CHAPTER 22 – APEX OF THE ABYSS

Pain flared through Kieran’s ribs with every step, his breath ragged as he followed Elias through the endless tunnels. His left arm hung useless, and his system’s energy reserves were dangerously low. But stopping wasn’t an option. The Lurker pack was still behind them, their guttural hisses echoing through the cavern walls.

Then—silence.

Kieran slowed, blinking through the haze of exhaustion. The Lurkers had stopped. Their eyes gleamed from the shadows, bodies tensed, but they didn’t advance. Instead, they backed away.

A deep, primal dread slithered down Kieran’s spine.

"Why aren’t they chasing?"

Elias didn’t answer. His gaze was fixed ahead, body still as a statue. Then Kieran heard it—a low, resonant clicking. It came from the darkness ahead, rhythmic and calculated, like something listening.

The air turned heavy. The Lurkers let out rattling shrieks before scattering, vanishing into the tunnels like cockroaches fleeing the light.

"What the hell is down here?" Kieran swallowed, his pulse hammering.

The clicking stopped. Then, movement.

From the abyss ahead, a shape unfolded. At first, Kieran thought it was part of the cavern—a twisted pillar of stone—but then it shifted, revealing glowing slits of violet light embedded in a sleek, chitinous body. The creature blended into the environment, its body shimmering as it emerged from the darkness like a living shadow.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Kieran’s stomach turned. The Apex Predator of the Abyss.

Elias exhaled slowly. "Took it long enough to show itself."

The monster moved faster than Kieran could blink. A blur of obsidian armor and serrated limbs lunged at them, the cavern shuddering beneath its weight. Kieran barely had time to throw himself aside before a jagged claw slammed into the ground where he’d stood. The impact sent cracks splintering through the stone.

Kieran hit the ground hard, pain screaming through his broken ribs. He struggled to push himself up, but his body refused to cooperate.

"I can’t fight that thing."

Elias, however, was unmoved. He stepped forward, rolling his shoulders, eyes gleaming with something unreadable. Excitement? Anticipation?

"This bastard… he’s not even worried."

The Apex Predator clicked again, its glowing eyes locking onto Elias. Testing him.

Then Elias vanished.

Kieran’s breath hitched. No sound. No blur of movement. Just… gone.

The Predator reared back in confusion—and then a shockwave detonated against its side.

Elias reappeared mid-air, fist buried in the creature’s exoskeleton.

A deep crack rang through the cavern. The Predator screeched—a sound so sharp Kieran’s skull vibrated. Then it lashed out, its massive limb swinging like a guillotine—only to hit nothing.

Elias was already somewhere else.

"Holy shit."

Kieran could only watch, barely breathing, as Elias danced through the monster’s attacks, his movements so precise it was like he already knew what the creature would do.

For the first time since arriving in the Abyss, Kieran realized something terrifying.

Elias wasn’t just strong. He was on an entirely different level.

And worse?

This was him holding back.