Veilstone Lake had always been still.
Too still.
No birds. No fish. Not even insects.
Locals called it cursed.
Now Kael knew why.
[Nullus Sync: 23% → 28%][Deepborn Signal Detected: Class – Leviathan | Location: Veilstone Lakebed][Unlock Potential: Mount / Guardian / Region Corruption Catalyst]
Kael stood on the shore, his shadow dancing across the dark waters. Lira stood behind him, her staff trembling.
"I can't sense the bottom," she said. "There's something... ancient sleeping down there."
Zar snorted. "Let's wake it up."
Kael said nothing. His silver eyes fixed on the center of the lake.
Then he stepped onto the surface.
And the lake recoiled.
Beneath the Surface
With a single pulse of mana, Kael sank into the depths, shadows curling around his body like armor.
The deeper he went, the less light existed.
Until there was none.
Just a heartbeat.
Slow. Titanic.
Then—
"Invader… or Heir?"
The water turned black.
Tentacles larger than towers slithered into view. Rows of glowing eyes opened. Teeth like cities.
A leviathan.
[Deepborn Entity: Nýthelgor, the Abyss Maw][Rank: A-][Status: Dormant / Cognitive Locked / Host-Seeking][Offer Detected: Abyssmark Bearer – Kael]
Kael raised his hand, revealing the abyss sigil on his palm.
"I'm not your master. But I'm the only one who'll free you."
Leviathan Trial: Dread Dive
Kael was pulled into the creature's mind-sea — a realm of forgotten memories, of storms and drowned gods.
He swam through its madness, resisting the pull of obliteration.
[Mental Trial: Resist Leviathan Will][Progress: 72%]
SAGE echoed.
"Emotion threshold rising. Suggest projection of domination, not submission."
Kael roared into the void.
"You're not the only one who's drowned in darkness!"
He unleashed Abyss Manifest — channeling his future self's energy — and forced the sea to bend.
The beast howled.
[Trial Passed][Bond Created: Nýthelgor – Leviathan of Veilstone][Type: Deepborn Guardian / Mount / Abyssal Siege Beast][New Skill Gained: Leviathan Call – Summon Nýthelgor in battle (Cooldown: 3 days)]
Back to the Surface
The lake exploded upward, a vortex of water and shadows.
People screamed.
But Kael emerged — floating above — and behind him, Nýthelgor rose halfway from the water, coiling like a mountain of ink and muscle, watching silently.
Veilstone knelt.
Even Elandriel bowed her head in silence.
[Kael – Rank: C (Confirmed)][Reputation Shift: World-Tier Threat][New Title: Deepcaller of the Abyss][Effect: All nearby aquatic dungeons corrupted | Coastal kingdoms alerted]
Later, Kael stood at the shrine.
Zar laughed. "What next, Master? The sky?"
Kael stared north, where black clouds gathered over the mountains.
"No," he said calmly. "Next, the ones who buried the deep."