Ubel ran again.

His feet stomped on brown soil, green grass, fallen leaves, and pebbles. He leaped above protruding roots and slid under the thick crowd of branches he encountered every once in a while. Behind him, a sound boomed like the slithering of a snake, and it was, and booms and shakings of the fallen or broken trees followed. Ubel could pick out the traces of a rough yet powerful breathing chasing after his neck. But most frightening was the creep washing over him. The sense of being observed, the emotion that made him aware of something that gazed at him so bad that only his death could substitute its volume.

But he was lucky enough, and also careful. He saw the beast flung its gigantic maw full of sword-like teeth from the corner of his eyes. With a push from his dirtied tiptoes, he leaped up and clutched a chipped branch, the momentum itself propelled him towards the next one. An agile monkey would fare better than him still, but the extent of his agility and benefit of the knowledge of the terrain favored his chances.

A roar sounded, slithering frenzied, and the temperature plunged.

Ubel swung his tired arms and forced his hurt wrist to move erratically, almost breaking the connection between the joints and bones. His body shot to the right into a puddle of water, Ubel rolled and stood upright again without a stop. He felt a chill permeate the surrounding, in front of him a dozen oak trees transformed to ice sculptings.

And an explosion occurred.

A great deal of Qi of the immediate area puffed out into nothingness like the burst of a bubble. At the same instant an aquamarine blue, mixed with soft-grey hurled towards Ubel- no, to the twenty-meter circle around the sea beast. Another sound captured Ubel’s attention, one that blinded all senses but his feeling.

‘’GUEWUGUSU-BRGHHHHH...!’’ He screamed and flew up from the impact. His eyes blinded and ears deafened by the almost white, Ubel stormed in the air while the rising circular dome of explosion extended over its initial area. Ubel swept the floors with his body for a few meters, only to be sent away like a ragdoll again. The dome expanded and turned into the shape of a ring that slashed through the obstacles. Long grasses and plants and trees split into two, one part froze and the other turned into particles while Ubel didn’t suffer anymore, for the ring passed right above his nose by a few centimeters, as he couldn’t get himself to rise.

Following a whoosh, the presence and the sound of the explosion ended, only to rise again for the last time. The ring exploded into a circle of milky white fire, it spread wild and wide and boomed again. At that time Ubel regained his sight. His ears still tingled and all he heard was an incomprehensible buzzing. This, however, didn’t stop him from swaying to the side and pushing himself up the ground. The moment Ubel regained his balance on two feet, he shot towards his left. Ten seconds passed, he approached the ring of fire, which froze and rose into a wall of ice. The buzzing in his ears decreased by each second and step, but the lack of pressure behind confused him.

Was he not being followed?

I still could be, or the beast might be tired from that attack. It can be some kind of sacrificial art or even a derogatory one. Why would the beast execute a magical ability like that, though? They regenerate by either eating flesh or devouring natural Qi. Expending some amount of his leftover to gain a bigger lump from me would be beneficial.

But Ubel’s train of thought could be wrong as well. They could do other things to rejuvenate their lost flesh and blood, most of them even peaceful solutions that wouldn’t harm anyone. In this case, however, stealing one another's was the fastest way that led to peak condition. But were the beasts too brazen to kill a post-immortal without a grudge? They weren’t.

The status of the other races, excluding forsakens, was way too low in the northern continent dominated by The Sect, Cindersnow. Unlike vassal empires, The Sect didn’t have another high authority restricting their movements and with the backing of thirteen colossal beings called Essence Realm Cultivators, where there were only twenty throughout the world, no other race could stand up to them. The status quo itself was already broken by the overbearing power difference at the beginning, so the later actions of The Sect to prioritize mortals right above all others did not need any deep justification. A smooth, not flawless, but a decent lie to gather the masses of unwitty mortals and immortals were enough to allow the occurred events bordering atrocities or genocides to make the other races submit to their authority exist.

Ubel was aware of this one way or another even before going through the so-called secret messages of the past figures. From primeval times to the period of Nine Gods Of The Deep Seas, to the God’s Nation era and The Great Shattering. From the establishment of The Sect a thousand years ago to the Rise Of Prominence it experienced nine centuries before now. The men and women who wrote letters and messages and books and notes and scrolls and advice and warnings to the future from those periods, Ubel knew of what they told long before knowing their statements. He knew how The Sect was a natural slavemaker even before reading through the biased evidence. Although he didn’t want to further continue this sickening train of thought, there was a point he had to make and that point needed the support called The Sect’s slaving attitude.

The point was, the beasts were slaves. But strong ones that could overthrow the normal empires and the most fortified cities in a few years if left uncontrolled. They could dominate the sea and the sky, only the land was safe from their terror. And the biggest restraint on these mindless slaves was The Sect, their methods of slaving through force and exemplary acts of derisive attention caused them to be the master. And if they were the master, the Northern Continent was like the children of the master.

It was apparent what would happen to the child of the master without the latter’s presence.

So...did the sect finally leave?

That was the point. That was what he derived from this one act. His mind acted unusually quick in the face of danger, from the boost of his survival instincts. And the small revelation reminded him of another thing once said in Quan’s notes.

‘’The Sect’s absence doesn’t mean liberation for mortals, it is the day the others escape from the suffering. And those others are not, and won’t be ever merciful.’’

Ubel snuck a peek behind. The body of the almost two hundred meters draconic water snake stopped slithering after a while. It crooked its head through a few tree lines and gazed at Ubel with slitted, pale yellow eyes. It didn’t move, Ubel didn’t stop.

With a breath, Qi enveloping his being whizzed and coagulated into a hard substance like tree bark, covering him from head to toe in a shining blue screen. It took four seconds for it to start brightening and the moment it did, Ubel’s speed increased by two-folds.

Like lightning, he leaped and smashed his shoulder into the crystalline walls. Cracks spread first, then fractures, and at last, the wall crumbled into shards of ice. Ubel rushed forward and disappeared into the forest. He didn’t dare to look back.

The beast fell to the ground in exhaustion a few minutes later, near the coastline Ubel found it.

It never stood up again and the waves of Grand Ocean swallowed the colossal body.

*********

How beautiful-

It was the middle of the day, nowhere near past noon, and the Sun imposed its ability to give life with light to its utmost. Feathers of the birds Ubel hunted stuck to the hexagonal ceiling, the white ones and the grey ones decorated their sides whilst at the center sprawled out the greatest of them all, the black feathers of the ravens.

There were gaps between them, of course, and a few streaks of illuminating gold pierced through the little ones to shine over Hong Seng’s robe. His flowered robe, embroidered by himself onto a black cloth The Raven provided to all his followers. There were crimson red lotuses and royal blue daisies, former at the back and the latter on the front. The clothing was light and when touched, felt like the wool of a puffy sheep.

Contrary to his clothes, though, the light gray floor he kneeled was quite crude. It was cold, too, and in normal cases, the dust and dirt would accumulate over time to make them lose their color. But he was a devout one. Like how he had been doing for the past hour, Hong Seng always cleaned around the Shrine Of The Raven for four to five hours. He would sweep the floors, wipe the walls, wash the gates, and tidy up the feathers(Which he used Qi to do, else it would be impossible.) He also watered the few new plants and trees that emerged overnight around the shrine, they were a fine addition to the grand humbleness of his lord’s abode.

Then there was the smell, or the scent of a cold winter breeze drifting inside, mixed with freshly butchered meat. There were none of the both though, only incenses with corresponding flavored fumes, and they were more than enough for The Raven to enjoy them a bit.

And it seemed his lord was in quite a good mood today as he received one order or another to move things from place to place. Not that they had many things, Hong Seng still planned to buy some furniture both for himself and the potential brothers and sisters in faith. And he was low on incense, too.

Once Hong Seng put two purple cushions in front of the spiraling dais the shape of a cone, he realized there would be a visitor. Who is it? He thought and looked over at the gates.

The sound of boiling and puffing of steam awoke him from his stuptor. Oh, tea. He ran back inside to grab three cups and the steaming teapot, which he brought into the room at a moment’s notice.

‘’I-am-here!’’ On top of the spiraling circular dais, an eye materialized with a sheen orange glow, size of an adult’s fist. Of course, it was Hong Seng’s lord The Raven. ‘’My poor zealot, get the bottle I asked you to acquire.’’ His voice followed his appearance.

‘’The medicine? Of course, my lord!’’ Hong Seng beamed at the order and strode inside again, this time into his private chambers with nothing but a pillow and a long mattress to sleep on. Right beside his cyan, swollen pillow stood the bottle of medicine he received from the Denizage. He plucked it and returned to his lord’s side.

‘’Mix half of it with the tea, keep the rest to give as a gift. Our guest will be coming in a minute or two.’’ Hong Seng affirmed the order and opened the lid of the reddened silver teapot, poured half a pint, then closed the cap. He shook the teapot a few times to mix them good and fine and once he was done, The Raven followed with another command.

‘’Open the gates, I will pour the tea myself.’’ Hong Seng found his heart beating faster than a second before. Who was this individual so important that his lord chose to act this courteous? Were they another deity, an emperor, or a hall master? Because in the fifteen years he studied under the Central Shrine, he learned that his lord was only benevolent and intimate to those belonging to the groups mentioned.

Is it Mazu? Her home is the closest to us. Or the Emperor Haiyang?

These were the only two appearing in his mind.

Two deep knocks sounded from the timber gates. Hong’s eyes lit up and he reached out to the handles. He pulled inside.

‘’Welcome, welco-’’ Hong Seng gave a junior’s bow before looking up.

The result was much different than his imagination.

The boy only cast him a curious, yet distant glance. His right hand clutched the side of his left shoulder, from the gap between his fingers Hong Seng saw small tears. The almost non-existent Qi in his body was also somewhat chaotic and the hem of his robes looked worn out.

But these details didn’t matter to Hong Seng. Because he froze under the assault of that single glance. Why was it so distant, even though they weren’t even close before? Or rather, it was Ubel being cautious, wary of him, and not being distant. He was before, but now more than in the past. They had no feeling against each other more than that of a business relationship, too, so it was natural. And it wasn’t that Hong Seng hoped more than that, even though he was no fool that would trust a random youth from the start. Especially when he bore the brunt of an important task.

But the problem wasn’t that. He felt hurt because Ubel was a youth. However chary he was before, he still had some kind of a gleam in his eyes that showed his young spirit; that he was a resilient, free and strong-willed, bright youngster. That was the gaze Hong Seng had seen and still hoped to see in the eyes of all young men and women he met. And his hopes being dashed, that gaze going awry, and a small thing he cared about being destroyed by his own hands was too regretful.

Yes, regretful. Even though it wasn’t fully his fault, and he wished only good fortune upon the young man who helped him realize the quest he had for more than three decades, it was still by his own hands, wasn’t it?

But then it was his lord, The Raven, who led him here to seek out a young man with short dark hair and tanned, almost brown skin. The Raven also told that he was a cripple with a dream out of reach, a goal that his lord could help the young man achieve. And he promised rewards, too, to both of them.

But Hong Seng saw no rewards. He was pained, Ubel was warier and unconvinced of him, and his lord laughed merrily as Ubel walked past Hong Seng without saying any word.

‘’So, bearer of my own. How come you are so hasty to meet with me again?’’ The vomit-green eye sent an amicable aura.

Ubel didn’t seem to mind his lord more than he cared for Hong Seng and sat down on the cushion at the dais’ right. Ubel didn’t answer until Hong Seng hurried towards their side and crouched on the cushion, sneaking pitiful glances at Ubel.

‘’Haaah-’’ Ubel sighed, and a deep one that he didn’t utter for some months. ‘’Were you aware of the sect’s circumstances?’’ He asked.

The Raven’s eye smiled and opened his mouth. Hong Seng, however, chose to stay silent.

He had no authority to take a word in this conversation.

*********

‘’Before that-’’ The Raven said, ‘’-drink some tea. It is Hong’s gift. My poor zealot has been upset lately for the crime he committed against you.’’ A transparent blue tendril shot out of the golden eye and writhed the handle of the teapot. A few swings and all three cups were full, so The Raven pulled back his tentacle.

Repenting for someone’s own failures is normal. It was common sense to do so, no matter how prideful or narcissistic the immortals were. After all, today’s ant could grow into tomorrow’s mammoth, and tomorrow’s mammoth could soar the skies like a dragon a day after. Unless you had the power, wit, and backing to stomp the ant and its nest completely, it could come back to bite you back again.

‘’He feels sorry for the mistake you made?’’ Ubel murmured. ‘’Idiocy.’’ But he still reached out for the cup of bright red tea. He took a sip and felt the life force inside him sprung up like a spring. As if he ate a ball of blazing fire, his belly burnt and the heat climbed up to his throat, where it turned into a mist.

Ubel exhaled from his nostrils and expelled the remaining steam. At the same time the shock he suffered from the explosion substituted, his shoulder, wrist, and the back felt better.

‘’It is not in my interest, bearer of my own.’’ Said The Raven. ‘’See my poor zealot’s act how you wish, but don’t burden him with the price of your emotions. He still has believers to gather and quests to accomplish. In that case, it would be natural and fit for me to put the responsibility on you when his results deviate from the desirable outcome.’’

‘’...Fine,’’ Ubel put down the crow patterned teacup on the floor. There were still left enough for two sips. ‘’In that case, would you like me to get to the point? Or would it be easier to answer the question I wanted to ask yourself, O mighty Raven?’’ Though he said the last few words with an ironic tone, Ubel felt that The Raven was fond of the fake compliments.

But it was only an intuition, and since he did not know what a supposed deity like The Raven found hilarious, it was hard to derive the truth. Of course, deities weren’t people fond of humor. But any other effect or interaction differing from their plain life of battles, intrigues, and plots were like a brush of new paint on a three colored canvas. They were not always fond of it, but a change was nevertheless intriguing.

‘’I do know of what you want to learn about the situation of The Sect-’’ The Raven said, this didn’t surprise anyone. ‘’-but I do not know why you wish to learn. Would your heart care enough to explain, bearer of my own?’’

‘’If I were to answer, would you remove the costs of the future questions I ask, O’ Raven?’’

‘’Never.’’ The answer came spontaneously. The Raven’s eye frowned like that of a thunderstorm in dark clouds, even the golden illuminance of the Sun vanished for a moment from Ubel and Hong’s sight.

‘’No matter what kind of an answer you give, its worth won’t go beyond satisfying a small curiosity of mine. Contrary to you, how much my words worth, bearer of my own? I present you a knowledge, an opportunity that might alter what you will do or where you will go, and what you will wish to do in the future. In that case, do you find it rational that I would harm myself like this?’’

‘’Of course not. But considering the special bond between us, maybe you could do a small kindness?’’ Ubel tried his luck. The Raven’s frown softened, then the intent of smile appeared on the eye. He also understood what Ubel secondly said.

And the third question in Ubel’s mind found its answer by the small mistake The Raven committed. The Raven showed a small part of its nature.

‘’Fine- fine! Pray tell, bearer of my own, how long did you think trick? In these three days we were apart, how much those seventy-two hours you spent on this?’’

‘’More than enough for you to now know.’’ Said Ubel. Ubel also knew he wasn’t a genius. Only under danger, when his survival instincts worked on full power did the gears hidden in his mind start to revolve, making him able to pick out several scenarios with most benefit out of many more. Excluding those, he wasn’t a man who thought clever. If he was, he would know from the start to not mess with The Raven, or get things clear with his grandmother. But he didn’t. That’s why he spent most of his time to think about this. He had to close the gap between his and others’ mental capacity with more effort and time.

‘’...I see.’’ Raven fell silent. The color of his eye withered and left its place to a deep gray. He seemed to be thinking.

‘’Ubel.’’ Then Hong Seng opened his mouth for the first time. With his palm, he pointed at Ubel’s chestnut-colored, worn-out leather robe. ‘’If you want, I can stitch up the shorn places.’’

Priest Hong still looked at him with empty, meaningless eyes. Ubel stopped for two seconds. Not because he had nothing to say, but for the reason that he didn’t want to say. At last, he gave up.

‘’Of course, priest Hong.’’ He said and set loose the white strings connecting the front of his robes. In case his clothes got dirty, Ubel wore sleeveless tunics under his robes. Today, he had one with a color reminiscent of yellowed teeth. While Hong Seng inspected the strange color, Ubel tidied up the robe and placed them on priest Hong’s empty palms. ‘’Here,’’

Hong Seng nodded. ‘’I’ll be in the backroom, stitching. It will at most take two or three minutes.’’ He stood up. Leaving behind his full cup of tea, Hong Seng left with hard sounds of his footsteps and disappeared.

Ubel swung the cup and drank the leftover two sips of his tea, placed it gently on the floor, and then started to wait for The Raven.

Once the steam rising from the cups halted and they turned lukewarm did The Raven’s eye shone. He was back.

‘’I’ve received what you wish to know.’’ His voice sounded a tad bit strange. He looked sour.

‘’Then before explaining, tell me about what you want from me.’’ Asked Ubel.

‘’...are you aware that you, once more, request me to harm myself?’’ The Raven’s voice rose a notch.

‘’I am. Yet, how am I supposed to be aware that your desire won’t put me in danger The mighty Raven? Or how will I know of the thing you want of me is, or could be, something I won’t ever agree to do? Simply, I can’t.’’

‘’Then if there is something you want to know, go along and learn it yourself.’’ Said The Raven. ‘’But when will you be able to go, alone? If your conscience allows you to leave that old woman behind once more, proceed to do so. Even if you do it, all you’ll be able to learn without the right people or correct connections would be rumors talked around the quarrelsome women or addicted men in brothels.’’

‘’And your connections do not include brothels?’’

‘’Do you intend to anger me? Or are you here to play with me?’’

‘’All I need is for you to tell me what I need to do.’’

‘’...fine, then.’’ The Raven spoke after a brief moment of silence. ‘’I want you to protect my poor zealot.’’

‘’Protect? From what?’’

‘’From whom, you need to ask.’’ The Raven corrected. ‘’The fact is, even if the poor zealot works harder than ever, all he could accomplish would be to get one or two simpleton villagers to put their faith in me. For worse, since he is powerless and my name is unknown, his likelihood of getting hunted down by Mazu’s believers or Imperial Family is too high. He can’t preserve by himself.’’

‘’You don’t expect me to shield him from a whole nation’s pressure, do you?’’

‘’Perhaps yes,’’ The eye smiled. ‘’But for now, it won’t be possible. I already ordered some of my third and second tiered believers the day you built the shrine. The earliest should be here in eighteen, the latest around ninety-two days. In that period, you need to keep my priest safe.’’

‘’Isn’t this harming yourself that you avoided so much? If he does nothing these following three weeks, he won’t get into any trouble. What need is there for my presence?’’

‘’Ah bearer of my own, the blessings of a deity on a believer can be seen by none others. Only blessed believers can see other blessings. No sane religion that lived and spread its roots in these areas for centuries will let go of some random minions of...unknown masters. Particularly around this time.’’

‘’It comes down to the same thing. Lock him up here a bit and it will be fine.’’ Ubel snorted. ‘’Or do they have some super-effective tracking information or something?’’

‘’That is what we call deities, yes.’’ Ubel froze in his place. Of course, different deities could also give information about other deities’ believers. It wasn’t an ability singular to The Raven.

‘’Hong has been marked since he visited the Denizage before encountering you. There is no probable activity I expect from them, those with already established power won’t bother to raise their hairy bellies from their sweaty beds. For a month, you will be fine. But I don’t like to take chances.’’

‘’None of us does.’’ Ubel shook his head. ‘’But...let me think of it.’’ He said, ‘’I’ll be back tomorrow to say my word.’’ and finished.

The Raven waved up and down to give his approval. ‘’Then, some other time.’’ He blinked and vanished, leaving a spark of fire in the wake of his absence.

As Ubel stood up, Hong Seng walked towards him with Ubel’s robe in hand. ‘’Here you go.’’ He gave it to Ubel, who donned it in seconds.

‘’Thank you for your hospitality, priest Hong.’’ Ubel clasped his fists.

‘’Then farewell.’’ Hong Seng did the same and Ubel left the shrine.

While going back to his house, Ubel felt something poke from the inner pocket of his robe. He reached inside and took out a red, crystalline vial half-full of green liquid.

He sighed and put it back.

Today, he didn’t feel like thinking anymore.

*********

The next day, Ubel walked into the Shrine Of The Raven again.

He received a much different welcome than yesterday, not the kind where he felt like a respected elder. Hong greeted him with a small nod and ‘’My lord is waiting for you.’’ Then retreated. There were no cushions on the floor nor any tea prepared, again. Ubel somehow liked the taste of it, it would’ve been a nice addition.

But he didn’t linger further. Stepping inside, he faced with The Raven who blinked into existence above the dais again. The eye swum in the air around him once, at a breakneck speed rounded the room, and came right in front of his nose.

‘’I’ll assume you’re willing?’’

‘’I am.’’ Ubel’s reply was curt. ‘’But I have no mind to listen what you will tell now.’’

‘’Hmm...as you wish.’’ The Raven didn’t question his decision. ‘’Then, get prepared. I’ve seen some movements around Koyh. Also, a priestess of Mazu appeared in the Kabsah. And...’’

‘’And?’’

‘’A fleet of two-hundred ships arrived at the port of Denizage. They are unrelated to you, for now, the conquest of the western Great Ocean exhausted them enough. But there are at least sixty priests and priestesses onboard.’’

‘’...can I take back my word?’’

‘’No, you can’t.’’ The Raven’s eye smiled. ‘’I will make sure my home will last longer than a few days. Else, I would be a laughingstock among the others.’’

‘’Good luck in that, mighty Raven.’’ Ubel sighed.

‘’Say that to yourself, bearer of my own.’’

‘’I do, I’ll do.’’ Ubel nodded. ‘’Then how strong are your opposers?’’

‘’The priestess is a path finder. The ones that caught my eye in Koyh were seven people, four in Qi Creation, three in Qi destruction. One of them was a second layer.’’

‘’Oh.’’ That was...easier than expected? No, it shouldn’t be, Ubel reassessed his state. Cindersnow cultivators were stronger than the norm, that was what people thought. But Ubel saw people that could triumph most of the disciples at his level in Yadratafos, especially Yuan Shu, who struck down goliaths that could fight off ten or fifteen cultivators of the same rank.

But that wasn’t cultivation power, was it? It was battle experience and skill. Not divine abilities, but the proficiency of knowing how to fight that could be learned with dire risks. Unlike the disciples of Cindersnow, who spent most of their life on a mountain and sparred against themselves or puppets, those in Yadratafos were real immortals. Who could say his opponents were not a bunch like them?

Or who could say they weren’t? Cindersnow was too peaceful of a place. So much that the first time Ubel looked into the world in Yadratafos with his third eye, he felt unsettled. The blood and pus-like brown dirt floating in the air was the direct opposite of the sect. Although he hadn’t seen the exact thing because of his inability to open the third eye at that time, Ubel knew that sect’s air was composed of nothing but clear Qi. This was a piece of solid evidence to the contrast between two places.

One was the epitome of the immortals’ dreams and power, a pure and protected mountain. The other was a city in the wild, restrained Northern Continent. The one who adapted to harsher conditions would always be better prepared than the lofty one sitting on his cushion.

And Ubel was the latter.

‘’Interesting. You don’t seem to understand the merits of The Sect’s hunting arts.’’ The Raven commented from the side. Ubel woke from his stupor and gazed into the huge eye. Ubel shook his head.

‘’Anything left?’’ The Raven’s eye swung from side to side. ‘’Then, I’ll be going.’’

’’Then, bearer of my own, I hope you’ll keep our home safe.’’

‘’Farewell.’’

The eye blinked out of existence again, a golden spark was left on the dais. Ubel swept his gaze around but couldn’t spot Hong Seng. He must have been in one of those back rooms, Ubel assumed, and left on his own.

He had quite a lot of work to do.

*********

Baldusta was on fire.

The deep crimson of the fires burnt everything on their way to crisps. Bloody stenches and decapitated bodies scattered, abound, on the rocky roads and bridges of the city. The terrorizing scarlet gleamed from the eyes of dazed. From the blades and spears lying with no owners, or with the severed palms of their past beholders.

Adobes and three-floored mansions made of dirt, earth, and wood let the stench of ash and crumbled into piles of black dust. Above them, flappings of wings and booming crashes of soundwaves sounded. Among the pedestrians running to the north towards the shelters and City Hall, earth loosened and centipedes rushed out.

Their clanky claws around their poisoned mouths chattered and squashed around the legs and ankles of whoever they could reach. With screams and wails people fell to the ground, then dove down to the earth to be buried alive. Then more and more shot out.

Bong! Bong!

Bells atop the hall monastery rung out deep and loud. The six-floored, ink-black cathedral with two towers of double the length at its front opened the blood engraved doors for any near survivor. The frantic mass squirmed towards the place, struggling to pass the huge crowd over their sight to safety.

Then a buzz echoed.

Everyone’s breathing fastened. The ones at the forefront punched their thighs and stomped harder to move further, the ones at the middle started to yell for the front to move faster, the ones at the back clawed the ones in the middle with frenzy. Wails rose, the buzzing rounded around the monastery once.

Then one of the two towers brightened.

A red so scarlet, so crimson, so deep exploded into action. A three-layered ring of fire appeared right above the bells bound to their flat tips, where stood three men and women in yellow blood draped leather cloaks. Their eyes widened as each ring expanded, first double the size of the second, the second double the size of the third. They swirled, sucked the Qi in the air like a vacuum.

Then let loose.

A deep buzz deafened everyone near the monastery. Ones who screamed found their voice disappear and the ones clawing their way found their hands melting. The ones at the forefront already disappeared into liquid flesh and bones. One second passed and the former two realized the horror. Eyes narrowed into needle points and breaths were held, the air sucked in burnt the lungs.

Two seconds passed. The monastery’s top liquefied into black magma and flowed into the sheltered people inside. A gaping hole melted and shoved down into the emerald halls and golden seats. At the three-second mark, no one could utter an itch before turning into dissolved muscle.

Bong! Bong! Bong!

The bells continued to ring deep and loud. This time it was three strikes, and the ones who were rushing from afar, and were perturbed by the miniature sun scorching the surroundings of the monastery, gasped in fear. Then the tide of people incoming revolved with the same speed, hurrying to another safe place. After the seven-second mark, bells stopped.

The buzz then flew over to the third monastery and there was no one that could stop her.

*********

The next day, Su’en received news from the Blood King of the Blood Hall amid his preparations.

The evil sects had raided the forsaken city, Baldusta.

The hallmaster...passed away.