Chapter 414 414: Third Floor: The Haunted Forest of Winter Deers (12)
The ground beneath them gave way entirely, dissolving into the expanse of a boundless seafloor, adorned with sprawling reefs and mysterious bioluminescent coral that pulsed rhythmically, as if in tune with Cyrus' own heartbeat. Bright, otherworldly fish darted from shadowed nooks in the coral, their sleek bodies reflecting an eerie, inviting glow as they spiraled around him, filling the air with a steady, hypnotic motion. Strange sea creatures of every imaginable shape began to emerge from the sand and rocks, sensing their master's intent, their silent gazes trained on the enemy with ancient, knowing eyes.
Above, thick columns of water shot up, spiraling into towering, translucent pillars that circled around Cyrus, creating a fortress of watery walls. At the top of these columns, streaks of bioluminescent light flickered and danced, shedding an eerie glow over the entire domain. Further up, ghostly, serpentine shadows lurked in the gloom, swirling just beneath the surface. Their sinuous forms moved with a predatory grace, vanishing and reappearing as though they were one with the water itself.
As the kingdom continued to spread, fierce currents formed, moving with purpose toward the man across from them. The ocean became an active, aggressive entity, tides crashing forward in pulsing waves that grew in height, twisting with strange currents that seemed to possess a will of their own. Any water that surged toward the man solidified briefly into jagged spires of ice and coral, then melted back into the living sea, the shapes adapting, never remaining static.
And at the center of it all, a maelstrom of darker water began to churn—a bottomless abyss at the heart of Cyrus' throne world. The Heart of the Abyss roared to life with a deep, resonant hum, its gravitational pull stretching towards the man as if summoning him to its deadly depths. From within, giant shadows stirred, the hulking, coiled shapes of leviathan-like beings waiting to answer Cyrus' call.
Every part of the throne world pulsed with life, with intent, the entire ocean answering its master's emotions.
Cyrus hadn't noticed it, but as his fingers interlocked and his hands formed the strange, instinctual sign, he had altered his throne world, transforming it from the serene yet dangerous Kingdom of the Sea of Life into something altogether darker, deeper, and infinitely more sinister.
As he summoned the domain, a subtle yet powerful undercurrent spread throughout the plane—an unrelenting aura of pain and despair seeped into every droplet, every tide, and every living creature within his ocean. What was once a world of deep-sea elegance and ethereal beauty had shifted; the waters grew colder, tinted with dark, shadowy hues that turned them almost black. The bioluminescent coral still pulsed with life, but now with a haunting glow, each beat seeming to echo a low, painful groan that reverberated through the entire expanse. The soft, welcoming glows had sharpened, taking on eerie shapes and casting twisted shadows that clawed across the depths.
From beneath, sharp-edged rocks jutted from the seafloor, darkened coral resembling rows of jagged teeth, as if the very ground was waiting to snap shut on its prey. The strange sea creatures now moved in erratic patterns, their eyes gleaming with a predatory hunger, more malevolent and primal, as though driven by a need not just to defend but to inflict suffering. The ethereal fish that had once darted gracefully now bore rows of razor-like teeth and swarmed with terrifying purpose, their streamlined bodies leaving faint trails of crimson as if they themselves were bleeding rage and agony into the water.
And above, the towering columns of water, which once shimmered like majestic pillars, had become something warped, malevolent. Twisting spirals of dark mist now wound around them, giving them an unsettling, spectral quality, and through their translucent surfaces, skeletal shadows of anguished faces seemed to writhe in silent screams, as though the souls of the drowned had been summoned to join the pain that fueled Cyrus' throne world.
The ocean currents pulsed stronger, each wave crashing not only with force but with the intangible weight of suffering, thickening the air and pulling toward the enemy with a relentless, suffocating dread. The Heart of the Abyss in the center of the kingdom pulsed with a deadly allure, a vortex that thrummed with dark energy, pulling in everything nearby with the irresistible magnetism of pure despair. The shadows within had evolved as well—no longer just leviathan-like beasts, but massive, tortured beings, their forms constantly shifting between sinewy, monstrous shapes. They exuded a twisted, ravenous need, as though driven by the agony woven into every fiber of the throne world itself.
Cyrus' throne world had become a domain not just of water and life, but of anguish—a weaponized sea of pain that twisted around him, more powerful, more deadly, yet steeped in an oppressive aura that made even the water itself seem to weep.
The man's throne world unfurled with a slow, ominous pulse, a dark poison that encroached upon his half of the plane with an intensity that seemed to thicken the very air. As the words, "Throne World: Jormungandr's Jar of Venom," left his lips, the boundaries of his realm took shape in a rush of dark, sinuous coils that moved like living shadows. This wasn't simply darkness—it was a corrupted essence, a venomous, liquid midnight that spread outward in undulating waves, moving with a serpentine grace that belied the terrifying power within.
A massive, ghostly serpent's coil manifested, sprawling across the seafloor of the plane with seamless grace. Each scale was dark as iron, faintly glistening with an oily sheen as if coated in venom, and pulsated with life, mirroring the man's heartbeat in an unsettling rhythm. Within each of these scales, shadows churned, morphing and twisting like trapped souls, giving off the faint impression of massive, coiled jaws and gleaming fangs that seemed to open and close within the blackness. Above, a heavy, poisonous mist emerged, coating the atmosphere in a sickly hue. This wasn't merely water vapor—it was Jormungandr's breath, a miasma that felt alive, radiating a suffocating malice that seemed to sink into the skin and press on the lungs.
Alongside these poisonous fumes, rivers of venom began to pour from the coils, their dark, viscous liquid seeping across the plane's floor in slow, deliberate paths, leaving trails of decay in their wake. Anything it touched began to wither and dissolve—pebbles, sand, even the small bits of life lingering in the water. It was as if this venom was reclaiming the very matter of reality, breaking it down into raw nothingness. Massive fang-like structures rose from the ground in twisted formations, each gleaming with an eerie, bone-white luminescence as if fashioned from the fangs of ancient beasts, each one taller and sharper than the last.
At the heart of this malevolent sea loomed the spectral image of a colossal serpent, Jormungandr itself, its face half-submerged in the darkness, watching Cyrus with glittering, hate-filled eyes. Its maw opened in a silent, venomous snarl, wide enough to swallow worlds, and with each pulse of its existence, the venomous waters surged and rumbled, emanating waves of sheer destructive intent. Faint green and purple hues rippled along its body like an otherworldly toxin, giving off a sickly, radiant glow that clashed violently with the darkness around it, illuminating the twisted chaos within its jaws.
The currents moved in sinister circles, creating whirlpools laced with venomous energy that sucked in everything around, distorting and compressing the space until even the light began to bend. Every swirl was a trap, every ripple a predator's waiting breath, as if the throne world itself was a giant serpent ready to devour everything it touched.
Closer to the man, shadowy tendrils laced with venomous droplets reached out, writhing and coiling with an almost eager menace. They moved independently, seeking out Cyrus's presence, trembling with the anticipation of contact. And just as Jormungandr would coil around the world, so did these tendrils, spreading from the man's feet outward, creating an inescapable net of venom and shadow—a living, breathing trap, an inescapable doom in liquid form.
As the Kingdom of the Sea of Life and Jormungandr's Jar of Venom clashed, the two realms surged and collided in an awe-inspiring storm of opposing forces. Water and venom met in a cataclysmic embrace, each throne world vying for dominance, twisting and roiling as they attempted to consume the other's reality. Waves of water laced with radiant bioluminescence surged against rivers of venomous black, and each contact sparked with fierce resistance, hissing and bubbling where they met, forming toxic clouds that spread out like a shroud over both realms.
The first ripple of destruction tore across Cyrus's sea like an angry gash, the once-calm coral snapping and shattering, releasing bursts of light as his throne world fought back with defiant strength. Simultaneously, venomous waves crashed into these corals, dissolving them to nothingness, their brilliance dimming under the toxic embrace. Each fracture rippled back to Cyrus, carving deep, searing lines of pain into his skin as though the shattered coral tore into him directly. He felt each break, every tendril of his throne world crushed beneath the weight of his opponent's venom, etching wounds across his body as blood welled up and dripped down his arms.
Likewise, Jormungandr's Jar of Venom recoiled with each retaliation from Cyrus's sea, the bioluminescent water swallowing the venomous rivers and sending vibrations that shattered the ground beneath the dark serpent's coils. Sharp cracks formed along the spectral serpent's skin, and the man who commanded it felt each rupture as his flesh split, silver scales cracking and peeling, revealing raw, bleeding skin beneath. The venomous mist began to tear in patches, water flooding it with luminescent beauty, searing through with enough force to lacerate his skin, leaving trails of burning pain.
Massive whirlpools formed where the two domains clashed, vortexes of raw energy that spun violently, drawing fragments of coral, venom, scales, and bioluminescent sea life into a churning chaos that neither throne world could contain. Each vortex sent out ripples of energy, and each ripple was a merciless blow to the bodies of their creators. Cyrus felt his muscles burn and tear, fresh wounds carving their way along his sides and arms as though he was dragged through coral and fang.
Across from him, his opponent's grimace revealed the depth of his own agony, the veins in his temples throbbing as scales continued to shatter along his skin. The serpent's aura fought back fiercely, attempting to swallow the radiant sea's light, but with each encroaching wave of water, his shoulders heaved, silver blood trailing down his torso in fine rivulets, mirroring the collapse of his throne world's constructs.
Their eyes locked through the veil of destruction, each breath labored, their bodies bruised, torn, and bleeding. This was no mere clash of domains—it was a mutual self-destruction, a battle that would carve their will into the very marrow of the other's existence.
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