Darian felt like he was at the bottom of a dark, freezing pool. That coldness seeped into his soul, slowly draining all his warmth and strength. Everything stayed like that, swallowed by complete nothingness, for a time he couldn't even begin to count.
…
Until something shifted. He felt the space around him become a bit lighter.
That Risen Lord had probably redirected most of his power to something else—maybe he sensed danger. That loosened the seal on Darian a little. But still, he was sealed and too weak to resist.
At least now, he could use his senses.
Focusing on the surroundings, he clearly felt: he was in the same place as the others who had been captured. All around him were thousands of souls, completely unconscious in the middle of that darkness.
He tried to move…
It was almost impossible. Like being stuck in a pool of sludge—every tiny movement demanded an insane amount of effort.
'Shit… the level of this guy's black power is way too high. What the hell can I even do?'
He thought, nearly panicking. He was probably already inside the Risen Lord's real body—inside that abyssal heart of his.
If only the Spiritual Guardians with multiple rings could help… But he was the only one who managed to stay conscious in this mess.
His only ring was almost completely out of power. And from the looks of it, inside this place, the rings couldn't regenerate energy.
His black power had been used up completely earlier, leaving him with just a bit of white power left.
He went through every possibility. Then he remembered the canine tooth. That thing had been stored inside his soul ever since he took it from that traitor.
This tooth didn't use his regular powers, but his soul.
According to that book, using too much of this kind of energy would injure his soul, and it wouldn't recover easily. That's why he always used it carefully—only when it really mattered.
'Will it even work here?'
Without hesitating, he activated the tooth and fed part of his soul into it.
"!"
The canine tooth was able to move around easily inside that space.
The little slug wrapped its antennae around the tooth, using it to propel itself. That allowed it to carry both of them wherever they wanted to go.
The first thing Darian thought was to go to another strong Spiritual Guardian. He could clearly sense everyone's rings, so he picked one nearby—a small feline-looking figure with three rings.
As he approached, he made the tooth dive into the guy. Inside…
'Shit, his whole soul's been swallowed by that black power.'
Darian was sure: this black power was nothing like his own. It wasn't about strength or lack of skill.
The Risen's power felt like some cruel poison, made to destroy anything alive and suck it in without mercy. Meanwhile, the black power from his ring was more like a force of nature—pure and made to kill. It wasn't good or evil. In nature, where there's life, there's death; his black power was just natural death itself.
He focused on the rings on the guy's forehead, but just like his body, they had been completely overtaken—everything inside the rings was drained.
'I can't rely on anything but what I've already got…'
The souls were corrupted, and the power in the rings was gone. If he tried to absorb any of these souls to strengthen the canine tooth, there was a chance the Risen Lord would feel it, since the black power was connected to him. Any subtle change in the people here would probably be noticed—he was sure of that.
*Buzz!*
Darian flinched at the sudden vibration and buzzing. It came from the entire space around him.
'Is he fighting someone?'
That was the impression he got. The black energy didn't move—it was more like a physical tremor from the outside.
The other Risen Lords were probably chasing him down. But if this guy had the confidence to reveal himself, there was no point hoping they could kill him.
Even if they did… would they just let this lovely little gift inside him run free? Of course not. He had to figure something out fast.
Darian moved slowly through the place, which turned out to be surprisingly vast. That abyssal heart warped the internal space, like a spatial ring.
His speed was painfully slow. After what felt like hours, he finally sensed a barrier ahead.
It was the edge of the place.
He moved the fang, testing possibilities.
A moment later, he let out a sigh.
'No... I can't get through.'
*BUZZ!*
This time, the buzzing and trembling were way stronger.
Darian ignored it. He had no alternatives and saw no way out.
Until... he felt something strange.
A subtle tremor, almost unnoticeable — but it didn't come from the environment... it came from his antennae!?
That's where the tooth was. That artifact he never expected to react on its own.
He held it carefully, surprised. It wasn't supposed to activate without his direct command. He had full control and knowledge of it...
'What the hell is going on?'
He focused on the inside of the tooth, digging into its essence.
And then...
A faint connection formed. An invisible thread linking him to something... outside this place?
'You're more useful than I thought, parasite.'
Darian's eyes widened. A voice echoed in his mind — sharp like a blade, ice cold, but undeniably feminine.
'Who are you?!' he asked, tense.
Silence. No answer.
Time dragged on in suffocating tension.
Until once again, the voice cut through the silence in his head.
'...we can't exchange messages, if that's what you tried. I'll keep this short. I'm currently hunting the bastard who captured you. He's going to escape — no matter what I do. But you can use your little toy to break the barrier.'
Darian could barely follow.
'You're too weak. I don't know if you'll have the strength. But I'll open a breach in his soul in sixty seconds. That'll make it easier. If you succeed... I promise: everyone trapped here will be freed. The laws will carry them home.'
And with that, the presence vanished. Silence returned.
'Trusting the words of a Risen Lord...? This has to be a joke.'
The thought gnawed at him, but... what else did he have?
When he focused on the tooth, he noticed: it was different. Smaller. Fragile. Almost a third of its size and power were gone. That communication had drained part of it.
How the hell had that voice done so much?
Why hadn't he felt that same disgust as before? The same gut-wrenching feeling he got when speaking with the Risen Lord who captured him?
He took a deep breath. He didn't have Niara's sharp senses, but he'd developed something close.
'Well... what choice do I have? Even if she's lying, if I succeed, at least the people trapped here can get out and wake up. Maybe, if both Risen Lords get hurt, there's a chance — tiny, but better than getting refined and dying without even knowing.'
He accepted the inevitable.
He knew there wouldn't be a second chance.
Ten seconds left.
He placed the tooth against the barrier. Total focus. Every second counted. Every heartbeat felt like a hammer.
*CRACK!*
A high-pitched sound filled the air. Something had cracked.
The space around him became unstable, thin — like the Risen Lord was burning everything he had to finish his escape.
But he didn't know.
He didn't know Darian was awake.
And now, Darian could feel it: he could break through.
He poured his soul power into the tooth. It responded, pushing forward against the barrier.
One second...
More power.
Two seconds...
Even more.
Three seconds...
...
'It's not enough.'
He was sure. The passage was weakening, but not enough. He'd already burned through a huge chunk of soul power, but it still wasn't enough.
There was only one way out.
He took a deep breath — then, a sound like shattering glass echoed from inside him.
It came from his soul.
Without hesitation, he gave everything. His entire existence, every fragment of who he was. In exchange for one thing: power.
He didn't stop to think.
Even knowing he wouldn't survive.
*CRACK!*
The final sound.
The last thing he saw was the barrier breaking before his eyes.
He did it.
But the price...
...was himself.