The ground wept blood.
Lian's boots sank into the viscous crimson mire as he dragged Mei through the ravine. The skeletal hands clawing at their ankles snapped like brittle twigs, but for every one shattered, three more erupted from the sanguine sludge. Behind them, the Inquisitor's holy fire scorched the air, his wrath echoing like divine thunder.
**[Soul Corruption: 7%]**
The Eclipse Core's warning pulsed in time with Lian's racing heart. Shadowflame coiled around his free hand, its cold fire ripping through the skeletal horde. "Stay close!" he shouted, but Mei's grip faltered as a skeletal hand latched onto her leg.
"Lian—!"
He whirled, severing the bone with a whip of shadowflame. The flames licked too close to Mei's skin, and she flinched.
"Sorry," he muttered.
"Just keep moving!" Her voice was steady, but her eyes betrayed her fear.
The ravine walls loomed taller, jagged stone bleeding the same thick fluid as the ground. Above, the moon vanished behind a shroud of crimson mist, and the air thickened with the metallic tang of ancient rot. The Eclipse Core's interface flickered urgently:
**[Proximity Alert: First God's Corpse Detected]**
**[Warning: Divine-class entity. Host's current tier insufficient for engagement.]**
"Too late to turn back now," Lian growled.
A guttural roar shook the ravine. The blood-mire surged, coalescing into a towering figure—a skeletal titan clad in tattered robes, its hollow eyes blazing with spectral fire. The Corpse's voice echoed, a chorus of graves:
**"Thief… You carry the Core… Feed it to me…"**
The titan swung a clawed hand. Lian shoved Mei aside and Shadowstepped, reappearing atop a boulder as the strike cratered the ground where they'd stood.
"Lian! Your leg!" Mei cried.
He glanced down. The blood-mire had solidified around his calf, its tendrils burrowing into his skin. The Eclipse Core hissed:
**[Corruption Overload: Soul Corruption +2%]**
**[Soul Corruption: 9%]**
"Damn it!" Shadowflame erupted from his palm, incinerating the bindings. He leapt down, landing beside Mei as the titan lumbered closer.
"We need to outrun it!" Mei urged.
"No," Lian panted. "We need to *kill* it."
The Eclipse Core flared, its cold logic slicing through his fear.
**[Analysis Complete: First God's Corpse (Avatar Fragment – Tier 3)]**
**[Weakness: Divine energy sustains its form. Sever the tether to the blood-mire.]**
Lian's eyes narrowed. *The blood… it's feeding it.*
"Mei—distract it!"
"What? How?!"
"Just *trust me!*"
She hesitated, then sprinted left, hurling a rock at the titan's head. "Over here, you rotting relic!"
The Corpse turned, swiping at her. Mei dove, rolling beneath its claws as Lian surged forward. Shadowflame engulfed his fists, and he plunged them into the blood-mire.
**"Burn,"** he snarled.
The black fire tore through the viscous fluid, devouring the divine energy fueling the titan. The Corpse shrieked, its form crumbling as the mire evaporated.
**[Divine Energy Harvested: +5% Eclipse Core Progress]**
**[New Ability Unlocked: Bloodsense (Rank E) – Detect divine energy signatures.]**
But triumph was short-lived.
The Inquisitor emerged from the crimson mist, his armor cracked but radiating holy fury. "**Your corruption ends NOW.**"
His flail arced, holy fire condensing into a spear of light. Lian raised his shadowflame, but the Eclipse Core screamed:
**[Fatal Threat Detected: Evasion Impossible]**
A gloved hand seized Lian's collar.
"**Pathetic,**" the stranger sneered, yanking him and Mei into a shadow. The world dissolved into darkness.
When they reappeared, they stood in a cavern beneath the ravine, the walls pulsating with bioluminescent fungi. The stranger tossed Lian aside like a ragdoll.
"**You'd rather die than think,**" he spat. "**The Corpse's true body lies here. Touch it, and the Core will claim its first taste of godhood.**"
Before them lay a massive skeletal hand, half-buried in stone. Its bones glowed with faint golden runes—**the First God's Corpse**.
**[Quest Updated: Harvest the First God's Corpse]**
**[Reward: Divine Spark (Tier 1)]**
**[Penalty: Soul Corruption +15%]**
Mei grabbed Lian's arm. "Don't! It's a trap!"
The stranger laughed. "**All power is a trap, girl. But traps can be sprung.**"
Lian stared at the Corpse. The Eclipse Core thrummed, its hunger mirroring his own.
"Do it, brother," Mei whispered, tears in her eyes. "I'll pull you back. Always."
**[Soul Corruption: 10%]**
Lian reached for the bones.
The world exploded in gold and black.
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