The "Cloud-Leaper" ship, once a masterpiece of golden craftsmanship, was now a hollow, monochromatic phantom. It cut through the transition currents between the First and Second Oceans like a jagged blade of charcoal. Inside, Vane Varkas sat in the pilot's throne, his hands merged with the control console. He wasn't just steering the ship; he was infecting it. His black ink flowed through the vessel's mechanical veins, replacing the high-frequency sapphire fuel with the cold, dense energy of the Zero Depth.
[Ding!]
[Synchronization with Vessel: 88%] [Warning: The ship's physical structure is brittle. It cannot withstand the 'Classical Physics' of the Second Ocean for long.] [Recommendation: Absorb more 'Structural Pigment' to reinforce the hull.]
"Brittle?" Vane's voice was a low, vibrating growl. "Everything in this world is brittle. It's all just paint and lies."
He looked at his reflection in the darkened glass of the cockpit. He was no longer the sickly, malnourished "Static" who scavenged for crumbs in the mud. His frame had filled out, his shoulders broad and corded with muscle that felt as dense as lead. But it was his eyes that truly belonged to a monster. They were twin pits of absolute void, reflecting nothing, seeing everything.
Suddenly, Vane's [Ink-Sense] flared.
In the turbulent waters outside, a scent reached his consciousness. It wasn't a smell of salt or rot. In the Five Oceans, scents were "Aromatic Frequencies." And this frequency was sharp, spicy, and smelled like Burning Crimson.
"A tracker?" Vane whispered.
He didn't hesitate. He pulled the manual lever, and the ship groaned as it performed a violent "Negative-Pitch" maneuver.
BOOM!
A massive harpoon, glowing with a fierce, incandescent red light, tore through the space where the cockpit had been a split second ago. The harpoon wasn't made of steel; it was a solidified "Vector-Stroke"—a physical manifestation of pure speed and piercing intent.
Vane stood up from the pilot's seat, his black shroud rippling with an aggressive violet aura. Through the cracked hull, he saw his pursuer.
It was a sleek, one-person submersible, shaped like a predatory barracuda. Standing on the exterior of the craft, ignoring the killing pressure of the deep, was a woman. She wore a tight, deep-red tactical suit that shimmered with [Crimson-Grade Saturation]. Her hair was a shock of white, flowing in the water like a banner of war.
In her hand, she held a long-range "Aura-Rifle," the barrel still smoking with red heat.
"I found you, little ghost," her voice drifted through the ether, transmitted via a high-level [Telepathic-Frequency].
Vane stepped out of his ship, standing on the hull. The water around him began to turn black, his [Heavy-Pressure Aura] forcing the local currents to slow down.
"A bounty hunter?" Vane asked.
"Call me Lyra," the woman replied, her eyes narrowing as she studied Vane's matte-black form. "I've been tracking 'Statics' for ten years. Usually, it's boring. You guys usually just turn into white dust and blow away. But you... you smell like something that shouldn't exist. You smell like the End of the World."
Lyra raised her rifle again. Her finger tightened on the trigger.
"The Radiant Wing Guild put a 50-million 'Lumen' bounty on your head. They said a 'Glitch' murdered Lord Caelum. I didn't believe them until I smelled this void of yours. You're not a glitch, are you? You're a Sin."
[System Analysis...] [Target: Lyra 'The Blood-Hound' (Rank 7 Bounty Hunter).] [Primary Attribute: Scent-Pathing / Kinetic-Burst.] [Danger Level: High.]
"50 million?" Vane chuckled, a sound that made the surrounding coral crack. "They're undervaluing me. By the time I'm finished, there won't be a Guild left to pay you."
"Arrogant!" Lyra roared.
"[Art-Physics: Crimson Flashpoint]!"
She didn't fire the rifle. She became the bullet.
In a burst of red light that ignored the friction of the ocean, she crossed the hundred-meter gap in an instant. Her rifle transformed into a dual-ended spear, its tips vibrating at a frequency that could split atoms.
Vane didn't try to dodge. He knew that against a Rank 7 "Kinetic-Burst" user, his current speed was insufficient.
If I cannot be faster, I will be 'Heavier', Vane thought.
"[Absolute Saturation: Obsidian Wall]!"
Vane threw his hand forward. The black ink in his veins erupted, forming a massive, flat shield of matte-black energy.
CLANG!
The impact was so powerful it created a sonar-ping that could be heard for fifty miles. The red spear struck the black shield, and for a moment, the two laws of physics clashed. The "Kinetic-Burst" tried to shatter the shield, while the "Obsidian Wall" tried to swallow the kinetic energy.
Lyra's eyes widened. "What?! My 'Flashpoint' didn't pierce it? This shield... it's not solid! It's absorbing the momentum!"
"You're relying on 'Speed' and 'Impact'," Vane whispered, his violet eyes glowing just inches from hers. "But in the Abyss, there is no momentum. There is only the Weight of the Silence."
Vane's hand reached out from behind the shield, moving with the slow, inevitable grace of a crushing tide.
"[Pigment Drain]!"
Lyra reacted with the instincts of a veteran. She kicked off the shield, using a "Back-Burst" to propel herself five meters away just as Vane's fingers grazed her arm.
Even that tiny contact was enough. The sleeve of her red suit turned grey, and she let out a hiss of pain as a small portion of her "Livelihood" was drained away.
"You... you're eating my Saturation?" Lyra's voice was filled with a mixture of fear and excitement. "I've never seen a skill like this! You're not using Art-Physics... you're using Anti-Physics!"
"Leveling up is hungry work," Vane said, his shroud expanding. "And a Rank 7 hunter is a very big meal."
Lyra laughed, her white hair swirling wildly. "A Level 15 brat thinks he can eat me? Don't make me laugh! You survived one hit, but can you survive a thousand?"
She began to move. She became a blur of red light, circling Vane at a speed that created a massive whirlpool. Every time she passed him, she fired a "Kinetic-Bolt" from her spear.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
Vane was hit repeatedly. His black skin rippled as the red bolts exploded against his body.
[Warning!]
[Host's Physical Integrity: 70%] [Host's Physical Integrity: 62%] [Warning: Kinetic damage is bypassing the Shroud.]
I can't catch her, Vane realized, his mind working with the cold efficiency of the System. She is too fast. Her 'Scent-Pathing' allows her to predict my movements before I even make them. To kill a hunter, I have to stop being the 'Prey' and become the 'Trap'.
"System," Vane commanded. "Use the 'Emerald Green' pigment I stored from the knights. [Render]!"
[Command Accepted.] [Summoning: The Emerald Slasher (Enhanced).]
Suddenly, the black whirlpool around Vane was injected with a shot of vibrant green. The [Emerald Slasher] manifested not as a beast, but as a "Liquid-Fog." It dissolved into the water, turning the surrounding hundred meters into a murky, green haze.
Lyra's speed slowed down. "A fog? You think a visual-obstruction will stop me? I don't use my eyes, brat! I use my nose!"
She lunged through the fog, her spear aimed at Vane's heart.
But as she pierced the "Vane" in front of her, the body dissolved into black ink. It was a [Decoy].
"What—?!"
"You smell the 'Void', don't you?" Vane's voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once. "But what happens when the whole room smells like the Void?"
Vane stood in the center of the green haze, and he did something he hadn't tried before. He opened his "Ink-Well" completely. He didn't just use a skill; he bled his presence into the fog.
"[Sovereign's Territory: The Abyssal Ink-Cloud]!"
The green fog turned a muddy, terrifying black. The water became thick, like syrup. For Lyra, it was like trying to run through a swamp made of lead. Her "Kinetic-Burst" could no longer generate speed because the medium she was moving through was too "Heavy."
"My... my nose..." Lyra gasped, clutching her throat. "The scent... it's everywhere! It's suffocating me! I can't find the 'True' Vane!"
In the darkness of the ink-cloud, Vane moved. He didn't use speed. He used [Abyssal Needle].
He manifested ten thin, silent needles between his fingers. He didn't throw them. He "placed" them in the water.
"You like to chase 'Paths', Lyra?" Vane appeared behind her, his hand glowing with a cold, violet light. "Follow this one."
Lyra spun around, thrusting her spear, but Vane simply tilted his head. He grabbed the shaft of the spear and bit it.
CRUNCH.
The high-rank weapon, made of "Solidified Light," shattered like a cheap toy in Vane's obsidian teeth. He didn't just break it; he swallowed the red pigment, his eyes flashing with a sudden, violent surge of power.
[Pigment Absorbed: High-Grade 'Kinetic Crimson'.] [Level Up! Level 16... Level 17!] [Skill Evolved: 'Kinetic-Drain' (Passive).]
Lyra stood frozen, her broken weapon in her hand. For the first time in her life, she felt a "Fear" that went beyond physical death. She felt like she was standing in front of a predator that didn't just want to kill her, but wanted to delete her from history.
"Wait..." she whispered, her white hair matted with black ink. "I... I surrender. Don't eat me. I have information."
Vane stopped, his hand just inches from her throat. "Information?"
"The 'Sunken Gallery'," Lyra panted, her heart hammering against her ribs. "You're going there, aren't you? To clearing it? You can't. Not alone. The Radiant Wing Guild didn't just send me. They sent 'The Curator'. He's a Rank 8 Master of 'Structural Law'. He's already inside, turning the dungeon into a death-trap for you."
Vane's eyes narrowed. "A Rank 8?"
"He can turn the literal air into stone," Lyra said. "He will bury you in the 'First Canvas'. But... if you let me live... I can get you past the outer sentries. I know their 'Scent-Codes'. You need a scout, Vane. A 'Static' with power like yours? You're a king without a kingdom. Let me be your first... subject."
[Quest Triggered: The Sovereign's First Servant.] Objective: Spare Lyra and bind her to the Void. Reward: +10 Attribute Points, Accessory 'The Hunter's Collar'. Failure: Loss of a potential 'High-Tier' Summon base.
Vane looked at the woman. She was a Rank 7—a powerful asset. And he was entering a Second Ocean dungeon where the physics would be stacked against him.
"You want to serve the Void?" Vane asked, his voice a chilling whisper.
He reached out and touched her forehead. He didn't drain her. Instead, he forced a drop of his "Origin Ink" into her skin.
Lyra screamed as a black mark, shaped like a stylized eye, appeared on her brow. Her red suit began to darken, the crimson turning into a deep, regal maroon. Her white hair was streaked with black.
[Binding Complete.] [Lyra has become 'The Void-Hound'.] [Status: Soul-Bound to the Obsidian Sovereign.]
"My... my power..." Lyra looked at her hands. She felt "Heavier," but also "Sharper." She didn't smell like Burning Crimson anymore. She smelled like The Cold Moon.
She knelt in the water, her head bowed. "My life... belongs to the Sovereign."
Vane looked toward the horizon, where the massive, distorted shape of the Sunken Gallery was beginning to appear through the gloom. It looked like a giant, upside-down museum, half-buried in a trench of glowing, radioactive paint.
"Get up," Vane commanded. "We have a Curator to fire."
As the ghost ship approached the dungeon, the System flared one last time.
[Warning: You are entering the 'Sunken Gallery'.] [Physics status: Abstract.] [Survival Rate: 0.04%.]
Vane's smile was as wide as the abyss. "0.04%? Those are the best odds I've had all day."
The "Abyssal Reawakening" was no longer a secret. The Void had found its first soldier, and the Second Ocean was about to learn that some masterpieces are painted in the dark.