Escora was the first one into the opening in the cave wall. She held her light up high as she stepped past the rubble and into the unknown. Verus followed her with wide eyes. He felt jumpy and on edge. Who knew what they’d find in this long-forgotten part of the cavern? Warin took up the rear, with the second lantern.

“It’s always one more thing with you two. Soon, you’ll both be trying to convince me to explore a hell like it’s a rational thing to do,” the irate disciple whispered as he entered the gap. “I bet there’s a lot of treasure in hells!”

Despite the twisted feeling in Verus’s gut, nothing jumped out at them. Instead, they found themselves in a passage with uneven rocky walls and ground. Even with their lanterns, it was hard to see since all the rocks cast a host of shadows. However, there didn’t seem to be much else in the passage, so Escora pushed forward.

It took them a few minutes to make their way over the rocks, but when they did, they emerged into a circular chamber with a wide pit in the center. The hole took up most the floor, so there wasn’t much floor to stand on. Moving carefully, the three disciples approached the edge and stared down. The light from their lanterns didn’t reveal a bottom, so Escora kicked a loose rock down into the pit. They waited expectantly for several seconds, but none of them heard the sound of it hitting bottom.

“That’s a long way down,” Verus said as he stared into the pitch-black darkness with the hole. It seemed endless, like it went all the way down into the deepest parts of the earth.

Warin sighed. “I know I complain about this sort of thing a lot, but this time I mean it. I’m not going down there.”

“We have rope. It’s probably not as dangerous as it looks, and we’ve come this far. Just think about what could be down there,” Escora said as she turned to frown at the chubby disciple. Despite her words, it sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

Warin gave her a stubborn look. “Other than a lot of painful exertion in the dark followed by a horrible death? What if we fall or get stuck! How can we defend ourselves if we’re climbing?”

As the pair bickered, Verus glanced back toward the pit and studied it thoughtfully. Like Escora, he was tempted to see what lay down there, but he also recognized how incredibly dangerous it would be. They were only at the Foundation Realm and they weren’t properly equipped for such a journey.

As Escora and Warin argued, they moved their lanterns so that the edge of the pit fell into shadow. Verus was just about to turn away too, when he saw a hint of movement in the corner of his eye. Startled, he turned to study the spot, but it wasn’t getting much light, so it was hard to make anything out. A moment later, he detected another burst of movement though, which sent a shiver down his spine. The feeling of wrongness that had been bothering intensified, causing the hair on the back of his neck to stiffen. Was something rising up out of the darkness?

“The pit! Look at the pit!” he shouted as he backed away from the dark hole.

Instantly, Escora spun around and held her light up. Warin was only slightly slower. Their lanterns pushed back the shadows in the cave and revealed the pit again, just in time for the three disciples to get a good look at the thing that had pulled itself up onto the floor and was now climbing to its feet.

Verus stared with wide eyes. The thing was shaped like a person, but it was shrouded in a wavering cloak of darkness and it radiated a terrible and utterly inhuman ki. Verus felt fear sink into his bones, paralyzing him. This wasn’t the result of fear ki, merely the creature’s aura.

A wheezing laugh-like sound echoed through the cavern as the thing clad in writhing darkness stepped forward. It had no visible eyes, but Verus could sense the pressure of its gaze upon him, like a biting cold wind.

Suddenly, Warin began shouting in a wavering voice as the white light from his lantern blazed out stronger. “There is no shelter for evil. No shadow can blind the righteous. Before the eyes of the Archon, reveal yourself!”

This new light burned away most of black cloak around the creature. It left nothing but a few shifting wisps of shadow, and revealed what lay beneath, an emaciated body in rags. At first Verus thought he was looking at a starved person, but he quickly discarded that idea. The thing was too thin, its bones and ribs could be seen clearly beneath its tight leathery skin and the faded rags that were all that remained of its clothes. Verus glanced up at its face and recoiled in horror. Two completely black eyes that shimmered with power stared back at him from the thing’s skull-like visage, and two black horns jutted out from its forehead. The thumb-sized horns were curved and easy to see since the creature lacked hair of any type.

“Demon!” Escora hissed fearfully as she jumped back and summoned a whip.

Verus also retreated as frantic thoughts raced through his head. A Demon! He’d never suspected they run into anything like this here. The Reaches were warded by the Heaven and Earth Array, so it shouldn’t even be possible.

Demons were among the most feared creatures in existence, and the Heavenly Empire went out of its way to exterminate them wherever they were found. The result of a spirit possessing a living body or corpse, demons were twisted and dangerous by nature. Spirits were not meant to possess bodies, and the unholy act not only horribly mutated the body but also filled the spirit with a terrible hunger for flesh and ki.

A stream of water essence lashed at the demon as Escora attacked, but it ducked beneath the whip before lunging forward toward Warin. It moved jerkily but with surprising speed. More like an insect than the human it used to be.

“Help!” Warin yelped as he scrambled backwards.

Verus shook off his fear and moved to help his friend. There was no way he was going hand-to-hand with a demon, so he drew his sword as he ran to intercept the enemy. Thankfully, the battle focus began to fall into place immediately. Driving away his fear and hesitation.

“Don’t drop that lantern!” Escora shouted. She’d already put hers down.

Using Vanishing Feather Step, Verus leapt across the rocky ground almost instantly. He appeared right next to the demon and slashed down at it with everything he had. However, the unholy being twisted around and knocked the blade aside with a swipe of its hand. Its fingers ended in jagged black nails that were unnaturally long and strong.

The demon then swiped at Verus with its other hand, forcing the young disciple to jump away. That left its back exposed though, and Escora took full advantage. She slid forward using her water movement technique and hit the demon’s back with a jumping sidekick. It stumbled briefly but didn’t fall or look hurt.

Verus grimaced. The creature was far stronger than its thin body suggested. From the power of its ki, he guessed it was at least as powerful as someone in the Tempered Realm. Still, he didn’t hesitate. His battle focus guided him as he attacked again with a slash at the demon’s head. It tried to block the attack, but it was a feint this time. Verus turned his blade and slammed it into the creature’s raised arm. It cut deep, but the demon barely reacted. Instead of shrieking in pain, it growled in annoyance as Verus’s sword was pulled free and its weakened arm fell to its side.

Warin stopped retreating and began chanting again, while Escora summoned another whip and Verus raised his sword. However, the demon ignored the closer foes, and stared intently at Warin as its ki suddenly began roiling dangerously.

“It’s going to use a technique!” Verus shouted.

He was too late. Before he was even done yelling, the demon coughed, and a thick cloud of rippling darkness burst out of its mouth. The black cloud ignored the light of the lanterns as it expanded in every direction, engulfing the demon as it kept growing. Stumbling back, Verus hesitated. He couldn’t see the demon and the cloud was quickly filling the cave. He lost sight of both his allies a moment later.

“Oh, god above. It’s headed my way! Help,” Warin suddenly yelled in a terrified voice. Verus doubted his friend was wrong. The demon had been weirdly focused on him all throughout the fight.

The battle focus reverberated throughout Verus in response, stiffening his spine. Protect! That was his duty. Failure was not an option and danger wasn’t even a consideration.

As the demonic mass of seething darkness surged forward, Verus threw himself into it. Instantly, he was blinded as everything went black, but he didn’t slow. Instead, he closed his eyes and focused on his ki senses as he ran toward Warin’s location. His spiritual sense was also hampered by the haze of shadowy ki around him, but he could still perceive glimmers of other energies with his trance-enhanced abilities. It would have to be enough.

There was a shuffling sound up ahead, which reminded Verus that he wasn’t alone in the darkness. There was a powerful demon possessed corpse in here with him. It had long jagged nails, inhuman strength, far more ki than him, and he doubted it was hindered by the impenetrable gloom it had created. No, this would be its element, its hunting ground.

Something whispered in the back of Verus’s mind. Yes, this would be tricky, but the situation could still be turned to his advantage. Even the greatest of beings could be brought low by overconfidence. Even gods could die.

A sound like the tumbling rocks reached Verus’s ears. It was swiftly followed by another scream that sounded like Warin, so he shifted his course. His body slid through the darkness as he cycled his ki. The power coursed through him with incredible speed, filling him with strength and grace. However, he knew he was greatly disadvantaged fighting the demon. He would only get one chance, while it still underestimated him. Timing would be crucial.

Another sound reached Verus and his spirit sensed a glimmer of bright ki up ahead. For a moment, it reflected off something oily black but solid in the dark, the demon’s spirit. It was only the barest of hints for him to work with, but it would have to be enough. Blind, Verus raised his sword as a rasping hiss and the scent of old rot washed over him. The darkness around him grew heavier as the oily stain shifted his way. The demon had sensed him coming and was ready.

A faint rustle warned Verus, allowing him to lean back out of the way of a claw as the demon leisurely swiped at his face. He could feel the wind of the attack on his face, but still couldn’t see anything. There was a surprised hiss from the demon as he dodged, and then another claw hit his sword, causing it to vibrate in his hands. He stumbled back and lost his guard, but he managed to keep his grip on his weapon.

“What’s going on?” Warin yelled from out of sight.

“I can’t see anything. Where’s Verus?” Escora shouted back.

Lost in the dark with a monster, Verus felt terror seethe in his gut, but a greater force kept it in check. The battle focus raged within him, filling him with resolve and unflinching purpose. It spoke to him. A whisper in his soul. This was the way. When it felt like you didn’t fit, when things felt wrong, you didn’t falter. No, you bent the world to your whim. That was righteousness. All it required was the will to strike true, without doubt or remorse.

Verus’s blade rose. His eyes were closed, but his spirit blazed. He could sense the enemy coming, readying for another strike to swat the petty human it considered to be nothing more than prey. A monstrous thing, a corruption made manifest. To his ki sense, it was currently a barely detectable glimmer, but Verus concentrated and waited. The demon had moved a certain way. It was a creature of instinct, not a warrior, and that made it predictable.

As a claw flew toward his face again, Verus’s put on a sudden burst of speed. Ducking under the unseen blow, he lunged forward, putting all his weight and ki behind one strike that was aimed at the deepest darkness he could sense. He stabbed forward, and the point of his blade sank through tough flesh and hit something harder. The was a loud crack as that gave way, and then a terrible howl filled the air as the demon screeched in pain.