Death-Omen Raven

The world was swallowed by darkness so thick it seemed impossible to disperse. A gale shrieked through every inch of space, carrying the sharp stench of blood and stinging exposed skin like countless tiny needles.

Xilian led the way, hacking a bloody path through severed limbs and remains with the Fire Sword.

The surviving townspeople followed close behind Xilian. They tried not to look at the things in the dark or listen to the shrieks around them, but every time they stepped over a burning, twisted body, fear took deeper root in their hearts.

"Oh God..."

"Is this hell?"

The whispers continued. Xilian paid them no mind.

He had no time to tend to the townspeople's fears. He could not even check whether anyone had fallen behind.

All Xilian could do was press forward. He could not waver.

For a moment, Xilian thought of the Expedition Nuen had told him about. Had the Torchbearers back then been like him?

Torches held high, swords swinging, they had charged into hopeless darkness and cut down anything in their way.

It sounded like an age to stir the blood. Countless Torchbearers had gathered, their scattered flames becoming a blazing sun that drove the darkness out of every hiding place.

But the age of the Expedition was over. There were no ranks of Torchbearers here. There was only Xilian, walking on alone.

Demons poured out of the Grey Fog one after another. This time, they truly seemed endless. For every one Xilian cut down, two more crawled out.

Corpses piled up in thick layers, and sticky, foul-smelling blood turned the ground slick and muddy.

Mick stayed close beside Xilian, easing the pressure on him. He moved with nimble speed, often striking from difficult angles to land a fatal blow on a Demon.

But Mick was only human. He could tire, and he could be hurt.

He was exhausted, his nerves stretched taut for too long. The instant his attention slipped, a Demon's claws swept across his head. He tried his best to dodge, but they still sliced off his left ear and drenched half his face in blood.

"I'm fine."

Mick covered the wound, still wearing his usual grin. "You all keep saying I look too delicate. Now that I've got a scar, maybe I'll look a little more manly?"

It was no time for jokes, but Xilian played along.

"Of course! You look as cool as a well-fed brown bear with a perfectly straight stick in its mouth!"

Xilian kicked over the remains of a Demon. "One look at your face, and they'll imagine a whole wonderful story."

Beneath the strange comparison, Xilian's eyes were full of worry.

Xilian's blood would run out, and so would the Soul Marrow in the torches. The light was growing weaker, the area it could protect narrowing by the moment.

One by one, townspeople who could not keep up vanished into the darkness. Screams, wails, and roars intertwined into a song of despair.

"Oh God..."

In the middle of the group, Ava stared blankly ahead, tears streaming down her cheeks.

No matter how mature Ava was, she was still a child. Familiar faces had been torn apart before her eyes, and the home she had known all her life had gone up in flames.

Her body trembled beyond her control. If Tim had not been holding on to her, she might have fallen behind like the others and disappeared into the darkness.

"It's all right, Ava," Tim encouraged her. "We're here. The Sofluowa brothers specialize in handling things like this."

Tim did his best to comfort Ava, but against such terror, his words rang painfully hollow.

"No... no, no! I have to live!"

A townsman suddenly lost control and screamed. He reached out wildly, trying to seize the torch in Tim's hand.

A sharp flash of steel cut through the air. Xilian struck the townsman down with one swing. The man clutched the wound in his throat and struggled in agony until he stopped breathing.

Xilian's decisive strike stunned everyone. They stared at him in disbelief, unable to understand how he had become so cold.

"He was corrupted."

Xilian lifted the dead man's clothes with his sword, exposing a patch of fine scales growing across his skin.

The disaster had struck too suddenly. Amid the chaos, someone was bound to have touched the Grey Fog by accident and been tainted by the power of Chaos.

No one would admit it if they wanted to survive. They would only insist, again and again, that they had stayed within the light.

And even if they knew, what could they do?

This was only the beginning of a long night. Even Xilian could not be sure he would see the sun rise again.

"Stay close to me!"

Xilian swung his sword again, leading the group through the swarm.

Blood sprayed like a fountain, staining the ground a glaring red.

Xilian had lost count of the Demons he had killed, yet he still saw no end to the vast darkness.

After witnessing what Xilian had just done, no one else dared try to seize a torch. Faced with the steadily fading light, all they could do was pray.

"What are you doing?"

Someone screamed. He was still within the light when another person grabbed him from behind.

The other man shoved him back with all his strength. Several claws emerged from the darkness.

In an instant, limbs flew. A Demon tore off his arm, leaving strands of flesh hanging from it. Claws sheared away his head, and blood burst from his neck like a crimson flower. His organs spilled across the ground, intestines winding around shattered limbs as they writhed in the pool of blood.

Just like that, one man died. The other eagerly squeezed forward into the vacant space and back beneath the light.

Before he could celebrate winning himself a little more time, a sharp dagger pierced his chest.

"Besides responsibility, our teacher taught us one more thing."

Mick withdrew the dagger without expression. "Even in the face of death, we should keep our dignity."

The man clutched his chest and knelt on the ground, unable to move. The group kept going, and the light receded with them.

He tried to beg, but Mick had pierced his lung. Only strange whimpers came from his throat as blood welled out.

Soon, darkness engulfed him. After a brief shriek, his suffering ended.

The world was pitch-black. Both moons had vanished, and the murk was so thick that no one could see a hand before their face. Even the ever-present Second Sun had disappeared.

The only thing left to guide Xilian was the blazing wreckage of the Torchlight Lighthouse in the distance.

Xilian knew the terrain of White Cliff Town well. The burning wreckage drew closer and closer until its fierce glow lit everyone's faces.

"We're saved..."

At the sight of the roaring flames, a woman breathed a sigh of relief and burst into tears.

"No. It isn't over."

Xilian's words plunged her heart back into despair.

The wreckage was indeed burning fiercely, but the flames were not the pure white of Soul Marrow. They were ordinary fire.

The Torchlight Lighthouse should have held a large reserve of Soul Marrow. Even if someone had blown it up, the flames should have ignited what remained.

But these flames were nothing more than fire. They had no power to resist Chaos.

"Oh? You've arrived."

A woman's voice rang out without warning. Ahead of Xilian, Tania emerged from the Grey Fog.

Tania was in terrible shape. Xilian had blinded one of her eyes and severed several of her fingers. To strengthen the Interstice Gray Domain and corrupt this land, she had also cut open her wrist and sacrificed a great deal of blood.

Her presence was faint, and bluish veins stood out across her skin like tangled vines.

"Tania..."

Xilian had learned the woman's name from Deathbird. He tested her with a question.

"You're from Her City."

Tania sounded a little surprised. "What makes you think that?"

Xilian pieced together the truth. "Her City is the closest city-state to White Cliff Town. It's also the only one that could monitor the Torchlight Lighthouse here."

"So what?" Tania asked.

"Nothing."

Xilian shook his head. As soon as he spoke, the Grey Fog churned in every direction. Countless shadows flickered, then surged out of the darkness with hysterical howls.

A horde of Demons could not threaten Nuen, but it was perfectly suited to killing a Rank One Torchbearer like Xilian.

Xilian was exhausted and covered in wounds. He had to withstand the Demons' assault while somehow keeping the survivors safe amid the encirclement.

It was a hopeless situation, but Xilian had no intention of giving up. He felt no despair at all. Only one emotion rose within him.

Hatred.

For a long time, Xilian had wondered who a Transcendent's true enemy was.

Was it the power of Chaos permeating reality, or the horrifying Demons born from it?

Perhaps power itself knew neither good nor evil. What mattered were the people who wielded it.

Xilian understood now.

His enemies were Tania, Deathbird, and the madmen who used those powers.

They were the real evil.

Xilian tightened his grip on his sword and roared at the countless hideous faces before him.

"I won't give in!"

His blade severed one Demon's head, then pierced another's heart. Thick bone plates trapped the sword, so Xilian swung his fist and smashed the Demon's eye.

"I'll keep fighting!"

Xilian's blood boiled, and the Soul Marrow flared.

He charged out ahead of the group to meet the onrushing horde.

Only then could Xilian keep the group from being surrounded. Only by pressing forward did he have a chance to kill Tania.

Like the last soldier on a battlefield, Xilian charged the enemy line alone. Countless claws rose before him like a wall of spears.

He knew they would tear him apart.

Even so, Xilian swung his sword without hesitation.

A dazzling stream of fire followed the path of his blade, sweeping in from the far end of the darkness. It crossed the battlefield and split the Demon horde apart.

The line guarding Tania crumbled. Xilian reached her in an instant, his Fire Sword sweeping toward her.