Darkness filled the corridor like thick, sticky tar.
Ravenna's boots slapped wetly on the ground—not water, but some living black slime seeping from cracks in the walls, wrapping around her ankles like hungry snakes. With every step, the slime tried to crawl inside the seams of her leather boots, corroding her skin."This place is grosser than Old
Nick's socks," she cursed under her breath, twirling her dagger between her fingers. The holy silver potion on the blade emitted a faint blue glow, barely lighting up three steps ahead.
Rein walked beside her, the longsword "Frosttongue" that Ironbeard had given him floating three inches above his palm. The blade was covered in dense ice crystals, the cold pushing back the dark creatures trying to get close. His pointed ears twitched slightly, picking up rustling sounds from deep within the corridor.
"They're tightening the noose," he whispered, barely more than a breath between his lips. "Thirty steps ahead to the left—something on the ceiling."
The baby, wrapped in Rein's cloak, showed only a pair of golden eyes, which were now fixed intently on a spot in the darkness. His pupils narrowed into thin slits—like a feline locking onto prey.
Ravenna followed his gaze, and suddenly the runes on her wrist stung sharply.
—It's coming.
The ceiling crashed down, and a humanoid black shadow poured out like liquid. It had no facial features except a mouth stretched to the ears, filled with rotating sharp teeth. Its arms extended into whip-like limbs ending in sharp bone spikes, whooshing as they aimed for Rein's head!
Clang!
Frosttongue automatically blocked, ice crystals clashing with bone spikes, sending out a shower of pale blue sparks. The shadow screeched a high-frequency howl, the sound waves causing the slime on the walls to bubble as if boiling.
Ravenna didn't give it a second strike. She crouched forward, her dagger tracing a precise arc. The holy silver potion left a blue streak in the darkness, piercing straight through the shadow's "throat."
"Sssaaaahhh—!"
The shadow convulsed violently, black blood like tar spurting from its wound. But the next moment, the liquid solidified midair, reforming into dozens of hair-thin black needles that rained down like a storm toward Ravenna's face!
"Drop!" Rein shouted fiercely.
Ravenna rolled close to the ground. The black needles scraped her scalp and embedded into the stone walls, corroding honeycomb-shaped holes. Before she could steady herself, she felt her ankle tighten—the slime on the ground had somehow wrapped around her and was climbing up her calf!
"Shit!" She slashed backward into the shadow near her leg. The holy silver dagger hissed as it burned, forcing the slime to shriek and retreat, but it left several scorched black marks on her skin, causing her to grit her teeth in pain.
Rein formed a hand sign with one hand, and Frosttongue split into twelve icy blades that pinned the shadow to the wall. The elf's spell rang out crisp and clear like silver bells, each syllable causing the ice blades to grow more branches, eventually freezing the creature into a twisted ice sculpture.
"Shatter."
The ice sculpture exploded, and the shadow turned into a pile of stinking, bloody ice shards.
The corridor fell silent for the moment, save for the heavy breathing of the three.
Ravenna shook her corroded boots and spat blood-tinged saliva. "This thing's tougher than Abyss maggots."
"Shadowspawn," Rein sheathed Frosttongue, the ice crystals on the blade slowly melting away. "Parasites created by dark magic, usually controlled by the caster's shadow."
The baby suddenly stretched out a hand from the cloak, pointing toward the far end of the corridor, where the darkness was thicker—like a writhing wall.
Ravenna's rune-covered arm began to heat uncontrollably, thin streaks of dark red seeping through the emerald patterns. "The ancient tree is over there… but it's in pain."
Rein's pointed ears twitched sharply. "A trap?"
"Definitely." Ravenna grinned, baring blood-stained teeth. "But now we have a 'secret weapon.'" She winked at the baby.
The little one tilted his head, then suddenly grabbed a lock of her hair and pulled hard—
"Ow! You little brat, that's real hair!"
The baby giggled, but his fingertips glowed faintly with golden light. He gently pressed on the darkest red part of her runes. Instantly, the corruption within the markings was forced back, replaced by a molten-gold heat.
Ravenna gasped, "Feels like I just drank ten bottles of dwarven firewater."
Rein frowned. "Can you control it?"
"Control?" She flexed her wrist, the rune's glow illuminating her wild smile. "Who said I'm gonna control it?"
At the end of the corridor, the wall of darkness automatically parted as they approached, revealing a downward spiral staircase. The stairs weren't stone—they were made from some kind of living spine. Each vertebra undulated slightly, covered in suction-cup-like protrusions.
"A living staircase." Rein conjured an ice crystal at his fingertips and dropped it onto a bone step. The crystal was instantly devoured, not leaving even a trace of cold. "We can't step on it directly."
Ravenna pulled out the "backup plan" Old Nick had given her—a small pouch of phosphorus powder. She scattered the powder over the steps. The bone stairs twitched violently and contracted, revealing solid stone steps underneath.
"It works, but only for thirty seconds," she estimated the rate at which the powder was consumed. "We'll have to jump from step to step."
They descended with a strange rhythm, leaping down step by step, each landing precisely on the brief safe zones covered by phosphorus powder. Behind them, the bone steps continuously closed, grinding with a teeth-chattering screech, like countless jaws chewing.
At the bottom of the stairs lay a huge circular cavern. The ceiling was hung with countless black egg sacs, each as large as an adult human, their surfaces writhing with vein-like patterns. In the center of the cavern stood an altar made of piled bones, upon which was bound a miniature version of the Ironroot Ancient Tree—its metallic branches pierced through by seven chains, its roots soaked in boiling black sludge.
"Cloning by separation," Rein's pupils contracted sharply. "They're mass-replicating the power of the Ancient Tree."
Next to the altar stood three figures in black robes. Beneath their hoods, their faces were swirling mists, their arms fused with the altar, transforming into black tentacles that plunged into the tree, extracting the golden-red sap.
The Abyss Council—Shadow Speakers.
Ravenna's rune-covered arm suddenly trembled violently, emerald and dark red flickering alternately, as if resonating with the tortured ancient tree. Waves of pain surged through her; she clenched her teeth to keep silent.
The baby's small hand suddenly pressed against her cheek. His palm was scorching hot, and his golden eyes reflected the scene of the altar. Then—
He clearly spoke one word.
"Kill."
The voice was childish but carried unquestionable authority.
Rein's Frosttongue sword instantly unsheathed, the ice crystal patterns glowing fully. "I take left, you take right, the middle is for our 'secret weapon.'"
Ravenna licked her dry lips, twirling her dagger in her palm. "Just what I like."
They charged out of the shadows together!
Rein moved like a silver lightning bolt, Frosttongue sword tracing a perfect semicircle. The moisture in the air instantly froze into countless ice shards, raining down like a storm on the Shadow Speaker to the left. The robed creature looked up, its misty face splitting open, spewing thick black smoke.
The ice shards collided with the black smoke, triggering a series of small explosions. Taking advantage, Rein surged forward, the sword tip piercing the altar's edge. A line of ice spread through the gaps in the bones, freezing one of the Shadow Speaker's tentacles instantly!
The creature let out a silent shriek. The remaining five tentacles stabbed like spears; Rein spun and dodged with the flexible grace of an elf, bending into impossible angles. But the sixth tentacle suddenly accelerated and pierced straight through his shoulder!
"Rein!" Ravenna's shout was drowned out by the battle on the right. Her dagger clashed against the Shadow Speaker's bony blade, sparks illuminating the void beneath the creature's hood—there was no physical form, only collapsing darkness.
"Look at me, mud face!" she taunted, deliberately exposing a flaw. When the Shadow Speaker's bone blade stabbed toward her abdomen, her rune arm surged suddenly, grabbing the blade!
Dark red runes spread along the bone blade, instantly corrupting the creature's weapon. The monster recoiled in panic, but Ravenna closed in, slashing upward with her dagger. The holy silver potion carved a cross-shaped wound across its "face"!
"Try this!" She pulled out her last vial of alchemical explosive, bit off the stopper, and shoved it directly into the Shadow Speaker's open wound.
Boom!
The monster's upper body exploded into a shower of black rain. The rest flailed about like a headless fly. Just as Ravenna moved in for the finishing strike, her ankle tightened—bones from the altar had come alive! Countless finger bones grasped her leg, their sharp spikes piercing into her muscle.
The sharp pain made her vision go black, but worse still—the central Shadow Speaker had turned around. Its misty face expanded into a black hole, and a terrifying suction began to pull at her soul!
At this critical moment—
A streak of golden light shot across the cavern like a meteor, striking precisely at the Shadow Speaker's "heart." The baby, somehow now standing at the altar's edge, stretched out his tiny hand. A chain of light shot from his palm, binding the monster tightly.
For the first time, the Shadow Speaker made a sound—like a thousand souls screaming in unison. It struggled wildly, but the golden chains tightened relentlessly, eventually compressing it into a black crystal that clinked as it dropped onto the altar.
Rein seized the chance to sever the tentacle from his shoulder. Frosttongue plunged into the altar's center, releasing an extreme cold burst from the blade's core, instantly freezing all the skeletal traps.
Ravenna pulled out her bloodied leg, staggering toward the baby: "You little bastard! Who told you to—"
Her shout cut off abruptly. The baby knelt on the altar's edge, hands pressed on the corrupted ancient tree clone. Golden light flowed from his fingertips into the trunk. Wherever it touched, chains shattered and black sludge evaporated—but the price was clear—his skin was turning transparent at a visible speed, as if his life force was being drained!
"No!" Ravenna lunged to pull him away but was thrown back by an invisible force.
The ancient tree clone suddenly trembled violently. All the egg sacs burst simultaneously, dozens of malformed Shadow Spawn fell like sludge. The cavern began to collapse, stones raining down like hail.
Rein grabbed Ravenna by the collar and dragged her to safety: "We can't break it off by force! He's purifying the core!"
"But he's going to die!" Ravenna struggled, her runed arm uncontrollably burning hot. Dark red veins spread wildly, an ancient fury boiling in her blood vessels—
This shouldn't be happening.
He shouldn't be sacrificed.
Not again.
"Let me through!" she screamed, punching the ice wall blocking her way. The power unleashed from her runed arm shattered Rein's protective magic, the intertwined green and dark red light forming a shockwave that pulverized the falling rubble into dust!
Rein stared at her in shock: "Your arm..."
Ravenna gave no explanation. She rushed to the altar and pressed her runed palm against the baby's back.
"So you want to drain life force, huh?" she sneered, the dark red veins bulging like blood vessels. "Come on, I'll play with you till the end!"
In an instant, three forces formed a cycle—the ancient tree's agony, the baby's purification, and Ravenna's fury. A blinding light burst through the cavern like the sun, erasing all dark creatures in screams!
When the light faded, the ancient tree clone had returned to a pure silver-gray. The baby lay collapsed in Ravenna's arms, skin pale as paper but still breathing faintly.
From the altar's ruins, the black crystal suddenly floated up, a hoarse voice emanating from within:
"You cannot delay the inevitable end... When all twelve Watchers awaken, the Abyss will..."
Ravenna crushed the crystal with her boot: "Enough with the nonsense."
Rein knelt on one knee, checking the baby's condition. "Life force is severely depleted, but still alive." He looked up at Ravenna and suddenly froze.
"Your eyes..."
Ravenna blinked, a faint golden halo still lingering at the edges of her vision. "What about them?"
"For a moment just now\... your pupils turned vertical," Rein said softly, "Like a dragon's."
The cavern shook again, a loud crack of chains breaking echoed from afar.
"The main trunk of the Ironroot Ancient Tree!" Rein scooped up the baby. "Purifying the clone triggered the core's seal. We must reach the heart before the Council!"
Ravenna flexed her still-burning runed arm and bent down to pick up a shard of black crystal. Her reflection flickered in it—deep within those eyes, a golden vertical pupil flashed, clearly not human.
"This is getting more interesting," she grinned, crushing the shard into powder.