Chapter 21: Souvenir From The Two Suns World

The second sign that everything was about to go horribly wrong was the temperature drop. The torch flames flickered and dimmed as frost started creeping across the cave walls, transforming the rough stone into sheets of gleaming ice.

"Fascinating!" Azure chimed in. "The spiritual resonance is completely different from standard ice-attribute techniques. It appears to be drawing power directly from—"

The cavern ceiling exploded.

Not metaphorically – literally exploded downward in a shower of frozen stone and crimson-tinted ice. Screams filled the air as massive chunks of debris crashed into the refugee camp below. I caught glimpses of people being buried alive, of bodies crushed beneath the falling rock.

The Skybound descended through the hole it had created, floating serenely on currents of freezing air. Its robes rippled with patterns of frost, and its eyes gleamed with that same crimson light that drove normal people mad.

"Found you.”

Panic erupted instantly. People scattered in every direction, desperate to escape. But the Skybound's ice was spreading rapidly, coating the ground and walls, making every surface treacherously slick. I watched in horror as refugees slipped and fell, only to be frozen solid where they lay.

"Everyone to the eastern tunnels!" Maya shouted, trying to organize some kind of evacuation. "Henrik, we need to buy them time!"

The big man was already moving, positioning himself between the Skybound and the fleeing villagers. His axe looked painfully inadequate against beings who could shatter stone with a gesture.

I stood frozen for a moment, caught in an impossible decision. My physical abilities were beyond any mortals, but against the Skybound? Even at my peak, with full access to spiritual techniques, I would barely be a threat to it. Now, limited to mainly physical abilities...

"You could leave," Azure noted quietly. "Your enhanced speed would easily outpace the others. The southern tunnel is clear."

He was right. I could escape. Save myself. After all, what could I really do against an enemy this powerful? I wasn't some protagonist in a cultivation novel who could overcome impossible odds through determination alone. This wasn't an anime where the hero's conviction magically granted victory.

"What would you do," Azure asked, "if you weren't certain that death would return you to our reality? Would you still stay and fight?"

I watched another group of villagers get frozen solid, their faces locked in expressions of terror. "No one wants to die," I admitted quietly.

Then I moved.

Not toward the escape route, but toward Maya and Henrik. I couldn't save everyone. Couldn't even save most of them. But maybe I could help some survive.

"The eastern tunnels are still clear," I called out as I reached them. "But we need to move fast – the ice is spreading."

Henrik's expression was grim as he watched the Skybound methodically freeze another section of refugees. "Someone needs to slow them down."

"Henrik, no—" Maya started, but he was already charging forward.

His war cry echoed through the cavern as he launched himself at the Skybound, axe raised high. For a moment – just a moment – I thought he might actually land a hit.

Then crimson ice erupted from the ground, impaling him through the chest.

"NO!" Maya screamed. The sound tore at something in my chest. This was why I'd wanted to run – watching good people die never got easier.

"We need to move," I said, grabbing her arm. "More people will die if we don't get them out now."

She resisted for a moment, staring at Henrik's body, now encased in rapidly spreading ice. Then her expression hardened and she nodded.

We worked frantically to guide survivors toward the eastern tunnels, trying to establish some kind of order in the chaos. My enhanced strength came in handy for clearing debris and helping injured refugees - I didn't have time to bother hiding it anymore.

"Tomas," Maya called out as I lifted a massive fallen support beam by myself, something that should have needed at least three men, "since when could you—"

"We have bigger problems right now," I cut her off, already moving to clear more debris. "Like staying alive."

She stared at me for a moment longer, her eyes lingering on the muscles that had replaced my once-scrawny frame, then shook her head and returned to helping the refugees. Questions about my transformation from a weak village kid could wait.

"Your physical enhancement is definitely improving survival rates," Azure noted as I continued moving obstacles that should have been well beyond my capabilities. "Though the Skybound's ice techniques are... concerning.”

Another explosion rocked the cavern. More screams. More death. The temperature dropped even further as sheets of crimson ice spread across the ceiling.

"Maya!" I spotted her helping an elderly couple toward the tunnel entrance. "Above you!"

She looked up just as the ice-covered rocks began to fall. For a heartbeat, our eyes met. Then the ceiling collapsed.

I wasn't fast enough. Even with my enhanced speed, even knowing what was about to happen, I couldn't reach her in time. The debris came down like an avalanche, and Maya disappeared beneath it.

Something broke inside me. Not physically – my new body was far too durable for that. But watching her die again, knowing I'd failed to change things despite my foreknowledge...

"The eastern tunnel is nearly blocked," Azure reported. "Remaining survivors are down to 43%. The Skybound appears to be systematically—"

"I know," I cut him off, watching more crimson ice spread across the walls. "Help me figure out an escape route for the rest."

We managed to get maybe two dozen more people out through a secondary tunnel before it too was sealed with ice. The Skybound was being methodical, cutting off every escape route one by one. It wasn’t just killing – it was hunting.

I found myself in a smaller side chamber with the last group of survivors, listening to the sounds of ice and death drawing closer. The children were crying. The adults weren't much better.

"There's a maintenance shaft," one of the miners whispered. "Narrow, but it connects to the surface. Maybe ten people could fit through before..."

Before the Skybound found us. Before we all ended up like Henrik and Maya and all the others.

"Start with the children," I said. "I'll buy you what time I can."

"How?" someone asked. "You've seen what they do to anyone who fights them."

I had. I'd seen it twice now. "Just get them out. And... I'm sorry I couldn't save more of you."

The sounds of ice growing closer. The temperature dropping further. I took up position near the chamber entrance, knowing I was probably about to die. Again.

"A heroic last stand," Azure mused. "Though perhaps futile. Even with your physical enhancements, the power differential is—"

"I know," I said quietly. "But someone has to try."

The Skybound appeared in the entrance, frost swirling around it like a living thing. Its eyes fixed on me, then shifted to the refugees behind me.

"Found you.”

I settled into a fighting stance, for whatever good it would do. "You know, I'm getting really tired of hearing that."

The Skybound’s head tilted slightly to the side as it examined me, like a curious bird examining an unexpected insect.

"You..." The word carried a weight I couldn't quite understand. "You seem different from the others. Could you also be...?"

I tensed, ready for an attack, but the Skybound just floated closer, studying me with those burning eyes. There was something almost like recognition in its expression, though its features were partially hidden by the ethereal frost that cloaked it.

Then it shook its head. "No. A shame. I was wrong."

I had no idea what it was talking about, but honestly, that was pretty low on my list of concerns right now. What mattered was buying time for the refugees to escape through that maintenance shaft. If that meant making conversation with a homicidal ice-wielding psychopath, well... I'd done weirder things.

"Wrong about what?" I asked, trying to keep its attention on me. "What makes me different?"

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The Skybound just shook its head again, and the temperature dropped another twenty degrees. "Irrelevant."

The ice spell came without warning – a lance of crimson-tinted frost that would have impaled me through the chest if I hadn't thrown myself sideways. The enhanced reflexes of my rebuilt body were the only thing that saved me, and even then, it was close enough that I felt the cold burn across my skin.

I rolled to my feet, noting the surprise in the Skybound's expression. Clearly it hadn't expected me to dodge.

Well, if it was surprised by that...

"Master," Azure's voice held a note of genuine concern, "the Skybound's cultivation base is far beyond the Qi Condensation realm."

“I can’t give up now,” I launched into a Phantom Strike technique, my physically enhanced speed letting me cross the distance before the Skybound could react.

Raw power and 50 units of spiritual essence might be enough to do some real damage.

My fist actually connected, catching the Skybound in what should have been a devastating strike to its center mass. For a split second, I felt a surge of triumph.

Then I realized my mistake.

The blow that should have shattered stone barely ruffled its robes. The Skybound looked down at where I'd hit it, then back at me with something between amusement and irritation.

"Shit."

Its hand shot out, impossibly fast, catching me by the throat before I could retreat. I struggled as it lifted me off the ground, but even with my enhanced strength, I might as well have been trying to bend steel bars.

"Let me take a closer look at you," it mused, those demonic eyes boring into mine. I tried to look away, remembering the warnings about red sun madness, but I couldn't break free from its gaze.

Something invaded my mind – not like spiritual techniques I'd encountered before, but a crushing, burning presence that made my thoughts scatter like leaves in a storm. I felt my consciousness being peeled back layer by layer, examined like a specimen under glass.

"Yes," the Skybound muttered, "you can be useful."

The cavern ceiling exploded upward, and suddenly we were airborne. The night air bit at my skin as we rose higher and higher, past the scattered ruins of the village, up toward where the crimson light painted the clouds in shades of blood.

"No," I managed to gasp, knowing what was coming. "Don't—"

The Skybound forced my head back, making me stare directly into the red sun. Its light burned into my eyes, into my mind, into my very soul. I tried to look away, tried to close my eyes, but that burning radiance bypassed all defenses.

The transformation began with my skin. The changes I'd forced on this body through soul essence conversion were nothing compared to this violation. My flesh bubbled and split as living tattoos of crimson light began writing themselves across every inch of me. Bones cracked and reformed, growing jagged protrusions that tore through muscle. My jaw dislocated as teeth lengthened into fangs.

"Master, your soul is beginning to separate!" Azure's urgent voice cut through the haze of pain. "Don't fight the dissociation - let your consciousness drift upward. The further your soul pulls away, the less you'll feel the transformation!"

The sensation was familiar, though usually it came without warning when reality itself was about to shift. This time, guided by Azure's voice, I could actually control it. I focused on that peculiar feeling of separation I knew from world-walking, letting my awareness drift upward even as my body continued its horrific metamorphosis below.

My newly enhanced muscles bulged and twisted, growing far beyond natural limits. Spiritual pathways that had been dormant in this world suddenly flooded with crimson power that burned like acid in my veins.

Then, with a sensation like breaking through the surface of a frozen lake, I was free.

Not physically – my body was still transforming into something monstrous. But I was floating above the scene, a disembodied consciousness watching in horror as Tomas' flesh twisted into a nightmare of crimson light and jutting bone.

"Thanks, Azure," I thought, relieved that being in soul form was useful for once.

From my vantage point above, I watched helplessly as the transformation finished its course. A final series of sickening cracks echoed through the night as my former body's skeleton rearranged itself one last time.

What had once been a miller’s son was now a horror of burning tattoos and crystalline protrusions, wreathed in crimson light that hurt to look at directly. Its eyes blazed with mindless hunger as it turned toward the Skybound, awaiting orders like an eager hound.

I tried to move my soul-self away from the scene, terrified that the Skybound would notice and... what? Could it even affect a disembodied soul? I really didn't want to find out. Getting killed was one thing, but having your soul destroyed had to be bad for your long-term health prospects.

But the Skybound didn't even glance in my direction. Could it not sense me at all?

"Your transformation rate was exceptional," it told my former body, which snarled in response. "The others will be pleased with this specimen."

Others? I didn't like the sound of that. But the world around me was starting to blur, reality becoming less distinct with each passing moment. I recognized the sensation from last time – my soul was being pulled back to my original reality.

"But I need to finish up before they arrive," the Skybound muttered, already turning its attention back to the village below. "Can't leave any witnesses."

Those were the last words I heard before reality dissolved completely. The red sun's light faded, replaced by the familiar sensation of crossing between worlds. My last glimpse was of my transformed body launching itself toward the village.

The transition back was gentler this time. No violent gasping, no desperate struggle for air – just a soft settling into my own body, like easing into a familiar chair.

I opened my eyes to find myself exactly where I'd been before the shift: cross-legged on my meditation mat, early morning light filtering through the paper screens of my quarters.

For a moment I just sat there, letting the peaceful quiet wash over me. Such a stark contrast to the chaos and horror I'd just witnessed. The memory of Maya disappearing under that avalanche of ice-covered stone was still fresh, along with Henrik's final charge and all those refugees frozen where they stood...

I took a deep breath, grounding myself in the present. The air here was warm, carrying the faint scent of incense from the main hall. No frost-covered walls, no crimson light, no screaming.

"Your vital signs are remarkably stable this time," Azure observed. "Heart rate elevated but within normal parameters. No signs of spiritual disruption or physical strain."

He was right. Usually after a reality shift, I'd be a mess – heart racing, lungs burning, spiritual energy in chaos. But this time, everything felt... normal. Better than normal, actually. There was an unusual clarity to my thoughts, a subtle vibrancy to my spiritual sense that I couldn't quite place.

"The transition was different," I said, rolling my shoulders experimentally. No muscle tension, no residual pain. “Smoother somehow.”

I quickly checked my status:

Status Update:

Soul Essence: 50/450 (Severely Depleted)

Spiritual Essence: 280/350

Physical Essence: 350/350

The soul essence depletion should have left me barely conscious, but I felt remarkably stable.

“Maybe I’m finally used to it.”

"Perhaps. Though I suspect there may be another factor at play." There was an odd note in Azure's voice – something between excitement and concern. "It seems you've brought back a... souvenir from the Two Suns world."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Look inside your Inner World."

Curious now, I turned my attention inward, examining my dantian. The Seed of Creation was there as always. But nearby, floating in my inner world, was something that definitely hadn't been there before – a small crimson sphere that seemed to radiate a subtle heat.

"Azure," I said slowly, hardly daring to believe what I was seeing, "is that what I think it is?"

"Yes, Master," Azure replied. "It appears to be a perfect miniature of the red sun itself."