"This sucks…"

Lena didn't bother to hide her disdain as they crossed into yet another forsaken stretch of terrain. The world around them had changed again. It was now a vast canyon, its walls jagged and black like cooled volcanic glass, stretching endlessly in both directions.

Debris littered every surface, and grotesque mounds of corpses of things without names. They all lay piled high on either side of their path. It was death without decay. The air was dry, hollow, and unnaturally clean. There was no rot. No stink. Just silence that kept their hearts on edge.

"I hear this used to be a war zone for the gods," Leo remarked casually, his voice echoing off the canyon walls. He didn't bother to lower it. If something came for them, he'd welcome the fight.

Lena hadn't known him long—only a few days had passed since he saved her and the Regan. Circumstance had pulled their two groups together into one uneasy alliance. And now, they wandered this haunted realm that made even their nightmares seem tame.

However, Lena was more than glad that she had ended up with Leo and Sophie. While the latter was a mystery, Leo had proved to her that he was quite powerful for a second gate ascender. This was also her first time seeing a white lightning user, the strongest elemental force.

'The government really has some incredible assets on its side. If Leo becomes a fourth gate user, they might regain their grip on the New World. Currently, the government is losing control to the clans. Mundanes are putting more trust in the clans because they are with the presidents and ministers. It is only natural for them to do this.'

Lena had no problem with this. Once again, politics of the mortal world meant nothing to her. She was not as loyal to her clan as she was two years ago. She was only loyal to humanity, and she wanted to save it.

So far, they'd seen no familiar human corpses. That was a relief, if a fragile one. Everything here had been monstrous, slain in ways Lena didn't want to imagine.

Some were ripped in half, others burned from the inside out. Some still twitched, even in death. Usually, this is the part where one would think these corpses would awaken and reveal that it is a sleeping undead army.

But that doesn't happen. The creatures remain dead and motionless, trapped in death.

"This place… It's wrong," she murmured.

"Maybe you're right," Regan agreed with Leo, his eyes scanning the horizon. "But not for the gods. I don't think gods would leave behind such a mess. I think this is a graveyard or a dumping ground. Word is, the Astral Vigil keeps this whole realm stitched together. These things…" he gestured at the heaps, "…. I think they're just creatures the Vigil cast out of the Dreaming."

"Quite a sight for sore eyes," Sophie muttered. She kept her hood low, her eyes sharp as they swept over the remains. Most of the corpses were dried out, drained of life and color. Touch one, and it might disintegrate on the spot.

The Dream Realm's oppressive silence pressed against them from all sides. Every breath felt like it echoed too loudly. The land wasn't just cold, it was ancient, haunted, still bleeding from the wounds of whatever had taken place here.

The quiet felt hostile.

"I wonder what's at the end of this place," Leo said after a while, as if trying to spark conversation. "Hopefully something interesting."

No one answered.

They walked in tense silence, the sound of their boots crunching on bone and gravel being the only noise.

Eventually, the canyon's environment shifted again as a thick, green fog began to creep across the floor. It was slow and almost alive. It swirled around their legs, clung to their clothes, and moved like it had purpose.

It wasn't toxic. Not to Ascenders. But it felt wrong.

That's when Lena's instincts flared. Something about the air was changing. Her breath came slower, and with each inhale, a creeping cold settled into her bones.

She wasn't supposed to feel cold!

She stopped. Blinked. Then looked up.

'Interesting.'

There, along the canyon walls, she noticed a few faint outlines. They appeared almost invisible at first glance, carved high into the black stone. These outlines were small, hidden, and built from the same material as the canyon itself, perfectly camouflaged.

Lena narrowed her eyes. The longer she stared, the clearer they became. Until…

"Watchtowers ahead."

Lena called out as she conjured another forged weapon—a scarlet bow that shimmered faintly in her hands. She drew the string taut and aimed high toward one of the stone structures embedded in the canyon wall. They were too far for her to sense any lifeforms inside… but well within her range to shoot.

The others followed her gaze, spotting the hidden towers nestled in the jagged black stone.

"Watchtowers for what, exactly…?" Regan muttered, narrowing his eyes. He glanced up at the sky, then turned toward the growing fog ahead after noticing a change.

Out of curiosity, he casually raised his revolver.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Three sharp cracks tore through the silence.

The cohort didn't react to his action.

Instead, they instantly froze when something vast and ancient fell over them like a crushing boulder.

'Battle Aura?' Lena recognized this feeling.

It hit their bodies like a storm front as it turned more real. Whatever it was, it didn't come from the fog.

In that moment, she made a split-second decision as the leader and bellowed:

"Move!"

The group listened and scattered just in time.

Boom!

A massive shape slammed into the earth where they'd been standing, the impact strong enough to shatter the ground beneath it. The shockwave roared outward, hurling Lena and Regan backward like ragdolls. They hit the rocky ground and rolled to a stop, coughing and stunned.

'What the hell was that? Another beast?'

Even as the question ran through her mind, Lena was already on her feet. She moved around the edge of the crater, bow raised, eyes sharp.

As the dust began to clear, whatever had landed from the sky slowly revealed itself. It looked vaguely human—but only in the most twisted sense. It was massive, towering at nearly twenty meters, its body grotesquely bloated. Pale, grey-brown skin stretched across rolls of hardened flesh, stitched and scarred like old leather. It wore nothing but animal hides strapped crudely around its bulk.

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And in its right hand, it held a black battle axe twice the size of a human being.

A cloud of green smoke burst from its nostrils, curling through the air like toxic mist.

Leo, being one of the strongest among them, charged the creature head-on. He didn't immediately resort to his Second Gate. Instead, he opened with a rapid barrage of Zenshi blasts. They struck the towering being dead-on. Every shot landed, but the creature didn't even flinch. Not a step back. Not a grunt of pain.

It took one massive step forward and swung its colossal rusted, cleaver-like axe horizontally with both hands.

Leo, proud as ever, didn't bother dodging.

Bang!

The blade crashed against a wall of white energy that flared into existence around him. It shimmered like a shield of divine fire, repelling the impact with a deep hum.

Leo's mouth curled into a smirk as the energy gathered into his right hand, shaping itself into a radiant, star-forged sword. He launched himself at the beast without hesitation.

His blade sliced through the air in a brilliant arc, glowing with celestial heat. The creature met it with its axe once again, and the clash of weapons rang out like thunder.

The sheer force behind the beast's counter pushed Leo backward, sliding him across the ground despite his strength.

"Leo!" Lena's voice rang out.

But her warning came a heartbeat too late. The monster was already upon him. It raised a fist the size of a boulder and hurled it down with the force of a collapsing mountain.

However, it stopped when a new presence broke through the sky like a blade through glass.

"Yi Shen!" a voice shouted from above. "You thought I was dead?"

Everything stopped. The great beast halted mid-strike, turning its massive head toward the sky as if Leo meant nothing.

Floating above them was a bald, dark-skinned woman clad in jagged silver-and-black armor. Her presence was like a dagger to the air. Her hands were locked behind her back in eerie calm, and behind her, a dozen black spears hovered in a tight formation, aimed like the fingers of death itself.

Her eyes swept over the group below, and they felt it. They felt her cold judgment.

"Are those the idiots sent here to become Sorcerers?" Her gaze landed on Lena, Sophie, then Regan, then Leo.

"I'll kill them after I'm done with you, Yi Shen."

"You think you can kill me?" the large being rumbled. His voice was a gruff mix between a gentle whisper and the growl of a monster. "How many disciples have to die for you to finally get the message? I will never share the secrets of Eden. None of you is even a spec stronger than I was when I was alive."

Yi Shen, the towering beast, turned his gaze back toward the group. He exhaled a weary breath, the kind that spoke of battles too long fought. His eyes shifted from the frozen Leo to the star-forged sword still clutched in his hand.

Then something changed. The malice faded from his eyes, replaced by something startlingly human. He turned to Lena.

"I need your help," he said quietly. "I can't let the Ice Wing enter Eden. Please…"

There was no time for a reply.

With a flick of her wrist, the armored woman in the sky sent two of her black spears hurtling toward the earth. They tore through the air with terrifying speed, faster than anything Lena had ever seen.

The first spear slammed into a hastily raised barrier that Sophie had erected as soon as she felt the woman's Battle Aura. To her surprise, it wasn't enough. The spear forced its way halfway through before stopping, vibrating violently like it wanted more.

The second spear struck Yi Shen square in the back.

He let out a cry. The sound was guttural and raw, like a dying beast. There was no blood, but the pain was written on his face. It was unbearable, a torment that seemed to bypass flesh and carve through the soul itself.

"Does it hurt, Yi Shen?" the woman sneered from above. Her laughter was cold and sharp. "Do you wish to die now?"

Yi Shen didn't answer. Instead, he pulled the spear out and inhaled the gas around them. Green fog poured into his massive lungs, his chest expanding like a bellows. He faced up and exhaled, unleashing a thick blast of that same green vapor straight at the floating woman.

The smoke wrapped around her like a living shroud. Following that, Yi Shen whispered something under his breath and...

Boom!

The smoke erupted into a chain of explosions. Fiery, concussive bursts tore through the air with relentless fury, illuminating the dark gorge with red and bright yellow flashes.

"I am already dead."

Yi Shen leaped from the ground with such force that the earth beneath him shattered inward, imploding like glass under pressure. He burst through the lingering smoke just as it cleared, revealing the armored woman--angry and ready to strike.

But before she could act, an ice arrow tore through the air and slammed into her shoulder. It exploded into a spreading frost that clung to her armor, layering her upper body in crackling ice.

At the same time, Regan opened fire, rapid shots echoing through the canyon. Most bounced harmlessly off her black armor, but one bullet nicked her ear, drawing a thin line of red and turning her head in fury.

That distraction was all Yi Shen needed. He roared and swung his glowing axe with brutal precision. The blade, lit with a pulsing blue light, smashed into her shoulder with a sickening crunch. The edge dug through her metal plate and carved into flesh.

Her eyes widened. They turned bloodshot and enraged as her skin began to sizzle on contact. She let out a high, furious scream as the enchanted blade cleaved downward, splitting through her shoulder toward her chest. The axe's runes flared, disrupting her regeneration, burning away her natural resistance.

One by one, her black spears lost cohesion and dropped from the sky, falling like broken stars.

But Yi Shen didn't stop. He released the axe in a flash of light, dismissed it, and wrapped his arms around the injured woman in a crushing hold. Then, with a final grunt, he dove.

They plummeted together, locked in combat, crashing down--not too far from the group.

When the dust finally settled, the canyon floor was scorched and cratered. Most of Yi Shen's monstrous size had diminished. His frame was still towering, but more refined, less beast and more man. His stone-grey skin retained its texture, but now it pulsed faintly with warmth, almost human.

He stood over the broken body of his opponent, his shadow swallowing her motionless form.

Without a word, Yi Shen raised his massive foot and brought it down with brutal finality. The impact cracked like thunder.

Her skull exploded beneath the pressure, shattered like an overripe fruit—blood, bone, and fragments of metal splattered across the dust-stained ground.

"Please stay dead." Yi Shen growled and waited for the woman to try to revive herself.

Lena's cohort waited in silence. She did not fire the arrow at the woman because she believed this Yi Shen. She fired that arrow because the woman was clear about her intentions to kill them. She was a threat. A threat that needed to be eliminated because she was obviously stronger than this group.

Now, who exactly was that woman?

And what the hell was this…man?

As the strongest of the group, she stepped forward first and called out her summon. Strands of white-silver zenshi gathered around her right hand to create a transparent sword while the bow returned to the soul.

Leo followed by opening his second gate, and a godly presence filled the atmosphere. His white hair crackled with fine sparks of electricity as his skin began to glow, and the star sword in his hand became more defined.

Regan too summoned another forged weapon—a fine katana that he held with two hands. He was the youngest in the group, therefore, with the least experience. However, he was still powerful and perhaps the most important member of the group due to his scouting abilities.

Meanwhile, Sophie picked up one of the woman's spears. She had seen them harm the large man; therefore, the spear was a weapon against this possible enemy.

Yi Shen turned slowly, his presence now diminished in size but no less commanding. The bloodlust radiating from him was almost suffocating, thick, primal, ancient.

His gaze swept over the group, settling with weight on each of them. Then, in a low, gravel-edged voice, he spoke—not in the common tongue, but in ancient Mandarin, every syllable ringing with the authority of forgotten ages.

"Candidates of the Dream Lord... why have you entered my territory?"

The group stood still, the air tense with uncertainty. Lena stepped forward, calm but alert, her silver hair brushed past her shoulders as she dipped her head slightly. Her voice flowed in the same ancient tongue, steady and respectful.

"I am surprised you still speak the mortal tongue, Lord Yi Shen." She lifted her chin, eyes meeting his without fear. "My cohort and I are merely passing through. If we've offended you, we ask forgiveness."

Yi Shen didn't answer at once. His brow furrowed as he tilted his head slightly, eyes—black and clouded like smoke trapped behind glass—scanning the group with newfound scrutiny. For a moment, he seemed to look through them, as if seeing echoes of something else entirely.

"You have not disturbed me, girl," he finally said. "It was my enemies who stirred the storm. You and your cohort... are you lost?"

Lena shook her head.

"No. We are following the Dials. They led us here…into this gorge."

A long silence followed.

"To this gorge...?" Yi Shen's voice dropped, thick with disbelief. "No human travels this path. They know what awaits them. Unless..."

He trailed off. A strange flicker passed through his eyes when he scanned Lena again.

Then, softly, almost like an afterthought, he asked:

"Are you, perhaps... Lenaria Feng?"

Lena froze. Her eyes widened slightly, just for a second, before she managed to collect herself. Her voice was quiet, but firm.

"Yes. I am."

"Oh…then the other three must be Leo, Sophie, and Regan. I have been expecting your cohort. I can't believe I almost forgot."

The group didn't say anything to him, mostly because none of them could speak ancient Mandarin. It was only Regan who tried to understand whatever was going on.

"My name is Yi Shen. Just like everything here, I am corpse." He switched to a language everyone understood. "….And the Gatekeeper of the ruined Eden Sect. It is a pleasure meeting you all again."

'Again? I think I would remember meeting a zombie, Mister Yi Shen.'

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