The apartment was smaller than the closet in his old suite.
Noctis dropped his backpack on the floor and contemplated his new reality. A narrow room with cracked plaster walls. A single window overlooking an alleyway where water dripped from rusty pipes. A sagging bed in the center. A kitchenette barely big enough to turn around in.
This was what his savings allowed him.
He had secretly saved three years' worth of allowances, knowing that his father would disapprove of him accumulating wealth like a commoner. Those savings had seemed substantial to him at the time.
Now, they barely covered the rent for the first and last month in the outer district, the part of town where failed Awakened and civilians barely survived.
He sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the ceiling.
A water stain spread across the plaster like a continent on a map. He traced its edges with his eyes, following the branches.
"That bastard."
His voice came out hoarse. Rough.
"How can anyone be so cruel?"
One day, in the span of a single ceremony, he lost everything.
His family. His status. His fiancée. Even his name, the Vale emblem, had been removed from all his possessions before they were unceremoniously handed over in this glorious shoebox.
The Vale Clan.
One of the most prestigious in the country. Founded by descendants of the First Generation Awakened Ones who closed the initial Abyssal Rifts. Famous for creating rare classes, unique abilities, and exceptional talents.
And him.
The supposed heir.
Officially classified as Classless.
A defect. A disgrace.
"Damn it all."
He clenched his fists and dug his nails into his palms until he felt the sting of broken skin. A warm thread traced lines across his fingers.
For several minutes, he let rage consume him. The humiliation of standing before that Pillar while remaining dark. The image of his father's back. The golden light had surrounded Kale—the distance in Elara's eyes.
Something dark began to settle in his chest.
Not sadness.
Resentment.
Finally, he exhaled slowly and forced his hands to relax.
He couldn't afford to lose control. Not now.
In a few hours, he would be dragged into the Abyss whether he wanted to or not. And the Abyss did not forgive weakness.
The First Descent into the Abyss was remarkably unpredictable. Some Awakened materialized in established Cities, where they could join groups and survive as a collective. Others appeared in vast deserts, monster-infested forests, or islands surrounded by aquatic Remnants.
Some materialized directly in the path of hunting herds.
For someone without Class, randomness was a death sentence.
If he were lucky, he would appear in a city.
If not...
Noctis closed his eyes.
For the first time since the ceremony, real fear overcame anger.
He opened his eyes and checked his phone. It was 11:20 p.m. The summons was for midnight. He had forty minutes.
He got out of bed.
The apartment was absurdly small. A window overlooked a damp alley where shadows moved in ways they shouldn't.
The heir to the Vale Clan, reduced to this.
He opened the small refrigerator and took out a packet of instant noodles, the only food he could afford after paying the rent.
He stared at him for several seconds.
He had never cooked before.
Not once.
There had always been chefs. Servants. Staff who took care of such mundane tasks. The idea of preparing his own food was as strange to him as swimming among rocks.
He took out his phone and searched for a tutorial. A three-minute video with a cheerful voice explaining something any child would know.
He watched silently.
He followed the steps with clumsy hands.
The water took too long to boil.
The steam fogged up his vision.
When he finally sat down to eat, the taste was mediocre at best.
But it was his.
He ate slowly, methodically. He didn't want to enter the Abyssinian on an empty stomach.
Although technically it wasn't his physical body that crossed over.
Only his spirit.
...Or, at least, that's what they taught.
When he finished, he checked the time again.
11:55 p.m.
Five minutes.
Five minutes until everything changed again.
He approached the window and gazed out at the city. It stretched out before him in layers: bright lights in the upper districts, where the Awakened lived in luxury, and dense shadows in the lower districts, where civilians and failures dwelled.
The proud Awakened.
A bitter expression crossed his face.
Until this morning, he had belonged to that world of light. Now he was just another discarded object waiting to be thrown into the unknown.
He turned away from the window.
The apartment seemed even smaller than before.
He returned to the bed and lay down, staring at the cracked ceiling.
11:57.
The silence became oppressive.
He tried to organize his thoughts, but only one question came to mind.
"Will I survive?"
11:59.
He closed his eyes.
And when the clock struck midnight, Noctis felt it.
His eyes flew open.
The world is distorted.
It wasn't painful, but it was a deep, visceral discomfort. His body felt as if it were being stretched and compressed simultaneously, as if a black hole were pulling him through a space too small for matter to exist.
The colors merged, then split into spectra his eyes were not designed to process. Sound became texture. Texture became light.
Then everything went dark.
...
..
.
[New Challenger confirmed]
[Identity ██ ❖❖ Verified]
The voice of the Abyss resonated with a strange familiarity.
Noctis blinked several times and found himself in deep darkness. He was no longer in his rented apartment.
And yet, he could see.
He looked up.
Above him stretched something indescribable: a vast, infinite network, as if the sky itself were woven with invisible threads connecting all things. Patterns within patterns. Meanings within meanings. A network that seemed to encompass everything and nothing at the same time.
He tried to focus on it.
For a moment, he thought he understood.
The next moment, there was nothing.
As if his mind were not made to perceive such things. As if understanding itself were a luxury his consciousness could not afford.
Then the familiar, kind voice of the AAbyssechoed again:
[You, Challengers, chosen by the AAbyssto explore and unravel its secrets. In this place, the limits of your potential will be tested.]
Noctis remained silent.
He knew this speech. Every Awakener heard it when they were first summoned. A standard message. As if the AAbyssdid not address individuals, but resources.
Noctis clenched his teeth slightly. The message did not fill him with pride, only a cold pressure in his chest.
The voice continued, and this time its tone seemed to change. Not more solemn. Not more grandiloquent. Heavier... and strangely cynical.
[Within these vast lands, full of creatures and mysteries, there are cities where you can find refuge, and "Return Points" that will allow you to return to reality.]
Shelter.
Beautiful words.
Noctis swallowed hard.
He wasn't asking for much. Not to wake up in a lost forest. It wasn't an unreasonable ambition.
Just solid ground and high walls.
Was that too much to hope for?
The voice paused, a silence that did not seem accidental.
Then, the voice from the aAbyssspoke again.
[However, remember the Law of the Chain. All power comes with a bond. The Abyss grants no gift without claiming a part of your being. Every awakened Class possesses an absolute weakness: a flaw engraved upon your soul. The power you possess is, in essence, your own chain.]
A chill ran down Noctis' spine.
The Law of the Chain? Absolute weakness? A flaw engraved on the soul?
On Earth, the Awakened were celebrated as prodigies. Heroes. Almost divine figures. Governments granted them privileges.
No one had mentioned that.
No one.
...And that was impossible.
Because no one follows a god if they discover that he also bleeds.
If every Class had a chain... Then what was he?
The voice from the Abyss continued:
[Your status rune will record your progress and the skills you develop. So, Challenger... Explore, discover, and... survive.]
The cold reached his hands. A fine sweat covered his back.
Explore, survive, and discover.
Beautiful words again.
Where would it appear? In the middle of an infested forest?
On an island surrounded by aquatic Remnants?
Or worse, too close to something that was already waiting for him?
Then the world distorted again.
The uncomfortable sensation returned: his body compressed and stretched, folding through dimensions that should not exist. The infinite web unraveled. The darkness fractured.
Everything disappeared.
...
When he regained consciousness, he was standing.
A dark room.
Black brick walls covered in damp moss.
The air smelled of old stone and confinement.
The voice echoed one last time.
[Challenger... Welcome to the Abyss.]