Chương 534: Chapter 503: The First One

Thalion swore as the darkness pulled him deeper and deeper, leaving him completely unable to move. Dissolving into darkness wasn't an option—he would simply be consumed. Shapeshifting wouldn't help either; it would end the same way. Even in his Eclipsari form, he couldn't fully resist. His skin and fingers were already beginning to dissolve, slowly absorbed into the abyss. Ignoring the pain, Thalion forced himself to think. What could he possibly do?

With every passing second, he absorbed more darkness than ever before—but it wasn't enough. If he didn't come up with something soon, he would be gone within minutes. He tried forming an armor of darkness, similar to what he had done with blood during the tutorial, but it vanished instantly. The first real help came from the elemental. It must have evolved from the massive amount of darkness he had absorbed, as it began to reform his skin—just barely.

Thalion was so focused on thinking that he barely registered the burning pain spreading through his chest. The situation was simply too dire. Could he have done something differently? Of course. But in that one moment, he had been caught off guard by the light and the pain it inflicted. One second—that was all it had taken to put him in this situation. Now, with hindsight, he felt like an idiot.

He began forcing as much darkness as possible into his body and skin—essentially body tempering, only this time not to grow stronger, but simply to slow the dissolution. He couldn't move at all. The dense currents of power tossed him around while dragging him deeper and deeper. The closer he got to the center, the faster his body broke apart. The worst part were his eyes. With no eyelids to protect them, the process was excruciating.

Still, he didn't care much—if he survived, they would regrow, and there was nothing to see in this absolute darkness anyway. The rapid body tempering slowed the process—but it didn't stop it. There was no way he could escape simply by absorbing everything. The amount of darkness surrounding him was far too vast. What he had absorbed so far probably wasn't even one percent. He would run out of flesh long before he ran out of darkness. No—his only hope was a mutation.

And so far, he had absorbed massive amounts since the last one. What irony, Thalion thought. Usually, I'm the one dissolving everything else. Here, his tendrils were completely useless. Come on… why aren't you triggering? he cursed inwardly as he was dragged closer to the center, his destruction accelerating again. What about the others? Couldn't they throw the crystal into the darkness? The thought flickered through his mind as the mutation still refused to trigger. His fingers were already gone.

Parts of his hands and legs were following. That alone wasn't the worst part—he couldn't protect his head, and it too was beginning to dissolve. He didn't have much time left. When cold calculation failed, Thalion switched to rage. He lashed out with tendrils in all directions, but they were consumed before they could even extend a meter from his body. Still, even if it achieved nothing, it gave him a small advantage—it protected his head just a little longer.

Maintaining the tendrils while constantly tempering his body pushed him to his limits. The only reason he was even able to keep absorbing more darkness was the elemental, which stored the energy in what felt like an enormous internal reservoir. Then—finally—it happened. His consciousness was torn into the void as the mutation triggered. The previous visions had felt almost calm, like watching a distant play. Not this time. This time, Thalion was dragged violently through the darkness, far deeper than ever before.

In earlier visions, he had barely been able to sense direction—but now it was clear. He was descending far beyond anything he had experienced before. The surrounding void vibrated with dormant power, massive fluctuations pulsing through the domain. Thalion had never encountered anything like it. He was certain the vision was dampening it for him—otherwise, he would have already lost consciousness. His body, if he still had one, would have been incinerated long ago. For a while, nothing happened.

It felt as though he was still being pulled further down. Then the void began to change. A massive maelstrom opened before him. It was impossible to judge its true scale, but it could have been a black hole—or something even greater. He couldn't even see where it ended. And then the vision dragged him straight into it. Luckily, he no longer had a physical body. He passed through it without being torn apart.

Something about his perception felt wrong—like he was skipping through space in sudden jumps while accelerating faster and faster. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The depth of it was far greater than its width. And the deeper he went the stronger it became. Thalion had no idea where he was—or how to even begin placing the level of power surrounding him. Was this the domain of S-grades? Of gods? Then he reached what felt like the absolute bottom…

and saw something that looked eerily similar to himself. It was an Eclipsari. But its body looked weak, almost fragile. The chitin armor was cracked and broken in many places, and one arm had been replaced entirely by dark metal engraved with glowing runes. Yet despite its battered appearance, its presence was something entirely different. If Thalion hadn't known better, he would have thought the being was cultivating. Then something happened that had never occurred in any of his previous visions.

The Eclipsari noticed him. Its head snapped toward him in a series of sharp, unnatural movements.

"Who are you? How can you be here?" Its voice sounded strained, as if immense pressure weighed down on it, and as it rose, it looked like it was carrying the weight of an entire world on its shoulders. Thalion had no idea what was happening—but if he could get something out of this vision, he would try. The problem was that he didn't have a body. Still, he attempted to speak.

"Uh… it's kind of a skill of mine. Who are you?" Not the best opening—but he really wanted to know what stood before him. Strangely enough, the being seemed to understand him perfectly.

"A skill… how interesting. There has been little of interest since I rebelled. You still haven't answered my question. Who are you?" That wasn't the response Thalion had expected—but maybe this wasn't a bad start.

"Name's Thalion. Though, if I'm being honest, you skipped your introduction as well." He wasn't sure if being that smug was a good idea, but he wanted information. A scratching sound escaped the Eclipsari's mouth—something Thalion interpreted as laughter.

"I have no name. Once, I was nothing more than a drone in a vast hive. A drone that rebelled—and, against all odds, became something far greater. Now they call me… the First One. Now tell me about yourself—and this skill." Now Thalion was interested. This was the first Eclipsari?

"Right now, I'm stuck in a mass of darkness that's dissolving me. Normally, the skill absorbs a large amount of darkness and sends me to the void, where I watch something—and then I gain a new ability. Before meeting you, I thought it was just a way to explain how the skill works… but there's clearly more to it."

"Agreed. There is definitely more to it," the First One replied.

"Tell me—what rarity is this skill, and what grade are you? It is… difficult for me to see." Thalion hesitated for a moment. Should he really tell this being something like that? On the other hand… if this truly was a god—then the information likely meant little to it.

"I'm early E-grade. And the skill is… divine." That got a reaction. A real one. The being's expression shifted, and a grin spread across its face, revealing rows of sharp, partly broken teeth.

"Divine… at E-grade…" the First One murmured.

"I cannot sense a blessing on you, which means you achieved this on your own. A god would never invest without gaining something in return. It pleases me to see that at least one of my… unfortunate offspring managed to surpass their limits." That last part didn't sit well with Thalion.

"Uh… this might be a bit confusing, but I'm actually human. The Eclipsari is just one of my forms." He figured honesty was the better option. If this continued, the truth would come out eventually—and he had no intention of irritating a god unnecessarily.

"Human? How? You do not look like one."

"I'm a shapeshifter. That's just one of my forms." That response made the creature laugh again—this time much longer.

"Good. Much better. I never liked my kin anyway. Soft. Weak. Pathetic." Thalion wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that, so he shifted the topic to something that had been bothering him for a while.

"Why does your body look so… weak? And what's with the metal arm?" That only made the First One laugh even harder.

"Someone calling me weak… that hasn't happened in a very long time. I like you more with every moment. As for why I look like this—it is because I choose to. I am no longer only a physical fighter. Overwhelming everything with brute force became… boring." Its gaze sharpened slightly.

"Now… it seems your time is running out, Thalion. You need to witness the skill to obtain it… correct?"

"Uh … I guess," Thalion replied, slightly dumbfounded as an overwhelming surge of power erupted from the First One, completely overpowering even the surrounding maelstrom.

"Interesting. Then let us see if you can copy this skill." The First One roared with excitement as power flared to life around him. When he spoke again, his voice carried raw, crushing authority.

"Transcendence Skill: Void Overlord." As the words echoed through the void, the First One began to rise, hovering at the center of the maelstrom. His aura expanded rapidly, growing so dense that it formed a shield around him, holding back the chaotic forces with ease. In that moment, Thalion no longer saw it as weak. Not even close. Especially not with that wide, almost feral grin stretching across it's face. Then the vision began to fade.

"We will meet again. I suspect you will seek out one of the great System Events for the young. Do not disappoint me." With those final words, everything vanished. Thalion reappeared in the System Event—only now, everything was different. The suffocating darkness that had been consuming him was gone entirely. A message appeared before his eyes. Void Overlord (Transcendence) You are the Overlord. As Overlord, all your abilities increase in lethality and power.

Your body evolves beyond its former limits, adapting to the will of the Void. Your affinity for darkness reaches its peak, allowing you to learn and wield abilities far beyond your current level. Nothing shall stand in your way. No queen shall ever force you into submission again. At first, Thalion barely registered the description, dismissing it as just another power-up—until he realized what had happened to his body. There was no pain. Everything was restored.

His limbs, his skin—even his eyes—completely regenerated, as if nothing had ever happened. A loud, furious screech tore him out of his thoughts.

"What have you done? Just what have you done?!" The little girl hovered nearby, staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. The crystal's light was clearly burning her, yet she ignored it entirely. Ricarda had lost an arm, but aside from that, she and Pikar seemed unharmed. The crystal's light, however, did nothing to Thalion. It simply dissipated before it could even touch his skin. Looking down at himself, he noticed subtle changes.

His body had developed additional spikes, and the dark, marble-like surface of his skin felt far denser—far stronger—than before. The massive sphere of darkness that had nearly killed him was truly gone. Thalion turned slowly, scanning the surroundings, but there was no trace of it left. Then it clicked. The darkness hadn't disappeared. It had been absorbed—partly into his body, and the rest consumed by his mutation, dragging him deep enough to encounter the First One. Well…

that's unfortunate, Thalion thought, a predatory grin spreading across his face. His aura flared outward. He felt stronger—far stronger—and there was a perfect test subject waiting for him. The girl still stared at him in shock, but now rage began to rise within her. Thalion didn't mind. Not at all. He activated Shadow Step—and this time, the difference was immediate. He moved faster. Much faster.

In an instant, he was already in front of her, so fast that she had no time to react as he swung down, his claws of living darkness fully unleashed.