The mud in the Black Swamp was unlike mud anywhere else. It felt alive, hungry, and possessed a malevolent suction. Every time Elian lifted his foot, the soggy earth made a wet squelching sound, like a mouth chewing, reluctant to release its prey.
"Hah... hah..."
Elian's breath came in ragged gasps, forming white clouds in the cold, damp air. Cold sweat trickled down his back, soaking the bandages on his injured right shoulder.
It wasn't the distance that tormented him, but the Ring of Weight on his index finger. The small object altered the gravity around Elian's body, creating an invisible prison. His footsteps felt as heavy as lead. Lifting his hand to wipe away sweat required the same effort as lifting an iron sword.
"You're slowing down," Lunaria's voice drifted from ahead, cutting through the thick fog that enveloped them.
The Elf Queen walked atop the mud's surface as if she had no weight. Her grey cloak wasn't even stained by a speck of dirt. It was a stark contrast to Elian, who was covered in mud up to his waist.
"This gravity... is insane..." Elian grumbled, forcing his left leg forward. His thigh muscles trembled, screaming in protest. His dragon-reinforced bones creaked softly, enduring the unnatural load.
"That's just the beginning. If you want to kill a god one day, you must be able to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders," Lunaria replied without turning. She stopped in front of a dead tree charred by lightning. "Prepare yourself. We are entering the Red Zone."
Elian halted, trying to regulate his breathing so it wouldn't be too loud.
Around them, the fog grew denser, shifting from milky white to a dirty grey. The trees here had no leaves; their twisted branches resembled skeletal claws reaching for the black sky. There were no sounds of crickets or night birds. Only absolute silence pressing against the eardrums.
Suddenly, Elian's Nature Sense throbbed painfully.
Not a warning of wind or predators, but a piercing chill right at the back of his neck. An unnatural chill.
Below.
"Watch out!" Elian shouted.
Before his voice faded, the mud surface around them exploded.
SPLAAAAASH!
Dozens of pale, rotting hands burst from the swamp. Their flesh peeled away, revealing blackened bone. Their fingernails were long and filthy.
They weren't ordinary zombies. They were Drowned Ghouls—victims of the swamp cursed to drag other living things into their watery grave.
One hand managed to grab Elian's right ankle. The grip was as strong as an iron clamp.
"Let go!" Elian tried to kick with his left leg, but the Ring of Weight made him slow. His kick lacked explosive power.
The Ghoul pulled hard. Elian lost his balance and fell backward into the foul mud.
"Ugh!" Mud filled his mouth and nose. It tasted salty and smelled of carrion.
The Ghoul crawled on top of Elian. Its face was destroyed, its eyes empty sockets filled with maggots, its mouth gaping wide to reveal sharp teeth. It intended to bite Elian's neck.
Panic seized Elian. His heart raced wildly. I'm going to be eaten!
No. Don't panic. Remember your training.
Elian's left hand groped his waist, drawing one of the Karambits coated in Silver Oil.
"Get off!"
Elian swung the curved weapon at the Ghoul's neck.
His movement was slow due to the ring, but the Karambit's blade was incredibly sharp. And more importantly, the Silver Oil reacted.
Sizzzzzt!
As the silver blade touched the undead flesh, it sounded like meat frying. Blinding white light exploded from the point of contact.
The Ghoul screamed—not a human sound, but the sound of steam escaping a kettle. Its neck was severed easily, as if the rotten flesh were hot butter.
The Ghoul's head rolled away. Its body instantly melted into black, sulfur-smelling liquid.
Elian pushed the remains off him and rolled to his feet. He was panting.
"Don't stand there! There are more!" Lunaria shouted.
Lunaria didn't help directly. She stood on a high tree root, casually shooting arrows at Ghouls trying to approach her. She let Elian be surrounded by five other Ghouls below.
"Damn it..." Elian cursed.
Five undead crawled closer, their movements jerky but relentless.
Elian held both Karambits in a reverse grip. This was a new fighting style for him. He had to get close. He had to enter their claw range.
One Ghoul lunged from the left.
Elian couldn't dodge quickly. So he twisted his body, using the Ghoul's attack momentum. He hooked the left Karambit blade onto the Ghoul's arm, then pulled.
Slash!
The rotten arm was severed. Silver oil burned the stump, preventing regeneration.
Another Ghoul attacked from behind.
Elian felt the foul wind on his neck. He ducked, but the weight of the ring made him half a second late.
The Ghoul's claws raked his back, tearing his cloak and grazing his skin.
"Argh!" The sting was sharp. The wound felt cold—a mild necrotic poison effect.
The pain triggered Elian's rage.
"Die, all of you!"
Elian stopped trying to dance. He became brutal. He let the Ghoul in front hug his waist, then he drove both Karambits into the creature's back repeatedly like a man possessed.
Stab. Pull. Rip.
Silver light flickered in the darkness of the swamp, accompanied by the hissing sound of burning flesh.
One by one, the Ghouls crumbled into black puddles.
When the last Ghoul fell, Elian stood in the mud, his chest heaving violently. His dirty cloak was now covered in black undead slime. His beautiful face was splattered with foul stains.
"You made too many wasted movements," Lunaria commented, jumping down. "You stabbed that corpse five times when once in the head would have sufficed. You're wasting stamina."
"They were... disgusting..." Elian said, wiping his face, but his hand only smeared the stain further. "And this ring... makes me feel like I'm fighting underwater."
"Adapt. Or die," Lunaria pointed ahead.
Behind the fog, which was starting to thin due to the battle aura earlier, a massive structure began to appear.
It was the Sunken Temple.
The building was made of ancient black stone not native to this region. Most of the structure had sunk into the swamp, leaving giant tilted pillars and an entrance gate shaped like a gaping skull mouth. Bloodmoss covered the walls, giving the impression that the building was bleeding.
"This temple is from the Dark Era, before the Solara Empire was founded," Lunaria explained, her tone turning serious. "It was a place of worship for a forgotten God of Death. Be careful, Elian. In there, the laws of the physical world might not fully apply."
They walked toward the gate.
At the threshold, Elian saw the remains of other adventurers. Skeletons still wearing scraps of rusted iron armor. No flesh remained.
"They didn't make it out alive," Elian whispered.
"Because they were greedy and stupid," Lunaria retorted. "Light your crystal. But dim it. Too bright a light will attract Wraiths."
Elian took the light crystal from his pocket, rubbing it slightly until it glowed a weak blue. He held the crystal in his left hand (along with a Karambit), and the other Karambit in his right.
They stepped into the stone mouth.
Instantly, the air temperature dropped drastically. If it was cold outside, here it was freezing. Elian's breath vapor instantly turned into tiny ice crystals.
The temple interior was vast yet oppressive. Long corridors with high ceilings disappeared into darkness. The walls were covered in relief carvings depicting torture and human sacrifice rituals.
"Don't look at the carvings too long," Lunaria warned. "They contain residual mental magic. Can drive you mad."
Elian immediately looked away. He focused on the path ahead. The stone floor here was slippery and wet.
Tap... Tap...
The sound of their footsteps echoed too loudly.
Suddenly, Elian stopped.
"Master," he whispered. "My light crystal..."
The blue light in his hand flickered. Not because it was running out of energy, but as if the darkness around them was eating the light. Their vision radius shrank from five meters to two meters.
And at the edge of that light, Elian saw something.
A shadow. Not a shadow of an object, but a shadow standing on its own. It was shaped like a woman in a tattered long dress, floating ten centimeters above the floor. Her face was covered by long hair, but Elian could feel a gaze of pure hatred from behind it.
A Wraith.
"Don't move," Lunaria whispered. "She is blind. She tracks fear."
Elian's heart pounded. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. I am a stone. I am a stone.
However, his injured right shoulder throbbed with pain from the cold. That pain broke his concentration. A tiny bit of fear leaked from his mental guard.
SKREEEEEEEEE!
The Wraith screamed.
The scream wasn't heard by ears, but exploded directly inside Elian's brain. It felt like a hot needle being stabbed into his eardrums.
"Argh!" Elian fell to his knees, clutching his head. His Karambit clattered to the floor.
The Wraith rushed toward Elian. Her hand, a claw of black smoke, reached out, intending to rip Elian's soul from his body.
"Elian! Use the Silver Oil!" Lunaria shouted. She fired a magic arrow, but it only passed through the ghost's body without harming it. Physical attacks and pure magic were ineffective!
The ghost was right in front of Elian's face. Her death aura turned Elian's skin blue. Elian felt his life force being sucked out. His body was stiff, paralyzed by Fear Paralysis.
Move! Move, damn it!
Elian bit his own tongue as hard as he could. The sharp physical pain and the taste of blood in his mouth shattered the mental paralysis for a second.
His right hand snatched the Karambit lying on the floor.
Just as the ghost's hand touched his chest—it felt as cold as dry ice—Elian swung the Karambit.
The blade coated in silver oil sliced through the ghost's smoky form.
SHAAAA!
The ghost recoiled, the part of her body hit by the slash burning with holy white fire. Black smoke billowed from her.
Silver Oil worked! It was poison to them.
"You can be hurt..." Elian hissed, standing up shakily. His fear turned into adrenaline. "If you can be hurt, you can be killed."
Elian didn't wait. He lunged forward.
The weight of the Ring of Weight was still there, but Elian ignored it. He spun the Karambit in his hand like a top of death.
The ghost tried to attack again, but Elian ducked—a move he learned fighting Viper—and slashed the ghost's smoky "legs".
The ghost lost her spiritual balance.
Elian jumped, channeling the little mana remaining in his body into the blade, amplifying the silver oil's effect.
X-Slash!
Two crossing slashes struck the ghost's chest.
The ghost screamed one last time, then her body shattered into particles of black light which then vanished into the darkness.
Elian stood there, panting. The silver oil on his weapon began to fade, but it was still enough for a few more fights.
"You killed it," Lunaria said, approaching. "Even though your technique was messy and you almost died of panic."
"I hate ghosts," Elian said honestly, picking up his light crystal. "They cheat. Attacking the mind."
"Welcome to the supernatural world," Lunaria patted Elian's back, channeling a bit of warm mana to dispel the ghost's lingering cold effect. "Let's go. The mirror is in the deepest chamber. And I suspect the guardian isn't just one sad lady ghost."
They continued their journey deeper into the temple's belly.
At the end of the corridor, they found a massive stone door, half-destroyed. Beyond it lay a vast chamber with a small underground lake. And in the middle of that lake, on a stone altar, sat an object reflecting Elian's crystal light.
The Mirror of Souls.
However, Elian didn't look at the mirror. His eyes were fixed on the wall behind the altar.
There was a giant mural, still intact. The mural depicted a colossal tree burning, and beneath it, nine shadowy figures were prostrating, worshipping a black rift in the sky.
"Master..." Elian's voice trembled. "What is that picture?"
Lunaria stared at the mural, and for the first time, Elian saw an expression of pure fear on the Elf Queen's face.
"That is... Erased History," Lunaria whispered. "The First Void War. And the betrayal of the Gods."
Before they could process what they saw, the surface of the underground lake began to churn.
Huge bubbles appeared.
Something far larger than a Ghoul or Wraith was waking up to greet its guests.