Inside The Black Mist

After securing Black Thunder and the crystalline mask he had just named "Nightmare," Tianyang stood up and began searching for an exit.

His tactical visor was broken, and without any lighting tools at hand, relying on his right eye alone made him feel nearly blind.

After all, this was an underground area filled with mist crystals, where black mist was abundant.

Black mist!

Tianyang slapped his forehead—hadn’t he been able to utilize the black mist? How could he have forgotten? He tried relaxing his body and focusing his mind to sense the presence of the mist.

Soon, he established a mysterious connection with the black mist. Tianyang felt as though his consciousness could extend outward into the surrounding space through the mist.

In no time, the layout of this space appeared in his mind. It was a holographic model formed by the black mist, and Tianyang could even "see" himself within it.

In this holographic model, Tianyang was like a deity, observing the space below in minute detail from the highest dimension.

In this state, the boy was almost impervious to sneak attacks. Unfortunately, the sensed space was only about twenty square meters. Tianyang thought it would be great if his perception could extend farther in a straight line.

As soon as the thought occurred, the holographic model changed. The width of the sensed space was compressed, while its length extended continuously.

Moments later, Tianyang was delighted to discover a rock wall about fifty meters ahead, with a cave located ten meters up that might offer a way out!

In this completely pitch-black space, Tianyang simply closed his eyes, using the black mist to sense his surroundings as he moved toward the cave.

He soon climbed into the cave. In the holographic model, the twisted, uneven rock tunnel ahead seemed to lead somewhere unknown. As he groped forward, his perception extended, proving to be the best way to explore.

After walking in the darkness for about twenty minutes, Tianyang suddenly stopped. In the model constructed by the black mist, he "saw" a wizard and several rabid hounds ahead in the tunnel.

They also seemed to be searching for an exit. Since there was still some distance between them, even the wizard had not detected Tianyang's presence.

A bold idea came to Tianyang’s mind. He cupped his hands slightly, and the black mist in the cave silently gathered toward him.

Once shrouded in black mist, Tianyang quickened his pace toward the black creatures. In the holographic model, the distance between him and the wizard continued to close. Even when Tianyang was only twenty meters behind the wizard, the dangerous creature remained oblivious!

Tianyang grinned. Previously, when the Black Prince had unleashed tracking orbs of electricity, he had disguised himself with black mist, causing the orbs to lose their target.

Now, the wizard also failed to notice his presence. It seemed the black mist truly had a cloaking effect. Perhaps in the wizard’s perception, Tianyang was merely a part of the ubiquitous black mist in the reverse realm.

They were so accustomed to the black mist that they would never imagine an enemy could hide within it!

Tianyang reached for the hilt of his Red Moon Blade, but as his fingers touched it, he remembered Black Thunder in his satchel.

He withdrew his hand and instead took out Black Thunder, waiting for the right moment to strike. After all, the wizard had the ability to teleport. A single misstep could result in the wizard counterattacking before being defeated.

When the tunnel straightened out, Tianyang knew his chance had come.

The wizard, wearing bioengineered fabric and holding a rattle, suddenly stopped as if sensing something. It turned around abruptly.

In that moment, a surge of black lightning roared through the tunnel. The writhing black thunderbolts radiated an apocalyptic aura of destruction, instantly filling every inch of the passage and engulfing the wizard and hounds.

When Black Thunder subsided and the electric flashes vanished, the tunnel echoed with deafening thunderclaps.

Tianyang stood frozen for at least three seconds before coming back to his senses.

He had just attempted to unleash Black Thunder’s ability, and to his surprise, it worked on the first try, releasing a flash of lightning nearly identical to the Black Prince’s attack.

On the straight section of the tunnel, Black Thunder encountered no obstacles. Although the wizard’s teleportation was an excellent escape tool, its reaction time was clearly no match for the speed of light.

As a result, without even having the chance to counterattack, the wizard and its hounds were annihilated in an instant by the pitch-black storm.

When Tianyang approached, all that remained were crystallized remains. Under the storm’s power, these black creatures could not even leave intact corpses behind.

However, the crystallized remains crumbled into black ashes upon contact, returning to dust.

Scratching his head, Tianyang marveled at Black Thunder’s terrifying power. Yet, its destructive force left nothing behind—not even a relic from the wizard.

He had hoped to gain another wizard’s artifact this time, but there was nothing to collect.

Perhaps this was the balance of gain and loss.

Putting away Black Thunder, Tianyang continued forward, unaware that as he turned, a faint yet profoundly dark glow floated up from the shattered crystalline remains of the sorcerer’s corpse.

Like fine dust, it settled onto Tianyang and disappeared in an instant.

In the darkness where time seemed nonexistent, Tianyang walked intermittently, unsure of how long he had been navigating the labyrinth of twisted caves. He only remembered eating two food bars, hydrating three times, and finally, when he used his Crimson Moon Blade to cut through a massive boulder blocking his way, a sudden ray of light appeared before him.

/

After so long without seeing light, Tianyang was momentarily unaccustomed. Shielding his eyes with his hand, he heard footsteps approaching.

“It’s a person! A human! Stand down from alert!”

“Get the medical team ready!”

“Hello, lieutenant. Are you injured anywhere?”

The concerned voices brought a hint of warmth to Tianyang. He shook his head and said, “I’m mostly fine, but my tactical eye is damaged.”

“Is that so? Then we need to remove it quickly to prevent infection.”

Once Tianyang adjusted to the light, a soldier helped him to the surface. Near the assembly point, a temporary medical station had already been set up.

Two medics came over with a stretcher and, without much ado, placed Tianyang on it.

Under the illumination of flares above the assembly point, Tianyang could finally see the devastated land before him. The uneven ground was riddled with countless deep chasms, as if a powerful earthquake had reshaped the terrain.

It seemed that the battle between the general and the Black Prince had drastically altered the region’s landscape!

He couldn’t help but wonder how the captain was doing now.

As this thought crossed his mind, he was already being loaded into a medical vehicle.

…

Bang!

A massive falling rock smashed near Ning Yi’s feet. The Cerberus squad captain glanced nervously upward. “Hey, Old Han. Are you okay? I almost got crushed, you know that?”

“Better if you were. Saves me the headache of seeing you,” Han Shu grumbled. He was currently maintaining a defensive barrier, shielding several captain-level Ascendants, including Ning Yi.

However, after enduring numerous shockwaves from the ongoing battle, the barrier seemed on the verge of collapse.

Ning Yi didn’t bother arguing, his attention instead focused on the distance. The massive tree supporting the chamber’s roof had been felled by Fei Mei’s sword within the first five minutes of the fight.

Yet its branches remained tangled in the ceiling, preventing a full collapse.

In the distance, light and shadow intertwined. The chaotic storm of energy raging there left no room for anyone else to intervene.

Of course, Han Shu and the other captains’ primary task wasn’t to join the fight but to ensure the Black Prince couldn’t escape.

Suddenly, a bright light tore through the storm, splitting it open. In the blinding radiance, Han Shu and the others could barely make out two figures brushing past each other.

On the opposite side, Zhang Dongcheng discarded his last cigarette. “It’s settled.”

The floor around the Formation Breaker was littered with cigarette butts—at least twenty.

Yin Qi smoothed her windblown hair and said calmly, “That’s not the real Black King. Xiao Mei can definitely defeat him. It’s already surprising it took this long. I guess Xiao Mei has grown a bit complacent in her peaceful days.”

Zhang Dongcheng glanced at her with a grin. “Jealous, aren’t you?”

Yin Qi scowled. “What’s there to be jealous of?”

She paused, her voice softening. “Ever since he left, I haven’t been able to live a peaceful life. You’re no different.”

Zhang Dongcheng’s smile faded, and he sighed. “I once thought becoming a Formation Breaker would give me some insight into what happened back then. But now, it seems I was too naïve.”

Yin Qi bit her lip gently. “No matter what, I’ll find out the truth. I refuse to believe the person I followed would do what they claim he did!”

Zhang Dongcheng sneered. “Neither do I.”

Yin Qi glanced at him. “For once, I don’t find you entirely intolerable.”

Zhang Dongcheng’s expression shifted. “So, does this mean you’re interested in me, Qi Qi?”

“Shut up!”

A fierce wind swept past, cutting their conversation short. Looking ahead, they saw the Black Prince kneeling on the ground.@@novelbin@@

But his head had already rolled to the side.

With a flourish, Fei Mei sheathed her sword. She glanced at her right hand, where her sleeve was in tatters and her skin was charred black. The general sighed inwardly. It seemed it would take some time to heal.

Turning, her long hair swaying, she walked toward the captains.

As she passed the Black Prince’s remains, the severed head suddenly spoke:

“Humans… cherish this moment…”

Fei Mei looked at him. “So, you really can speak our language. What should we cherish?”

The Black Prince’s lips curled into a smile.

“Cherish the peace behind the gate… For one day, we will cross the dimensional threshold and descend upon your world.”

His body and head began to dissolve, turning into thick, black liquid.

Fei Mei narrowed her eyes. “Rest assured, that day will never come. We will not let anything cross the gate.”

“Is that so? You are still too young. In truth, we have crossed before…” The Black Prince’s smile widened. “And do you think… someone like me would be the only…”

His voice abruptly ceased as his head fully melted into sludge.

Yet, amidst the black mire, a regal, ornate black crown remained, floating serenely above the liquid.

Crack.

A gemstone on the crown fractured, revealing a slender fissure.