Third-person POV.
Two young cultivators ventured out from the safety of the eastern gate of the Montauk base, their footsteps softly crunching on the fallen leaves and branches beneath their feet.
As Evelina and Thanatos delved deeper into the forest, the atmosphere grew increasingly foreboding. They pressed on, heading towards the undead spatial teleporter where an army of the undead was rumored to be stationed.
With each step, the forest grew darker, casting a haunting shadow upon their path. Evelina felt a chill in the air, causing a shiver to run down her spine.
— It's chilly in here, — Evelina said. She rubbed her hands together, seeking warmth and reassurance.
Thanatos, concerned that Evelina might lose her way, wrapped his arm around her and held her hand tightly, providing both comfort and guidance. The cold breeze whispered through the trees, and beneath their feet, the ground became increasingly icy and lifeless.
Though the notes of unease did not strike a chord within Thanatos' soul, Evelina succumbed to a slight fear that slowly consumed her rationality.
Meanwhile, the weather continued to grow more ominous, with the daylight struggling to penetrate the dense canopy.
Thanatos paused, planting a kiss on Evelina's forehead, and pointed through the thick grove of trees, — Look, there's a small group of zombies! They have a few zombie wolves, so don't let them flank you. Even in their undead state, wolves remain predators-they can sense fear and quickly exploit the weaknesses of their prey.
Evelina, aware of her own inner strength, released her grip on Thanatos' hand and strode forward resolutely, — I'm now ranked as the Third Star, so leave them to me!
They encountered their first target-a horde of regular humanoid zombies. Evelina had already formed acid energy spheres in her hands and began hurling them at the undead horde.
— Enemy! Infect the mortal! — barked the leader of the undead squad, his hollow eyes gleaming with a sinister hunger.
Dealing with the regular zombie-like creatures was relatively easy for Evelina, but Thanatos' advice reminded her to remain vigilant against the wolves.
While Evelina fought confidently to the right of Thanatos, he heard a loud rustling of leaves to his left.
«What's that?» thought Thanatos, turning towards the source of the noise.
— Brains... braaains! — the zombies cried out, surrounding Thanatos.
Within moments, Thanatos counted nearly two hundred different types of undead creatures, all pushing towards him through the dense foliage.
— Haha, how convenient that the monster cores are coming to me! — Thanatos chuckled ironically, unsheathing his sword.
With a blade infused with the essence of Chaos, Thanatos sliced through decaying flesh, scattering severed limbs. Meanwhile, Evelina's acid crackled and dispersed in clusters, reducing enemies to dissolving piles of biomass.
— Wow, they're so fun to burst! — exclaimed Evelina with a positive tone, slowly moving away from Thanatos due to the relentless onslaught of the undead.
The dark forest seemed to pulsate with the energy of their battle. Each strike echoed with the clang of metal and the surge of magical energy.
But amidst the chaos of their swift and precise movements, something unexpected occurred. In the midst of the fight, Evelina vanished from Thanatos' field of vision.
Panic gripped him for a moment. Thanatos searched frantically for her, darting through the shadows, but the green-eyed brunette had vanished without a trace.
— EVELINA! Where are you? Evelina! — cried Thanatos, pushing through the walking bodies of the undead.
He reached the spot where he had last seen Evelina and scanned the surroundings. In an instant, Thanatos realized that all the zombies had disappeared.
Thanatos found himself in a state of genuine bewilderment.
Everything, living and non-living alike, had vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving him alone in the dark forest, enveloped by the dense trees that blocked out any semblance of light.
The sunlight dimmed, leaving behind only an impenetrable darkness.
Tanatos began to pace back and forth, pondering what was happening, «What happened? There's some kind of magic at play here! I don't understand... wait. What are those two red dots? What is this?»
Tanatos peered into the darkness until he noticed a black figure staring back at him. It was within this abyss that Tanatos caught sight of a pair of ominous red eyes, glowing like burning coals in the void.
— Dark Lich, — Tanatos whispered, realizing the truth.
Slowly, the figure of the Dark Lich materialized before him, emanating a sense of malevolence and incomprehensible power. The supreme undead creature emerged from the depths of the forest, altering reality right before Tanatos' eyes. Everything around him turned crimson-red, reminiscent of the energy of Chaos.
— And you are an unusual Stellar Cultivator. My mental magic has little effect on you, — Dark Lich coldly whispered, filling the space with a red mist.
— Where is Evelina? — he growled, unsheathing his sword. Tanatos immediately launched into battle with Lich.
Lich recoiled in surprise from Tanatos' attack. The monster did not expect a mortal to be so swift. Though the initial powerful blow nearly killed the Lich, it managed to evade.
— Where is she?! — Tanatos bellowed, pointing the blade at the figure of Dark Lich.
— She is fighting the third brother's squad, unaware of your disappearance. And sooner or later, you will weaken, for I am in First Star System, mortal.
Tanatos suddenly realized that Evelina had fallen under the influence of a magic that dulled her mind and suppressed critical thinking. He himself experienced something similar, albeit to a lesser degree.
Quickly calming his mind, Tanatos attacked the Lich, intending to eliminate the source of his greatest concerns. His precise movements failed to reach the supreme undead, who managed to evade the devastating attacks.
Tanatos understood that this Dark Lich was not physically formidable, so he intensified his assault on the undead creature. After two minutes, an idea flashed in Tanatos' mind, and he subtly concentrated Chaos energy onto the blade of his sword.
Once his preparations were complete, Tanatos thrust the sword with all his might into the ground near the Lich, releasing a surge of chaotic energy.
*Boom*
— Raaah! — the Lich cried out as it was struck by a wave of destructive energy.
The dense red mist dissipated, and Dark Lich stumbled and fell to the ground.
— See you in hell, creature! — Tanatos concluded, smashing the Lich's head with his bare hands.
Tanatos' fists were covered in the shroud of Chaos, delivering a fatal blow to the undead.
After the Lich's demise, reality returned to normal. However, Tanatos noticed that he found himself in a completely different place from where he initially stood.
«Damn it! Because I was in the red mist, I didn't notice how the Dark Lich slowly moved away from Evelina. He deliberately separated us,» Tanatos pondered quickly, surveying the murky lake and the treetops.
— Aaaaah, mortal flesh! You killed my brother! For that, you will pay with your life! — another Dark Lich roared, emerging from the depths of the lake.
Experiencing fear for the first time in a long while, Tanatos anxiously contemplated, «Holy fuck! It means if I had walked a few more meters in the red mist, I would have ended up in the center of the lake, where the second Lich would have dealt with me.»
Tanatos was right. Unbeknownst to him, the first Lich lured him to the lake, where the second Lich awaited. If Tanatos had encountered the second brother of the Lich while under the mental suppression of the red mist, the probability of death would have been maximized.
Dark Lich retrieved a staff adorned with a pale-blue core at its tip. At that moment, a small squad of the undead began to emerge from the lake, exuding absolute power.
— You...you're a corpse! — growled one of the zombies, emerging from the lake.
— Ugh, you're in for a painful death! — the second zombie rasped, gathering its disjointed limbs.
— Resistance is futile, cultivator, — the third zombie said dispassionately.
— I'm totally screwed, — Tanatos realized, his critical thinking telling him to treat these undead creatures with utmost seriousness.
And for the second time, he was right. The three walking drowned were of the First Star System rank, while Dark Lich was at the peak of First Star System.
Taking out several high-level monster cores from his ring, Tanatos began charging them with Chaos energy.
— No! No! Stop him, it's not fair! You can't do this! — the Dark Lich panicked, rushing alongside the undead towards the fair-haired youth.
— Oh, really? You should have warned me, then. I didn't know, — Tanatos sarcastically remarked, flashing a sly grin.
He aimed and threw four cores towards the undead, who hastily covered themselves with their hands.
*Explosion*
The monster cores, saturated with Chaos energy, became time bombs in Tanatos' hands. Upon reaching their targets, the small bombs exploded, releasing a tremendous amount of energy that also sent Tanatos flying.
The sound of the explosion reverberated throughout the forest, and the shockwave toppled several trees and created a towering tsunami in the lifeless lake.
Meanwhile, Tanatos crashed into a tree, emitting a painful groan, — Graah, damn it!
Then, the tsunami wave swept around the entire circumference of the lake, brushing against Tanatos.
Several ribs and smaller bones were fractured. The landing was far from ideal, but the objective was accomplished.
— Phew, the main thing is that they're dead.
Only scraps and rotten remnants remained of the undead, but Tanatos' idea worked brilliantly.
«Chaos energy introduces imbalance into any stability, equilibrium, and Orderliness. Monster cores, in particular, rely on the balance and stability of energy. By filling the cores with Chaos, I created highly powerful bombs! Perhaps not every type of energy can turn regular cores into bombs, but I was fortunate to possess the primal energy of the First Star during my first evolution,» Tanatos pondered.
He let out a tired sigh, getting back on his feet despite the painful sensations.
— I need to find Evelina, — he whispered, peering towards the dense trees.
With a determined expression, Tanatos took a step forward, but his foot sank into the damp earth, leaving a deep imprint.
— Hmm, the ground has stopped being solid and frozen as it was before... This happened after the death of the first Dark Lich. What does this signify?
Tanatos didn't think this detail was important until a realization struck him.
— Exactly! Footprints! — Tanatos exclaimed joyfully, having found a natural tool for locating Evelina.