Kael stood over the lifeless body of the shadow creature, his chest heaving with ragged, painful breaths. His entire body ached, every muscle trembling with exhaustion, every wound burning with a relentless, throbbing pain that seemed to radiate from his very bones. Blood dripped from his arms, his legs, soaking his tattered clothes, pooling on the ground beneath him. The adrenaline that had fueled his fight was fading, leaving behind a deep, bone-weary exhaustion that made it hard to think, hard to move.

He knew he couldn’t stay here. The clearing felt cold and empty, the air heavy with the metallic scent of blood, the silence oppressive. The warmth of the Void Shard’s power was still there, still pulsing faintly within him, but it was fading, its energy slowly draining away, leaving him weaker, more vulnerable with every passing second. He had to get back to the portal, had to get out of this realm before the last vestiges of the Shard’s strength left him.

Kael took a deep, shuddering breath, his vision blurring, his legs trembling beneath him. The portal wasn’t far—he remembered its position relative to the boundary mist and the clearing where he had fought the shadow creature. But even a short distance seemed insurmountable in his current state. Every step felt like a monumental effort, his limbs heavy, his body screaming in protest with every movement.

He took one slow, painful step, then another, his grip tightening on the broken, bloodied club. He couldn’t afford to be careless, couldn’t afford to let his guard down, not even now. There could be more creatures lurking in the shadows, more dangers waiting to pounce the moment he showed weakness. He forced himself to keep moving, each step a struggle, his breaths coming in ragged, shallow gasps.

The forest seemed darker now, the shadows deeper, the air colder. The world around him felt... unreal, as if it were fading, unraveling at the edges. He could feel the Shard’s power slipping away, the strength it had given him dwindling, leaving him exposed, fragile. His vision wavered, the trees around him blurring, the ground shifting beneath his feet.

He stumbled, his legs buckling, his body pitching forward. He caught himself against a tree, his hand scraping against the rough bark, a sharp pain flaring through his arm. He clenched his teeth, forcing himself to stand, to keep moving. The portal wasn’t far. He could make it. He had to make it.

Kael’s heart pounded in his ears, the sound deafening, drowning out everything else. The pain was overwhelming, a constant, unrelenting pressure that made it hard to think, hard to breathe. His wounds throbbed, his skin hot and feverish, his head spinning. He felt like he was walking through a nightmare, each step slow, heavy, every movement a battle against his own body.

He could feel the edges of his vision going dark, a cold numbness creeping up his limbs. He swayed, his legs trembling, his body swaying unsteadily. The ground seemed to shift beneath his feet, the world tilting, spinning. He blinked, trying to clear his vision, but the darkness only grew, swallowing the forest, the trees, the ground beneath him.

I can’t... I can’t fall. The thought was distant, almost dreamlike, a faint echo in the back of his mind. He knew, with a cold, terrible certainty, that if he fell, if he stopped moving, he wouldn’t get back up. He would lie here, in this cold, dark place, and bleed out, his life seeping away into the earth, his body left to rot in the shadows of this alien world.

He stumbled again, his knee slamming into the ground, the impact jarring, sending a shock of pain through his body. He gasped, his vision blurring, his breath coming in short, desperate gasps. The world seemed to spin, to blur, the darkness closing in, pressing down on him, crushing him.

But he couldn’t fall. He couldn’t give up. Not now. Not after everything he had fought for, everything he had endured. He had to get back, had to get through the portal, had to survive. He had to. For himself. For the faint, desperate hope that he could be something more, something stronger.

With a shuddering breath, he forced himself to his feet, his legs trembling, his body swaying. The ground seemed to tilt beneath him, the forest blurring, shifting, the trees a dark, indistinct mass. He could barely see, could barely think, the pain, the exhaustion, the cold, gnawing emptiness inside him all blending together, a suffocating, crushing weight that threatened to pull him down, to drown him.

But he kept moving, each step a struggle, each breath a battle. He pushed forward, his gaze fixed on the distant, faintly visible glow of the portal, the only light in the dark, the only hope in the endless, suffocating shadows.

The portal shimmered before him, its swirling purple energy casting a faint, eerie glow across the clearing. Kael stumbled into the open space, his legs nearly giving out beneath him. He swayed, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his vision darkening at the edges. The portal seemed to flicker, its light dimming, the energy within it pulsing weakly, as if it, too, was fading, unraveling. Panic surged through him, a sharp, electric jolt that sent adrenaline racing through his veins. He had to reach it, had to get through before it was too late. But his body felt like lead, every muscle heavy, unresponsive, his limbs trembling with the effort of holding himself upright.

Kael took a step forward, his body trembling, his mind a haze of pain and exhaustion. The portal loomed before him, a swirling vortex of light and shadow, a gateway back to the basement, back to... safety. The sight of it was almost unbearable, the shimmering light a cruel, tantalizing promise of relief just out of reach. Each step felt like a league, his legs trembling, his body swaying as he fought against the pull of gravity, against the crushing, overwhelming urge to just lie down, to let the darkness take him.

He reached out, his hand trembling, his fingers brushing the cool, crackling surface of the portal.

For a heartbeat, everything seemed to still, the world holding its breath, and then—

The world around him fell away, the pain, the fear, the exhaustion all fading, all dissolving into a strange, weightless silence. He felt... nothing, a deep, empty void that seemed to stretch on forever, a darkness that swallowed everything, that consumed everything.

A soft, almost imperceptible hum filled the air, the sound vibrating through his bones, resonating through his mind, through his soul. The Void Shard pulsed within him, its energy thrumming, a faint, rhythmic beat that seemed to echo the beat of his own heart, the surge of his own blood. He could feel it, the strange, dissonant power that flowed through him, that filled him, that had driven him to fight, to survive, to win.

Realm Cleansed...

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Realm Energy Extracted...

Refining...

Then, with a sudden, jarring lurch, he was pulled through.

The basement was dark, the air cold and damp, the stone floor rough beneath his knees as he collapsed, his body trembling, his breath coming in short, shallow gasps. The portal closed behind him with a soft, whispering hiss, the faint glow of its light fading, leaving only the oppressive, suffocating darkness of the basement.

Kael lay there, his body limp, his mind a swirling, chaotic whirl of pain, exhaustion, and relief. He had made it. He was back. He was... alive. The thought was distant, almost surreal, a faint echo in the back of his mind. He felt... strange, disjointed, his body heavy, his limbs numb, the pain a dull, throbbing pressure that seemed to fill every inch of him.

A soft chime echoed in his mind, a familiar, clinical tone that cut through the haze of his thoughts, and a System window appeared.

Realm Cleansed...

Realm Energy Extracted...

Refining...

Converting...

Imbuing...

Gained 2 Stat Points

Gained 3 Skill Points

Void Shard Slots Replenished

Swiftly followed by more.

Rewards Received:

50XP

Beast Fur Pelt (Common)

Sharp Tooth (Common)

Shaped Stick-Club (Common)

Healing Salve (Uncommon)

New Item Acquired!

Shaped Stick-Club (Common)

A roughly shaped wooden club with a carved grip, offering minimal damage but better than any old stick.

New Item Acquired!

Healing Salve (Uncommon)

A potent herbal mixture that accelerates wound healing and reduces pain. Effective for minor injuries and scrapes.

He blinked, his vision blurring, his thoughts slow, sluggish. The messages felt surreal, distant, a dreamlike whisper that seemed to come from somewhere far away, that seemed to belong to someone else, someone stronger, someone whole. He didn’t care about the pelt, or the tooth, or the stick-club. But the healing salve...

As soon as he focused on it, he caught a flicker of motion to his side. His gaze drifted to the small, faintly glowing vial that had appeared beside him, the liquid inside a soft, iridescent green, its surface shimmering with a faint, otherworldly light. He reached out, his hand trembling, his fingers closing around the vial. The glass was cool against his skin, the liquid inside warm, almost comforting.

He uncorked the vial with shaking fingers, the scent of the salve sharp, medicinal, filling his senses. He could feel his strength fading, could feel the last vestiges of the Void Shard’s power slipping away, leaving him weak, vulnerable, his body trembling with exhaustion, with pain. The cool glass felt unworldly against his feverish skin, a stark, startling contrast that made him shiver, that sent a fresh wave of pain surging through his battered, broken body. He had to act, had to do something, anything, before the last of his strength slipped away, before he was left lying here, helpless, at the mercy of this cold, indifferent world. He didn’t have much time, didn’t have the strength to waste.

With a deep, shuddering breath, he poured the salve over his wounds, the liquid cool and soothing as it spread across his skin, seeping into the deep cuts, the torn flesh. His chest, his arms, his legs—all a mess of ragged, bloody, weeping wounds.

The cool, soothing warmth of the salve spread through his body, a gentle, pulsing energy that seemed to seep into his very bones, easing the relentless, grinding pain, the sharp, searing agony of his wounds. He could feel it working, the torn flesh knitting together, the ragged cuts sealing, the bruises fading. It was like a balm, a soft, comforting presence that wrapped around him, that held him, cradled him, lulling him into a state of quiet, bone-deep relief. The pain was still there, a dull, distant ache that pulsed with every beat of his heart, but it was manageable, bearable, a far cry from the blinding, all-consuming agony that had threatened to swallow him whole.

Kael let out a shuddering breath, his body relaxing, the tension, the fear, the exhaustion all melting away, replaced by a deep, bone-deep weariness. His vision blurred, the darkness closing in around him, the world tilting, spinning. He felt... numb, his body heavy, his limbs leaden, the cool stone of the basement floor solid beneath him, grounding him, anchoring him. It was a strange, almost peaceful sensation, a numb, empty void that swallowed the pain, the fear, the exhaustion, that left him floating, weightless, unburdened.

He closed his eyes, his breath coming in slow, even gasps, his mind drifting, the pain, the exhaustion, the fear all fading into the background, a distant echo in the stillness of his thoughts. The salve’s warmth spread through him, soothing, calming, the sensation like a gentle lullaby, a soft, comforting blanket that wrapped around him, cradling him, pulling him down into darkness.

The System messages hovered at the edge of his consciousness, the words blurring together, fading in and out of focus, the numbers, the strange, alien terms a distant, meaningless whisper.

Stat Points Available: 7

Skill Points Available: 8

Skill Tokens Available: 1

Void Shard Slots: 1/1