Chapter Two: The Catalyst and the Fall
Jinwoo, the one who had always stood firm, a wall against the monstrous hordes. He remembered Jinwoo's booming laughter after a successful raid, the way he'd clap Minwoo on the shoulder, a silent acknowledgment of his contribution. "You held the line, kid," he'd often say, his approval a rare but cherished thing. Jinwoo, one of the last five, whose sturdy build and initial Tanker awakening had made him a reliable protector, now lay lifeless near the desecrated Gyeongbokgung Palace. Betrayal in Game VIII had been a calculated move. This felt different to Minwoo, colder. More… strategic.
A grotesque amalgamation of shadow and claws lunged, merging with Jinwoo's convulsing form. The [CATCHER] tag blazed crimson above his head, the [HOST BODY EXPIRATION TIMER: 87 SECONDS] a stark countdown to oblivion. The hunt began, a desperate scramble for survival as the infected Jinwoo pursued the remaining four. "Jinwoo, stop! Please!" Soojin's voice was filled with terror as the infected Jinwoo pursued them. The System flashed updates – [WAVE 2 CONCLUDED. CASUALTIES: 17] – a grim tally. The secondary objective ticked down – [TIME REMAINING: 03:12:58].
A fragile sense of relief washed over the remaining four. Baek Joonho, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes, sheathed his massive gauntlets. He didn't even glance at Jinwoo's fading form, a cold efficiency that sent a shiver down Minwoo's spine. It was as if Jinwoo had been nothing more than an obstacle to be removed. Chul, a smug grin spreading across his face, the [CONFIDENCE BUFF ACTIVATED] practically radiating from him, sheathed his bloodied blades. "Looks like we made it," he said, his voice laced with a chilling nonchalance. Soojin recoiled slightly from Chul, a subtle movement that didn't go unnoticed by Minwoo. There was a flicker of disgust in her eyes.
Then, the System glitched, resolving into an ominous red: [EMERGENCY SIDE QUEST INITIATED: SURVIVE THE CATALYST OUTBREAK.] [WARNING: SYSTEM INSTABILITY DETECTED.] Confusion and dread rippled through the remaining four. Minwoo saw the confusion etched on Soojin's face, a silent question mirroring his own. She reached out, her fingers brushing his arm, a fleeting touch of shared fear. A side quest? Now? A stark message overlaid the chaos: [SEVEN CATALYSTS AWAKEN.] [ANGER - LEVEL ??? IMMINENT.] The words hung in the air, heavy with foreboding. "What in the hell is that thing?" Chul spat, his initial smugness replaced by a flicker of alarm.
A figure shimmered into existence nearby, radiating an almost palpable heat of pure rage. The [CATALYST OF ANGER - LEVEL ???] tag pulsed with malevolent energy. It moved with impossible speed. Chul, his Assassin instincts failing him, didn't even have time to react. A claw wreathed in incandescent flames ripped through his chest, the brutal notification [TARGET ELIMINATED: KIM CHUL (SHADOW WALKER - ASSASSIN)] a stark testament to its power. Minwoo's eyes widened in disbelief. Chul, the arrogant survivor, gone in an instant. He hadn't even seen it coming.
The catalyst turned its burning gaze towards Kang Taesoo. With a roar of defiance, the legendary Swordmaster charged, his [BLADE AURA (PASSIVE SKILL ACTIVATED)] intensifying. He landed a blow, a deep gash appearing on the catalyst's arm, but the accompanying [DAMAGE RESISTANCE: HIGH] notification offered little comfort. The catalyst retaliated with terrifying speed and force. Kang Taesoo staggered back, a dark stain blooming on his chest, the frantic [LIFE FORCE CRITICAL] warning flashing insistently. Then, with a final, pained look in his direction, he collapsed. "Minwoo... survive..." he rasped, his voice barely a whisper. [TARGET ELIMINATED: KANG TAESOO (SWORDMASTER - FIGHTER)]. Minwoo's heart shattered. His father, the pillar of their small group, fallen. The weight of his loss was a crushing blow, a physical ache in his chest.
The catalyst, its fiery gaze now solely fixed on him and the terrified Soojin, took a lumbering step forward, molten rock cracking beneath its immense weight. Time seemed to slow. He reached within himself, desperation clawing at his insides, and focused on the only thing that might give them a chance. The [Rune of the Dragon King (Unique)] flared to life in his trembling hand.
[Rune of the Dragon King (Unique)]
*An ancient rune pulsating with latent dragonic energy. Grants immense power upon activation, drawing upon the user's mana and life force. Prolonged or excessive use can lead to irreversible life force depletion and death. Bound to the soul of a fallen Dragon King.
He remembered the ominous description, the stark warning about its life-consuming nature. But with the Catalyst looming, its heat radiating in oppressive waves, and Soojin's small frame trembling beside him, defenseless, he had no other choice. With a guttural cry that tore at his throat, he unleashed its energy. [RUNE OF THE DRAGON KING ACTIVATED.] [MANA CONSUMPTION: EXTREME.] [WARNING: LIFE FORCE DRAIN DETECTED.] A searing wave of power coursed through him, but with it came an agonizing burning sensation, as if his very essence was being consumed, leaving him hollow and brittle.
Then, amidst the agonizing drain, a message flashed across his vision: [UNIQUE ITEM ACQUIRED: SHARD OF THE FORMER KING'S AUTHORITY.] [SHARD OF THE FORMER KING'S AUTHORITY WISHES TO COMBINE WITH RUNE OF DRAGON KING. PROCEED? YES/NO]. Driven by a desperate instinct to survive this self-inflicted wound, a primal urge to not fade into nothingness, he willed [Yes].
A cataclysmic wave of energy ripped through him, tearing through bone and sinew, yet somehow invigorating him with a dark, alien power. The agonizing drain intensified, pushing him to the absolute brink of oblivion, his vision tunneling, the sounds of the ruined city fading to a dull roar. Then, impossibly, it shifted. His vision cleared, the familiar blue aura that had always surrounded him replaced by a swirling vortex of abyssal black, tendrils of shadow coiling around his limbs like living ink. [RUNE OF THE DRAGON KING HAS EVOLVED!] [NEW RUNE ACQUIRED: SHADOW DRAGON'S FURY (MYTHIC)]. [AURA SHIFT DETECTED: SHADOW AFFINITY INCREASED.] The life force drain, impossibly, seemed to stabilize, no longer tearing at his core, but drawing instead upon a newfound, seemingly bottomless well of dark energy. He felt a power he had never known, a terrifying strength born from sacrifice and desperation, a cold, alien presence settling within him.
He roared, a sound ripped raw from his throat, echoing the Catalyst's furious bellow that vibrated the very stones beneath his feet. He lunged, his body still screaming from the life force drain, a cold dread clinging to his bones, yet propelled forward by a desperate surge of adrenaline and the volatile Shadow Dragon's Fury. Forget the measured, precise movements of a studious Archmage; this was a frantic, primal dance of survival against an elemental inferno. He didn't just cast [Shadow Bolt]; he unleashed them – jagged shards of abyssal energy tearing through the superheated air, leaving trails of dark, acrid smoke. Each impact against the Catalyst's fiery form sent molten fragments showering outwards, forcing the creature to stumble back with a hiss of displaced flame. The air crackled and warped, the clash of shadow and fire creating pockets of shimmering distortion.
The Catalyst, a towering behemoth of pure, untamed rage, swiped a claw wreathed in incandescent flames – a hand easily the size of a small car. Minwoo, his amplified agility a desperate blessing, twisted his body, the heat searing the hair on his head as the claw passed inches from his face. The stench of burning ozone filled his nostrils. He retaliated with a [Shadow Strike], not a simple magical attack, but a desperate, lunging melee strike. He channeled the oppressive darkness, solidifying it into a blade of pure night that extended from his fingertips. The shadowy edge shrieked as it met the Catalyst's fiery hide, a sound like grinding obsidian against glass, leaving a smoking, black gash that momentarily flickered and dimmed the creature's raging inferno. Tendrils of shadow magic, no longer mere bindings but writhing, sentient vipers of darkness, erupted from his palms, lashing out with surprising speed to ensnare the Catalyst's massive, clawed limbs. The creature bellowed in incandescent frustration, its immense strength straining against the shadowy bonds, the black tendrils groaning under the pressure, but they held for precious, agonizing seconds.
He knew the fragile hold wouldn't last. Scrambling onto a jagged chunk of shattered concrete, the rough edges digging into his already weakened hands, he clawed at the chaotic energies of the Shadow Dragon's Fury within him. The air around him rippled and distorted, the very light bending as raw power surged. The Catalyst, its fiery eyes burning with focused, primordial hatred, ripped free from the shadow tendrils with a tearing sound like fabric rending. It unleashed a torrential wave of molten fire, a searing flood that threatened to engulf everything. Minwoo, his throat raw, unleashed his amplified elemental magic, now corrupted and empowered by the abyss. It wasn't a controlled spell, but a violent expulsion of pure shadow – a nascent [Shadow Nova] erupting outwards as a swirling vortex of absolute darkness. The black vortex slammed into the wave of fire in a cataclysmic explosion of light and shadow, a shockwave that slammed into Minwoo, stealing his breath and throwing shards of debris against his battered body. The ground shuddered violently beneath him.
Using the split second of disorienting chaos, Minwoo propelled himself towards the Catalyst's monstrous head, the twin, horn-like protrusions his desperate target. The creature, still reeling from the impact of the Shadow Nova, roared again, a sound of pure, unadulterated agony, and flailed a burning arm. He was too fast, too fueled by the primal need to survive. He launched himself onto its skull, his weakened hands finding purchase on the rough, volcanic-like surface. He slammed his palms onto the base of the horns, channeling the last dregs of his stolen life force, a chilling coldness spreading through his veins, and the raw, untamed power of the Shadow Dragon. Shadowy energy, black as a starless void, erupted from his touch, crackling and tearing at the Catalyst's very essence, like a parasitic growth consuming its host from within. A shriek of pure, unadulterated agony, a sound that promised the utter annihilation of its being, ripped from the creature, echoing across the ruined cityscape as the notification [CATALYST OF ANGER - DEBUFF APPLIED: POWER -30%] flickered into his vision. The Catalyst staggered, its towering fiery form sputtering and dimming like a dying ember caught in a sudden gust of wind, before finally collapsing into a smoldering heap that hissed and crumbled into black ash.
Silence descended, heavy and absolute, broken only by Minwoo's ragged, pain-filled gasps that tore at his burning lungs and the distant, unsettling groans of the ruined city. The chilling echo of the life force drain still clung to him, a profound weakness that threatened to send him spiraling into unconsciousness, a stark and terrifying reminder of the terrible price of his desperate survival. [SYSTEM: CATALYST OF ANGER ELIMINATED. BONUS EXPERIENCE GAINED!]
[EXPERIENCE POINTS GAINED: +31,600]
[LEVEL UP!]
[NAME: KANG MINWOO]
[TITLE: SURVIVOR OF THE HUNDREDTH FLOOR]
[LEVEL: 95]
[CLASS: SHADOWMAGE]
[HP: 1 / 3800]
[MP: 8500 / 8500]
[STRENGTH: 210]
[AGILITY: 227]
[INTELLIGENCE: 785]
[VITALITY: 260]
[SENSE: 270]
[REMAINING STAT POINTS: 5]
He turned, his body trembling violently, clinging to the last vestiges of his life force, desperate to reach Soojin. He found her near the silent waters of the Cheonggyecheon Stream, but the sight that greeted him stole the air from his lungs. A gaping hole ripped through her stomach. Her eyes were wide and vacant.
...The System displayed a stark truth: [LIFE FORCE: 0%]. The [INTERNAL BLEEDING (SEVERE)] debuff had run its course. The weight of Kang Taesoo's death had been crushing. But this… this was the silence after her gentle laughter, the emptiness where her quiet strength had resided. He remembered the warmth of her healing touch, the reassuring presence beside him in countless dangerous dungeons. He remembered the soft smile she'd offer after a particularly brutal fight, a silent promise that they would endure. This was a different kind of despair, a cold, empty void that threatened to swallow him whole. The echo of betrayal had faded, replaced by the deafening silence of irreversible loss.