Episode 14: Path of the Abyss Queen Begins
The second Rhea tapped Accept, a thunderous pulse shook the very space around her tiny hidden house.
> [Abyss Evolution: Initializing…]
[Warning! Evolution will temporarily disable concealment for 30 seconds!]
Her heart skipped a beat.
30 seconds.
That was all it would take for enemies to find her if they were fast enough.
But it was too late to cancel now.
Dark tendrils of energy erupted from the ground, swirling around her like a tornado. Her monsters whimpered but stayed put, trusting her with blind loyalty.
> [Abyss Bloodline Awakening: 5%...10%...]
The ground cracked under her feet. Trees around her creaked and bent away. Even the sunlight dimmed, swallowed by the heavy, suffocating aura pouring from her body.
For the first time, Rhea felt the real weight of what she had stumbled into.
Not just a Shop Owner.
Not just a Phantom Seller.
But something far greater.
A Queen.
> [Abyss Bloodline Awakening: 40%...]
Pain seared through her arms and chest, and she collapsed to her knees, gasping.
Her veins lit up with eerie, glowing symbols—ancient glyphs forgotten by history. Her body trembled violently as a new kind of energy flooded every cell, reshaping her, strengthening her.
> [Hidden Skill Unlocked: Abyss Domain Creation!]
> [Hidden Ability Unlocked: Command Over Abyssal Creatures (Minor)!]
Rhea grit her teeth, sweat pouring down her face.
"I can…handle it…!" she snarled, punching the ground to steady herself.
> [Abyss Bloodline Awakening: 75%...]
Somewhere in the distance, sensors buzzed. Multiple organizations were now aware of a sudden "anomaly" flashing on their detection panels—but none of them could pinpoint her location before her barriers reactivated.
By the time her evolution finished, the world fell eerily silent once again.
> [Abyss Bloodline Awakening: Complete.]
[You are now a Minor Abyss Queen.]
[Congratulations! Special Title Earned: "She Who Walks Beyond Worlds."]
Rhea sat there, breathing hard.
Her body was different now. Lighter. Stronger. A weird kind of confidence boiled inside her, as if she could crush mountains if she wished.
Looking at her hand, she noticed something new—
A black rose mark had bloomed on the back of her palm, pulsing gently with dark light.
She smiled, shaky but victorious.
"I'm not just a seller anymore… I'm becoming a legend."
---
Later that night, Rhea began constructing her Abyss Domain around her house. It was an invisible pocket dimension linked to her shop system.
A place no ordinary human or monster could step into without her permission.
Her monsters grew stronger too, evolving slightly under her new bloodline's influence. Even her little flying squirrel-dragon sprouted faint golden runes under its wings.
> [New Construction Available: Abyss Fortress (Small).]
[Cost: 150,000 Crystals.]
"Time to build my own little kingdom," Rhea whispered with a mischievous grin.
And deep inside the Abyss dimension…
A pair of ancient golden eyes opened for the first time in centuries.
"Finally," a deep voice echoed softly.
"The Abyss Queen has returned."
---