Light of Unity in Desperation
"We can't keep going like this! If they keep splitting and suppressing us, we're all dead!" Fa felt her soul being ground on a millstone. Her right eye's star pupil throbbed with tearing pain from overuse, yet the flame in her eyes burned even fiercer. She shouted hoarsely, her voice cutting through the toxic mist and whispering mental voices: "Everyone, follow my orders! Focus your power and counterattack! Celestia, Salsa—suppress those two spirit souls with everything you have! Zhamisi, Yuyuer—clear out these venomous creatures! Buy me an opening!"
"Wind-Thunder Domain · Soul Strangle!" Celestia responded first. She let out a clear, piercing cry; her four wings beat furiously, pushing wind and thunder power to their absolute limit! A violent black hurricane formed around her in an instant, filled with countless small yet will-destroying wind blades and leaping silver-blue lightning, creating a massive wind-thunder domain brimming with destructive aura, aimed directly at Illusion Dream and Heart Breaker! This was her ultimate strike, pouring all her spiritual power and wind-thunder force into it. The domain roared forward, forcibly tearing apart the illusory space Illusion Dream had woven. Countless wind blades and lightning bolts rained down like a storm on the two souls' bodies! Illusion Dream's silver light flickered violently and dimmed, letting out a shrill spiritual scream; Heart Breaker's fragmented body was sliced by wind blades and blasted by lightning, countless spiritual shards peeling away as its scream turned into pained hissing.
"Shadow Demon Dragon · Frost Soul Descent!" Salsa erupted as well. At the core of her soul body, profound shadow and ultimate cold power converged and compressed, finally transforming into a soul-shaking dragon roar! A shadow demon dragon far larger, more solid, and more detailed than before burst forth with a roar! Its body was covered in night-deep shadow scales, with ghostly blue ice flames flowing between the gaps; its eyes burned with ice-blue soul fire. Carrying boundless shadow pressure and soul-freezing extreme cold, it shot forward like a black lightning bolt tearing through space, straight at Heart Breaker, who was already being ravaged by the wind-thunder domain! The dragon's claws, wreathed in solid shadow and ice, viciously tore into Heart Breaker's soul body. Its icy breath, like a polar storm, instantly froze the space around Heart Breaker along with part of its soul! Heart Breaker's spiritual scream was forcibly interrupted and suppressed by the extreme cold and shadow power, its threat greatly reduced.
"Abyssal Poison Burst · Bone-Eroding Tide!" Zhamisi, ignited by her companions' explosions, felt her blood boil. She slammed her twin poison-fang blades into the crystal ground beneath her (even as it continued to corrode) and poured every ounce of her poison magic into it without reservation. Centered on her, dark-green toxic liquid energy erupted like a volcanic explosion, instantly condensing into a massive ghostly-green poison orb that swelled continuously, its interior churning with destructive power! "Explode—for me!" With her furious roar, the poison orb detonated like a ignited powder keg.A violent shockwave of venom, possessing strong decomposing and corrosive properties, spread wildly in a ring. The venomous scorpions and bone serpents summoned by Corrosive Sludge and Bone Devourer were hit first and dissolved instantly like paper thrown into strong acid, leaving not even residue. The terrifying poison-burst shockwave slammed hard into the main bodies of Corrosive Sludge and Bone Devourer! Corrosive Sludge's flowing body was blasted into flying splatters, its form nearly collapsing; Bone Devourer's surface bone spikes snapped in countless places, its deep-purple soul body fluctuating violently, its light dimming to the extreme.
"Illusion Tide · Thousand Mirrors Labyrinth · Mind Disruption Flow!" Yuyuer seized the precious opportunity. The crystal orb on his dragon-bone staff erupted with unprecedented brilliant blue light, as if he were holding a miniature star. Countless crystalline, refracting illusory mirrors appeared out of thin air, filling the surrounding space and even encircling Miasmic Plague's massive serpent body! These illusion mirrors not only refracted light to create countless false images, but also emitted strong spiritual disruption ripples—like countless pebbles thrown into calm water—frantically interfering with Miasmic Plague's spiritual perception and targeting. The ferocious serpent immediately lost its clear target; its attacks became hesitant and chaotic, and the toxic miasma it spat was refracted and dispersed by the mirrors, its power greatly weakened.
This was the moment Fa had been waiting for! The instant Miasmic Plague was severely disrupted by Yuyuer's illusion mirrors and its serpent's attack stalled, she moved! Her figure left an afterimage in place as her right eye's star pupil locked onto the core of Miasmic Plague's soul body—the fatal junction where spirit and toxic liquid met. The extreme cold power from her Cold Silence origin surged within her, all poured into the short blade in her hand. "Eternal Freeze Ice Fang · Soul Piercer!" A condensed ice-crystal blade, nearly absolute-zero deep blue and carrying the dual might of freezing soul and matter, tore through the churning toxic mist and distorted light-shadows. With unyielding resolve, it stabbed with perfect precision into the core of Miasmic Plague's massive soul body!
Sizzle—!
Like a red-hot branding iron piercing ice! Miasmic Plague let out an earth-shaking, terrifying roar mixing spiritual howl and toxic-liquid boiling! At the pierced core, silver-blue spiritual energy and dark black-green toxic liquid clashed violently, boiled, and annihilated! The entire soul body shook, twisted, and contracted like a punctured balloon! The spiritual ghost domain around it collapsed instantly; the giant serpent let out a mournful cry and shattered into primitive toxic miasma. The other four souls, affected by their leader's heavy injury, saw their soul lights plummet and their attacks completely stall.
The Trial's Outcome? Hidden Crisis and Spark of Wisdom
The light of the five souls rapidly dimmed under the five companions' desperate counterattack, like candles in the wind. Corrosive Sludge and Bone Devourer's bodies mostly disintegrated, shrinking back into two faint toxic mists. Illusion Dream and Heart Breaker's bodies were shattered, their spiritual fluctuations weak and chaotic. The worst was Miasmic Plague: its core was gravely wounded by Fa's ice blade infused with Cold Silence origin power, shrinking its soul body by nearly half, its light flickering unstably. Finally, it let out a spiritual roar full of endless resentment and unwillingness. Its massive soul body could no longer hold and exploded into countless shards flickering with silver-blue and dark-green light, completely dissipating into the toxic-mist-filled space.
With Miasmic Plague's disappearance, the remaining four souls' remnants also turned into wisps of smoke and vanished without trace. The surging toxic mist in the space thinned somewhat, and the maddening spiritual pressure suddenly eased.
"We… succeeded?" Celestia panted heavily, her four wings drooping weakly, wind-thunder power nearly exhausted. She glanced around warily, her voice carrying a trace of disbelief and exhaustion.
However, the expected teleportation light did not descend. The space remained the same twisted black crystal ground glowing with dark purple, with residual toxic mist still drifting slowly. An ominous premonition instantly seized the five.
At that moment, a sudden change occurred!
Fa's body suddenly stiffened! An indescribable torrent—pure abyssal lethal poison mixed with frenzied spiritual energy—erupted without warning from the core where the five souls had dissipated. Like invisible tentacles, it instantly crossed space and poured viciously into her body!
"Ahhh—!" Fa let out an extremely shrill scream. Her whole body arched backward as if struck by an invisible giant hammer! Her right eye's star pupil flashed wildly; ghostly blue, dark green, and silver-white lights clashed and exploded violently inside! Her face instantly turned deathly gray. Beneath her skin, countless venomous insects seemed to wriggle, forming unnatural dark-green patterns. Even more terrifying was the spiritual-level impact: the frenzied spiritual energy felt like billions of rasping files scraping and tearing at her consciousness! Extreme physical agony and soul-shattering pain erupted simultaneously. She lost all strength instantly, her knees buckled, and she collapsed heavily to the ground. The short blade in her hand fell with a clang. She curled up, trembling violently, every breath accompanied by pained gasps. Her consciousness flickered like a candle in a gale, on the verge of extinguishing. A near-death aura spread from her body.
"Fa!" Celestia's soul nearly left her body. She was the first to rush to her side. Salsa, Zhamisi, and Yuyuer also gathered around in utter horror.
"How could this happen?!"
"Backlash from the inheritance?!"
"Casa del never mentioned this!"
The four stared at Fa's pain-twisted face and felt the violent, collapsing toxic and spiritual energies raging inside her. They were frantic but powerless. Their power attributes were different; injecting energy rashly could easily backfire and accelerate her collapse.
In this moment of despair, a lightning bolt flashed through Yuyuer's mind—CASA del's seemingly casual words before the trial began: "…those familiar with poison and spiritual magic should accompany her. They might be able to help…"
"Help… share the burden!" Yuyuer's eyes suddenly blazed with wisdom. He shouted, "I understand! Lord Casa del's hint! The inheritance power is too vast and violent—Fa can't bear it alone! Those of us familiar with these fields can help her share this pain! Like… parallel wires sharing overloaded current!"
His words struck like thunder, instantly waking the other three!
"Yes! Share the burden!" Celestia agreed without hesitation.
"Quick! How do we do it?" Zhamisi asked urgently.
"Connect to her with our power in the gentlest way possible and guide a portion of the rampaging energy out of her body!" Yuyuer spoke rapidly while already gently pressing the tip of his dragon-bone staff against Fa's back. The crystal orb glowed with steady, gentle blue light.
Without hesitation, the four quickly surrounded the curled, trembling Fa. Each mobilized their most primal, compatible power and carefully reached toward her near-collapse body:
Celestia (Spiritual Barrier · Wind-Thunder Guardian):
She knelt behind Fa, pressing her hands lightly on both temples. Though her four wings were weak, they still spread with effort. The faint but pure wind-thunder power was no longer in its violent attack form but transformed into countless tiny leaping silver-blue arcs and flowing breezes. These forces gently enveloped Fa's head, forming a spiritual barrier built from wind-thunder will. The barrier did not resist head-on but acted like a dam guiding a raging flood, dispersing, absorbing, and converting the frenzied energy impacting Fa's mental world into the barrier's own tremors. Celestia bit her lower lip, her face pale as paper. Sharing the spiritual impact made her own soul tremble, but her eyes were resolute as her wind-thunder power flowed steadily.
Salsa (Soul Resonance · Shadow Consolation):
As a soul-body clansman, she had deeper understanding of mental pain. Her soul phantom pressed directly against Fa's back, merging like water and milk. Pure shadow energy carrying cold and tranquil qualities flowed from her soul core—not to attack, but like the gentlest stream, slowly seeping into Fa's torn mental world. This shadow power carried Salsa's own soul resilience and soothing properties, acting like adhesive repairing soul cracks, easing the bone-deep spiritual agony. It also acted like a giant sponge, actively absorbing the sharp, chaotic spiritual shards. Salsa's soul body grew even dimmer and more unstable, but she paid it no mind, focusing solely on maintaining the soul-level connection.
Zhamisi (Poison Source Guidance · Neutralizing Touch):
She sheathed her twin poison-fang blades and coiled her sturdy snake tail to steady herself. She placed both palms on Fa's arm skin (where the dark-green poison patterns were most prominent). As a top-tier poison mage, she had astonishing control over toxin essence. Instead of trying to expel the abyssal lethal poison, she carefully circulated her unique poison magic to form a gentle suction vortex in her palms. At the same time, she released a special, highly neutralizing and decomposing dark-green toxic mist that gently shrouded the toxin-eroded areas on Fa's body like thin gauze. Her power acted like precise guide tubes and neutralizers: on one hand carefully drawing out portions of the rampaging abyssal lethal poison from Fa's body into herself (causing her own face to turn an unhealthy greenish-purple and her body to tremble slightly), and on the other using her neutralizing mist to envelop and break down the residual toxins ravaging Fa's body surface, reducing their continuous corrosion.
Yuyuer (Spiritual Coordination · Water Flow Purification):
He was the core coordinator of the entire sharing system. The crystal orb at the tip of his dragon-bone staff pressed firmly against Fa's back, its azure light pulsing steadily like breathing. His spiritual power fully connected with the orb, turning into countless fine, wise mental tendrils that deeply probed every change in the rampaging energy flow inside Fa—the intensity of spiritual impact, the paths of toxin erosion, the weak points of the two forces' conflict. He shared this information in real time with the other three, guiding Celestia to reinforce spiritual barriers in certain areas, reminding Zhamisi to guide accumulated toxins in specific spots, and soothing Salsa to increase consolation on certain mental wounds. At the same time, he manipulated pure water-element power into the gentlest trickling streams that circulated inside Fa's body. These flows carried no aggression—only the purest purification and nourishment—as if clear springs washing polluted meridians, nourishing the consciousness field ravaged by the spiritual storm, and stabilizing Fa's near-collapse spiritual fluctuations. Beads of sweat covered Yuyuer's forehead; maintaining such meticulous global coordination consumed enormous mental energy.
The four vastly different yet miraculously complementary powers, under Yuyuer's precise regulation, became like four sturdy anchor chains firmly holding Fa's small boat from sinking in the dual storm of poison and spirit. Their powers did not replace but shared, guided, neutralized, and soothed. Fa's body still trembled violently, her pained moans intermittent, but the aura of total collapse was finally halted. The rampaging energy torrent was forcibly diverted and channeled; though still fierce, it no longer concentrated in one spot for destructive impact.
External Observation and the Truth of Inheritance
In the core space of the Silent Extinction Corridor, Casa del's gaunt figure stood like an eternal statue. He did not look at the already vanished ghostly light portal but quietly gazed at the empty space beside Aelios, as if his eyes could penetrate spatial barriers to witness everything happening inside the Abyssal Gap.
When he saw Fa being flooded by the inheritance torrent and nearing collapse, his sunken eye sockets showed no fluctuation. However, when he saw Celestia, Salsa, Zhamisi, and Yuyuer unhesitatingly gather around her, using themselves as bridges to share the terrifying energy capable of destroying a single powerhouse, the corners of his mouth—like a dried riverbed—rarely and almost imperceptibly curved upward into a faint arc.
"Heh…" A low, nearly inaudible hum emerged from deep in his throat, carrying an indescribable meaning. "Unexpected… these little ones' comprehension and courage exceeded expectations. They actually thought of using 'soul resonance and power sharing' to resolve the inheritance torrent's backlash…" His gaunt fingers casually flicked toward the empty space. A hair-thin strand of dark-gold soul energy silently sank in, rippling invisible waves like a pebble in water, continuing his silent observation. "It seems… this inheritance cursed by the abyss may truly find a different path… on them."
Inheritance Fusion and Sublimation
Time became blurred inside the Abyssal Gap. Every second was like walking on knife edges and enduring furnace torment for the four sharing Fa's pain.
Celestia endured continuous spiritual impacts, as if countless red-hot iron rods repeatedly scorched her soul. The wind-thunder barrier trembled and cracked under repeated strikes, only to be repaired through gritted teeth. Under this extreme pressure, her perception of spiritual power became unprecedentedly sharp. She instinctively adjusted the barrier's structure—no longer uniform defense, but forming tiny vortices or refractive surfaces at the strongest impact points, cleverly guiding and dispersing force. She even began to sense subtle "textures" within the chaotic spiritual energy, attempting to smooth their "barbs" using the "order" power within her wind-thunder will. The process was excruciating, yet it elevated her micro-control and understanding of spiritual power to an entirely new realm. Her spiritual power was repeatedly tempered under heavy pressure, becoming more condensed and resilient, even faintly acquiring wind-thunder characteristics that resisted spiritual corruption. Her spiritual magic not only increased in power but gained greater toughness, finer control, and a purifying and ordering quality derived from wind-thunder.
Salsa, as a soul body, had the deepest connection to Fa's mental world. She personally experienced the pain of Fa's soul being torn. Her shadow energy continuously absorbed and contained the frenzied spiritual shards, placing enormous strain on her own soul body, making it more ethereal. Yet it was precisely in this painful process of "containing" and "digesting" that she gained a revolutionary understanding of the essence of spiritual trauma. She discovered that the chaotic shards were not pure destruction but also contained the spatial imprint of the Abyssal Gap, residual will fragments from the five souls, and even a trace of Miasmic Plague's twisted "sovereign authority" aura. Her shadow power, originally inclined toward concealment and attack, evolved powerful "spiritual assimilation" and "trauma repair" traits under these extreme conditions. She could more clearly perceive "cracks" in souls and "weave" and "stitch" them using shadow energy fused with her own resilience and cold qualities, like the finest soul tailor. Her dark magic achieved a qualitative leap on the spiritual level—not only summoning and attacking, but also deeply perceiving soul states, repairing mental trauma, and gaining preliminary abilities to "contain" and "analyze" foreign spiritual shards, laying the foundation for controlling higher-tier or more complex undead (such as powerful vengeful spirits or aggregated will fragments).
Zhamisi's palms had turned purplish-green—the price of guiding abyssal lethal poison into her body. She felt her blood boiling and meridians corroding. Yet her serpentfolk race's innate strong poison resistance and her own masterful poison control reached their peak. She was not merely "guiding" and "neutralizing" but conducting a dangerous "chemical experiment." She meticulously identified every property of the abyssal lethal poison inside Fa—its corrosiveness, neurotoxicity, energy erosion…—and mobilized her long-cultivated primal poison power, rich in "decomposition" and "withering" traits, to precisely "disassemble" the molecular structure of these abyssal toxins, converting them into relatively inert energy or harmless residue. The process consumed immense focus and magic power, but it brought her understanding of the "origin of poison" to unprecedented depths. She touched deeper rules—poison was not merely a tool of killing but an extreme form of energy containing the mysteries of decomposition and recombination, destruction and rebirth. Her primal poison power, while continuously "digesting" the abyssal lethal poison, quietly transformed, acquiring a trace of the abyss's domineering and erosive traits, becoming more penetrating and destructive. Her poison magic was no longer limited to biological toxins and began touching the edge of "conceptual corrosion" (such as energy shields and spatial structures). Its level, purity, and controllability all achieved leapfrog improvement, even faintly carrying the embryonic aura of a "Poison Sovereign."
Yuyuer served as the "brain" and "stabilizer" of the entire system. His spiritual power functioned like the most precise radar network, monitoring every flow, conflict, and calming of energy inside Fa while coordinating the rhythm and intensity of the other three's power input. This state of simultaneous ultra-fine perception, complex information processing, and multi-threaded energy coordination pushed his spiritual power and intellect to the limit. The blue light of his crystal orb flowed as if a micro-universe were operating. In the process, he was not only coordinating but also "learning" and "recording." He personally "observed" and "understood" the composition of abyssal lethal poison, the waveform of spiritual impacts, and the mysteries of how two vastly different energies—poison and spirit—annihilated, transformed, and even briefly fused under extreme conflict. This direct, essence-reaching observation was something no book or meditation could provide. His spiritual power was repeatedly compressed and purified under extreme load, becoming vaster and more solid. His control over water elements reached new heights due to the need for ultimate purification and nourishment, even simulating faint healing properties similar to a "Fountain of Life." His water and ice magic gained stronger purification and nourishment effects (especially against poison and spiritual damage), his spiritual power increased dramatically, and his perception became more acute and detailed. Most importantly, the "model" of this energy conflict recorded through his crystal orb greatly enriched his tactical database, making future strategy formulation more precise, his insight into the weaknesses of poison- and spirit-type opponents sharper, and even allowing preliminary simulation and deduction of similar energy conflict scenarios. His illusion magic also became harder to detect due to deeper understanding of spiritual fluctuations.
Inheritance Complete: Rebirth and Return
Time passed. Half a day later, the rampaging, near-uncontrollable torrent of poison and spiritual energy inside Fa gradually calmed and became docile under the four's persistent sharing, guidance, neutralization, and soothing. Though still vast, it could now be preliminarily contained and controlled by Fa herself.
Fa's trembling body slowly settled. A faint trace of blood returned to her deathly-gray face. The wriggling dark-green patterns beneath her skin receded like an ebb tide, leaving only faint traces. Her tightly closed eyelids fluttered a few times and slowly opened.
The star pupil of her right eye was no longer pure ghostly blue. Deep blue remained the base tone, but now threaded with living, slowly flowing and shifting dark-green light filaments, dotted with silver-white specks like stellar fragments! The aura emanating from that eye at this moment contained the profundity of stars, the mystery of time, the chill of ice, and a new yet undeniable, eerie and majestic power belonging to both poison and spirit.A faint yet extremely pure toxic energy carrying the abyssal brand and a resilient, condensed spiritual energy carrying residual sovereign might flowed like newborn streams through her meridians and sea of consciousness, intertwining. The inheritance power of poison and spirit had finally taken root inside her and begun to take shape.
"It's...it's a success…" Fa's voice was hoarse and nearly inaudible, filled with the weakness of surviving a catastrophe, yet her determination was like steel tempered by fire—purer than ever. She tried moving her fingers; a faint power mixed with cold air, toxic mist, and spiritual fluctuations lingered at her fingertips.
The four surrounding her heard the faint voice. Their nerves, stretched to the breaking point, finally relaxed. Intense fatigue and soul-deep weakness surged like a tide. They nearly collapsed simultaneously, gasping heavily. Celestia's four wings lay limply on the ground, Salsa's soul body was so pale it was nearly transparent, Zhamisi's face showed mixed greenish-purple hues, and Yuyuer's forehead was drenched in sweat soaking his temples. Yet deep in their exhausted eyes, besides relief after intense worry, there flickered an indescribable spark of enlightenment and the thrill of power growth. The price they paid was enormous, but the rewards were equally astonishing—not only had they helped Fa survive the life-or-death crisis, but their own powers had achieved essential leaps and sublimation through this extreme trial and sharing!
Just as the five were utterly exhausted, finding it difficult even to move a finger, a beam of radiant light—gentler, warmer, yet incredibly resolute than any before—suddenly descended from above, instantly enveloping them. The light carried a gentle pulling force.
This time, there was no resistance—only complete relaxation. The light flashed, and the five vanished from the toxic-mist-filled Abyssal Gap filled with painful memories.
Return and Rest
The light faded. The five reappeared in battered condition on the cold black crystal ground of the Silent Extinction Corridor's core space. Their faces were pale as paper, their breaths weak like candles in the wind. Their souls and bodies bore wounds of varying severity. Celestia's wings sprawled limply, Salsa's soul body required effort to keep from dissipating, Zhamisi supported herself on her curved blades to stand, Yuyuer leaned on his staff, and Fa was held up by Celestia to avoid falling.However, their eyes were deeper and more determined than before they entered the trial, subtly revealing a sharpness and maturity that came from experiencing life and death.
Casa del slowly turned. His profound gaze swept over the haggard group like a searchlight, finally settling on Fa—whose aura was weak but whose eyes were bright.
"The imprint of the poison and spirit inheritance has been preliminarily etched into your soul and flesh," his voice remained low, yet lacked some of its previous absolute coldness and carried a trace of… recognition? "You all did… well." He shifted his tone, his gaze sweeping over Celestia, Salsa, Zhamisi, and Yuyuer. "Power's elevation comes from suffering and wisdom. Carefully feel this gift (referring to the essential sublimation of spiritual and poison magic) and digest it." His gaze turned once more to the endless darkness in the distance, his tone growing deeper and more unfathomable: "But… this is only the first step. The true trials have just begun. The shadow of Doomsday Rebirth has never receded, Aelios's thread of fate still hangs over the abyss, and what this Silent Extinction Corridor guards…" He paused, saying no more. The shadow beneath his hood seemed to grow even denser.
Fa, supported by Celestia, gave Casa del a deep look, engraving the hidden warning and unspoken meaning in his words into her heart. She asked no further questions, simply nodding silently, then led her equally exhausted but resolute companions slowly toward the temporary, crude corner.
They needed rest. They needed time to digest the pain, power, and insights this trial had brought. Physical wounds would heal, depleted power would recover, but the imprints and sublimation deep in their souls would forever change them. They knew Casa del was right—this was only the beginning. The threat of Doomsday Rebirth loomed like a sword overhead. Aelios remained in deep slumber, and the mysterious guardian Casa del surely hid even greater secrets concerning the fate of the world. The road ahead would only grow more perilous and unpredictable. But for now, they only wanted to lean on one another, gathering strength in this brief tranquility to face the coming storm. The darkness of the Silent Extinction Corridor temporarily swallowed their weary figures, leaving only heavy breathing and endless contemplation of the future.