitated before calling out again. "Then what should we do when the next one appears?"
Jinwoo paused, looking back at the broken skyline. "Train. Become stronger. The System is not finished yet."
That night, he stood on a tall building overlooking the city. The moon hung low, and the stars seemed dimmer. He could feel the distant pulse of mana spreading across the world, small sparks awakening in faraway lands.
He knew what it meant. The first wave was only the beginning. The System had reawakened the world of hunters.
Far beyond the clouds, in a place where no human could reach, something opened its eyes.
A throne of black stone floated in a void of stars, and on it sat a figure wrapped in shadow.
It spoke softly, its voice like distant thunder. "So, the Shadow Monarch lives once more."
The voice paused, then smiled faintly. "Good. Let him rise. The game begins again."
The stars dimmed, and the darkness deepened.
The Second Wave was coming.