Chapter 55 — Bloodshade Valley
The world bled red again.
Bloodshade Valley spread before the trio like an open wound carved into Venarae's crust.
The air shimmered with metallic heat, a crimson haze swirling around fractured ridges and petrified trees. The scent of rust and venom lingered, thick enough to taste.
Alicia crouched at the valley's edge, her eyes scanning the terrain. "Bloodshade," she murmured. "Known for serpents that feed on blood essence. Their venom can corrode even beast cores."
Shin tilted his head, pretending to think. "So, what you're saying is… great vacation spot."
Vaibhav adjusted his gloves, expression unreadable. "Let's go."
They descended. Every step stirred ancient dust that clung to their boots like dried blood. The deeper they went, the thicker the crimson mist became, pulsing faintly as if alive.
Then came the hiss.
The first serpent struck from beneath the earth — scales black as obsidian, its eyes glowing faint amber. It lunged with a sound like tearing fabric.
Vaibhav met it midair.
His fist slammed upward, crushing the serpent's jaw with brutal precision. A ripple of crimson energy burst outward — the air vibrating from the impact. The creature spasmed once and fell limp.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+3 Exalted Power Points Gained]
The moment its body stilled, Vaibhav felt the familiar surge — life force flooding into his veins, instinctive, unstoppable.
Three more serpents erupted from nearby fissures, their bodies coiling through the mist.
"Four in total," Alicia said calmly. "Make it quick."
"On it." Shin's grin flashed. "I'll take two."
He vanished — a blur of silver movement — reappearing midair as his blade cut cleanly through the first serpent's spine. Blood sprayed in a fine mist.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
Even before the serpent hit the ground, Vaibhav's aura pulsed again. He absorbed its fading lifeforce — the red glow faint but steady.
> [+2 Exalted Power Points Gained]
Shin landed smoothly, pivoting just as another serpent coiled around him. It struck, fangs grazing his cheek. He ducked low, twisting, and drove his blade upward through its jaw — the body falling limp.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
Vaibhav absorbed that one too, his body reacting without thought.
> [+4 Exalted Power Points Gained]
Alicia's serpent came next — larger, faster. It spat a stream of venom, sizzling against the rocks. She raised her hand, energy spiraling around her fingers.
The air shuddered.
A beam of pure focus light pierced through the serpent's chest, bursting out the other end. The body slumped lifelessly to the floor.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
Vaibhav absorbed life force again.
> [+1 Exalted Power Points Gained]
All four serpents lay still, their blood mixing with the scarlet soil.
Shin exhaled. "That's all of them?"
Alicia didn't answer. Her eyes were on the ground ahead — where the soil shifted like liquid, and a low rumble trembled through the valley.
The sound deepened, rising like thunder.
Then it came — vast, coiling, ancient.
The Serpent Monarch.
Its body rose from beneath the rock, scales pulsing faint red and black, eyes blazing like molten orbs. The mutated aura rolling off it made the air ripple.
"Mutated Exalted," Alicia said, voice quiet but tense.
"Finally," Vaibhav muttered.
The beast struck first, its tail sweeping through the air like a blade. Shin leapt aside, the shockwave carving a crater where he'd stood.
"Fast," he hissed.
Alicia's barrier flared up — shimmering green light catching the creature's venom stream and redirecting it. Vaibhav charged through the toxic mist, his aura cracking against the pressure. He slammed a fist into the serpent's ribs, bones cracking audibly.
The creature screamed — a piercing, shrieking sound that echoed across the valley.
Shin appeared behind it, slicing along its scales, exposing a weak spot glowing faintly beneath the flesh. Alicia's voice cut through the noise.
"Now, Vaibhav!"
He didn't hesitate.
He struck — once, twice — the second blow breaking through scale and bone. The serpent convulsed, its massive body collapsing, tail thrashing weakly before falling still.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
As its body cooled, Vaibhav's chest burned faintly. The life force flowed into him — denser than before, heavier, darker.
> [+5 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained]
The valley fell silent again.
The trio stood among five massive serpent corpses.
Shin exhaled, shaking blood from his blade. "Now that was a bit satisfying."
"Don't relax yet," Alicia said. "We're not done."
Vaibhav looked down at the remains, expression unreadable. "Get the shards."
They worked methodically. Alicia knelt beside the first serpent she'd killed, cutting carefully through the ribcage. A faint blue shard pulsed weakly inside. She lifted it, cleaned it, and absorbed it through her palm.
> [+3 Exalted Power Points Gained]
Shin crouched beside his first kill, prying open the chest cavity with the edge of his sword. A bright blue shard gleamed within the torn flesh. He smirked faintly. "Still as pretty as ever." He absorbed it.
> [+5 Exalted Power Points Gained]
Alicia moved to her second serpent — the one Vaibhav had crushed. Its shard glowed stronger, brighter. She pulled it out and pressed it into her palm, the light fading into her skin.
> [+8 Exalted Power Points Gained]
Shin handled the last Exalted-class serpent.
He absorbed it in one smooth motion.
> [+6 Exalted Power Points Gained]
They turned to the final, colossal body — the Serpent Monarch. Alicia slit open the scaled chest, revealing a shard like a burning ember, radiating violent crimson light. Shin stepped back, letting her handle it. She absorbed it with calm precision.
> [+5 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained]
When the glow faded, Vaibhav turned toward the last silent observer — the air behind him rippled.
Viggy emerged.
The Unbound Wolf's body shimmered with ethereal smoke, eyes burning faint red. Its massive head bowed slightly, waiting for command.
Vaibhav raised a hand. "Eat."
Viggy lunged forward, silent and efficient. The wolf tore into the carcasses, consuming not just flesh but the shimmering essence leaking from them. Each bite pulled glowing red threads from the corpses — faint trails of light vanishing into the beast's spectral form.
Within minutes, nothing remained but dust.
Shin wiped his hands on his pants, grimacing. "Still creepy."
Alicia stood, brushing blood from her gloves. "Efficient."
Vaibhav watched Viggy turn toward him. "Good work."
The wolf's eyes dimmed faintly before its form began dissolving, fading back into Vaibhav's sea of consciousness. The red haze rippled once, then stilled.
By evening, the crimson mist had faded into a vast, open expanse.
The Crater Plains stretched endlessly — scorched earth, black glass, and broken spires of stone jutting toward the sky. The wind whistled through cracks in the rock, carrying echoes of old battles.
"This place feels… heavy," Shin said, his voice low.
"Residual essence," Alicia replied. "Thousands of beasts died here centuries ago."
Vaibhav cracked his knuckles. Said nothing.
The ground trembled.
Massive shadows rose from beneath the earth — Rockhide Titans, their bodies plated in hardened stone, eyes glowing molten orange.
Each step shook the ground.
Shin's expression sharpened. "Six of them."
"Good," Vaibhav said. "Perfect test."
The Titans roared — a deep, earth-splitting sound — and charged.
Shin moved first, disappearing in a blur. His sword flashed, slicing through one Titan's exposed joint. The creature bellowed, stumbling backward.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
Vaibhav's aura pulsed faintly — absorbing the lifeforce before the body even hit the ground.
> [+7 Mythic Power Points Gained]
Alicia formed barriers of green light, deflecting the shockwaves from another Titan's slam. "Now!" she shouted.
Vaibhav leapt — a blur of motion for his size — and drove both fists into the creature's chest. Stone cracked, splintered, then exploded outward.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+6 Mythic Power Points Gained]
Shin, behind him, watched Vaibhav's aura flare. "He's stealing all the kills again."
Alicia fired compressed bursts of aura into a third Titan's knees, toppling it. Shin lunged, driving his sword straight through the creature's exposed core.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: Rockhide Spirit]
Vaibhav's chest burned faintly again — the absorbed lifeforce pouring in without effort.
> [+5 Mythic Power Points Gained]
A fourth Titan swung its massive arm, clipping Vaibhav across the shoulder — only for him to twist midair and slam his heel into its skull. The impact echoed like a thunderclap. The Titan crumpled.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
He absorbed the life force instantly.
> [+4 Mythic Power Points Gained]
The final two Titans moved together, one attacking Alicia directly. She crossed her hands, forming a layered barrier that cracked under the hit — but she held, gritting her teeth. "Finish it!"
Shin dashed forward, slicing clean through the first, his sword flashing white under the dying sun.
Alicia shattered the other's armor with a focused beam of compressed energy.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: Rockhide Spirit]
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
Vaibhav absorbed both dying Titans' lifeforce.
> [+3 Mythic Power Points Gained], [+2 Mythic Power Points Gained]
The plains fell silent again.
Cracked stone and drifting ash settled across the battlefield. The Titans lay fallen — six colossal corpses scattered like toppled mountains, their molten veins dimming under the darkening sky.
Alicia let her aura fade, the faint green shimmer dissolving into the air. "All clear," she said softly.
Shin stretched his neck, then wiped dust from his blade. "That was a workout."
Vaibhav didn't reply, only scanning the field once before nodding. "Get the shards."
They moved methodically — quiet, efficient, practiced.
Alicia crouched beside the first Titan, the heat from its body still rising in waves. Her dagger slid through the cracked armor plates, prying them apart with sharp metallic clicks. She reached into the cavity, fingers brushing against something warm — a shard, glowing dull orange beneath the congealed essence. She lifted it carefully, wiped it clean, then pressed it against her palm. The light melted into her skin, leaving faint amber lines trailing up her wrist.
> [+7 Mythic Power Points Gained]
Shin knelt beside another corpse, slicing through stone and hardened sinew until a shard the color of liquid bronze emerged. "Still beautiful, even after a beating," he murmured, smirking faintly before letting it dissolve into his chest.
> [+6 Mythic Power Points Gained]
They kept moving — from one fallen giant to the next.
Alicia's next shard burned brighter, veins of red lacing its core. She turned it in her palm, watching the faint flicker within before absorbing it silently.
> [+5 Mythic Power Points Gained]
Shin handled the fourth — a smaller shard that shimmered silver-white when caught by the light. He studied it briefly, then allowed it to sink into his body.
> [+3 Mythic Power Points Gained]
Two more remained. Alicia worked on both, sweat streaking her face from the radiating heat. The shards pulsed in sequence — one deep crimson, one pale gold. She absorbed them both, one after the other.
> [+7 Mythic Power Points Gained]
[+6 Mythic Power Points Gained]
When the final glow vanished, silence fell again. The Plains felt drained — as if even the wind held its breath.
Vaibhav's gaze swept across the carcasses. The faint red hue of his eyes caught the fading light. "Viggy."
The air behind him rippled — and the Unbound Wolf stepped forth. Massive, spectral, its form flowed like liquid smoke, fur shimmering faintly red under the molten dusk.
The ground trembled beneath its paws as it approached.
Alicia rose, stepping back. "He's getting faster," she murmured.
Shin crossed his arms. "And hungrier."
Vaibhav lifted a hand, voice low but commanding. "Eat."
Viggy moved without hesitation. The wolf tore into the corpses, its jaws sinking into hardened Titan flesh and essence alike. Red threads of light streamed from the bodies, drawn toward its open maw — dissolving into nothing as they entered. Each bite was silent but final, erasing what was left of the beasts from existence.
Minutes passed. When Viggy finished, the battlefield was bare — only dust, heat, and cracked glass remained.
The wolf turned its gaze toward Vaibhav, red eyes flickering. He met them, nodded once. "Good work."
The beast's form wavered, then dissolved back into the crimson mist, retreating into his sea of consciousness.
For a long moment, the three of them stood there — listening to the quiet wind whispering across the plains.
Alicia looked eastward, her expression calm but resolute. "There'll be stronger beasts beyond this point."
Shin sheathed his sword, grinning faintly. "Good. I'm getting bored again."
Vaibhav's lips curved in the ghost of a smile. "Then let's keep moving."
They turned east, walking through the fading light. The molten horizon burned brighter with every step, shadows stretching long behind them across the blackened earth.
The wind carried the faint tang of spent essence — the scent of battle, fading but not gone.
A quiet herald of hunts yet to come.