by Yuri Ajin
Two Spheres of Space formed. However, instead of flaring up like stars, they were compressed and their light dimmed. Acilla and Rune’Tan brought down the power of their Forces of Space on the crack.
The dimensional tear began to widen. Even Kyros, who also possessed such power, was still inferior to Acilla and Rune’Tan. That was why the two of them could do what he couldn’t, even with the support of hundreds of cultivators and complex rituals.
However, they had to hurry up. So far, Kyros and the others had been distracted by the illusion generated by the Mask of the Great Liar. But its effect couldn’t last forever.
Fortunately, Rune’Tan and Acilla dealt with their task rather quickly, making the crack big enough to get out. But, as always, things just couldn’t go according to plan.
Kyros’ aura caught them the very moment they finished creating the passage.
Acilla swore.
Has he released more of the Ring’s power? she thought. What great timing!
Kyros wasted no time. Seeing Acilla and her strange friend, he waved his hand, releasing a combination of his power mixed with that of the divine Ring that formed a giant wave of black flames.
Acilla realized that she wouldn’t be able to properly defend herself. The same was true for Rune’Tan who had spent almost all the soul energy he had received from Kai and therefore had to urgently return control of the body back to him.
The crack shone behind their backs. They only needed to enter it to finally escape this hell. But the attack was moving too fast. Acilla could escape, but she wouldn’t have time to take Kai with her. She couldn’t teleport him into her pocket dimension either. All the power of her Forces of Space were focused on the crack so that it wouldn’t close. Otherwise, all their efforts would go to waste.
Making up her mind, she dashed forward — directly in front of the attack.
In her honest opinion, as a powerful cultivator from the divine sect of the Central World — this was a stupid decision. Still, something deep inside her soul forced her to act differently.
Am I doing this because of the Pact, the secrets of which even the gods don’t know? she thought before the black flames engulfed her.
At that same moment, two stripes of crimson erupted from the obsidian sea, parting Kyros’ technique and forming a safe zone behind Acilla.
Kai had barely blinked while all of this took place. Before he could even realize what was going on, he was knocked down by a bloody net and dragged toward the crack that sucked him in, spitting him back out in the Ishar Desert.
As soon as Acilla made sure that he was safe, she concentrated all the power available to her into one point. A powerful explosion followed. Taking advantage of the moment when the black flame retreated, she also rushed to the crack before Kyros had time to realize what was going on.
Kai found himself back under the scorching midday sun, three feet away from the black sand. A moment later, Acilla, seriously wounded, both physically and spiritually, appeared nearby, followed by Kyros who was immediately attacked by the demon. Acilla had deliberately set everything up so that Kai and she would end up beyond the black sand, and Kyros right next to the crack.
Since she was sure that Kyros would dash after them, she made some subtle changes in the crack that he didn’t have time to notice in his rush because of his inferior understanding of the Space.
A short fight ensued, during which the demon thrust its hand into Kyros’ stomach, filling his flesh with the dark mist. Earlier, Kyros would’ve died almost immediately, but now he possessed the power of the Divine-rank Ring that helped him resist and suppress Yin.
Realizing this, the demon tried to tear him apart but it was shackled, bound by a Sphere of Space. Waving its wings, it roared, suddenly feeling severe pain. Looking down, it saw Kyros’ hand wrist-deep in its chest.
With one sharp movement, Kyros tore out the demon’s black heart. It staggered and roared in pain, releasing such a powerful shock wave that swept Kyros away, breaking many bones and damaging his internal organs.
Barely conscious, Kyros rose and saw the demon slowly walking toward him. Cursing the damn thing under his breath, Kyros spent several hundred years of his life to temporarily increase his strength and run out of the zone of the black sand.
The demon was ready to jump at him, but Kyros didn’t care anymore. Glancing at Acilla, he grimaced and then activated one of his strongest disposable artifacts. His body turned into a radiant substance, after which it flew over the horizon, leaving the continent.
He didn’t care about those who were stuck in the dungeon anymore. He needed to return to his homeland and begin his recovery as soon as possible. He had achieved his main goal — he managed, through rituals, to steal a part of the soul energy of the Sinam Clan, with the help of which he activated the power of the divine Ring. He also mastered many of their techniques, which he could, and would, pass on.
As for the oath he had taken, he technically didn’t break it. He was supposed to provide an open passage for the Sinam Clan, not hold their hands and lead them out. And even though it was Acilla and Rune’Tan who opened the crack, it was he who made the biggest effort to create the exit. The oath to return the Ring would take effect only after ten years, and only if someone came after him.
Seeing that its opponent escaped, the demon turned around and headed toward the Pyramid, slowly crumbling into black sand.
Using the remnants of its strength, it struck the Pyramid, making it crack. After all these years of faithful servitude, the time had come to carry out its last order. The guardian used its strongest attack to destroy the Pyramid as someone had escaped it.
The cracks continued to form. The dimension within the Pyramid began to crumble.
Finally, the demon turned around, looking at Kai and Acilla. A moment later, its body exploded into black sand that was immediately carried away by the wind. There was a loud crash. The Pyramid broke in twain, revealing a void in space, and the earth around it trembled. Everything inside the area of the black sand began to gravitate toward this black hole. The inner dimension collapsed into itself, and the people of the Sinam Clan who didn’t have time to leave it died.
If the gods had remained inside, such an event wouldn’t have hurt them in any way, and the cultivators would’ve escaped unharmed. But so much time had passed that no one strong was inside. This was exactly what the demon’s master was counting on.
Soon, there was nothing left of the Black Pyramid. The entire area of space collapsed into one tiny point, which eventually disappeared.
Acilla fell to the ground. Literally torn apart from inside, she was slowly dying.
“What’s happening?” Kai asked both Rune’Tan and her.
“Kyros wounded me...” she croaked.
Without hesitation, Kai let her bite his forearm. Feeding on his blood, she temporarily got his regenerative powers and started to recover.
“That’s not all. Your soul is also wounded. Let me take a look,” Rune’Tan addressed her directly.
“I know,” she replied, feeling horrible even after having received the healing power of the Heavenly Hydra’s blood. “Try...”
Rune’Tan still had some soul energy left. It wouldn’t have been enough to save Kai from Kyros’ attack but there was enough for him to examine Acilla and provide at least some help.
Gaining control over Kai’s body, Rune’Tan revealed his aura and directed it to Acilla.
“Fortunately, the wound can be healed,” he said after a minute. “Your Shell is slightly deformed. Because of it, you can’t maintain control over your astral body.”
“Are you saying that I’m being torn apart by my own strength?” she groaned through clenched teeth.
“Yes. But I can put you into stasis. Once I return my body, I’ll heal you and—”
“To hell with that!” Acilla interrupted and winced. “I don’t have time for that! Gah, guess I’ll have to use plan B... I’ve never thought this technique would prove useful...�
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Rising to her feet with difficulty, Acilla put her palms together as if in prayer and closed her eyes. Exhaling sharply, an entire sea of ki burst out of her body, nearly sweeping Kai away. Once it subsided, he could feel that her aura had changed. Now she was a level-three Holy Lord.
“What happened with your development stage?” he asked.
“I used the Power Reduction Technique. With its help, you can temporarily weaken yourself,” she explained. “I figured that since the wound doesn’t let me handle the strength of the initial Divine Stage, I just need to temporarily reduce it. I feel much better. Not great, but I’ll live.”
“What do you say, old man?”
Rune’Tan repeated the examination.
“You’re right. The deformed Shell doesn’t conflict with your strength. Nothing threatens your life. However, as long as this technique is active, you can’t heal.” He sighed. “But if you deactivate it, you’ll probably die right away due to the pressure...”
“I see...” Acilla muttered. “So, the only way for me to heal is to remove the technique when there are no spirit wounds threatening my life...?”
“That’s right,” Rune’Tan confirmed. “And the best time for that is during a breakthrough... How much more do you have left to prepare your soul for the transition to the middle level of the Divine Stage?”
“Can she even start a breakthrough with a spirit wound?” Kai asked.
“Most cases of soul damage wouldn’t allow for that to happen, but this particular deformation won’t interfere with it,” Rune’Tan explained.
“I’m moving at max rate. So with what I currently have, I have fifty-nine years left until the next stage,” Acilla informed them.
“I see...” Kai said, standing up. “In any case, we need to return to the Abode. The Games must’ve started already...”
If he wanted to see his sister again, he had to become an Elementalist, and the Cloud Abode was the best place for that. He had a powerful mentor now, but he couldn’t do things without resources and strong opponents. Also, his friends were in the Abode, and he still had to fulfill his promise to heal Elea.
Kai took out a map and studied it. If he was correct, they were almost a thousand miles away from the portal that would lead them to the Abode. This time, however, he decided not to waste time traversing the desert.
The Space Uniting Ring appeared in his hand. It was the artifact that he had once used to lure Ailenx into a trap with a fake portal and then got out of the Aive Hidden Valley, leaving a mark there just in case.
Who could’ve known that it would come in handy so soon?
***
More than a month earlier
There was a raging sandstorm in the Ishar Desert. A girl covered in wounds, barely supporting the barrier around her, dragged the corpse of a man by the leg. Her goal was to get as far away from that damn Pyramid as possible. The rest of her team had died anyway, and their quest failed.
The storm ended an hour later. As soon as the sun blazed over her head again, Elize fell. The side effect of the Elixir of Rampage was gradually becoming stronger. She needed to find a secluded place for recovery as soon as possible, as well as someone who’d give her medicine at the right time and take care of her during the fever. But right now, all she wanted was to take a breather.
Ten minutes later, Elize sensed someone approaching her. Her amulet didn’t work, but she still recognized the aura as its owner appeared from behind the dunes. He was covered in wounds, and he looked much worse than she did. Instead of his right hand, there was a bloody stump.
“Where is your amulet, cap?” she asked, sitting next to him.
“Lost in battle,” he replied wearily. “How are you?”
“Acceptable,” Elize answered, still motionless. “Where are the others?”
“No one survived except us,” he said, turning to look at the corpse she was dragging. “Why do you need this undead?”
“I found something. Very important to the empire. You should take a look,” Elize said.
The man looked at her, tired and weary, saddened by the loss of his comrades and disappointed at himself due to the failed mission. Still, even in such a state, he should set an example for his subordinates. So he set his face and nodded.
“You’ll tell me on the way,” he said, getting up.
Throwing Raiden over her shoulder, Elize followed her comrade.
“What did you find?” he asked, looking at her over his shoulder.
Just in time to see the shine of steel flash before his eyes. The blade sank into his neck, releasing a destructive technique right into his body.
Swaying, he took a step back.
“Why... did you...?” he wheezed and fell dead before he could get his answer.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t need witnesses,” Elize said, putting Raiden down, her exhausted face beaming with a mad smile.
She leaned over her comrade and scanned him with her aura. There was no extraction amulet, which meant that no one would get the memories of his last moments. Nobody would blame her for his death.
“Okay, it’s time to get started,” Elize muttered happily as she walked towards Raiden’s body. “With enough Death energy, I can finally do it. What a gift of fate it was to find a perfect Shell here!”
Falling to her knees near the corpse, she tore open Raiden’s chest with the Forces of Sword and then took out a small box from her Ring that contained a still-beating heart. Taking it out, she carefully placed it into the chest cavity.
As soon as the element of Death that remained in the body enveloped the beating heart, a chain reaction occurred. Dirty gray ropes of Force began to break out from the transplanted organ and entwine the body from the inside. The wound on Raiden’s chest quickly closed and he suddenly opened his eyes. However, the person looking at Ishar’s sky was no longer Raiden. A different soul now resided in his body.
Eria had finally acquired a physical form.
A five-eyed mark appeared on Raiden’s chest and his appearance began to change to match the heart’s owner. The body elongated, the face narrowed, framed by locks of dirty blond hair...
Suddenly, the black eye — the most prominent one on the tattoo — shone with a bright, dazzling light. Elize had to close her eyes, take a couple of steps back, and even cover her face with her hands.
When she opened her eyes, Eria wasn’t in front of her anymore. Only cracks in space remained, hinting at teleportation. Heavenly teleportation, from one world to another… The teacher took his student back.
Elize stared at the place where Eria was for almost a minute. And then anger overtook her.
“A contract! We had a contract! You promised! You promised to help!” she screamed furiously into the void, waving her arms. “You can’t breach the contract! Neither of you...!”
Her rant was interrupted by a beam of light falling from the sky. The force that came from another, very distant, part of the Ecumene drove her into the sand, causing her severe but temporary pain.
Shivering slightly, she rose to her feet. Grabbing her left shoulder, she tore off the already tattered and stained sleeve of her robe.
Seeing what she wanted, she fell on her back and laughed madly.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” she shouted. “It wasn’t in vain! I’m almost done! I’ll kill him soon! I’ll get my revenge!”
A large tattoo of a black eye now adorned her shoulder, marked with the number one.
Now she just needed to get to the nearest city and survive the Elixirs after-effects. And although the award she received couldn’t help her in this matter, she had no doubts that she’d come out of this stronger than ever before.
Chapter 36
THE BEGINNING OF THE GAMES
Twenty-eight days had passed since the Black Pyramid disappeared. Finally, the Cloud Abode Games had begun.
Over the past month, more than ninety percent of Abode’s students decided to participate in the Games. Most of them didn’t want to leave ea
rly, while the rest were simply tempted by the rewards. Few refused to take part. Basically, only those who didn’t have much time left in the Abode or were unable to continue cultivating and couldn’t afford support from outside.
A vast majority of them formed teams. Especially those from the Ground floor, who even created alliances, uniting several teams of a hundred cultivators.
Some fourth-floor students were cunning enough to deliberately lower their rank before the Games began in order to be able to form large teams of very strong students. Had they not done so, their teams couldn’t have had more than five players. Fortunately, the Cloud Ten had predicted such a loophole, and from the moment the Games were announced, rating battles were prohibited.
Like many others, Kai was also a part of a team that his friends and he had formed just before leaving for the Ishar Desert. The group included An’na, Malvur, Shacks, Ailenx, and him. Due to the restrictions for the fourth-floor students, no one else could join them.
The Heavenly Floor students, like An’na and Malvur, didn’t have to take part in the Games. They weren’t threatened with being forced to leave the Abode since it was considered pointless to reduce the already small number of students on that floor. With only twenty-three members, they weren’t the reason for the Abode’s overpopulation.
However, if they still wished to take part in the Games, the same restrictions would be imposed on them as the fourth-floor students. That is, they could be in a team of no more than five players.
Even though each of them was incredibly strong on their own, there were two main reasons for teaming up — becoming a part of a large and strong group, and being given permission to leave the Aive Hidden Valley for an unlimited amount of time. Unless they were their team’s leader, that is.
Elea, who, due to her wound, couldn’t fight, used this rule to her benefit. She joined a team of four students who knew both Ranmaru and her. They agreed to help her so that she could stay on the first floor during the Games and not worry about her further studies in the Abode. In return, Ranmaru promised to help them stay in the Games. Duty and honor obliged him to help Kai’s team even though he couldn’t join it because of his rank.