Chapter 76: Murko's Help
The Natlan natives, assuming their otherworldly companions were frozen in a daze from the sudden spatial shift, immediately stepped up to offer comfort.
Chasca turned her attention to Dan Heng and Paimon, her expression softening. "Mr. Dan Heng, Paimon... don't worry. I can vaguely sense the direction of Kachina's aura. It feels painful, but incredibly tenacious. I can also pick up on the presence of other living beings, flickering like tiny sparks in this darkness. It should be enough to guide us to a rendezvous point."
She pointed upward, drawing their gaze to a solitary, brilliant pillar of illumination piercing through the oppressive gloom. "As for our way out... do you see that beam of light falling from the sky? That is the exit from the Night Kingdom. As long as you stand within that light and pray in your heart, you can return to the surface of Natlan."
Hearing this, the chat group members exchanged slightly awkward glances. Standing around staring blankly into space while communicating in the multiversal chat did look rather strange from an outsider's perspective. Clearing his throat, Wise quickly offered a smooth excuse, explaining that they weren't in a daze at all, but were actually using a secret 'Liyue immortal art' to establish telepathic contact with the rest of their separated crew.
With the cover story established, they quickly synchronized their gathered intel with Mualani, Chasca, and Iansan. A collective sigh of relief washed over the rescue team.
The Abyss had played a cruel trick by scattering them the moment they crossed the threshold, but their luck held out. They weren't entirely isolated. Divided into three distinct squads, they still had enough numbers to watch each other's backs in this hostile environment.
Across the fractured, shifting landscapes of the Night Kingdom, the three teams stood their ground against the encroaching gloom. The pure malice of the Abyss had warped the very fabric of space to keep them apart, yet it fundamentally failed to sever the digital and emotional bonds forged through their chat group. More, it couldn't extinguish the burning determination in their chests to bring Kachina home.
Guided by those faint, flickering connections, they pressed forward like three distinct blades piercing straight into the heart of the darkness. Despite the overwhelming odds, the operation to rescue the young Natlan warrior officially commenced.
In one sector of the fractured realm, Lumine, Wise, and Mualani handled a treacherous, jagged mountain pass. Mualani led the charge, relying on her faint, instinctual tracking of Kachina's location. Every step was a struggle against the hostile terrain.
A hateful, cloying black mist rolled over the jagged rocks, thick enough to obscure their vision beyond a few paces. It wasn't just a physical barrier; the fog carried a bone-deep, unnatural cold that gnawed at their extremities. Worse still were the whispers—formless, unsettling murmurs of the Abyss that scraped against the edges of their sanity, trying to plant seeds of doubt and despair.
Bizarre, twisted rock formations jutted out at unnatural angles. Deep ravines and hidden gullies crisscrossed the path, threatening to swallow anyone who misplaced their footing. Wise kept his eyes glued to the ground, his analytical mind calculating the safest routes, while Lumine kept her hand hovering near her sword hilt, her golden eyes scanning the oppressive fog.
Time lost its meaning in the suffocating gloom. Eventually, the dense black mist ahead began to thin, peeling back to reveal a wide, open expanse. A flicker of hope sparked in their chests. Mualani picked up her pace, her footsteps growing lighter, with Lumine and Wise following closely behind.
But the moment they completely cleared the mist-shrouded pass, the sight waiting for them forced the breath from their lungs.
Before them lay a sprawling, dead-silent lake.
There was no water here. Instead, the basin was filled with a murky, viscous substance that resembled semi-solidified ink. The surface was impossibly still, smooth as a polished obsidian mirror, devoid of a single ripple or current. It looked less like a body of water and more like a gaping, bleeding wound in the earth.
Yet, the true horror lay upon the surface. Countless twisted, jagged shadows floated and stood directly on top of the inky expanse.
They barely maintained humanoid outlines, their forms shifting and glitching like corrupted data in reality. The most chilling detail rested where their faces should be. Two faint, ominous dark red lights burned in the empty voids of their heads—hellish, unblinking gazes that snapped toward the shoreline, firmly locking onto the three intruders.
The sheer malice saturating the air spiked drastically. The oppressive weight pressing down on their shoulders was suffocating, far worse than anything they had endured in the mountain mist.
The shadows didn't lunge immediately. They just stood there, watching. But the sheer coldness, the raw despair, and the pure, unadulterated aura of destruction bleeding from their forms acted as a tangible, physical wall. They completely blocked the only viable path forward.
"What... what are those things?" Mualani whispered, her usual cheerful demeanor entirely absent. With a flash of hydro energy, she summoned her shark surfboard, her stance dropping into a defensive crouch.
Wise didn't waste a second. He shifted his weight, assuming a grounded fighting stance. Faint, crackling crimson firelight began to circulate within his palms, casting harsh shadows across his sharp features. His analytical gaze remained fixed on the dense cluster of glowing red dots hovering over the lake.
Beside them, Lumine drew her blade. The cold steel of the Prototype Rancour gleamed faintly in the dim light. "It seems this is the only way across."
Her voice remained perfectly steady, projecting the calm authority of a seasoned traveler, but her heart hammered heavily against her ribs. The cost of forcing a bloody path through a lake swarming with Abyssal shadows was entirely unpredictable.
Muscles tensed. Weapons readied. Just as the trio prepared to bite the bullet and carve a path through the nightmare—
The environment shifted again.
A soft, pure silhouette materialized without warning. Emanating a faint, gentle white glow, the figure stepped directly into the space between the trio and the terrifying lake of shadows, acting as a physical shield.
Though the entity of light was blurry and indistinct, the tall, broad-shouldered silhouette of a man was clearly discernible. A serene, calming aura radiated from his form—a stark, jarring contrast to the defiled, corrupted land surrounding them.
"Stop! Do not go near the water!" the figure of light cried out, his voice echoing with urgent clarity.
Lumine immediately threw an arm out, motioning for Wise and Mualani to hold their ground. She kept her sword angled defensively, her golden eyes narrowing at the glowing apparition. "Who are you?"
The figure flickered before stabilizing, his posture relaxing slightly. When he spoke again, his tone carried a heavy weight of weariness and deep reminiscence. "I am Murko. I was once Vichama's comrade-in-arms. Now... I am merely a remnant of pure consciousness lingering within the Night Kingdom."
"Murko?!" Mualani gasped, her eyes widening in recognition. She knew that name from the tribal histories. Murko was the fallen comrade whose ancient name Vichama had desperately tried to salvage, even as Vichama himself was being consumed and corrupted by the Abyss.
The glowing spirit nodded slowly, his light pulsing with a melancholic rhythm. "Yes. I had originally dissipated completely, my soul power returning to the earth of this realm. But Vichama... driven by an astonishing, stubborn will, he managed to re-condense my spiritual light just as it was about to scatter into nothingness. He anchored it, establishing a direct connection with his own soul."
Murko looked down at his own glowing, translucent hands. "Because of his sacrifice, I was able to retain a faint trace of self-awareness. However, I can only maintain this form by drawing upon the residual energy of this land and his lingering connection. I will not exist for much longer."
He lifted his head, turning his featureless, glowing face toward Lumine and the others. "I know the purpose of your arrival. When I sensed living souls venturing this deep into the Night Kingdom, I rushed here immediately. I wish to offer whatever strength I have left to help you save your friend."
Realizing this spirit was an ally rather than another Abyssal trick, the trio finally allowed their tense muscles to relax a fraction.
Lumine lowered the tip of her blade, stepping forward. "Murko, this lake... what exactly are those black shadows? Is there a safe way to pass through them?"
"Those are 'Echoes'." Murko turned his gaze back toward the ink-black water, staring at the jagged shadows and their burning red eyes. His voice was heavy with deep pity. "They are the residual soul imprints of those who have been completely corrupted and twisted by the Abyss. Everything that made them human has been stripped away. They retain nothing but endless pain, festering resentment, and a blind instinct for destruction."
He gestured toward the shoreline. "They are violently hostile to all living auras. The moment you step foot into the lake's perimeter, they will swarm you in an endless tide. Worse, their strikes carry severe mental pollution. A single scratch can infect your mind. They are extremely dangerous."
He paused, his ethereal form suddenly flaring several shades brighter, illuminating the dark rocks around them. "I will clear a path for you!"
Before they could protest, Murko raised both hands toward the sky. A wave of pure, gentle soul force erupted from his core, washing over the corrupted landscape like a cleansing tide.
Directly in front of Lumine, Wise, and Mualani, the energy coalesced into a translucent, arc-shaped barrier. Emanating a soft, comforting white light, the shield curved around them, creating a physical partition between the living and the ravenous shadows waiting on the lake.
"Hurry! Stay close to me!" Murko's voice cracked, laced with clear, agonizing strain. "The barrier won't hold for long!"
Lumine and the others didn't waste a single second. They sprinted forward, sticking tightly to Murko's glowing silhouette. Moving as a single, cohesive unit, they skirted around the flank of the lake, using the moving barrier to hug the treacherous shoreline.
The moment they encroached on the lake's territory, the Echoes reacted. The twisted shadows seemed to fly into a mindless rage, throwing their heads back in silent, agonizing roars before frantically lunging at the barrier.
Countless jagged claws, glowing with that sickening crimson light, slammed into the white curtain. Twisted, glitching bodies crashed against the shield, emitting a horrific, grating sizzle like acid eating through metal. Every single impact sent violent, unstable ripples across the barrier's surface.
It was immediately obvious that the barrier's structural integrity couldn't withstand this sheer volume of concentrated attacks for long.
Just as the protective light began to strobe rapidly, teetering on the absolute brink of collapse, Murko dragged the trio past the most heavily infested core of the lake. With a final, desperate burst of speed, they broke away from the shoreline and rushed headlong into a relatively narrow mountain valley passage.
"Phew..." The instant they cleared the threshold of the valley, Murko's glowing form dimmed drastically, his light flickering like a dying candle. "It is... much safer here..."
But before the spirit could even finish his sentence, a chilling, guttural growl echoed from the shadows ahead.
A chorus of chaotic, heavy footsteps thundered from deep within the passage, charging straight toward them!
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