CHAPTER 139: I ALWAYS COME BACK ACTIVATED, THE SILHOUETTES IN THE VOID

[You have died.]

The message lingered in the void.

After being killed by the [Forsaken Lord], Sam saw only this panel.

And then, as if pulled from the brink of nothingness, he opened his eyes... and found himself surrounded by endless darkness.

"Huh..."

The darkness here felt familiar.

It resembled the [Forsaken Abyss], the same suffocating void he had entered before.

But this was different.

He didn’t know how or why... but it was heavier. More ancient. More oppressive.

Sam floated there, alone in the abyss. No sound. No movement.

Only one thing was clear, he had died. His body had been shattered. The [Forsaken Lord] had overwhelmed him.

But even in death, Sam didn’t panic. It wasn’t over.

He had a skill, [I Always Come Back]. A skill he hadn’t used until now since he never died.

But now, here he was, dead, and floating in this unknown darkness.

The question was... how did it activate? Was it automatic? Was there something he had to do?

Before he could think too deeply, a sudden chill surged through him.

His instincts roared to life. He looked around, and what he saw made him freeze.

"Oh..."

Countless eyes. Hundreds. No, thousands.

Glowing eyes emerged from the shadows, one after the other, blinking into existence like stars.

And behind each one was a figure, a silhouette hiding in the void.

None of them moved. None of them spoke. But they all stared at him, watching.

Their presence was overwhelming. Every gaze carried an aura far stronger than anything Sam had ever felt.

They weren’t like the [Forsaken Lords] or beasts he’d fought before.

These were something beyond. Something that shouldn’t be possible.

Yet despite their overwhelming presence, Sam felt no malice. No killing intent.

He didn’t understand who they were. But he felt something. A strange familiarity.

As if some part of him already knew.

Then, like a breath piercing silence, a new panel appeared.

[You can’t give up yet, Sam Walker!]

[Stay determined...]

The moment the message appeared, something clicked.

Ding!

["I Always Come Back" has activated.]

[We are eager to see what you might achieve, True Primordial.]

And just like that, his body grew numb. His thoughts faded.

He lost consciousness in the middle of the void.

...

Outside, barely a second had passed.

Sam’s body still lay where it had been destroyed.

The [Forsaken Lord] stood over it, reaching forward with a grin stretching across its monstrous face.

Its mouth grew wide, filled with rows of jagged teeth. It was preparing to eat Sam, just as it had promised.

But then—

Fwish! FWISH!

Thick aura erupted from Sam’s body. The Forsaken Lord paused.

A sudden explosion followed, BOOM!, as Sam’s aura blasted outward.

The light and force were so intense that the [Forsaken Lord] staggered back, shielding its eyes from the burst of power.

And in the middle of that explosion... Sam stood.

His wounds were healed. His body, once broken and crushed, had fully regenerated.

Aura flowed around him like wildfire, flickering with his affinities.

The Forsaken Lord stared at him, its gaze tightening.

"You..." it growled, "You just won’t die, will you?"

Sam’s feet shifted. His posture straightened.

He stood like a warrior reborn, glowing with energy, his presence brighter than ever.

"DO YOU NOT REALIZE," the [Forsaken Lord] shouted, fury building in its voice, "YOU CAN’T WIN! NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU COME BACK!"

Then, with a roar, the being lunged forward, its colossal fist brimming with abyssal energy.

"YOU ARE... STILL IN MY ABYSS!"

But Sam was ready this time. He didn’t hesitate.

He raised his [Primordial Sword], and swung it directly at the incoming fist.

Fwish! BOOM!

The moment their attacks collided, the impact echoed like thunder through the abyss.

A shockwave rippled through the sub-layer, shaking the very floor beneath them. Neither of them gave in.

But after a second... Sam pushed forward.

Slash!

His sword cut into the [Forsaken Lord]’s massive fist, splitting the thick skin and tearing straight through. Blood sprayed.

The [Forsaken Lord] took a step back, looking down at its wounded hand.

"...Huh?"

It didn’t scream or grow, it only stared at its hand in confusion.

"This... is not possible..."

The hand was nearly cleaved in two. The cut went deep.

It looked back at Sam, now standing tall and calm, his blade still raised.

The Lord narrowed its eyes. This wasn’t what it expected. Sam had grown stronger, even in its domain. Even in the Abyss.

And somehow... even though it was certain of its victory all this time, right now, Sam fought like an equal.

"No..." the Lord muttered, shaking its head, "I am still absolute in here."

Dark aura surged around its wounded hand. The flesh knit back together.

In mere seconds, the wound was gone.

BOOM!

A second burst of energy erupted from Sam.

His aura expanded again, surging with renewed power.

And this time... it brought light.

Colors shimmered from his affinities, illuminating the darkness.

He could see clearly now. He could see more than before. Including the figure before him.

[Light up the abyss, we are able to see now =)]

And then a panel appeared.

---

[Varkhaz, The Abyss Lord (Ultimate Lord)]

[Level: 70]

[Description: The sixth "Forsaken Lord", able to control the abyss, and pretty much has entire control inside of it, impossible to win in there.]

[Description: Impossible to win? Don’t make me laugh, keep going.]

---

Now that Sam could see, he looked at Varkhaz for the first time with full clarity.

The Abyss Lord stood five meters tall.

His skin was obsidian black, streaked with glowing crimson lines that pulsed like veins.

A vortex of dark aura spun around him. His armor wasn’t metal, it was a jagged, living carapace that grew from his own flesh.

His face had no mouth, until it split open down the center, revealing a monstrous maw filled with teeth.

And his eyes... two crimson slits, unblinking, locked on Sam.

"So you finally see me after all this time," Varkhaz said with a calm tone, lowering his stance, "I guess there’s no more reason to hold back. Let’s both go all out."

Fwish!

In a blink, they both charged forward.

Slash! Slash!

Their weapons collided in a frenzy of movement.

Sam dodged. Varkhaz countered. Sam struck again.

They moved like shadows in a storm.

Every swing, every attack, every blast of aura threatened to shatter the layer around them.

Varkhaz unleashed his skills.

ABYSS BEAMS!

Fwish!

Sam replied in kind.

TENDRILS OF OBLIVION!

Slash!

ABYSS CHAINS!

They erupted from the ground, trying to bind Sam, but he cut through them without hesitation.

Each of them kept trading blows. Power against power. Skill against skill.

Minute after minute passed.

And neither had fallen. Neither had faltered.

It was even. And then... Sam exhaled.

He’d had enough. This fight had gone on long enough.

He had already been pushed to the edge more times than he could count.

But this? This would be the last.

This [Forsaken Lord] was the final one.

Once he brought Varkhaz down... he could finally move on.

[Knowing that you are facing your strongest opponent yet fills you with determination.]

Sam vanished into the ground.

VOID RUSH!

He didn’t do it to hide. Not this time.

Because while underground, he began to focus his aura. To condense it. To prepare it.

This was why he trained so hard in the [Dimension of Time]. This was the second ability he created.

One that came from a skill not meant for battle, but transformed into something else entirely.

And now, with all that power concentrated and flowing through him...

He activated it.

SHADOW SURGE!