The Hollow Priest was gone, his smoke fading into the wind. But something stayed behind in Kael's chest—a strange energy. It felt cold and warm at the same time. Like someone had lit a fire in his bones.
Back at the Ember Guild base, Kael sat on his bed, staring at the system screen in front of him.
Kael – Level 11
Strength: 13
Agility: 14
Vitality: 12
Intelligence: 6
Willpower: 9
Soul: ???
[Stat Points: 1]
[New Item: Hollow Ring – +10% Resistance to Shadow Magic]
[New Trait Unlocked: Soul Awakening - Begin path to unlock the Soul stat.]
Kael stared at the line.
Soul Awakening
He tapped it.
Suddenly, the system screen turned black. Only one line of text remained.
Do you wish to awaken your Soul Stat?
Warning: This choice cannot be undone.
Kael hesitated. What was the Soul stat? No one had explained it, and he hadn't seen anyone else talk about it. But deep down, he knew this was important.
He took a deep breath.
"Yes."
The screen lit up. A sharp flash of white filled his vision. Then, everything went silent.
When Kael opened his eyes, he wasn't in his room anymore.
He stood in a white space. Empty. Endless.
A voice echoed around him—deep and calm, like distant thunder.
"You have touched the edge of the Abyss and stood your ground. You are ready to face your Soul."
Kael looked around. "Where am I?"
"This is the Inner Gate. Where your true self lives. To unlock your Soul Stat, you must pass the Trial of Self."
Before he could ask anything, the ground below him shifted. The light dimmed.
And suddenly, Kael was standing in a dark alley—the same alley from his childhood.
He recognized the smell. Mold. Trash. The dripping of water from broken pipes.
It was the slums.
But not just the slums—his slums. He saw his old home, a broken shack. And in front of him, a boy—skinny, with torn clothes, bruises on his face.
It was him. A younger Kael.
The boy looked up at him with tired, angry eyes. "Why are you here?"
Kael stepped forward. "This is the Soul Trial, isn't it?"
The boy glared. "You're not strong. You just got lucky. You think beating a few monsters makes you better than us?"
Kael was taken back. "I'm not better. I just didn't want to die a nobody."
The boy laughed. "You already were a nobody. You let them beat you. You let them starve you. You cried in the dark. Where was your power then?"
Kael clenched his fists. "I was a kid."
"Exactly," the boy snapped. "And I remember everything. The hunger. The fear. The silence. You wanted to run. You almost did."
Kael lowered his voice. "But I didn't."
The boy stared at him.
"I didn't run," Kael said again. "I stayed. I fought. Maybe I'm still weak, but I'm not afraid anymore."
The alley faded. The boy disappeared. The light returned.
The voice came back.
"Trial complete. Soul stat unlocked."
Kael woke up in his room, gasping.
His system screen reappeared.
Soul Stat Unlocked
Current Soul Level: 1
Your Soul influences special abilities, resistance to corruption, and growth speed in rare skills.
New Skill: Soul Sight (Passive)
Allows you to sense strong emotions and corruption in people or places.
Kael blinked. "Whoa…"
Later that morning, he met Ren in the training yard.
"You look different," Ren said.
Kael nodded. "I unlocked something new. The Soul stat."
Ren's eyes widened. "Seriously? That's rare. Most people never unlock it."
Kael explained the dream, the trial, and the new passive skill.
Ren looked thoughtful. "Soul Sight… that could help us track corrupted areas. Even people who've been touched by dark power."
Kael nodded. "I'll test it out."
That afternoon, Kael and Mira were sent to investigate a healer's clinic near the noble district. Rumors said the place was cursed—patients came out worse than when they went in.
As they entered, Kael's vision shifted slightly.
[Soul Sight Active]
He could see colors around people now—faint glows.
Green meant calm. Blue was sorrow. Red meant anger.
But around the healer… there was black mist.
Kael whispered, "He's corrupted."
Mira nodded. "You sure?"
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Yes. The Soul Sight shows it."
They waited until the healer was alone, then confronted him.
"Who are you working for?" Kael asked.
The man's calm smile dropped. "You shouldn't have come here."
He reached into a drawer and pulled out a black shard—glowing with Void energy.
Kael stepped forward. "That's Hollow Moon magic."
The healer laughed. "And soon, it will spread to every house in this district."
Kael acted fast. He used Shadow Step to close the gap, grabbed the shard, and crushed it in his hand.
Dark smoke burst from it—but Mira had already cast a barrier spell.
The healer screamed and passed out. His corruption faded.
[Corruption Source Removed – Soul XP +10]
Kael looked at Mira. "That was close."
Back at the guild, Elira examined the broken shard.
"This is a Void anchor," she explained. "These items act like seeds. Planted in the city, they spread corruption slowly."
She looked at Kael. "Without your Soul Sight, we never would've known."
Kael nodded. "So we start hunting these too?"
Ren agreed. "Yes. We stop the marks. We stop the seeds. Whatever the Hollow Moon is planning, we'll crush it before it grows."
That night, Kael sat by the guild window, watching the stars.
He had changed.
From a boy fighting rats in the slums…
To a hunter of shadows…
Now, he had a Soul. A deeper strength.
But the road ahead was still dark. The Hollow Moon wasn't finished.
And Kael would be ready.
End of Chapter 10