The interior of the cathedral was pitch black.

Kaelen’s dark aura provided the only light. The violet glow revealed towering pillars of obsidian., the stone itself carved with faces screaming in silent agony.

There were no pews, nor altars for prayer.

Instead, a massive spiral staircase dominated the center of the room. It plunged directly into the earth. The hole was perfectly circular. A thick, almost liquid miasma poured upward from the depths like smoke from a chimney.

"This is it," Kaelen said, stood at the edge of the pit. "The path to the bottom."

Seraphina looked down, seeing the pitch-black darkness. "The pressure radiating from that hole is immense. Even with the ring, I can feel it."

"The ring will hold," Kaelen assured her. He stepped onto the first stone stair. "Let’s go."

The descent was not a quick journey. It was a brutal, grueling marathon.

They spent three entire days plunging through the forgotten depths of the Chasm. Floors six, seven, eight, and nine blurred into a bloody, violent haze.

The monsters grew increasingly horrific. They fought packs of Level 70 Abyssal Hounds. Encountered towering Obsidian Golems, but still managed to slay them. Furthermore, they slashed through swarms of parasitic blood-bats that tried to drain their mana.

Kaelen did not shy away from the carnage. He embraced it.

He used [Abyssal Extraction] on every corpse, devouring their magic. He absorbed their raw stats. He managed to stay awake because The Saintess Vitality trait kept his body in peak physical condition. The endless supply of void mana kept his mind razor-sharp.

Seraphina was a flawless vanguard. She stood in front of him, a relentless wall of steel and violence. Her heavy glass greatsword shattered armor and cleaved through bone. She protected his blind spots entirely.

Whenever the intense miasma began to crack her defenses, Kaelen pulled her close. He fed her his pure mana through deep, bruising kisses in the dark. It became a rhythm. Slaughter. Resonate. Slaughter again.

They were a perfect, terrifying machine.

[System Alert. High-Threat Entities Eliminated.]

[Massive Experience gained.]

[Host Level Increased: 49 -> 52.]

[Skill Leveled Up: Vanguard Swordsmanship is now Grandmaster Rank.]

Kaelen stood on a narrow ledge. He flicked the thick, black blood off his hunting knife.

He pulled up his interface, without hesitation Kaelen dumped his accumulated stat points directly into Strength and Vitality. His body hardened and his muscles became dense like compressed steel. He no longer looked like a starved, beaten support boy. He looked like a predator.

"We are here," Kaelen announced.

He pointed down. The endless spiral staircase finally ended.

They stepped off the final stair. The environment shifted instantly. The jagged, terrifying caves of the upper floors vanished.

The tenth floor was a massive, perfectly spherical cavern. The walls were smooth and shiny. The air was dead silent. There were no monsters, moreover there were no ruins.

There was only the Seal.

Right in the center of the cavern sat a towering structure of blinding, golden light. It was a massive magical barrier. Shaped like a birdcage, standing fifty feet tall. Thick chains of pure holy energy wrapped around the golden bars.

The light was sickeningly bright. It actively fought the surrounding darkness.

"Holy magic," Seraphina whispered, then she stopped walking. She squinted against the blinding glare. "It is a Grand Inquisitor’s Absolute Seal. The highest tier of Church containment."

"They locked the Core inside," Kaelen observed.

He looked through the glowing golden bars. Floating in the center of the cage was a massive, jagged crystal. It has the size of a carriage. The crystal pulsed with a deep, mesmerizing violet light, looked like a beating heart.

[System Alert: Primordial Dungeon Core located.] [Objective Updated: Shatter the Holy Seal. Claim the Core.]

"Can you break it?" Seraphina asked. She didn’t dare step closer to the golden light. Her body had rejected holy magic entirely. Getting too close would burn her skin.

"It’s just mana," Kaelen said coldly. "And I am a Mana-Binder."

Kaelen walked forward. He left the safety of the shadows, stepped directly into the radius of the blinding holy light.

The barrier reacted instantly. The golden chains rattled violently. The holy magic recognized a heretic, causing a scorching heat wave blasted outward, trying to incinerate Kaelen on the spot.

Kaelen didn’t flinch. He raised his right hand.

He placed his bare palm directly against the glowing golden bars.

His flesh sizzled. The holy magic burned his skin, trying to melt his hand down to the bone. But Kaelen’s Saintess Vitality instantly triggered. His flesh rapidly regenerated just as quickly as it burned.

"Master!" Seraphina cried out in alarm.

"Stay back!" Kaelen ordered. He gritted his teeth. The pain was immense, but his focus was absolute.

[Activating Skill: Abyssal Extraction.]

Kaelen opened his mana circuit, pushing his void magic directly into the holy barrier.

The two opposing forces violently clashed. The cavern shook violently, golden and violet sparks rained down onto the smooth stone floor. The barrier tried to push him away.

Kaelen pushed harder. "You don’t belong here," he growled at the holy light. "You belong to me."

He commanded his core to devour.

The [Abyssal Extraction] acted like a black hole. It clung to the golden magic, violently rippingg the holy energy from the chains. The pure, self-righteous mana was sucked directly into Kaelen’s arm.

The system screamed in his vision.

[Warning: Ingesting hostile Holy Energy. Extreme core damage imminent.]

[Forcing Abyssal conversion...]

[Conversion successful. Holy Energy corrupted. Absorbing raw stats.]

Kaelen roared. He felt the holy magic twisting inside his veins, turning black. He ripped more energy from the cage. The massive golden chains began to crack.

The blinding light started to dim.

"Break!" Kaelen shouted. He channeled every ounce of his Level 52 strength, crushing the golden bar beneath his fingers.

The holy seal shattered.

The sound was like a bomb that exploded. A massive shockwave of displaced air blasted through the cavern. Seraphina dug her greatsword into the floor to prevent herself from being thrown backward.

The golden cage exploded into millions of harmless, fading sparks.

The blinding light vanished. The cavern was plunged back into deep, comforting darkness.

Kaelen dropped to one knee. He panted heavily, his right arm was smoking, and his skin also charred, but thankfully the wound was healing quickly by itself.

He looked up.

The Primordial Dungeon Core floated freely in the air. Without the holy seal suppressing it, the crystal pulsed with terrifying, unbridled power. A wave of pure, concentrated miasma washed over the cavern.

[Holy Seal Destroyed.]

[The Primordial Core is vulnerable.]

Seraphina ran to his side. She dropped to her knees, then grabbed his smoking arm, inspecting the burns with wide, worried eyes.

"I’m fine, there’s nothing to worry about..." Kaelen breathed out. He stood up, pulling her up with him.

He walked toward the massive violet crystal. The Core hummed. It seemed to recognize the grimoire strapped to his back, realize the void magic in his blood.

Kaelen reached out. He placed both hands firmly against the cold, smooth surface of the Primordial Core.

"I’ll claim this domain," Kaelen declared. His voice echoed with absolute authority.

He pushed his dark aura directly into the crystal, merged his mana signature with the ancient heart of the dungeon.

The entire cavern trembled. A deep, seismic rumble echoed through the earth. The sound traveled up into the endless stairs, shaking the forgotten city. It vibrated all the way up to the safe zones near the surface.

The system interface turned completely gold.

[Territorial Claim Successful.]

[Host recognized as Dungeon Master.]

[Welcome to the Heretic’s Sanctuary.]

Kaelen smiled darkly. The Holy Church thought they owned this world, but they wrong. The underworld now belonged entirely to him.