Chapter 391: Inter-Academy Tournament (XLIII)

The moment those words left his mouth, Jasmine’s voice exploded inside his mind, almost like a damn thunderclap.[Are you out of your mind?!]

Her tone was sharp, almost frantic, carrying a rare intensity that Gray had not heard from her at all.

[Gray, listen to me carefully. Do not, under any circumstances, try to contact the Abyss on your own. You have no idea what you’re dealing with. The beings of the Abyss are not like the gods you’ve encountered so far. They are not bound by the same rules, the same hierarchies, or even the same concept of existence that the rest of the planes follow. They are ancient, chaotic, and fundamentally unknowable. Even I, who once stood among the highest ranks of the Divine Realm, treated them with extreme caution.]

Gray remained silent, leaning back against the tree as her words continued to pour out.

[You think the Crown of the Abyss is a blessing you can freely use? It is a connection. A thin, carefully measured thread that allows limited interaction under specific conditions. The moment you deliberately reach out and try to open a direct channel, you are no longer borrowing a fraction of their power, you are inviting their attention. And once their attention is on you, there is no guarantee you can close that door again.]

She paused only long enough to draw a sharp mental breath before pressing on.

[Do you understand what "mysterious" truly means when it comes to the Abyss? It means that even the oldest gods could not map their structure. It means that their motives changed without any kind of pattern. It means that what appears as help today can become a chain tomorrow. There are records, fragmented, incomplete, terrifying records, of cultivators and even deities who thought they could bargain with the Abyss. Some received power beyond imagination. Most of them ceased to exist in any recognizable form afterward. Not killed. Not sealed. Simply... rewritten. Or erased. Or turned into something that no longer remembered it had ever been itself.]

Gray’s expression did not change, but he made no move to interrupt.

[You already carry their mark through the Crown. That alone is dangerous enough. The fact that they allowed you to activate it without immediate consequence does not mean they are benevolent. It means they are interested. And interest from the Abyss is never free. If you contact them directly, especially while your power is still incomplete and your foundation is still being rebuilt, you are offering them a clear view of everything you are. Your soul, your ambitions, your attachments, your weaknesses. They will see me inside you. They will see the fragments of divinity you have already absorbed. They will see the path you intend to walk in the future. And once they see that, they may decide you are more useful as a tool, a vessel, or a sacrifice than as an independent existence.]

Her voice grew even more urgent.

[I am not telling you this to frighten you for no reason. I am telling you this because I have seen what happens when someone underestimates them. During the old wars, there were factions that tried to open channels to the Abyss for military advantage. Entire legions vanished. Not defeated or killed, but vanished. Realms that bordered Abyssal rifts became places where logic no longer applied. Time fractured. Causality bent. Some of those places still exist as sealed dead zones because no one dares to try cleansing them. And you... you want to knock on that door voluntarily?]

"I don’t have many better options," Gray calmly replied.

[There are always better options than this!]

Jasmine snapped back immediately.

[You have me. You have the Law of Seduction. You have the Authority of Destruction growing stronger. You have Alina. You have the resources of the D’Aurélion name returning to you. You have time to grow. The Royal Banquet is dangerous, yes, but it is still a stage within the rules of this plane. The Abyss does not play by those rules. If you invite them in, you may solve one problem and create ten that you cannot even comprehend.]

She continued without giving him room to argue further.

[Even if they answer you... even if they offer help... what will the price be? A portion of your future? A tether on your soul? A demand that you open a permanent gate later? You cannot predict it, and neither can I. That is the core of the danger. The Abyss does not negotiate the way gods or demons do. Their "contracts" are not written in language we fully understand. You might think you agreed to one thing and later discover you agreed to something entirely different. By then it will be too late.]

Gray stayed quiet again, letting her finish.

[Promise me you will not do it. Not now. Not before the banquet. Not until you have enough power and understanding to stand in front of them without being swallowed. If you truly reach a dead end later, we can reconsider with far more preparation. But right now? With the trial still ongoing and the banquet approaching? This is the worst possible time to take that risk.]

Her voice softened only slightly at the end, though the underlying fear remained.

[I am bound to you, Gray. If something goes wrong with the Abyss, it will not only destroy you, it may destroy me as well. I am asking you, as the one who has walked beside you through everything, not to take this step lightly.]

Gray remained silent for a long moment, his eyes half-closed as he rested against the tree.

He honestly didn’t expect that Jasmine was so wary of the Abyss. He could understand her fear considering the lack of information, but even so...

’...Are they that terrifying?’ he couldn’t help but wonder.

He swiped his finger in the air lightly.

[♛ — ✧Crown of the Abyss✧ — ♛]

When activated, this blessing will grant the user the following perks:

✧ Magic Attack Power will increase tenfold.

✧ Magic Resistance will increase fivefold.

✧ Immunity to all kinds of dark magic (this includes poison, witchcraft, curses...)

✧ The user’s affinity with otherworldly beings, animals, etc... will increase over one hundred times.

✧ The user will be allowed to speak with Abyss.

A blessing granted by the Higher Beings of the Abyss. These beings have been looking over you since the moment you took your first step.

——+——+——+——

’...The Higher Beings of the Abyss, not a low-ranked one,’ Gray frowned slighly.

’So I guess their interest is because of whatever fate I hold.’

He swooped his finger across the air, causing the panel to disappear.

Step, step, step...!

Not long after, the sound of hurried footsteps approached through the trees.

Seraph appeared first, followed closely by the only two other girls still remaining from Clementine’s side.

The moment they spotted Gray sitting against the tree, their faces lit up with a mixture of relief and excitement.

"Gray!"

"You’re really here!"

"We saw the rankings update, how did you even...?!"

The girls rushed forward, their voices overlapping as they began praising him without restraint.

"You actually took down the three largest token groups by yourself... in less than an hour and a half..."

"That’s insane! Even the 4th-years couldn’t stop you!"

"We went from last place to first so fast it still doesn’t feel real..."

Their words came out in an eager stream, filled with genuine admiration and leftover adrenaline from the long trial.

Gray, who was already in a foul mood, slowly turned his head and looked at them.

His eyes were completely bored.

Flat.

Empty of any interest or warmth.

"..."

The girls froze instantly.

Their smiles vanished.

The excited chatter died in their throats.

One of them even took a small step back under that lifeless gaze. The atmosphere around the tree turned heavy and awkward within seconds.

Seraph, who had been about to say something more, closed her mouth. She stared at Gray’s blank expression for a moment, then quietly gathered her courage.

Without speaking, she walked over and carefully sat down beside him.

After a brief hesitation, she leaned in and rested her head lightly against his shoulder.

Her body was quivering just a little.

Gray did not react.

He remained completely motionless with his gaze fixed on the artificial sky above the floating island.

His expression stayed empty, as if the girls’ arrival had not registered at all.

’...The Abyss.’

This was something that he needed to go through one day.

Because the moment he earned this blessing from the Akashic Records, he already knew that there was something wrong with his body.

Yes... his body.

There definitely was something wrong with it.

A body filled with a maxed-out talent for everything, no matter what it was. Writing this character, Dante didn’t give it any single explanation except for Innate Talent.

But even so, since his book turned into a world, all the loopholes have been corrected.

So... if there was a reason for Gray’s talent to be maxed out...

Now, he was sure that it had something to do with the Abyss.