Something's Happening

The prayers on the Mental Layer, the hand seals, and the secret words had all been uttered. Yet the coordinated movements that should have united body, speech, and mind had inexplicably turned into a clumsy, discordant performance.

No matter how casual and lax the Amaterasu Order might be, the divine power stored within its fundamental system was not something that could be invoked so easily.

Before Ma Hou could even figure out why his most secret thoughts had instantly leaped to utterly unrelated absurd notions, he had already lost his last chance to connect with the Fusang Divine Tree system.

Black Mist's follow-up attack arrived. Countless cursed rays poured down like a torrential downpour, striking him wave after wave, battering both his body and his Mental Layer until he was instantly submerged.

At first, Ma Hou still tried to struggle. But under the effects of the cursed power, his sense of coordination and balance had been utterly destroyed. Even the slightest exertion would conflict with the movements of the surrounding parts of his body and trigger unforeseeable consequences. His struggle became a deadly catalyst. In the span of a breath, from within to without, from soul to flesh, he fell completely into a nightmare of disorder.

Every muscle spasmed and trembled. Every nerve became a living snake twisting wildly, with no Logic whatsoever. Even pressed against the dry, hardened ground, he could be driven into an extreme state of excitement, unconsciously writhing against the earth before shuddering in waves and collapsing facedown like an old dog in its final burst of life.

"Save me!" Ma Hou no longer cared about anything else and tried to call for help, but all that came from his throat were meaningless gurgles. When he tried to project his thoughts into the internal communications network,