The Abyss opened wider than ever before, a cathedral of black stone and void. The trio stood on a jagged cliff that overlooked an impossible expanse — a vast arena etched with sigils of corruption, strewn with bones and shattered banners of long-dead Divers.
A foul wind blew upward. Not a breeze, but a breath.
They weren't alone.
Chapter 8.1
"It's here," Reinhart said grimly, hand tightening around the haft of his warhammer.
Below them, at the heart of the abyssal arena, lay a monstrous silhouette — slumped, unmoving, yet breathing. Its ribcage rose and fell with a sound like grinding stone. Its tail, a length of metal and flesh, twitched against the rocks with unsettling rhythm.
The Corrupted King Thresher.
Subaru narrowed his eyes. "It's asleep. For now."
Julius's flames danced on his fingertips. "Then let's wake it up with a warm hello."
"No." Reinhart raised a hand. "We don't rush this. We learn it. We bleed for it — just enough to come back stronger. This fight isn't for now. This fight is to understand death — so we can live."
"Damn," Julius muttered. "That sounded cooler than it should've."
But Subaru nodded. "Agreed. If we're to reach Level 3… it begins here."
Chapter 8.2
They descended slowly, hugging the cavern walls, shadows cloaking their forms. Julius summoned flickers of heat to melt handholds into the stone, while Subaru quieted the wind around their steps. Reinhart moved like iron — silent, deliberate, heavy with resolve.
Halfway down, the Thresher stirred. A hiss escaped its throat — wet, ancient, almost curious.
Then it looked up.
A vertical slit of a pupil burned through the dark. Not blind rage — but awareness. A mind behind the hunger.
Reinhart whispered, "Too late. It's already found us."
The monster erupted from its pit in a roar of snapping jaws and whipcrack limbs, claws lashing through the air with earthshaking force.
Chapter 8.3
The fight was not fair.
The Corrupted King Thresher moved like liquid death — faster than its size should allow, jaws crushing stone with ease, tail slicing the air like a blade. It took all three to just stay alive.
Reinhart tanked the first blow, his hammer parrying the thresher's bite by inches — but the shockwave threw him into a wall, shattering stone and ribs alike.
Julius retaliated with a burst of the Rising Flame, blasting a wave of fire that scorched the beast's side — only to be slapped aside by a tail strike that split the cavern floor beneath him.
Subaru weaved through the chaos, his galebreath forming slicing winds that cut tendon and scale — until a second jaw lashed out from beneath the beast's throat and bit through his shoulder.
Blood sprayed.
Pain exploded.
But none of them stopped.
Because this wasn't the end.
This was the test.
Chapter 8.4
The cavern trembled with their clash.
Reinhart, bruised and bloodied, rose once more, shadows dancing like armor around him. "We hold!" he roared.
Julius gritted his teeth, face contorted with fury and pain. "We burn this monster into legend!"
Subaru, arm limp and bleeding, called on the last of his gale. His wind didn't howl now — it whispered. "We're not dying here. Not before Level 3."
Together, they formed a triangle, surrounding the Thresher.
It roared in frustration — not just at their strength, but their refusal to fall.
They didn't defeat it — not yet.
But they survived.
Barely.
The Thresher growled, blood dripping from its many jaws, and retreated into the dark.
Watching.
Waiting.
Chapter 8.5
The three of them collapsed onto the bloodied stone floor, silent for a long moment.
Then Julius chuckled — a dry, cracked sound. "Okay. That was worse than a Megurger shortage."
Reinhart coughed up blood and smiled faintly. "We're not dead. That means we're not done."
Subaru stared up at the ceiling, voice ragged. "One more fight. That's all we need. We're almost there."
The Abyss around them responded to their will — the air thickening, magic stirring in unseen currents. Their auras shimmered, fracturing and reforming as something deep inside them began to shift.
They were on the cusp.
Level 3 awaited.
But the King would return.
And next time… only one would walk away.