Reborn with the Devil's system-Chapter 31: Seven Eyes : Cult of the silent map

Elias walked through the scorched ruins, the air still thick with smoke and blood. His footsteps were slow, heavy—not from fatigue, but the weight of everything he had just absorbed.

Behind him, Steve’s twisted body lay half-dissolved, a smoking crater where his heart used to be.

But the world hadn’t gone quiet.

No.

Something stirred.

It wasn’t the wind.

It was watching.

The moment Elias devoured that Abyssal Core, the System had warned him: The Seven Abyssal Lords are now aware of your existence.

And now he could feel them.

Like distant gods staring through a crack in the sky.

[System Alert!]

→ Warning: You are now marked by the Abyss.

→ The Abyssal Lords have taken interest in your soul.

→ Your journey is now bound to the conflict of realms.

Lightning split the horizon. The rain didn’t fall—it hissed.

Elias turned, half-expecting another monster to rise, but instead, the silver-haired man who had appeared earlier still stood there, eyes closed.

"You feel them too, don’t you?" the man asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Elias nodded. "What are they?"

"The Seven Eyes of the Abyss. Each one a fallen god who now rules a fragment of chaos. They exist beyond time. Beyond death. And now... you’ve eaten a piece of what belonged to one of them."

Elias felt his pulse quicken. "That means they’ll hunt me."

"They won’t just hunt you," the man said calmly. "They’ll test you. Try to turn you. Tempt you with pieces of their power."

He tossed Elias a small vial filled with silver liquid.

"Drink that when the voices begin. It’ll delay the corruption."

[Item Acquired: Elixir of Mindsteel]

→ Usage: Grants 6 hours of mental clarity. Blocks hallucinations or whispers from entities below Tier V.

Elias clenched the vial in his fist. "Why help me?"

"Because you’re the Devil’s wager," the man replied. "The gods of this world think they’ve won. They sleep, lazy and proud. But the one who gave you your System—he intends to wake them. You, Elias Black, are his pawn."

"I’m no one’s pawn," Elias said sharply.

The man smiled. "Then prove it. Survive."

And with that, he vanished—just like that—leaving only the hissing wind and the sense that something monstrous had turned its gaze elsewhere... for now.

Elias tightened his fists. His claws receded. The glow beneath his skin dimmed. But inside—something had changed.

There was a hunger.

Not for blood.

For purpose.

---

Meanwhile, far from the ruined temple, in the heart of Whitmoor...

Adam stood by the lake where he and Elias used to hang out. He had tried calling Elias all day, but no response. The last few nights had been bizarre—his dreams were flooded with shadowed figures and the taste of blood.

And now... his reflection wasn’t normal.

In the still water, he saw himself—but with red eyes.

"Something’s not right," Adam whispered.

His hands clenched, and blue sparks danced across his fingertips. He hadn’t told Elias yet, but he too had changed. Ever since he had touched that sigil in the catacombs under the school, something had awakened.

Behind him, a tall woman in black robes stepped out of the forest.

"You’re close to him, aren’t you?" she asked, her voice melodic but cold.

Adam turned. "Who are you?"

"Just a shadow. But one that knows who Elias really is. And what’s coming."

"Get lost," Adam snapped.

The woman smirked. "When the Abyss comes for him, you’ll have to choose: follow your friend—or kill him."

She turned and vanished into mist, leaving Adam frozen with dread.

---

Back in the Temple ruins...

Elias sat beneath a broken statue of an old god, watching the stars flicker unnaturally.

The System buzzed again.

[System Notification:]

→ Skill Upgrade: Bloodflare – Now causes Abyssal Burn (5% HP per second for 10s to corrupted enemies)

→ New Quest Unlocked: Whispering Path – Journey to the Tomb of the First Sin

→ Objective: Locate the Map of the Forbidden Sanctum (Currently in possession of unknown cultist faction)

→ Reward: ???

Elias sighed. "A cult now?"

He stood up and turned toward the path leading out of the valley. The flames behind him had died, but the war within was only beginning.

He thought of Steve.

Of the fear he saw in that monster’s eyes before the end.

It wasn’t fear of dying.

It was fear of what Elias was becoming.

And that terrified Elias more than anything.

He started walking.

Into the dark.

Into his next Chapter.

The path twisted.

What should’ve been a road of stone and earth had turned into something wrong—a shifting landscape that bent space, as though Elias walked not through terrain but through the bruised skin of a dying world.

The moment he crossed the border marked by the statue of the broken angel, the air shifted.

[System Alert!]

→ You have entered a Tier III Domain: The Path of Forgotten Faith

→ Warning: This area is unstable. Entities with fractured minds or dark pasts are drawn to this realm.

Elias’s breath fogged unnaturally. The sky had dimmed, even though it was barely midday. Trees here had blackened leaves, their roots twitching beneath the soil like worms that fed on memory.

And the whispers...

They had started again.

"Elias..."

"Thief of sin..."

"Heir to nothing... yet... everything."

He clenched his fists. Ignore them. He had the elixir in his coat pocket, but he wasn’t ready to use it yet. He wanted to know how far he could push himself.

He needed to find the cult—the ones who had stolen the Map of the Forbidden Sanctum.

According to the System’s vague information, they called themselves The Hand of Silence, a sect that once served an old god but had gone rogue, seeking ascension through madness.

As he walked, the terrain changed again.

Stone obelisks jutted from the ground like grave markers. At their base were bones—human, mostly. But some still twitched, fingers curling toward him as if reaching for salvation.

A flutter of movement.

Elias snapped his gaze to the side.

Three figures in robes—faces hidden behind bark-like masks—emerged from the shadows.

They didn’t speak.

But they moved in unison.

[System Alert!]

→ Hostile Encounter: Hand of Silence Initiates (x3)

→ Suggested Response: Intimidation or Combat.

Elias didn’t hesitate.

With a flick of his wrist, his claws emerged, coated in obsidian-red flame.

"Where’s the map?" he demanded.

The middle figure tilted its head.

"You speak... with a voice still yours. That won’t last."

They raised a talisman—etched with blood runes—and the ground split.

Screams of trapped souls echoed from the chasm beneath.

Elias moved.

So fast, it was like he blinked.

SLASH!

The first cultist went down, his mask shattered, revealing an eyeless face beneath.

The second cast a corruption spell—but Elias raised his palm.

[Bloodflare: Abyssal Burn Activated!]

A flare of crimson engulfed the second cultist, who screamed as his body began to melt, blood sizzling like acid.

Only the third remained.

But he dropped to his knees, panting.

"W-we don’t have the map. Not here. Not with us," he said, voice shaking. "It was taken to the Deep Maw."

"The what?"

"An underground chapel... in the Wound of the World."

Before Elias could respond, the cultist exploded into ash.

[System Notification:]

→ Clue Unlocked: Wound of the World - A corrupted rift where ancient gods bled out their last thoughts. Location: 200 miles east of the Hollow Coast.

→ New Subquest: Descend Into the Maw

→ Objective: Retrieve the Map of the Forbidden Sanctum

→ Reward: Skill Upgrade (Unknown)

Elias exhaled slowly, brushing dust from his coat. "So that’s the next step."

---

Elsewhere...

In a citadel built inside the skull of a dragon god, a cloaked figure knelt before a throne of black fire.

"The Heir has taken the Core, my lord."

The fire hissed in approval.

"Good... The seed is sprouting. Soon, the world will have no choice but to kneel or burn."

Behind the throne, seven mirrors pulsed—each showing a different eye.

The Seven Abyssal Lords watched. And waited.

---

Back in Whitmoor...

Adam was in the woods, surrounded by symbols of old magic. He had tried tracking Elias through his aura, but something kept pulling him in a different direction.

Then it came.

A vision.

He saw Elias, surrounded by robed corpses, eyes glowing like twin novas.

And behind him... something ancient. A tower of bone, wrapped in screams.

Adam gasped, blood dripping from his nose.

"That power... it’s changing him."

He wasn’t sure anymore if he’d be able to save Elias.

Or stop him.

---

Elias, later that night...

He set up camp in a clearing of ash and moss. The stars above were wrong again—different constellations, symbols that looked like chains wrapped around wings.

As the fire crackled, the System buzzed.

[Skill Tree Update Unlocked!]

→ Abyss-Touched Branch Awakened.

→ New Passive Skill: Hunger of the Abyss

→ Effect: Restore 5% HP with each kill. Increases resistance to mental corruption.

→ Warning: Using Abyss-Touched Skills increases Abyssal Affinity (currently at 6%)

He stared at the stats.

"Affinity...?"

That wasn’t there before.

But he wasn’t scared.

Not yet.

Just determined.

"Let them come," he whispered to the shadows.

"I’m ready."

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