Deep within the Temple's Heart, Moments Earlier...
In the shadowy depths of the ruined temple, a low, ancient voice echoed, as if carried by the very darkness itself. "I have finally found some worthy food for you, Ancient One. But two of them... they are far too powerful. I'll cast them into a separate dimension to buy us time. As for the warrior ranks, I'll send my minions to capture them," the voice declared with a sinister calm.
The speaker was Evan, the boss of this cursed territory—a calculating figure whose ambitions now aligned with the will of the malevolent presence sealed deep within the temple. He stood tall in the dim chamber, his expression unreadable beneath the weight of his responsibilities.
A guttural laugh rumbled from the ancient entity seaed from the ancient entity sealed within. "Good, Evan. You've served me well as the warden of this land. I am but a damaged soul, sealed away within the heart of this so-called 'Doom Forest.' Yet your strength keeps my will alive... I trust you will not disappoint me. But..." The voice grew darker, almost warning, "...this time, you must tread carefully. One among the intruders is a necromancer lich—a cunning threat, one not easily broken."
Evan's eyes narrowed as he absorbed the warning. "A necromancer? So that explains the undead legions approaching the temple gates."
The ancient voice hummed, almost amused. "Yes... but what puzzles me is how he commands two Master-rank beings—both of them dangerously powerful. And if that were not enough, one of his summons is a peak warrior-rank specter, a rare and dangerous entity."
A flicker of unease passed over Evan's face. He knew better than to underestimate such power. "If they were drawn to this place... it means they've come for you."
"Indeed. If the Master ranks escape the dimension I trap them in, it will mean disaster," the ancient voice rasped, a hint of urgency creeping into its tone. "Evan, do not waste time. Confront the necromancer immediately. Crush him before he can bring chaos upon this place—and before those Master ranks find their way back into this realm."
Evan gave a cold, confident smirk, bowing slightly toward the unseen entity. "As you command, Ancient One. I will handle this myself. The lich will be nothing more than dust beneath my feet."
Without another word, Evan turned, his presence dissolving into the shadows. He moved with purpose, each step a promise of violence, the air around him thick with the aura of impending confrontation.
The ancient voice lingered in the silence that followed, a dark chuckle reverberating through the temple walls. "Yes... do not fail me, Evan. For if you do..." It paused, letting the threat hang ominously in the air. "He will not just come for you... he will come for me."
And with that, the ancient presence withdrew into the shadows once more, waiting patiently—just as it had done for countless years—for the perfect moment to feed on those foolish enough to enter its domain.
Back to the Present
Amelios unleashed a series of Virus Beams, each one slamming into the wall with violent bursts of energy. Purple streams of toxic power splattered against the cold stone, but the wall remained untouched—impervious to his attacks. Frustrated, Amelios let out a low growl, his gaze locked on the solid surface blocking him from his master.
"Damn wall..." he muttered, his fists clenched. He could feel Jay's presence on the other side—so close it was maddening, yet impossibly unreachable.
As he stood there, trying to figure out his next move, faint footsteps echoed from an adjacent room. The sound was sharp and deliberate, each step echoing unnervingly through the darkness. The corridor connecting the rooms seemed oddly out of place—an eerie, twisting path in the already strange dimension they were trapped in. Amelios tensed as he saw red eyes glimmering in the pitch-black shadows.
"Seraphina? Is that you?" Amelios asked, his voice low but hopeful.
The figure stepped into view, and the glow of the red eyes revealed her familiar form. "Yes, it's me. Stop banging on that wall already—you're destroying my ears," Seraphina snapped, crossing her arms with an annoyed glare.
Amelios exhaled in frustration. "But Jay's right behind this wall. I can feel him, Seraphina. He's just—"
"I know," she cut him off, her voice cold but calm. "Jay's there... but this isn't as simple as it looks. We've been trapped in a separate dimension. No amount of brute force will break this wall, no matter how much you blast it." Her glowing eyes narrowed as she examined the strange corridor and the walls boxing them in. "Whoever set this up knew exactly what they were doing—splitting us up, keeping us far away from Jay."
Amelios rubbed the back of his neck, frustration bubbling beneath his composed exterior. "So... what do we do now? If we can't break through the walls, we can't reach him."
Seraphina's expression darkened, her gaze dropping to the formation beneath their feet—an intricate web of runes that pulsed faintly with magic. "We start here," she said, her tone decisive. "This formation... it's the key. If we can dismantle it, we might be able to disrupt the magic trapping us."
Amelios gave a sharp nod, his focus sharpening. "Alright. Let's get to work then. The sooner we take this thing down, the faster we get back to Jay."
Seraphina crouched, her fingers tracing the glowing lines of the formation, her red eyes gleaming with determination. "This won't be easy... but we don't have a choice."
Together, the two commanders began their delicate work, peeling away at the intricate spellwork anchoring the dimensional trap. Every second mattered—Jay was out there, and time was slipping away.
Meanwhile in Another Corner of the Temple
Pluto appeared in a dim corridor, the darkness wrapping around him like a shroud. He scanned his surroundings, finding himself alone. "Guess I was right about getting transported separately," he muttered, irritation flickering in his tone. "These damn formations..."
As he voiced his frustration, a low growl came from behind him. Pluto turned sharply, his spectral eyes gleaming as he counted the number of glowing blue eyes emerging from the shadows.
"Well... looks like I'm kinda screwed," Pluto whispered to himself with a grin. Before him stood 200 wolves—each one radiating dangerous energy, easily at warrior rank and above level 20. The eerie glow of their blue fur flickered like lightning under their skin as they stared at Pluto, ready to pounce.
For a moment, Pluto stood completely still, statuesque. The wolves eyed him suspiciously, unsure of what to make of the silent skeleton standing before them. After some hesitation, most of the pack began to move past him, dismissing him as some creepy statue in this cursed place. Only 20 wolves stayed behind to guard the corridor, sniffing cautiously around.
The instant most of the pack disappeared down the hall, Pluto's expression twisted into a wicked grin. "Finally... let's have some fun." Without warning, Pluto vanished in a blur of shadows and reappeared in front of a lone wolf, lying lazily near the corridor entrance.
The wolf's eyes widened in shock, but before it could howl—Slick! A green crescent-shaped blade flashed through the air, beheading the wolf with a single swipe. The spinning blade continued its deadly arc, slicing into the neck of another nearby wolf. Blood sprayed in crimson bursts, painting the floor as the lifeless bodies collapsed.
The remaining wolves stood frozen in disbelief. Everything had happened in the span of a second—too fast for them to process. Pluto licked his lips with a ghostly grin, taunting, "Come on, dumb mutts! Fight me! I killed your friends!"
Rage flickered through the wolves' glowing eyes. They threw their heads back to howl—but the sound was eerily muted. The corridor remained silent. The wolves, confused, tried again, but the howls still failed to escape the space.
Pluto chuckled darkly. "Ahh... you didn't notice, did you? You're trapped in my Shadow Prison now." A sinister aura spread through the hall. "No sound escapes, no reinforcements come. The only way out is to kill me... but that's not happening."
The wolves, realizing they were cornered, responded with a light-blue electric charge, the air crackling with electricity as they launched a coordinated group attack. Pluto phased out of sight, using his newly acquired Phase-In skill, dodging the electric spark as it passed harmlessly through his spectral body.
He reappeared in front of a wolf at the far edge of the group, one with fewer allies nearby. As it tried to summon another spark, Pluto whispered, "Mind-Break." Although the skill didn't shatter its mind entirely, the wolf's focus faltered for a split second—enough for Pluto to gain the upper hand.
One of the other wolves, seeing its comrade in danger, released an electric blade, but Pluto responded with a swift sword slash, obliterating the incoming attack. Before the wolves could react, Pluto stepped forward, placing his palm atop their heads. "Decay Touch."
A black, corrosive mist spread from his hands, and within moments, the wolves' heads rotted away, their lifeless bodies slumping to the ground.
The remaining wolves growled and regrouped, launching another coordinated strike. Pluto grinned wider, dark energy swirling around him. "Alright, fun's over," he muttered. He activated his Sword Intent and combined it with Soul Blaze. A burst of spectral flames and sword aura erupted, slashing through the wolves. The corridor lit up briefly with blue sparks and burning embers, as many of the wolves collapsed, their bodies littered with deep cuts and burning wounds. Half the pack lay dead, while the survivors whimpered, their charred fur glowing with lingering blue flames.
"Not so tough now, huh?" Pluto taunted, his voice low and mocking. "Without your numbers, you're just a bunch of trash. Even those Great Forest Wolves were stronger than you."
Though the wolves didn't understand his words, Pluto's smug expression and tone were enough to send them into a frenzy. Their injured bodies trembled with fury as they lunged at him, claws and jaws aiming to tear him apart.
Pluto's grin vanished, his expression sharpening. "Time to end this."
In a blur of movement, loud bangs and clashes echoed throughout the shadow prison. The wolves fought desperately, but Pluto danced between them with inhuman speed and precision. His Phase-In skill saved him multiple times from their desperate attacks. Moments later, the corridor fell silent. The shadow prison dissolved, revealing Pluto standing amidst a pile of mangled corpses—not a single scratch on his spectral form.
"Annoying mutts," Pluto muttered, kicking one of the lifeless bodies aside. "You really thought you could take me out by sacrificing yourselves? Too bad." He glanced down at his spectral body, grateful for the last-second Phase-In dodge that had saved him from an otherwise dangerous injury.
Just then, Pluto felt Jay's presence—along with Chenoo's aura—not far from where the wolf pack had entered. "Looks like I'm the first one to find Master," Pluto said with a smug grin. Without wasting another second, he darted down the corridor, moving swiftly through the eerie silence toward Jay's location.
"Let's see if I can surprise him," Pluto chuckled to himself as he raced through the shadows, anticipation gleaming in his spectral eyes.
Inside the Temple's Shadowed Room
Jay moved cautiously through the dimly lit corridor, his undead legion standing guard behind him. At the far end, he entered a small room with Chenoo, the six-winged beast silently trailing him. The room was sparse—just a bed, a small table with books, and a chest filled with odd trinkets. A flickering lamp dangled from the ceiling, casting weak light across the dusty space.
Jay approached the table and inspected the books. "Fall of the Evening Temple" caught his attention first. Placing it aside, he picked up another—"History of Planet Tian, 1st Edition."
"Planet Tian...," Jay whispered, a spark of intrigue flashing in his eyes. This was the first time he encountered the world's name in this world itself, apart from what his system had told him.
Just as he was about to open the book, a series of low growls echoed from outside the room. Jay clenched his jaw, his instincts flaring. "Guess there's no quiet time in here," he muttered under his breath.
He quickly stashed the books into his inventory and turned to Chenoo. "Come on, let's deal with this."
As Jay and Chenoo stepped out, the blue wolves had already engaged his skeletons and zombies. Sparks of electricity crackled through the air as the wolves attacked, releasing light-blue electric sparks at his undead. However, the wolves struggled to cause significant damage, their attacks proving ineffective against the tireless swarm of undead.
Jay watched with satisfaction as his skeletons began to overwhelm the wolves, breaking bones and tearing into fur with relentless efficiency. Soon, the wolves were being massacred, their numbers dwindling rapidly.
Suddenly, a massive, dark blue wolf emerged at the rear of the pack, its fur shimmering with electric energy. The beast let out a thunderous growl, causing the remaining wolves to regroup and press the attack. Jay narrowed his eyes and activated Detection.
[System - Great Electric Wolf ]
[Rank - General (lvl 55) ]
[Special - None ]
[Bloodline - None ]
[Skills - ???]
Jay raised an eyebrow, surprised at the sudden appearance of a general-rank enemy. "That's quite a a jump..." he murmured, glancing at Chenoo, whose towering figure radiated silent menace. At level 92, Chenoo was far superior to this beast. The spectral creature gave Jay a disapproving look, knowing the fight would hardly be a challenge.
Jay chuckled softly. "I know, Chenoo. This mutt isn't worth your time. Let's give our ghouls some fun."
With his mana now fully replenished, Jay extended his hand and summoned Adonis and his three Black-Eyed Ghouls. A shimmering magic circle materialized on the ground, and his summons appeared one by one—an intimidating group.
The 9-Headed Serpent: Its snake-like bodies twisted and hissed, each head swaying ominously.The 4-Legged Kaiju: A massive, muscular beast with thick hide and burning eyes.The Beholder King: A hovering monstrosity covered in eyes, each radiating magical energy.
As they emerged, the wolves snarled, realizing the battle had just grown far more dangerous. Jay turned to his summons and issued the command: "Take down the leader. The rest will fall apart without it."
The 9-Headed Serpent, Kaiju, and Beholder King locked their gazes on the Great Electric Wolf. The leader of the wolves bared its fangs, electricity arcing between its jaws, but there was no fear in the ghouls' cold, calculating eyes.
As his ghouls advanced on the wolf leader, Jay turned to Adonis, the armored specter standing silently by his side. "While they're busy, let me catch you up on what's happening."
Jay spoke quickly, explaining his encounters inside the temple, including the strange formations, the sudden separation of his allies, and the presence of hostile forces hidden within. Adonis listened carefully, his skeletal face expressionless but his glowing eyes betraying his sharp focus.
"We'll need to regroup with Seraphina, Amelios, and Pluto soon," Jay said, glancing toward the distant corridor where he had sensed Pluto earlier. "Something tells me we're not alone in this temple. Stay alert."
Adonis nodded once, his hand resting on the hilt of his spectral blade, ready to act at a moment's notice. The faint sounds of battle echoed as the Ghouls clashed with the Great Electric Wolf, the air thick with tension.
Jay smiled faintly. "Let's see how long that mutt lasts."