Rumble…
The roar of the sandfall crashing down from the high cliff sounded like distant thunder—heavy, muted, yet violently penetrating.
"From today onward, I officially hate sand."
Listening to the roaring sandfall, Duke burst out from the swirling dunes and slipped into a narrow crevice between the cliffs. No bigger than an ant, he glanced once at the cascading torrent of sand before turning and diving deeper into the fissure.
"Edith, navigation!"
Sliding along the crack like a natural slide, Duke plummeted downward. Cold winds surged upward from the abyssal depths, carrying faint, broken echoes as he descended.
"My apologies, boss," Edith said bluntly, as always. "I have bad news for you."
"What is it?"
Just as Duke tried to stop himself, a sudden and powerful pulling force yanked him downward, accelerating his fall.
He shot through a hole barely the size of a fingertip. His body spun through open space, but he quickly realigned, igniting the thrusters of his Vorant Armor to stabilize himself.
"Based on my calculations, the crevice you entered should have led you straight into the mid-layers of the labyrinth… but something has changed unexpectedly."
"What exactly happened?"
Suspended in the void, Duke used the armor's thrusters to hover, giving him ample time to observe his surroundings.
Beneath him yawned an endless abyss. Frigid winds surged upward from the depths, carrying strange echoes that crashed and reverberated throughout the maze.
Around him were circular corridors connected by stairways—dozens upon dozens of them, crisscrossing even above his head.
The murals lining the walls were rusted and decayed, but not so much that he couldn't read the stories carved upon them.
"From what I can determine, the labyrinth seems capable of autonomously rearranging its internal structure. Just moments ago, more than half of the firefly probes' signals disappeared. The remaining ones shifted positions."
"So you're telling me this thing rearranges its own pathways?"
Duke frowned and maneuvered toward one of the corridors. Within moments, back to normal size, he stood before the murals.
He proceeded along the circular passage, scanning every mural. The story they depicted exceeded his expectations.
They painted the tale of an ancient Shuriman hero ascending the sacred steps for the Ascension Ritual. Under the gaze of the masses, he reached the Ascension Altar before the Sun Disc and awaited divine transfiguration.
When the Sun's power descended, his body and soul were seared and reforged—but something went terribly wrong.
Instead of transcendence, he was twisted into a monstrous abomination.
A creature with a hyena's head, matted fur, and a grotesque, broken form.
"Bakai…"
Duke muttered softly as he stared at the final mural, fully realizing where he had ended up.
This place was likely the prison of a failed Ascendant—
a Fallen Ascendant, a Bakai.
Ascension was never guaranteed. Some endured the excruciating rebirth and rose as divine beings.
But others… for countless reasons… failed.
Those failures became Bakai—creatures hated by humans and spirits alike.
A pathetic mockery of the divine.
Normally, Bakai were "dealt with" on the spot. Under the watch of the true Ascendants, the death god of the Bakai—the Frog Spirit—was summoned to reap their souls and carry them to their final rest.
Yes—Shurima had its own death god.
And it wasn't Kindred.
It was a green-skinned, staff-wielding, cloak-draped figure wearing a frog mask:
The Frog Spirit.
A death god who existed solely to collect the souls of Bakai.
And in Rune Terra, there were several death gods.
Different peoples believed in different reapers, each presiding over their own realm of death.
All death gods wore masks—masks bestowed by the Mother of Masks.
Only one who bore a mask could act as a legitimate death god.
Besides Kindred, other known death gods included:
—Shurima's Bakai reaper: the Frog Spirit
—Ionia's twin gods of life and death: Wave of Creation & Breath of Ending
—The Star-Eater Fox Spirit worshipped by northern tribes
—The Soul-Weaving Spider Spirit honored by the Whispering Maw clans
Kindred were the most widely known, but when belief waned and their stories faded, death gods lost purpose.
That was when the Void Vulture, the Executor of Death, appeared
to hunt down failing gods and reclaim their masks.
And now, the one being hunted down…
was none other than the Frog Spirit.
With Azir's fall, the interruption of the Ascension Ritual, and the devastation of the Darkin War, the people's hatred for Ascendants grew.
The Bakai themselves had forgotten mortality.
Fewer believed in the Frog Spirit.
Its existence withered.
Some Bakai escaped their destined reaping, slipping into dark corners to cling to what remained of their pitiful lives.
"Looks like a Bakai was imprisoned here."
Duke stepped to the edge of the corridor, eyes gleaming with interest.
A failed Ascendant
a perfect research subject.
But earlier he had sensed Ryze approaching.
The mage was clearly coming to retrieve the World Rune fragment.
Duke had to move quickly.
He needed the Rune fragment.
He also wanted the Bakai.
"The way Ryze is traveling… he'll need at least two more days to get here. I need everything wrapped up by tonight."
"Tomorrow noon is the absolute latest."
"So first, I'll take the Bakai. Then I'll find the Rune fragment."
Decision made, Duke looked down into the abyss and leapt without hesitation.
Bakai were imprisoned at the very bottom.
He plummeted deeper, the world rising rapidly above him as only he descended.
"Hm? What was that?"
He caught a glimpse of a mural below
a new Ascendant, a female… reptilian in nature.
But it was only a flash. Not clear enough to study.
"Boss, we've reached the lowest level!"
Edith's voice snapped him back. Duke landed on soft sand, immediately sinking. He shrank his body and used his thrusters to lift himself up.
"Open the scanner."
Blue waves pulsed outward, revealing the underground structure:
a cavern of stone pillars holding up the labyrinth above.
"ROAR!!"
A piercing scream shook the cavern. Duke raised an eyebrow and turned toward the sound.
In the darkness crouched a hulking figure, pounding the ground in restless fury.
"Seems my luck's good today."
Duke zipped toward the shadow. At ant-size, he remained unnoticed. Soon, the creature emerged from the dark.
A massive hyena-like beast—matted yellow fur, scar-ridden muscles, shackled with thick chains. Its hyena head snarled, cloudy eyes burning with primal rage. One ear was torn; drool dripped between jagged fangs.
"I…"
The Bakai forced out a broken sound—then surged forward, chains snapping taut and slamming him into a stone pillar.
THUD!
"Release me!" he roared at the ceiling. "Let me out!!"
"I am a hero! I am a god!"
"I am not a prisoner!"
His muddled voice carried the last obsession from his failed Ascension. Though his mind was gone, his final sliver of will remained.
"Let me out!"
THUD!
Again he crashed forward, swiping at the air as if fighting unseen enemies.
"I fought for the Empire! I expanded its lands! I am an Ascendant!"
"I am not a prisoner!"
"Let me OUT!"
The hyena-Bakai's screams carried deep, stubborn obsession.
Failed Ascendants retained only their last, strongest desire—
their final echo before their consciousness shattered.
"I climbed the Ascension Altar! Where is the Sun Disc?"
"I can't see the Sun's light…"
"It's so dark here… so dark…"
"Empress… where are you?"
"Why did you abandon me?"
"I was… your warrior!!!"
His anguished roars shook the cavern.
"It's so dark… so dark…"
At last his strength failed. The Bakai collapsed to the ground, mumbling incoherently. Duke chose this moment to approach.
"What a pitiful creature."
He studied the Bakai carefully—
unaware that someone else was watching from the shadows.
"Grrr… gwah…"
End of chapter....
IRONBOUND PATRON
🔸 Arc Reactor Elite – 35 chapters + HIDDEN SURPRISES
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