Forsaken By The Gods, I Made A Contract With the Demon King

The pendent was a small, intricately crafted medallion with a smooth, obsidian-like surface and surprisingly it absorbed all the light around it rather than reflecting it, giving it an ethereal glow.

Levi held held the pendent looking at it's design in more detail.

There was an elaborate and intricate runic pattern design etched into the dark surface of the pendent, faintly illuminated by a dim, crimson hue that pulsed like heartbeat. And the edges were adorned with delicate wire work, resembling intertwining tendrils of a dark vine.

And at its center was a small, multifaceted gemstone of eerie deep violet, nearly black. It shimmered with an inner light that shifted and danced with Levi's movement. The gemstone was encircled by swirling, shadowy tendrils that seemed subtly alive.

The pendant hung from a thin, black chain that felt almost weightless. The chain, woven in a pattern matching the pendant's filigree, gave the piece a unified appearance. When Levi held it, the chain felt cool and smooth against his skin, and the pendant hung with elegant grace.

After he marvelled at its appearance, he opened the info of the artifact.

-----[Eternal Vigil]-----

Type: Relic

Rank: Fallen

Description: [In the depths of Hell, a being lived in darkness, hiding from everything and anything. To escape the gaze of the black wings, the being created a relic. But before it was completed, the being fell to the grasp of Silent Whisper.]

Abilities: [Shadow Warden] [Second Skin] [Forgotten Echo]

-----[Eternal Vigil]-----

A gleaming smile crept onto Levi's face as he read the information, despite the pain he was enduring.

"Finally, heck yeah!"

He barely understood the relic's origin but was unconcerned—what mattered was its abilities. At first, he was a bit disappointed because he was hoping for a weapon but noticing that he got a reliac which was more rare than armors - his disappointment faded away.

And seeing that the pendant boasted three skills, he was thrilled beyond measure.

Levi quickly read through each ability:

[Shadow Warden]:Senses danger around the user and provides protection against all forms of mental attacks.

[Second Skin]: Forms interwoven layers of darkness just above the user's skin, offering protection against physical attacks and remaining invisible.

[Forgotten Echo]: Creates a projection of oneself from moments ago.

Even at a single glance, all the skills seemed very powerful and useful.

"Shadow Warden" would be invaluable for detecting and defending against hidden threats, while "Second Skin" offered crucial defense, solving the most cruicial problem of Levi for now.

While Levi didn't exactly knew what "Forgotten Echo" did, he was sure that it would be atleast as good as the rest.

Unable to hold his excitement, Levi decided to check out the artifiact skills.

He first focused on [Shadow Warden]. He closed his eyes and moved his essence into the pendent, willing to activate the Shadow warden skill.

Almost immediately, his senses expanded outward stopping around 5 meters because he stopped infusing the essence - it seemed like the senasory field expanded based on the about of essence he would pour into the pendent but for now, he decided to stop there because most of his essence was working on mending his body.

Anyway, as the sensory field spread, Levi felt something. It was weird feeling, as if there was now a faint tingling sensation that alerted him to even a minor disturbance in the nearby shadows.

And along with it, his mind felt clear - the sensation of calmness washed over his whole body - it was intoxicating!

Levi understood how the ability worked and noted to check out the limitation of sensory field after he was completely healed.

Then, moving on he activated the next skill, [Second Skin].

As soon as he willed it to activate, a significant part of his essence was drawn into the pendant.

And a second later, dark, thin vines began to emerge from it, slowly spreading across his body, layer by layer, forming a second skin. In moments, Levi was completely covered by the dark vines, which then vanished, leaving no trace behind.

Levi didn't feel anything. No weight or pressure on his skin—nothing. It was unsettling. To test whether the artifact was truly working, he picked up a stick, snapped it in two to form a sharp edge, and slowly pressed it against his skin.

"Woah!"

To his amazement, the stick never touched his skin. An invisible layer now stood between him and the sharp point. While he could feel something nudging him, there was no pain, no sensation of the sharp edge.

This skill was far more impressive than he had anticipated. The only downside was that it drained his essence in real time to stay active. Still, it was a fair trade-off, considering he now had a low-grade armor—thin yet effective—and it didn't just cover his torso, but his entire body, even his face.

In a place as dangerous as Paradise, having this ability at all times would be a huge advantage.

Calming his racing heart, Levi finally focused on the last skill, [Forgotten Echo]. It was the most complex of the three, and he had no idea how to use it.

Still, following the same process as with the others, he channeled his essence into the pendant—and was instantly taken aback. The moment he willed the skill to activate, the pendant devoured his essence like a glutton. In less than a few seconds, half of it was gone!

But what happened next left Levi in shock, surpassing anything he had felt with the other two skills.

A short distance in front of him, another Levi appeared.

That's right—an afterimage of himself materialized, and it was holding a pendant identical to the one Levi had in his hand.

Speechless, Levi watched, fully aware that this figure wasn't real. It was an illusion, a projection of him from moments ago when he first picked up the pendant but there was to distiguish it from himself.

If anyone saw it, they would have no way of identifying it as fake, which blew Levi's mind.

Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the afterimage dissolved into the surroundings, vanishing as if it had never been there.

"This…"

Levi was stunned and left speechless.

How did this skill work? How far back could it project? How long could he maintain it? There were too many questions and no answers.

[Forgotten Echo] had immense potential but it could also be very dangerous if he used it without fully understanding its mechanics.

Used correctly, it could be a powerful asset—but mishandling it might turn the skill into a curse.

"I need to master my skills," Levi muttered.

He had to train with the abilities he had gained. He was too injured and exhausted to move to the next floor anyway.

More importantly, knowing that the monster awaiting him there was the Black Wing of Lunacy, Levi had no intention of advancing until he was fully confident in his powers.

"One step at a time," he thought, closing his eyes and deliberately ignoring the message hovering in the corner of his vision:

[Do you want to enter the next floor?]

[Yes/No]

---***---