The gloom and decay only increased the further we got down river.

Eventually it ended in a waterfall that disappeared into pitch black darkness. We hovered over the edge of the falls and stared into the abyss below. I could sense even more Dark Frenzy and the effect caused my [Sacred Soul Shield] technique to kick it up a notch to protect my Flame. Still nowhere near Cursed Star level, but it was getting stronger.

I looked to Hun Wu. “Do you sense it?”

“Sense what?”

“The Demonic Qi.”

She closed her eyes a moment as if cultivating again. “Yes, our master is close.”

“Be sure to stick with me.”

She gave a final nod and we both descended into the darkness.

Hun Wu illuminated herself with flames which seemed to just barely pierce through the gloom. It was almost as if the Dark Frenzy had taken on physical form, becoming an ink that permeated the air.

I readied myself, cycling my Frenzy to engage the [Spectral Form] of my Sacred Soul. As the red-hued Struggler took form over my body, the double vision of the spiritual realm superimposed itself over the real world. It was like suddenly donning night vision goggles or something. What was once pitch-black darkness was suddenly illuminated with hundreds of individual forms of purplish light.

Sources of Dark Frenzy.

More revenants, I guessed.

I applied [Diamond Skin], [Diamon Core] as well as [Diamond Lightning] to both provide added protection as well as to illuminate the darkness on my own.

Hun Wu chuckled next to me. “I see someone is eager for a fight. How strong do you think the revenants will be here?”

“No idea,” I said. “Which means the [Odds could be Against Us].”

She peered at me quizzically as I said the phrase, but the triggering of my Frenzy generating technique was all I cared about. And I would need every ounce of Frenzy it could muster for what I was about to face. Below me was not just death, but a death of the very soul. I wasn’t even sure if [Death’s Door] would allow me to survive if I was trapped by whatever unholy power was keeping everything on this planet undead.

Yet I pressed on without fear or hesitation.

Hun Wu was seeking her god and I was seeking somewhat one of my own.

A realm of [Death Mastery] to propel me to the next level.

A [Death Wish].

My Flame intensified at just the thought.

As the pin pricks of Dark Frenzy on the ground grew closer, I looked for the tell-tale signs of my true prey. It didn’t take me long to spot it. There in the distance was what could only be described as the source itself. A source of Dark Frenzy so brilliant that it resonated with the core of my Flame from at least a quarter mile away.

“Over there,” I said, directing Hun Wu. “This way.”

Hun Wu took on her [Sacred Soul] form as she followed after me. As the ground finally came into view, I touched down with a small burst of lightning. The flash illuminated my surroundings and in that instant I knew I was finally in the right place.

The sunken valley buried in gloom.

The perpetually dark sky.

And the haunting, graveyard like ruins carved of ivory and ancient stone.

Above me were the three moons I had seen before as well. One of them was a Bloodmoon, but it wasn’t radiating Dark Frenzy like I expected. Perhaps because the true source of Dark Frenzy was right ahead of me instead.

I took a step forward and suddenly all hell broke loose.

The individual sources of Dark Frenzy I could see through my [spectral] eyes, suddenly swarmed at me like a school of fish chasing a single piece of bait. In the real world, a hundred specter-like beings emerged from the gloom and began attacking with a myriad of weapon and Qi techniques.

My mind sped.

In less than a second my martial training kicked in and had me parrying six of the revenants with my axe and cleaving three more with my glaive. Horrid, unnatural wails rang out and Hun Wu screamed next to me, clearly affected by exposure to the unknown.

Despite it, she fought back as well, illuminating the gloom with a series of fire tornadoes as she tossed her douli through the air. It cut through several of the revenants, leaving a trail of blue flames and dissipating spirits in its wake.

I threw bolts of [Frenzied Lightning] with haphazard speed but keen precision, knocking back the swarming ghosts with the power of my spiritually charged techniques. They came with such a flurry that there was no way to hold them all off. Searing pain cut through me as the weapons of the undead creatures broke through my defenses, etching at my very soul. But they paid the price for getting close as well. My [Sacred Soul Shield] caused them to burn and scream as they entered its influence, like demons trapped behind an aetherite barrier.

That meant going hand to hand with these things was the best way to go.

“Attack the ones close to us,” I shouted to Hun Wu. “They’ll be weakened by my aura.”

She immediately switched styles, withdrawing her douli from the midst of them and began using it like a saber to cleave through the creatures at close range. Still, after a while, I saw we weren’t making much headway. This wasn’t like at the beach, where the chainmaiden’s powers were slow to piece those skeletons back together. Here, the revenants were reforming nearly as fast as we could kill them.

“We need to move!” I shouted. “Press through them. Save your strength for when we’ll really need it.”

I still wasn’t even sure what that moment might be yet.

When we finally got to I’xol’ukz she wasn’t going to be on my side.

Smart money said to just let the revenants kill her here and now.

But who knew what the hell that might mean in the presence of I’Xol’ukz and this undead curse? She could become an even greater monster then. I focused on that as I pushed through the masses with [Lightning Walk] ensuring Hun Wu was close behind me. Yes, I needed to keep her from dying before I’xol’ukz did. Else he could inhabit her corpse and turn her into something worse.

I clung to that thought, but the Struggler in me frowned, knowing it was pure bullshit.

Ah, who the hell am I kidding? I lamented inwardly.

I could have killed Hun Wu ages ago and been a hell of a lot safer. But the fact was she had kind of grown on me now. In the couple of weeks that I’d known her, she’d treated me decently and wasn’t a prick or a moron like many of her Fire Bird counterparts.

Still, we were far from being true allies.

At least on my part.

I didn’t know how this would all end, but one thing was certain.

My humanity wouldn’t allow me to kill her in cold blood.

I felt the Struggler’s hand on my shoulder as he gave me a moral thumbs up, meanwhile the demon shook his head at me like I was a dumbass. They were both right, of course. Which made me sigh inwardly with chagrin.

No struggle, no power.

But at the seat of all of my strength was the humanity I could not lose.

Less I turn into a demon like what Hun Wu was destined to become.

Or the one I was soon to face.

I’ll try to save you too Hun Wu, I made the silent promise to her.

Even though I had no idea how or if I even could.

But I would try.

The thought spurred me on and I fought even harder through the denizens of the dark valley. The efforts took their toll on both my flesh and my Dantian, my Frenzy draining with each revenant that entered my aura and each [Spectral] charged technique that I used to dispatch them.

We pressed on, foot by foot, edging ever closer to the source.

“I sense something!” Hun Wu eventually shouted from behind me. “Its right ahead. The artifact containing our master. It must be!”

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After another minute of pressing through the hungry ghosts, I could see she was right. We entered what looked like the foundations of what was once a large building or perhaps temple. And there in the center was the image of what I had only glimpsed before.

It was like déjà vu.

Right before us, was a massive throne made of ivory and on it sat the mummified corpse of a giant figure that was draped in tattered robes. A long-tarnished crown adorned its slouched head, and its arms and legs were tethered with rusted shackles and chains.

I didn’t know who she was before, but clearly this had to be the corpse of Lythandra, the Great Soul Emperor’s sullied betrothed. From where her Dantian would be, a familiar purplish glow was emanating and although I couldn’t sense Dark Frenzy from it specifically, I knew that had to be the source of the unholy power cursing this entire planet.

A horrid nail-on-chalkboard screech ripped the air and Hun Wu suddenly fell to her knees with a scream. The effect caused my [Sacred Soul Shield] to flare as well and I sensed that same intense level of Dark Frenzy that I had only glimpsed before.

The sound affected the revenants chasing after us as well, and they stopped just short of the broken walls of the structure we had entered. The screech sounded again and through my spectral vision, the whipping tentacles of I’xol’ukz emerged from the gloom.

~Foul husk…Thou hast brazenly challenged my very domain?~

As the words formed in my mind, Hun Wu cried out again.

I looked down at her and her body was going through a metamorphosis despite me shielding her from the Dark Frenzy.

“Do you not hear it!” she cried out. “It is the voice of our master! You must kneel!”

To hell with that, I thought.

But it proved two things.

One, I’xol’ukz could cause her to bloom by the power of its voice alone. And two, she still had no idea what was truly being said. It was no wonder they followed after him in such ignorance.

Hun Wu Screamed again as feathers began to sprout from her arms.

“Fight against it, Hun Wu! Don’t allow yourself to bloom!”

She looked up at me, her crimson eyes wild with a devotional fervor. “If it is our master’s will, I must. Quickly. He must be urging us to free him.” She then pointed to the Chainmaiden’s corpse atop the throne. “That is the artifact. We must destroy it.”

I looked again to the purplish glow within the corpse.

Lythandra’s Dantian?

Was that the prison?

If everything Hun Wu said was true, then destroying it was the last thing I needed to do.

“No,” I said firmly.

I sensed a spike of fear come from Hun Wu as she looked up at me again. “What?”

I blew out a sigh.

It was time to end this charade.

“I’ve decided it only right I honor you with the truth, Hun Wu. I owe you that much before you turn into a damn demon.”

“What do you speak of?”

“I’m not here to free your master,” I said and then I looked at her with [Struggler’s Resolf] to ensure she knew I wasn’t playing around. “I’m here to kill him.”

Her eyes grew wide with shock and incomprehension.

I’xol’ukz screeched again.

~Bold words from a vacant husk~

Hun Wu cried out, placing her hands atop her ears. “What do you mean, brother? What are you saying?”

But I ignored her with [Indifference] to seek out my true prey.

“Come out and fight me!” I shouted at the tentacles dancing within the spiritual realm about me. “Or are you too chicken shit to face your own demise!”

As I said the words with [Fear the Flame] and [Struggler’s Resolve], the result caused an even louder screeches of lament.

“I shall free you, master!” Hun Wu cried out. She then whipped the douli from her head and slung it at the corpse on the throne.

Shit!

I threw my axe to deflect it, but missed by a hair.

The iron hatslammed into the ancient bones with an explosion of blue flames, shattering it and the chains apart. An explosion of Dark Frenzy and purplish light came next, sending my [Sacred Soul Shield] into the red zone.

“Blasphemer….” Hun Wu slowly rose to her feet next to me, as her body began to contort with the popping of sinew and bone. “What happened to you on that Hell World to turn you against our master? Have you been using me this entire time?”

I almost didn’t want to answer her.

But she already knew the truth now.

“You’re on the wrong side of humanity, Hun Wu. Your sister too. Nothing personal, but the [Frenzied Flame] and I got a writ against your fake god.”

As I invoked the technique, she screamed again.

“That name! What is that accursed name?!”

She reared up, transforming almost completely now, taking on the image of her Sacred Soul in demonic form. I still didn’t want to kill her, but it was perhaps too late for that now. Still, had she already freed I’xol’ukz somehow? I looked back to the shattered bones and wasn’t quite sure. The vibrant purple core was still shining like a beacon of unholy power. She hadn’t destroyed it. But then where had that burst of Dark Frenzy come from?

And then I saw it.

A white slug the size of a cucumber slithered from between the bones.

I remembered seeing it before, in that brief glimpse when I projected my soul between the stars.

Was that it?

Was that I’xol’ukz’s true form?

Before I could contemplate further, Hun Wu swooped down at me with a martial strike.

“[Hell’s plummet Phoenix Dive]!”

I paused for half a second to analyze the attack. She was more monster than human now. That meant fancy techniques were no longer necessary. I leapt forward instead of defending, beating her to the punch with an ablative counter, using my [Lightning Skin] with a midair shoulder tackle that blew her right out of the sky.

She cried out with shock and pain, but I didn’t let up, following through with a spinning cleave of my Phalanx Glaive but landing the blow with the flat side, right atop her back. The force of my strike sent her slamming into the ground with a huge explosion of flames.

With a burst of [Lightning Walk], I landed next to her, pinning her to the ground with my foot. “Give it up, Hun Wu. You know you’re no match for me. And I still don’t want to kill you, if I can manage it.”

“Don’t give me your false pity!” she spat. “You have forsaken your god and your clan. You must pay for your treachery against our master!”

I could almost laugh.

“You want to meet your true master?” I said and then using the tip of my glaive, I turned her head towards the pile of shattered bones, where the white slug was still desperately trying to find cover. “There’s your pathetic god, Hun Wu. See what it is you truly worship. A dark god from beyond the stars.”

I said the words with [Torment of the Frenzied Flame], adding insult to injury as I denounced her false god. I wasted no time to finally complete my mission. I leapt with [Lightning Walk] towards the shattered bones and descended with a [Three log Chop].

The slug shifted its head towards me and released a screech filled with cosmic terror.

It was enough to send my mind scrambling as the potency of Dark Frenzy pushed straight through my [Sacred Soul Shield] and reached my very Flame. It smoked and billowed but I pressed on, adjusting my attack slightly as it tried to squirm away. My aim was true and my mighty cleave cut through the creature with ease and sank into the ground with a sundering boom!

Instantly the Dark Frenzy dissipated as the slug, now cut into two halves, writhed for a moment, before growing still. I stood there stupefied, waiting for something else to happen.

But nothing did.

The Dark Frenzy was gone.

The spectral images of I’xol’ukz, reeling about me with its eye-ridden tentacles was gone as well.

All of it…simply…gone.

“What have you done?!”

The cry came from behind me, and I looked to see Hun Wu now reverted back to human form. She barely had any robes left on her, as she ran towards me, tears streaming from her eyes. I prepared for her to try and attack me again, but instead she fell to her knees before the slimy white creature now seeping purple guts all over the forest floor.

“What have you done? What have you done?!” she screamed over and over again.

She wept uncontrollably as she picked up both halves of the creature and then cradled it to her chest like a baby.

“Our master!” she cried. “I can’t hear his voice! I can’t feel his presence!”

Her soul was a mixture of fear and sorrow, but there was no Dark Frenzy influencing her from the outside anymore. Then quickly, the pain in her shifted towards hate. She turned her baleful eyes to me as fire lit in her soul, the same starting to take form over her body.

“Why have you done this? Why?”

“Hun Wu,” I said as calmly as I could manage. “You won’t understand now and maybe you never will, but I just saved your life. Maybe even your soul.”

“Saved me?” She stood as the flames twisted and began to reform in the shape of her Sacred Soul again. “You’ve desecrated our god. A power greater than all of us! How could you, brother? How could you?”

Damn, after all this she still thought I was one of them?

Even her sister had more of a clue.

But the various enclaves didn’t talk to one another.

So who knew how much one of them knew over the other in terms of the actual truth.

But I couldn’t care about their worldview at the moment. Maybe Hun Wu would never understand. Still, I’d done it.

I had just killed I’xol’ukz.

I had just killed a god.

It still didn’t feel real, but I couldn’t deny that its influence was now gone and as I looked to the Bloodmoon, although it was still red, I couldn’t feel I’xol’ukz’s presence there anymore.

But then suddenly I sensed something else.

A killing intent from behind!

I spun just in time to stop Hun Wu from jabbing a dagger-sized lance of fire into my side. I clenched her wrist within my grasp, immune to the flames licking about her naked body.

“It’s over,” I said and tossed her to the ground. “Theres no reason for you to fight me now.”

“No reason?” Her eyes welled up with wild tears of anger as she searched the ground for the two halves of the slug and then showed them to me as if for proof. “You just slew our master! You’ve destroyed everything!”

“It was for your own good, Hun Wu,” I said. “I spared your life and now you and your whole clan are free of that demon forever.” I then paused and used [Struggler’s Resolve] to convey my next words with as much sincerity as possible. “It was the least I could do, considering what I had to do to your sister.”

Her anger flared.

“Don’t speak to me of my sister, you traitor! You will burn in the fires of—!”

Her words cut short as a sickly, purplish glow began to form around both halves of the slug in her hands. The two parts then melded together, reforming the putrid creature. It wiggled back to life and then let out a horrid screech that reeled us both back with a pulse of Dark Frenzy like nothing I had ever felt before.

~Insolence!~

Hun Wu cried out with a terrified laugh as the slug wriggled within her hands. Her eyes began to stream bloody tears and the screams of terror between her laughing fits became even more intense. Her mind was clearly coming undone by full exposure to the cosmic unknown.

“Master!” she cried. “Master, you are alive! You are ali—!”

Her words cut short as the slug leapt straight into her open mouth. She gagged, eyes bulging as the thing forced its way inside her and down her throat. The sight was so horrific that even I took a shock to my system watching it happen.

She stood there convulsing on her feet, eyes wide and soul filled with fear.

Hun Wu finally looked at me, pleadingly. “Brother…?”

It was the last thing she said before a horrid, inhuman cry ripped from her throat.

I’xol’ukz’s words formed in my mind.

~Thou hast brought a suitable host for me husk. But thine progeny shalt be mine true successor~

The bastard was talking about Bryce.

Fresh anger and fury flashed through my soul, fueling my Flame with the power of my Twin Dao. “You made the wrong damn move messing with my family, asshole! Now you’re going to die for real this time!”

As I said the words, a mocking laughter filled the air.

Hun Wu began to transform once more, her body elongating with the twisting and snapping of bone. Suddenly she cried out in her human voice again, her screams filled with pain and horror.

“Brother, it hurts!” she cried. “My soul! It hurts! It’s tearing my soul apart!!”

Dark tentacles grew from her back, lifting her feet off the ground. Her red hair became a tangled mane as her head and face contorted, becoming a demonic like visage of pure beauty and horror. As she screamed over and over again, I could sense I’xol’ukz’s sick satisfaction as it violated her very being.

~Fear not Husk…the mortal shell thou hast offered me doth know the truth now. The truth of thy betrayal against the One True Flame~

A second head formed on the side of Hun Wu’s neck, stretching and elongating like another tentacle, but this one resembled the slug, only now it was pitch black instead of white and tentacled sized.

Hun Wu suddenly stopped screaming and her head righted itself, her eyes focusing with an unearthly gaze that was not her own.

“Prepare thyself now, Husk,” she said, her voice a mixture of her own and the muted screeches of the creature now grafted to her soul. “For thou shall feel the wrath of a True god from beyond the stars.”