The world snapped back into pce.

  One moment, Batman had been standing in the Abyss, surrounded by endless darkness.

  The next—

  He was back.

  Back in the Academy.

  Back in reality.

  The cold stone beneath his feet. The dim lighting of the underground trial chamber. The distant echoes of instructors and students.

  He had returned.

  But something was different.

  ---

  [System Notification]

  [Trial Completed – Abyssal Awakening]

  (Status: Success – New Power Acquired)

  [Shadow Affinity: Passive]

  (The Abyss no longer consumes you. You are now a part of it.)

  ---

  Batman exhaled, flexing his fingers. The air felt heavier.

  No—not the air.

  Him.

  His body had changed.

  His presence had changed.

  The shadows around him moved unnaturally, as if responding to his thoughts. His breathing felt deeper, his vision sharper, his instincts more refined.

  > "I leveled up."

  The realization was immediate.

  The Abyss had left something inside him.

  Something powerful.

  Something dangerous.

  ---

  "What... the hell just happened?"

  A familiar voice.

  Batman turned.

  Deku was staring at him.

  His face was frozen in shock, his body tense. Behind him, other students were whispering, eyes wide with a mix of fear and awe.

  Batman frowned.

  > "How long was I gone?"

  Deku swallowed.

  > "...Three minutes."

  Batman’s eyes narrowed.

  Three minutes.

  Inside the trial, it had felt like hours.

  But outside—barely any time had passed.

  ---

  The Instructors Were Watching.

  Up above, on the observation balcony, several high-ranking Academy instructors were gathered.

  They had seen everything.

  The trial.

  The awakening.

  And now, their eyes were locked onto him with a different kind of interest.

  Whispers spread through the academy halls.

  Batman had entered the trial as a nobody.

  Now—

  He had returned as something else. ---