It was the fourth month of the Year of Survival.
The air surrounding Silverlake Village was usually sweet, carrying the scent of fresh mountain springs and blooming lilies.
But as the Tri-Warriors rode their armored mounts down the winding cobblestone path, the scent was entirely replaced by the foul, suffocating odor of rot.
Kenshin pulled gently on the reins, bringing his black stallion to a halt near the edge of the water.
Silverlake was no longer silver.
The massive body of water, which served as the primary drinking source for a dozen surrounding Underward settlements, had turned as black as midnight ink.
A thick, purplish miasma drifted lazily over the stagnant surface, killing the reeds and fish that washed up along the muddy shores.
“This is not a natural plague,” Asami said, dismounting gracefully.
She walked to the water’s edge, her icy blue eyes narrowing as she observed the dead flora.
The faint, electric-blue and purple aura of her Plandacorus sparked around her boots, actively repelling the toxic mist.
“This is a concentrated curse. Dark magic is bleeding directly into the water table.”
“The village magistrate sent a raven to the stronghold three days ago,” Horuto noted, stepping down from his massive warhorse.
The heavy spectral chains clinked against his spine.
“He claimed the corruption began after an earthquake disturbed the high ridges of the mountain.”
Kenshin dismounted, his dark green eyes trailing up the steep, jagged face of the mountain that loomed over the village.
“The source is up there. I can feel it.”
He was not lying.
Ever since he had assimilated the Black Stone in the subterranean ruins, his senses had become entirely attuned to the darker currents of magic.
The Blandcourus core within his chest pulsed in a slow, rhythmic beat, resonating with the heavy, dark aura leaking from the mountain peaks.
“The Whispering Catacombs,” Horuto said, following Kenshin’s gaze.
“Ancient burial grounds for the warlords of the old eras. Master Brados sealed them over a century ago because the residual magic of the dead was too volatile. If an earthquake broke the seals, the dark aura is spilling directly into the underground springs that feed this lake.”
Asami rested her double-bladed polearm against her shoulder.
“Then we climb. We find the breach, and we purify the source.”
“And if the dead are no longer resting?” Kenshin asked, a faint, confident smile touching his lips as he rested his hand on the hilt of his dark katana.
“Then we put them back to sleep,” Horuto replied, his glowing olive-green eyes completely serious.
-Break-
The climb up the mountain was treacherous.
The narrow stone paths were slick with the foul, dark miasma, forcing the Tri-Warriors to leave their horses at the base.
By the time they reached the summit, the moons were already beginning to rise, casting a pale, ghostly light over the entrance to the Whispering Catacombs.
The massive, iron-wrought doors that guarded the tomb had been violently blown outward, the ancient stone archway cracked and crumbled by a recent tremor.
From the gaping maw of the dark cavern, a thick river of black fog poured continuously down the mountainside.
“Stay close,” Horuto commanded, drawing his massive jade broadswords.
The brilliant, emerald-green Kratognus aura ignited around the thick stone blades, acting as a beacon of light in the overwhelming darkness.
The Tri-Warriors stepped into the catacombs.
The air inside was freezing.
The walls were lined with towering statues of forgotten warlords, their stone faces carved into expressions of eternal agony.
The floor was littered with shattered urns and ancient bones, entirely disturbed by the magical tremor.
“This aura is incredibly dense,” Asami whispered, keeping her polearm raised.
The purple lightning danced across her jagged blades, illuminating the deep shadows.
“It feels as though the very air is trying to suffocate us.”
Kenshin walked at the rear of the formation, his senses heightened to their absolute limits.
The black, wavy clouds of the Blandcourus wrapped around his arms, shielding him from the oppressive magic of the tomb.
“The miasma is gathering ahead,” Kenshin warned, his voice low.
They entered a vast, subterranean burial chamber.
In the center of the room sat a massive, cracked sarcophagus.
Hovering directly above the broken stone lid was a jagged, pulsing crystal the color of dried blood.
It was leaking a torrential amount of dark magic, the curse pouring directly into a natural underground spring that flowed out of the chamber.
“That cursed crystal is the source,” Horuto identified.
“The earthquake must have shattered the warlord’s tomb, exposing his dark artifact to the spring.”
“Then I will shatter the crystal,” Asami declared.
Before she could take a single step forward, the heavy stone doors behind them violently slammed shut. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
The ground beneath their boots began to tremble.
“We are not alone,” Kenshin said, instantly drawing his dark katana and parrying dagger.
From the deep shadows of the burial chamber, the darkness began to take physical form.
The foul miasma coiled around the ancient bones and shattered armor scattered across the floor.
With sickening, unnatural cracking sounds, dozens of spectral wraiths and reanimated skeleton warriors rose from the dust.
Their hollow eye sockets burned with the same blood-red light as the cursed crystal.
“Grave-guardians,” Horuto stated, his jaw clenching.
“The crystal is using the dead to defend itself.”
“Form the triangle!” Asami shouted.
The Tri-Warriors instantly moved back-to-back, forming a flawless, impenetrable three-point defense.
They had drilled this exact formation hundreds of times in the sparring yard of the Underward.
Over fifty reanimated warriors charged them simultaneously, wielding rusted iron swords and jagged spears, their skeletal jaws open in silent, terrifying screams.
Horuto took the vanguard.
He slammed the heavy flats of his jade swords together, the emerald aura flaring brilliantly.
Kratognus Wave: Grial!
He swung the massive blades outward in a devastating cross-slash.
A towering wave of green, slicing energy erupted forward, crashing into the charging horde.
The sheer physical force of the strike shattered a dozen skeletal warriors instantly, reducing their ancient bones to absolute dust and blowing away the dark miasma.
“Do not let them reform!” Asami yelled, noticing the dark magic attempting to pull the shattered bones back together.
She vanished into a blinding streak of purple lightning.
Violet Phantom Flurry!
Asami became a blur of midnight-blue hair and crackling energy.
She danced through the ranks of the undead, her double-bladed Guandao spinning like a deadly tempest.
The purple lightning surged through the jagged blades, searing the dark magic entirely out of the skeletons.
Wherever her polearm struck, the wraiths dissolved into harmless gray ash, entirely purified by her aura.
Kenshin guarded their flanks, his dark green eyes tracking the movements of the shadowy wraiths that tried to bypass Horuto’s heavy strikes.
Three spectral assassins, armed with shadowy daggers, lunged at Kenshin from the darkened ceiling.
Kenshin did not retreat.
He funneled his magical core into his legs.
Dark Trail Step.
He dissolved into a plume of black smoke, phasing perfectly through the descending wraiths.
He reappeared instantly in the center of their landing zone.
Before the undead assassins could turn around, Kenshin executed the Twin-Fang Eclipse.
He used his parrying dagger to hook and trap the shadow-blades of two wraiths, locking them in place.
In the exact same breath, he swept his dark katana in a brilliant, horizontal arc.
The dark-purple gem on his crossguard flared.
The Blandcourus aura sliced cleanly through the three wraiths, severing their magical tethers and causing them to evaporate into the freezing air.
“They are endless!” Horuto grunted, swinging his heavy jade blades to crush another wave of skeletal warriors.
“As long as that cursed crystal pulses, the miasma will keep raising the dead!”
“I will clear a path!” Asami yelled.
She leaped high into the air, bringing her polearm high above her head.
Crescent Energy Arc!
She swung the long shaft downward, unleashing a massive, concentrated wave of purple blade energy.
The arc carved a glowing trench straight through the undead horde, clearing a direct line of sight to the broken sarcophagus and the pulsing red crystal.
“Kenshin! The source!” Horuto commanded, throwing one of his jade swords to intercept a group of spearmen trying to close the gap.
“I have it!” Kenshin shouted.
He sprinted down the cleared path, his boots splashing through the dark, tainted water of the underground spring.
The skeletal warriors desperately tried to collapse on him, but he was too fast.
As he neared the sarcophagus, the blood-red crystal pulsed violently.
It released a massive, localized shockwave of dark magic, attempting to physically crush Kenshin into the stone floor.
Abyssal Parry!
The dark, obsidian metal of his weapons absorbed the overwhelming wave of dark magic.
The force of the curse ground against his Gladeon strength, but he refused to yield.
The heavy, dark-purple and black aura of his Blandcourus flared wildly, violently fighting back against the cursed energy.
With a roar of absolute defiance, Kenshin pushed forward, breaking through the magical pressure.
He leaped into the air, raising his dark katana high above the crystal.
Void Cleave!
Kenshin swung the blade downward with everything he had.
The absolute anti-energy slash connected perfectly with the blood-red artifact.
The crystal shattered into a thousand useless, mundane shards.
Instantly, the foul miasma in the burial chamber collapsed.
The dark magic holding the skeletal warriors together vanished, causing the entire undead horde to crumble into lifeless piles of dust and rusted iron.
The heavy, suffocating pressure lifted from the room, leaving only the quiet, gentle sound of the underground spring flowing over the stones.
Kenshin landed gracefully on the edge of the sarcophagus, breathing heavily.
He sheathed his parrying dagger, looking down at the shattered remains of the curse.
The water flowing out of the chamber was already beginning to run clear and pure.
“It is over,” Asami said, walking toward him, her purple lightning fading into the darkness.
She offered him a proud, approving nod.
“The water will naturally cleanse the lake within a few days.”
Horuto retrieved his jade sword with a sharp tug of his spinal chain, sliding the heavy blades back into their scabbards.
“A flawless execution, Kenshin. You did not hesitate against the magical pressure.”
Kenshin smiled, reaching up to sheath his katana.
“We are the Tri-Warriors. We do not—”
Suddenly, the world went completely deaf.
Kenshin froze.
The voices of Asami and Horuto vanished, replaced by an absolute, ringing silence.
The air in his lungs turned to ice.
The dark, wavy aura of the Blandcourus around his arms did not fade.
Instead, it began to pulse violently, reacting to something buried incredibly deep within his own soul.
“You swing that blade like a child playing with a stick.”
The voice did not come from the catacombs.
It vibrated directly within Kenshin’s skull, carrying the terrifying, earthquake-like weight of absolute darkness.
Kenshin’s dark green eyes widened in sheer shock.
His heart hammered wildly against his ribs.
It was the Shadow entity.
For a year, the terrifying presence inside his mindscape had remained entirely, stubbornly silent.
Now, standing over the shattered remnants of dark magic, the ancient entity had finally decided to speak again.
“The goblin horde marches. The true slaughter approaches. Come back to the throne of skulls, boy. It is time for you to learn what true power is.”
Kenshin stumbled, dropping to one knee upon the sarcophagus.
He clutched his head as a violent migraine ripped through his temples.
“Kenshin!” Asami cried out, instantly rushing to his side.
She placed her warm hands on his shoulders, her icy blue eyes filled with sudden alarm.
“What is wrong? Were you cursed by the crystal?”
Kenshin gasped for air, the ringing in his ears slowly fading as the physical world rushed back into his senses.
He looked up at Asami and Horuto, the sheer gravity of what had just happened settling heavily in his chest.
“I am not cursed,” Kenshin whispered, his voice trembling slightly.
He looked down at the dark hilt of his katana.
The waiting was over.
The one-year deadline was rapidly coming to an end.
“The Shadow,” Kenshin breathed, his dark green eyes hardening with absolute, undeniable resolve.
“It just called for me. It is time for me to return to the dark.”
“End of Launch Week”