Chapter Fifty-Four: The Realm of Black Fire
Beneath the light of the morning star, the black, heart-shaped stone had been shattered!
As the heart fractured, the shadows on the ceiling contracted at great speed, condensing into droplets of thick, black liquid.
Is it still not over?
Morningstar gripped his long blade and retreated, the blade continually igniting with black flames.
He could sense that his previous strike had tipped the scales of victory in his favor, but the battle was not yet done.
Before him, the Shadow of the Body would launch one final counterattack—the desperate retaliation of a being that was, at her core, a monster.
“My heart is gone! You dared to break my heart!”
The shadows swirled and gathered, transforming into a writhing ball of black water, which ultimately assumed the shape of a beautiful, dark female form—a plastic mannequin of a woman.
The Shadow of the Body strove to maintain her sanity, clinging to the last flicker of life. This shadow form already demanded a heavy toll on her spirit and mystical energy.
Should her mind collapse entirely, she would fall into the path of madness.
The black figure’s expression twisted with rage and disbelief.
She could not accept this fate—how could her weakness have been discovered? She had deliberately suppressed the mystical energy around the stone heart to conceal it, so that even those with the keenest spiritual sight would not uncover the heart of stone!
Impossible! How could it have been found?
From the very start, she never considered that her secret might be revealed, so she paid no heed to the feint…
Yet facts remained facts. She could feel the scythe of death poised at her throat.
For reasons she could not fathom, in this moment the proud woman felt a piercing loneliness and helplessness.
“Scarecrow, Scarecrow, save me…”
There was no answer. She had specifically warned the Scarecrow to keep away, not to meddle and cause her trouble.
The Shadow of the Body looked ahead. There was no one to rescue her, only a newcomer intoxicated by battle, watching her intently.
He wore a cloak of raven feathers, his hands clenched tightly around a long blade, and symbols imbued with the aura of the blade appeared upon his skin.
He was an executioner, cold and merciless—a monster born of the night who would never let her go…
Her lips trembled. Was she, like the Umbrella Bearer, to become nothing more than a tale told by some rising power in the days to come? She was the prodigy of the Shadow of the Web!
The long blade, slick with black and red blood, slashed toward her weakened form.
Clang!
She braced herself and took the blow head-on.
“I will not be your stepping stone! Even in death!
Those who cross me, I shall repay in kind—you will not find peace!”
If she were to die, she would drag him down with her!
A vicious smile twisted her face, hatred and malice blooming in her heart. She still had two lives remaining—she could die once more.
In this final moment, she consumed a rare artifact hidden within her shadows: Water of the Nether Strand.
[Water of the Nether Strand: Usable when near death. Once activated, grants the ability to overdraw mystical energy and flesh, and provides temporary immunity to death.]
Don’t think you’re the only one with a trump card, little brother!
With great effort, she forced her failing body to dance the last desperate struggle.
Her face split into a wild grin, abandoning all hope of survival. Hands of shadow burst from her body, transforming into a savage rain of blows that tore toward her enemy!
Blessed by the Fireblade Page, Morningstar’s swordsmanship reached its peak—each strike more refined than the last, utterly free of wasted motion.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Black pus sprayed across the room.
Thirty fierce exchanges in succession.
Her speed was increasing!
After a single strike, guided by the Fireblade Page, Morningstar borrowed the force to leap onto the ceiling.
The Shadow of the Body looked up, grinning manically, her mind slipping into madness.
“Anyone who makes me suffer—I will kill! Let us die together! Let us go to hell together!”
But in the instant she launched her next attack, a thin thread of black fire flickered from his blade.
Infernal fire—burn for me.
Morningstar murmured softly. Only in the heart of battle could he grasp the true essence of the Infernal Fire.
Some instinct told him—now was the time!
Complex black patterns unfurled along the blade, a demon unleashed from its prison!
It was uncontrollable… In a heartbeat, the remnant of his mystical energy was devoured by the blade, and black fire swept through the entire room.
The cold, black flame devoured everything, wave after wave of fire crashing over the space. Darkness engulfed the room.
The Shadow of the Body froze. This black fire, saturated with mystical energy, completely blinded her spiritual sight. She had no way to locate her adversary.
And within the flames, countless twisted faces jeered at her, mocking her endlessly!
With a wet hiss, a blade shot from the fire, piercing her struggling form.
Weakness, rage, loneliness, the will to survive—emotions flooded her consciousness. Already fragile from the strain of her shadow form, her mind teetered on the brink of collapse.
“Die! Die for me!”
Like a madwoman desperate for death, she overtaxed herself, becoming a distorted blur as she lunged forward with a final, savage blow.
But as she struck toward the source of the last attack—
…
In an instant, all the black fire vanished.
Not only the flames—every wall of concrete, the entire building itself, disintegrated in a heartbeat, dissolving into dust and smoke.
She swung wildly into emptiness, finding nothing but blankness.
In pure isolation, even the fiercest emotions slowly faded away.
All her fury, sorrow, and struggle were extinguished by this pale, endless place.
Silence—absolute, unbroken silence. In this vast expanse, all turmoil seemed insignificant.
After a long while, the Shadow of the Body regained awareness.
Where am I?
She sensed this was neither Earth nor the New Capital, but somewhere far more remote.
She glanced at her right hand—a delicate, pale hand like a lucky cat’s paw, wearing the white bead bracelet she had adored in high school, though she had stopped wearing it at university in pursuit of fashion.
Back in high school, she had placed in the top ten in her exams and asked her mother for a reward—a bracelet and a modest new phone.
But since joining the Sacred Calamity Society, she had all but forgotten her family. She could no longer even recall her mother’s face, so lost was she in the madness of power.
“Such a distant memory.”
She looked herself over in haste—aside from a thin black dress and a trinket, her hair was tied in a ponytail. She was the very image of her girlhood self, untainted by malice, untouched by memories of the Sacred Calamity Society, free from the torment of her shadow form.
Gazing at her long-lost reflection, she drifted into reminiscence.
But a sound shattered her peace—a heavy door creaking open…
At the far limit of her vision stood a chained door, sealed tight by countless rusted links, each one ignited with forbidden black flame.
Through the crack in the door, countless crimson eyes burned with longing for freedom.
She needed no words to know: this was an ancient place, the last destination for some—a place known by one simple, archaic name:
The Infernal Prison.
The door slowly opened a crack, and a chain shaped like a black serpent darted forth, hurtling toward her heart.
By instinct, she ran wildly away, but in this form, she had no hope of escaping such an ancient thing.
“No, no!”
Just as the chain was about to pierce her heart, the pale, silent world shattered. The chain morphed in an instant into a sharp blade, a long knife slick with black blood.
In her New Sun Game interface, two lines of text appeared:
[World Traveler, the effect of the Stone of the Nether Strand has ended. Death immunity expired. You have died, with one life remaining.]
“No…”
Where was I just now? I cannot die like this… Her body slumped to the ground, ending this life.
…
The black flames gradually died out.
[Your HP: 14/32.]
Morningstar pulled the blade free and plunged it into the floor, gasping for breath, his body riddled with dozens of wounds.
“This one can even lock her HP…”
After unleashing the Infernal Fire, he had kept striking the Shadow of the Body, but her health never dropped below one. It was utterly immovable.
But the Infernal Fire also dealt psychic damage.
A message appeared in the New Sun Game: [You have inflicted sufficient psychic damage to your enemy. Their spirit has dropped to zero and suffered a complete breakdown.]
At that, Morningstar felt a flash of joy, but soon—
He found himself locked in a desperate struggle.
Though her sanity had dropped to zero, she had become even more dangerous!
In those frantic moments, he barely survived her frenzied onslaught, thanks to the Fireblade Page’s blessing, his skill, and the disruption of the Infernal Fire.
The fiery markings on his body slowly faded, and the relentless attacks in his mind calmed.
Exhausted, drained of mystical energy, spent in spirit—
Morningstar gasped for air, his chest heaving as he checked the messages flashing across his New Sun Game interface.
A line of reassuring text appeared.
[You have slain a player tainted by madness, Lv11. Gained 250 experience. Blade Resonance triggered: additional 50 experience.]
[Level up to Lv6. Current XP: 67/200. Gained 6 free attribute points. You have met the ascension requirement for the Master of the Morning Star. Talent upgraded.]