The silence after the storm hung like a judgment.
Raven stood amidst the crumbled battlefield, one hand still loosely clutching the crushed core of Drayvok. Smoke drifted up like incense for the dead. His breath was steady. Mind calm.
Until—
CRRRRK—
A sudden twist.
His right ring finger jerked, like something had possessed it.
The ring—black obsidian, inlaid with a red spiral—twisted. Not around his finger… inward. Folding in on itself like an origami anomaly breaking space. The gemstone cracked open with a sickening pop, and from within:
A crimson, tar-like blob erupted.
It slithered down his arm like liquid malice, hissing, pulsing, mutating.
"Wh—"
For the first time, Raven's pupils dilated. Instinctively, he stepped back.
Too late.
The blob hit the ground—and expanded.
Snapping limbs. Morphing fangs. A tail like razors. Two wings—leathery, skeletal, feathered at the ends—unfurled with a screech. The creature rose, hunched and hungry.
Not a wolf.
Not a dragon.
But a nightmare carved from both.
Its snout elongated like a berserker hound, but its jaw held three rows of interlocked fangs like shark-spawn. Glowing symbols burned along its throat—the same ones on the Ring of Greed.
Its body smoked like it was forged in the underside of hell.
Then—it moved.
No warning.
No roar.
Just—
CHOMP.
It bit down onto Drayvok's shattered corpse, jaws unhinging as if there were no bones in its body. Flesh, core fragments, soul residue—all gone in one slow, squelching swallow.
"What the hell..." Raven whispered.
He didn't move.
Didn't blink.
For once—he didn't know what to do.
The creature turned its head. Slowly.
Its crimson eyes were like voids filled with rage—but it didn't attack him.
Instead—it bowed.
A chill danced through the air as the battlefield fell into an unnatural silence. Only the fading embers of Drayvok's fragmented corpse lingered in the void, devoured by the monstrous, draconic wolf that had burst forth from Raven's ring.
Raven stood motionless, his gaze locked onto the air where the beast had vanished. For once, his expression fractured. No snark, no irritation—only a stillness marred by something rare. Genuine shock.
The ring on his finger, crusted in crimson-black hues and still twitching from its transformation, twisted unnaturally. A faint click echoed from it, like the snap of a shackle unlocking on its own.
Then, the voice returned. Soft, echoing, teasing in tone but weighted.
"You saw it, didn't you?" Glitch's voice curled into his mind. "That wasn't you. That… was the ring."
The wind whistled.
Ash and crushed alloy floated in the air like flakes of dead snow.
Raven clenched his fist slowly, eye still fixed on the ring like it had just spoken a truth older than time itself.
Then—
"Told you."
Glitch manifested beside him, cross-legged midair, sipping from a straw that led to nothing. "That thing? You don't feed it, it feeds you—through fear."
Raven didn't reply.
Just kept staring at the ring.
Glitch continued, leaning in with an exaggerated stage whisper:
"That form you just saw? That's the hunger of the Ring of Greed—unleashed. It's designed to consume energy… preferably Prism-tier artifacts, or at least high-tier residuals. You leave it starved long enough…"
"Well, next time it won't stop at the corpse."
Raven raised an eyebrow, voice low:
"…You gave me a weapon that can go rogue?"
"Not rogue, buddy. It's just…"
Glitch tapped his chin dramatically.
"…ambitious. Like you."
Raven glanced at the battlefield again, the mangled crater where Drayvok used to be.
"…And if I don't keep feeding it?"
"Then it feeds itself. On whatever it can reach. Villain, ally… you."
"Wouldn't recommend testing that out."
Raven exhaled, the breath short and sharp. He flexed his fingers slowly, feeling the residual heat from whatever had just emerged. It wasn't his power. It wasn't even his command. That thing—it had acted on its own.
"System," Raven muttered.
A faint ripple shimmered before him. From the emptiness of air, a translucent panel bled into reality—crisp, minimal, and unassuming in its light.
[System Interface Loading…]
Accessing Feature 3: Mission Protocols
[Quest: Eliminate Executive of Aspen Order] – COMPLETE
Reward: TO BE CLAIMED
Just as he turned to close the window, something blinked faintly in the top-right corner.
[NEW INFO]
Ring of Greed – Anomaly Registered
A small, gray-toned tab hovered beside the quest box. Something… new.
Raven narrowed his eyes. He tapped it.
[INFO – Relic Class: Ring of Greed]
Type: Sentient Artifact
Origin: UNKNOWN
Tier: UNKNOWN(Confirmed to be higher than prism tier)
Last Known Holder: Classified Entity:
Notable Traits:
— It devours anything. And when we say anything, we mean everything.— Has an in-built, unavoidable curse. Side-effects unknown.— Holds 4 ancient seals. None have been scratched.— Hunger Levels must be maintained.— Completing System Quests reduces its hunger.— Feeding it artifacts suppresses its instincts and may loosen seals.
Warning: Devours energy, mass, magic, reality—anything.
Available Skill Unlocked:
✦ Monarch of Night – "Sovereign of Hollow Eclipse"You are the ruler of all that darkness touches.
▹ Grants domain control within a radius (scales with artifact absorption and ring level)▹ Can manifest the ring as a weapon of any form imagined. Appearance: Unstable dark energy▹ Can only be used at Night▹ Cooldown: 72 Hours
Last Usage Event: Classified Event: [—REDACTED—]
"The Ring has shown behavioral patterns akin to biological hunger. Known to manifest its Will when starved. Consumption radius may extend indiscriminately."
"Historically feared by higher beings across the universe."
Raven silently reads through, his eyes narrowing. Then he murmurs—almost to himself:
Raven (low, cold):"Sovereign of Hollow Eclipse… huh. Guess you really do bite."
"...This thing's got a personality," he muttered. "And an appetite."
Glitch floated upside-down, shrugging."Feed it or it'll start feeding itself. Your choice, Phantom."
Raven closed the system window.
The temperature dropped.
His instincts howled.
He stepped back from the debris—and as he did, his outfit shimmered. His coat warped, color draining to jet black. A flicker of shadows curled around him as the Phantom gear engaged—sleeves elongated, mask rematerialized, cape unfolding like wings.
He was no longer Raven.
He was Phantom.
The wind cut sharp.
A faint shift in the air—like the world itself holding its breath.
Then—
Shadows closed in. Figures—twelve in total—stepped silently into view. Each one cloaked in a sleek, muted uniform, their masks marked with crimson sigils. Their presence didn't scream; it radiated. Like the pressure of a collapsing star.
More dangerous than Drayvok. By a long shot.
The lead figure tilted his head slightly, voice low and precise.
"You've caused enough noise, Phantom. Time to go."
Their combined pressure slams the air. Stronger than Drayvok—by a mile.
Raven doesn't flinch. Just slowly pulls back his hood again. And smirks.