Dark Divinity

But as he prepared to strike, something unexpected happened. A sudden surge of energy, different from the beast's, rippled through the water. Omen's senses flared in alarm as he realized what was happening—he had unintentionally summoned another creature!...again.

The water around him began to churn, the once calm sea turning violent as the second entity made its presence known. Omen's mind raced, trying to assess the new threat while keeping track of the invisible beast. He had been so focused on his hunt that he hadn't considered the possibility of summoning other creatures, a side effect of his aura's influence. The sea seemed to come alive with malevolence, the two creatures closing in on him from opposite directions. The invisible beast, now fully aware of Omen's presence, moved with deadly intent, its grotesque arms reaching out as if to ensnare him. The second creature, still unseen, radiated a raw, chaotic energy that sent shivers down his spine.

Omen's pulse hammered in his chest, and adrenaline surged as he realised he was in danger. This was no longer just a quest, but a struggle for survival. But as opposed to fleeing, he accepted the Obstacle, the pleasure of battle kindling everything primitive within him [Relentless].

He was going to confront them simultaneously. He was going to defeat them. He was going to take their authority for his own benefit. Soon after, Omen's eyes expanded in disbelief as eight burning red orbs shattered the darkness behind the gigantic fish, exposing a beast of incredible proportions. Its appearance was obscured by darkness, but the sheer volume of tentacles encircling the length of its body gave Omen a horrifying feeling of enormity.

The creature towered over the giant fish, dwarfing it in a way that made Omen's blood run cold. Even from this distance, he couldn't fathom its full size—it was a nightmare brought to life, an ancient terror lurking in the deep.

'Who the fuck am i kidding?' He instantly deactivated his relentless skill. But then as if that wasn't enough...

'A third Monster!'

"Damnit!" Omen cursed under his breath, panic beginning to claw at the edges of his mind. This was far more than he could handle. He had come seeking strength, but now he found himself overwhelmed.

He shot himself forward, every ounce of strength focused on swimming towards the surface. The water rushed past him as he propelled himself upward, the pressure around him easing with every meter he gained. But the creatures were relentless, the giant fish and the monstrous tentacled beast closing in on him, their combined presence sending shockwaves through the water. The oppressive weight of the sea seemed to conspire against him, slowing his progress even as he pushed himself to the limit.

"Dammit! Dammit!", even after so many disasters his potent beast summoning aura caused, he still hadn't learned his lesson… ' still?'. He turned to see the creatures battling each other as they still chased after him, he might be able to—

Just as he thought he might have a chance to break free, another presence made itself known—the third monster, emerging from the depths like a nightmare realized. This one was like a massive crustacean, its exoskeleton gleaming with a sickly sheen in the dim light. Four heads, each with hollow, slit-like gaps where eyes should be, stared at him with an alien hunger.

He was thankful that it wasn't a fourth monster, though he didn't know how long before one would appear. Omen had no time to react though as he snapped out of his thoughts, one of the creature's giant claws morphed out of nowhere, lashing out with impossible speed.

The claw clamped around him, the crushing force dragging him down into the depths. Pain flared across his entire body as the claw's hold contracted its jagged tips tearing into the layers of his flesh. The agony was so severe, so overwhelming, that his brain went numb for a brief moment, with his survival instincts taking precedence over everything else.

In his desperation, Omen made a catastrophic error. His mouth opened to shriek the pain was unbearable to endure, and he took an enormous gulp of water. The frigid liquid flooded his lungs, forcing him to choke up and spasm as he battled his impulse to take in more. The dread that was originally smouldering at the fringes of his mind had now taken hold, his vision blurring as he pushed against the claw's grip.

The water was an unforgiving enemy, every movement slowed and stifled by its crushing embrace. Omen thrashed in the claw's hold, his thoughts a chaotic jumble of pain and fear. The edges of his vision darkened as oxygen deprivation began to set in, the once-sharp focus of his senses dulling with each passing second.

'one can one fatal mistake cause this much escalated damage' He couldn't die here, not like this. He had come too far, endured too much, to be snuffed out by these abominations. The thought of revenge, of destroying the entity and reclaiming his life, surged to the forefront of his mind, giving him the strength to resist, to fight back.

Omen's eyes snapped open, the red glow of the monstrosities reflecting in his determined gaze. He could feel the exogene within him, the raw power that had carried him through countless battles. It was still there, waiting to be unleashed. And he would unleash it—no matter the cost. But still…

Omen's mind raced as the full horror of his situation set in. The icy water that had filled his lungs, a momentary lapse in judgment, was now triggering the suit's deadly curse. According to the utility acolyte's warning, even the smallest amount of water ingestion while wearing the obsidian suit would siphon his soul vitality, a slow, insidious death that drained the very essence of his being. Initially, nothing occurred however as seconds passed, a peculiar sensation crept throughout his entire body.

A slight yet obvious suction pressure began profoundly in the sternum and grew greater with each heartbeat. He could feel his exogene being pulled inward, siphoned by the suit as it greedily consumed the energy that sustained him. Panic gripped him as he realized the full extent of the danger—he wasn't even able to harness the suit's full potential before it had already turned against him. The very armour he had donned for protection was now a death trap, slowly killing him from within.

'What the fuck…' Omen's thoughts spiralled in desperation, his body growing weaker with each passing moment. The suit of armour is appetite was insatiable, like a black hole devouring his power, vitality, and, if he could not escape, his entire soul.

But there was no time to reflect on the devastation of it. The giant claw of the massive crustacean continued to drag him deeper into the abyss, the pressure around him increasing as the sea's depths closed in. The two other sea creatures—the monstrous, tentacled horror and the grotesque, humanoid-armed fish—were still hot on his trail, their eyes glowing with intense malice.

Omen struggled, his body thrashing against the claw's crushing grip, but it was no use. The suit was draining him too quickly, sapping his strength before he could even muster the energy to fight back. His vision blurred as his exogene reserves dwindled, the once vibrant glow of the sea creatures fading into a dull haze. The edges of his consciousness flickered, the darkness closing in, threatening to swallow him whole.

With a focused thought, Omen activated his [Sand Phasing] ability. Instantly, his body began to shimmer and blur, becoming insubstantial as he phased right through the obsidian suit. The sensation was surreal—like slipping through the cracks of reality itself. In a moment, he was free, his physical form intact but now completely drenched in plain black clothes, in the frigid depths of the sea. His unforeseen exposure to the cold struck tremors through his back, but he disregarded them, understanding that preservation was the most crucial thing.

He had not anticipated this to work, but blissfully, his gamble paid off. He glanced back at the suit, now empty but still gripped tightly by the massive claw of the crustacean. The creature, oblivious to his escape, continued to pull the armour deeper into the dark waters, its many heads focused intently on the prize it believed it had captured. Omen allowed himself a brief smirk—this was his chance.

Without hesitation, he aimed his gaze at the suit, his eyes narrowing as he summoned his [Laser Beam] ability. He could feel the energy building within him, a concentrated force that burned hotter than any fire. Even in the crushing depths of the sea, where water typically neutralized such attacks, his [Laser Beam] was an exception—it could sizzle through anything.

Omen unleashed the beam, a searing line of pure energy that cut through the water with a hiss of steam. The beam surged forward, slicing through the dark waters like a blade, zeroing in on the obsidian armour. The moment it made contact, the water around the suit began to boil, bubbles of superheated steam rising rapidly as the intense heat of the beam reacted with the cold sea.

The armour, designed to withstand incredible forces but not extreme heat, began to warp and buckle under the pressure. The beam seared through it, causing the dark material to glow a dull red as it heated up. For a moment, nothing happened—then, suddenly, the suit began to convulse as the intense heat triggered its fatal flaw. A scalding level of pain, one of the armour's most feared drawbacks, was activated, meant to punish anyone wearing it who exposed it to such conditions.

Omen watched as the suit, now empty of its wearer, writhed under the agony of the intense heat. The crustacean, sensing something was wrong, hesitated in its descent, its claw still clutching the rapidly deteriorating armour.

The crustacean ripped forth an ear-splitting howl, and Omen was able to see the sound waves rippling through the saltwater. A shrill cry of pain and wrath echoed through the depths, a primitive howl that rattled the very core of the sea. The intensity of the sound waves was almost tangible, distorting the water around Omen and creating ripples that battered him.

The creature's once-imposing claw began to melt away, the dark, hardened shell giving way to the relentless heat. The scalding energy spread rapidly, consuming the entire limb and working its way up towards the creature's main body. The crustacean's wails grew more desperate as the heat intensified, its tough exoskeleton dissolving into a viscous, blackened sludge.

The melting process was horrifyingly efficient. The crustacean's shell, which had been a fortress of durability, was reduced to a charred, blackened husk within moments. The intense heat persisted in its unrelenting job, engulfing the creature's whole being in a churning conflagration. The once-mighty crustacean, with its numerous heads and formidable claws, had become a lifeless, charred carcass falling steadily to the deep sea below.

Omen gazed in horrified stillness as the enormous creature was destroyed. The overwhelming extent of the devastation was both breathtaking and horrifying.

'By the gods,' Omen thought, his spine-tingling with horror. 'That would have been me.'

The realization hit him with a chilling clarity. The armour, designed to be nearly impervious, would have been rendered utterly useless against such intense heat. If he had been trapped inside it, he would have shared the same fate as the crustacean—a slow, agonizing death by scalding heat, his body reduced to nothing more than a blackened corpse.

Omen's heightened senses flared with an alarm as he detected a new threat approaching. His instincts kicked in just as a massive, fifteen-inch horn shot through the water, narrowly missing him. The giant fish, with its monstrous, blackened visage, was relentless. Before Omen could react further, the beast's enormous, dark hands—its most grotesque feature—lunged from its face and seized his legs.

Just as he killed one, another took its place.