Eldritch Assassin: Reincarnated With An SSS-Rank Devouring System
Chapter 87: Nullborn (II)

Chapter 87: Nullborn (II)

[Devourer Corruption: 0.20%

Warning: Trait shows signs of assimilation. Temporary boosts may occur. Risk remains.]

The warmth in his limbs wasn’t from his blood. It was from something else. Wrong. Rotten.

But it let him swing faster.

Just for a second.

Kael pivoted, spun with the blade, and slammed it deep into the Nullborn’s midsection—right where the ribcage should’ve been.

The creature screeched. This time, no illusions. Just pain.

Its arms spasmed. The regenerating eye dimmed again.

It staggered back, leaking ichor and shredded tendrils like smoke and oil.

Kael fell with it. Crashed into its side.

Both of them hit the stone, a twisted heap of half-living, half-corrupted flesh and cracked bone.

He gasped, sucking in air like a drowning man. Then he felt it... The pull.

A slow suction through Abyssal Fang—into his hand. Into his arm. Into his core.

[System Update: Passive Assimilation Initiated.

Devourer Trait reacting to the Null Qi fragment. Temporary Synchronization forming.]

Kael tried to let go, but he couldn’t.

His fingers wouldn’t open. His hand had gone numb. The blade pulsed. His vision darkened.

Then—

Boom.

The ritual core behind them shattered, unable to stabilize without the Nullborn’s link. A blast of corrupted energy rippled through the chamber, ripping stone and wind apart.

Kael was thrown backward again, slamming into a half-shattered pillar.

Debris rained from above.

Kael lay there, half-buried in dust and ruin, the world spinning. His ears rang, and his thoughts were scattered like shards across a battlefield. But even through the haze, one truth pounded in his skull.

It wasn’t over.

A sound, slithering, wet and uneven.

Kael coughed, rolled to his side. His eyes found the Nullborn. Still moving, but barely.

Its chest—where the eye had been—was now a sunken pit, oozing ichor. The limbs twitched in stutters. Its claws scraped stone, not to attack, but to crawl. Each motion is slow, dragging itself toward something unseen.

Or maybe... toward him.

Kael spat blood, fingers tightening on Abyssal Fang. His hand screamed in protest, nerves fried from the feedback. But he stood. Somehow. Legs shaking, his vision red.

The blade’s edge shimmered faintly. Not from his energy. From something else. The residue of Null Qi clung to it like moss on rusted steel.

***

Boom!

Kael hit a pillar, stone cracking under his weight. Pain exploded through his back, ribs screaming, Bloodthread Mantle shredding further.

Abyssal Fang clattered from his grip, its blade pulsing with stolen Null Qi, tendrils of black ichor coiling around it. Blood dripped from his mouth, mixing with sweat, his vision swimming.

The Nullborn Corruption Fragment twitched across the chamber, its obsidian form leaking crimson-veined ichor, the shattered ritual core smoldering behind it.

[Status: HP 55%.

Bleeding Debuff: Severe.

Stamina: 5%.

Devourer Corruption: 0.25%]

Kael’s Night Predator trait flared, senses piercing the haze, locking onto the Nullborn’s single eye, dim but pulsing, regenerating.

The creature’s claws scraped stone, its disjointed limbs reassembling, qi tendrils slithering back into its core. His Devourer Bloodline roared, hunger mingling with dread, drawn to the Null Qi like a moth to flame.

[System Warning: Nullborn Regeneration – Null Qi Absorption at 30%.

Core Stability: 60%.

Devourer Corruption Risk: 20% at Prolonged Exposure]

Kael coughed, blood speckling the ground, Primal Endurance barely holding him together. His Eldritch Reversal had faded, leaving his body raw, muscles trembling, left arm limp from dislocation.

The trial’s cultivation-like nature was brutal—Null Qi as a corrupted dao, twisting reality, demanding Kael refine his spirit or break. His Predator’s Instincts pinged—danger, immediate, the Nullborn’s eye flaring brighter.

The creature lurched, not slithering now, but charging, claws slashing in erratic arcs. Kael rolled, stone shards biting his skin, narrowly dodging.

The claws gouged the pillar, violet sparks flying, the air rippling with corruptive pressure. Kael scrambled, grabbing Abyssal Fang, its grip burning, Null Qi seeping into his palm.

System Alert: Weapon Assimilation – Corrupt Qi Essence +2%.

Temporary Buff: +10% Attack Speed.

Warning: Devourer Corruption +0.05%]

Kael gritted his teeth, pain lancing through his arm, but the buff sharpened his reflexes. He lunged, Abyssal Fang slashing the Nullborn’s side, ichor spraying, sizzling on the ground.

The creature screeched, a void-shriek that made his ears bleed, its eye pulsing violently. Kael ducked a claw, Adaptive Combat weaving Mira’s arcing strike, blade grazing the eye, light flaring.

[Critical Hit! Enemy HP: 50%.

Core Stability: 50%]

The Nullborn staggered, tendrils lashing wildly, one coiling around Kael’s ankle, burning like acid. He roared, slashing it free, but the pain seared, his Adaptive Regeneration struggling to seal the wound.

[Status: HP 50%.

Burn Debuff: Moderate.

Stamina: 3%]

The chamber shook, cracked runes on the floor glowing violet, remnant Null Qi surging like corrupted qi flooding meridians.

The creature’s eye flared, reality warping. Kael’s vision twisted—falling through endless darkness, faces of Mira, Sera, his mother screaming, clawing his flesh.

His Abyssal Endurance flared, anchoring his mind, but the illusion lingered, guilt gnawing like a heart demon. He bit his tongue, blood grounding him, snapping the vision.

[System Warning: Mental Disruption – Confusion Chance 40%.

Devourer Bloodline Suppression: 60% Effective]

Kael charged, Eclipse Step flickering, shadows sluggish from low stamina. He reappeared behind the Nullborn, Abyssal Fang stabbing its back, aiming for the eye. The creature spun, unnaturally fast, claw grazing Kael’s chest, tearing mantle and skin.

[Status: HP 45%.

Bleeding Debuff: Critical.

Stamina: 1%.]

Kael staggered, vision blurring, Primal Endurance fraying. The Nullborn’s tendrils coiled tighter, feeding on the chamber’s qi, its form stabilizing. Kael’s Devour Essence stirred, desperate, siphoning a sliver of Null Qi, risking corruption to stay alive.

[Skill Activated: Devour Essence – Absorbed 5% Null Qi.

HP Restored: 48%.

Temporary Buff: +15% Strength.

Devourer Corruption: 0.30%]

The boost surged through him, muscles burning, Abyssal Fang humming. Kael slashed, blade carving the Nullborn’s arm, ichor spraying, but the limb detached, crawling like a spider, claws slashing his leg. He stomped it, smoke rising, Predator’s Instincts tracking the main body’s eye, now pulsing erratically.

[Critical Hit! Enemy HP: 45%.

Core Stability: 40%]

The Nullborn screeched, tendrils bursting from its core, lashing like whips. Kael dove, rolling through debris, one tendril grazing his back, burning through his mantle. His Abyssal Endurance dulled the pain, but his HP ticked down, Eldritch Reversal stirring, close to triggering.

[Status: HP 40%.

Burn Debuff: Severe.

Stamina: 0%]

Kael’s legs buckled, vision tunneling, Night Predator barely holding his focus. The trial was a dao of annihilation, demanding he face oblivion without fear, but his body was breaking, Null Qi seeping into his meridians like poison. Nightshade’s signature closed—150 meters, their presence a cold blade in his senses.

The Nullborn’s eye flared, reality rippling again. Kael saw himself—broken, alone, dying in his past life, the moment before reincarnation. "You’re nothing," his own voice hissed, face twisting. His Devourer Bloodline roared, suppressing the illusion, but doubt lingered, like a cultivator’s meridian cracking under despair.

[System Warning: Willpower Check – Resist Self-Doubt.

Mental Fatigue +30%.

Devourer Corruption: 0.35%]

Kael roared, forcing himself up, Abyssal Fang trembling. "I’m not done!" he spat, blood dripping from his chin. He Eclipse Stepped, shadows fading mid-move, reappearing off-balance.

The Nullborn’s claw swung, Kael ducking, blade slashing its chest, grazing the eye. Ichor erupted, the creature staggering, core destabilizing.

[Critical Hit! Enemy HP: 40%.

Core Stability: 30%]

The chamber quaked, runes pulsing wildly, Null Qi flooding the air. Kael’s Essence Pulse was ready. He slammed his palm down, primal energy bursting, shaking the Nullborn’s form, tendrils fraying.

The creature screeched, eye dimming, but lashed back, a tendril piercing Kael’s shoulder, pinning him to the ground.

[Status: HP 30%.

Impaled Debuff: Critical.

Stamina: 0%]

Kael screamed, pain blinding, Abyssal Endurance fraying. His Eldritch Reversal stirred, HP nearing 20%, but not yet triggered. The Nullborn loomed, claws rising, eye pulsing with renewed qi. Kael’s Devourer Bloodline clawed, siphoning more Null Qi, risking mutation.

[Skill Activated: Devour Essence – Absorbed 7% Null Qi.

HP Restored: 33%.

Temporary Buff: +20% Dexterity.

Devourer Corruption: 0.40%]

The boost freed his arm, Abyssal Fang slashing the tendril, freeing him. Kael rolled, blood pooling, Predator’s Instincts tracking the Nullborn’s weakening aura. He staggered up, blade shaking.

The Nullborn charged, berserk, claws and tendrils a blur. Kael dodged, Adaptive Combat weaving Lysara’s feint, but a claw grazed his side, ribs cracking. He roared, slashing the eye, ichor exploding, the creature’s screech deafening.

[Critical Hit! Enemy HP: 35%.

Core Stability: 20%]

The chamber’s runes erupted, Null Qi surging like a broken dantian, the ground splitting. Kael’s Abyssal Endurance faltered, HP dropping fast, Eldritch Reversal on the cusp. The Nullborn’s eye flickered, tendrils slowing, but its claws rose, aiming for Kael’s heart.

[Status: HP 25%.

Bleeding Debuff: Lethal.

Stamina: 0%.

Devourer Corruption: 0.45%]

Kael’s vision darkened. The trial’s dao of annihilation pressed, demanding he embrace death’s truth. His Devourer Bloodline screamed, Null Qi burning his veins, a mutation’s edge creeping closer.

[System Warning: Devourer Corruption – Mutation Risk 25%.

Temporary Synchronization: +10% All Stats]

Kael’s grin flashed, blood streaking across his face, defiant. "Not... over," he rasped, gripping Abyssal Fang.