Aaron’s Trial – The Abyss Throne
"I’m here to collect my interest for you stepping out of line," Aaron said fluidly, his voice carrying the weight of iron. His eyes locked onto the Abyss God’s without the slightest trace of fear.
"Interest?" the deity replied, his tone calm but edged with disdain. "And for what exactly?"
"Aaron Highborn," Aaron answered. "You sent someone after him despite him being under my care. Why?"
The Abyss God leaned back on his throne, expression half-bored. "Let’s just say... I was helping with a friend’s request."
Aaron’s lips curved into a grin, sharp as a blade. "Friend’s request? More like your master’s command. You’re nothing but an obedient dog."
"Hah!" The Abyss God laughed once, but there was no warmth in it. The smile plastered on his face never reached his eyes. "And here I thought you might prove intriguing."
In an instant, he vanished.
So fast! Even Aaron’s sharpened senses struggled to follow his movement.
"You may be strong," the Abyss God whispered, his voice chillingly close, "but you are nowhere near powerful enough to fight me."
He reappeared at Aaron’s back, a spear of bone materializing in his hand. The weapon pulsed with corrosive abyss energy, its tip inches from Aaron’s heart.
The strike was intercepted mid-thrust. A dagger of living shadow shimmered into existence, parrying the bone spear effortlessly.
"How rude of you to interrupt me while I was still speaking," Aaron said casually. Without sparing the god a glance, he continued walking forward, stopping at the now-vacant throne.
He turned and lowered himself into the seat with natural ease, lounging as though he had always belonged there.
"Now this feels more appropriate," Aaron remarked, resting an arm across the throne’s edge. His expression was calm, almost indifferent, even as the Abyss God’s face twisted with fury.
"You! What do you think you’re doing?!" the deity roared, shadows around him writhing violently.
"What does it look like?" Aaron replied smoothly. "I’m doing the natural thing. Now, back to the matter of interest." His voice hardened. "At first, I planned to wipe out half of every abyss creature in this dungeon and leave it at that. A warning."
He leaned forward slightly, eyes glinting with crimson light. "Touch any of my kin again, and I’ll rip out your gut and feed it to you."
The Abyss God’s aura surged with rage, but Aaron didn’t stop. "But... I’ve changed my mind. Considering the poor hosts you call kin, and your own pitiful conduct, I had to reconsider. I heard you were looking for the dungeon key. Isn’t this it?"
With a flick of his wrist, a blackened relic materialized in his hand—the very key his parents had hidden. He dangled it before the god’s eyes.
"You!" For the first time, the Abyss God’s composure shattered. His form blurred as he lunged, this time abandoning casual testing. The bone spear reappeared, aimed directly at Aaron’s throat with murderous intent.
The weapon was stopped once again by the same dagger of darkness. Its wielder remained unseen, but the parry carried effortless precision.
The Abyss God recoiled a step, eyes narrowing. "Who the hell are you?! Show yourself!"
He threw out his hand, pulling the abyssal energy of the chamber into a dense sphere of destructive power. The ball shot forward with a shriek, warping the air as it barreled toward Aaron.
A void-like portal of shadow opened lazily before the old man, swallowing the blast whole. Not even an echo remained.
"Tch!" The Abyss God snarled. Dozens of corrosive orbs spun into being around Aaron, linking together in a tightening net. With a gesture, the net collapsed inward from all directions, a cage of annihilation.
Aaron, however, remained seated upon the throne, not even raising a finger. His expression was calm, bordering on amused.
The unseen dagger moved again. One swing—clean, decisive. The moment the blade touched the net, the entire construct collapsed inward, devoured by its own impact point until nothing remained.
Aaron chuckled. "You really sold me something good, System. I miss the good old days when you rewarded me with gems ." His gaze lingered on the invisible guardian. "A god-rank shadow guardian... stronger than most can imagine."
[Of course. Among god-rank rewards, there are disparities. The Shadow Guardian belongs to the upper tier, bordering sovereign rank.]
Aaron rolled his eyes. "Can you live a day without bragging?"
[Guess I’m picking up your bad habits.]
He smirked, shameless. "No need to thank me. But if you insist, you can always reduce my sentence."
Even the system fell silent at his brazenness.
Aaron turned his attention back to the deity, who had already tried nearly every attack within his arsenal. Yet time and again, each attempt was thwarted, swallowed by the shadow guardian Aaron had ordered into pure defense.
"You won’t tell me about the key?" Aaron asked, raising a brow. "Very well. I’ll ask someone else."
His eyes glowed faintly golden as the Phantom Mask activated, twisting his aura in the sight of others. He pointed toward an abyss kin trembling near the wall. "What’s this key for?"
The creature stiffened under compulsion, words spilling out against its will. "It... it opens the hidden chambers where the core rests. With it, our god can seize the core... use it to break us free—"
The abyss god lashed out instantly, crushing his own kin into nothingness before it could finish.
Aaron smirked, mocking. "Thought you didn’t want me hurting your kin? Or is it that you wanted to kill them yourself?"
The Abyss God said nothing, his fury masked by cold calculation. But inside, his evaluation of Aaron shifted drastically. This was no longer a mere human. This was a threat—one that had to be annihilated.
Aaron rose smoothly from the throne, golden eyes gleaming. His aura rippled outward like waves on still water, probing deeper into the abyssal fortress. The most update n0vels are published on Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
"Anyway," he said, voice chilling in its calmness, "I already know what I need. And I’ve thought of the perfect punishment for you."
His senses spread wider, searching, feeling, hunting. Somewhere within the castle, the vault stirred—waiting.