In the skies above Silverwood Vale, Sword Immortal Darian lounged on a cloud while drinking a cup of immortal wine. It was a fine autumn day. The skies were clear, barring a few clouds here and there, the wind was nice and crisp, and the leaves of the Silverwood had already turned various shades of red and yellow. The noon sun hung high in the sky.
He was taking it easy for a bit, since he knew he would be busy in the foreseeable future. His disciple, Clarissa Wind Dance, was progressing well with her cultivation and her training. It was almost time for him to reveal himself to her and officially take her up as his disciple.
Of course, Sword Immortal Darian couldn’t reveal his true self to her, not yet at least. That would rouse ire and jealousy among their kin, especially since Clarissa had mediocre talent when it came to cultivation. He would have to use one of the many identities he had developed over the years in order to mingle with his descendants without them realizing who he was. Otherwise he would have to deal with constant reverence and worship, which grew tiring after a while. Sometimes he just wanted to interact with people without having to worry about power and status.
Hmm, which identity should he pick? The venerable Elder? The middle-aged alchemist? The youthful dancer? Eventually, Sword Immortal Darian would teach Clarissa everything she needed to know. It was just a matter of where to start. Zayne Wind Dance was out of the question. He was too young and weak to be a proper master for Clarissa.
As he pondered all this, Sword Immortal Darian felt it when the seal he placed on Darian cracked and then shattered altogether. He sat up, gazing in the direction of Crescent Moon City, or rather, a place not too far from it.
Sword Immortal Darian considered heading over to Darian to see what was going on. The boy was his descendant, after all. After a moment, he decided not to. The little kitty that was his Master in all but name was there. She would be able to handle Darian’s demon form.
Besides, the Immortals of Clan Wind Dance refrained from interfering with the rest of the world too much, barring certain circumstances. This little conflict with the Pit Viper Sect didn’t qualify. It was a policy that had worked well for them over the centuries, and Sword Immortal Darian felt no need to change that. While he might bend the rules, almost to the point of breaking them, that didn’t mean he would actually break them.
That didn’t stop him from gazing over, his brow furrowed with worry.
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Stella was in one of her training courtyards, watching as Estelle cultivated the Crimson Dragon technique. The girl sat in the middle of an energy gathering formation, Lesser Spiraling Vortex, which was one of Junior Sister Astra’s creations. Before they could upgrade Estelle’s dantian, they needed to restore her cultivation first.
Due to Estelle’s background and green dantian, Stella hadn’t had high hopes for the girl. To her surprise, Estelle comprehended the Crimson Dragon technique rather quickly. Her progress since then had been nothing short of astonishing.
Stella wondered if Estelle had always had high talent when it came to cultivation, despite her green dantian, or if it was a result of her rebirth. As someone who spent centuries studying the soul, and the soulcrafting techniques of the Reborn Demon Sect, Stella found this interesting. It was something to look into, at the very least.
If it was the former, then Estelle had been wasted on the Pit Viper Sect.
As she observed Estelle, Stella felt a premonition. She turned towards the entrance to Dawnrise Hall.
Something had happened with Darian. She didn’t know what, specifically, but she knew something had happened. Too bad that Stella was so far away, otherwise she would head over to see what was going on with her son. As it was, it would take a month for her to return to the Myriad Rivers region.
When it came to Darian, Stella had to strike a careful balance. As an Immortal, she wielded a lot of power. It would be trivial for her to keep her son safe and protected from the dangers of the world. Yet, doing so would be a great disservice to Darian. She wanted him to be strong and capable of handling the dangers of the world with his own power. If she coddled him too much, he wouldn’t be ready. He needed to be able to fight his own battles.
At least Junior Sister Astra was there to watch over him. Stella trusted her to keep Darian safe.
That didn’t stop Stella from worrying about her son.
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Astra opened her eyes and looked over to the entrance of Spiderwood Hollow. All around her, the elders of Clan Wind Dance and Clan Stone Pillar argued over the finer details of the alliance between their two clans. So far, the second day of negotiations was as dull as the first. While it was of great importance to everyone involved, Astra found it tedious and boring.
The only reason why she participated in these talks was because of Darian and his betrothal to Willow Stone Pillar. She represented his mother in this matter, and wanted to ensure he gained the most benefit from this.
So far, she hadn’t needed to speak up. Darian’s grandparents and his father felt the same as her, and had argued hard in Darian’s favor.
That left Astra a little disappointed, since it meant she couldn’t mess with any of the elders from Clan Stone Pillar. She had deliberately hidden her cultivation and acted aloof in order to bait one of them into doing something stupid. So far, none of them had taken the bait. At worst, they threw her dirty looks.
However, when noon arrived, Astra’s intuition warned her that something had gone wrong with Darian. She leapt off the table and flew over to the entrance of Spiderwood Hollow.
“Cultivator Astra?” Darren called out as she left. He was the only one to notice her departure.
She ignored him. When she arrived at the entrance, she saw and heard nothing but the dark mist that marked the entrance of Spiderwood Hollow. As she hovered there, her apprehension and fear grew. She switched to her human form.
“Cultivator Astra?” Lucius called out, rushing over to her side. “What’s wrong?”
Vera and Ellen followed close behind.
“Something happened with Darian,” Astra replied. “I feel it.”
“What happened?” Vera asked, worried. “Is he hurt?”
Astra shook her head.
“I don’t know. Let me find out.”
Using her spirit energy, Astra created a little clone of herself. Unlike her real clones, this one was weak and wouldn’t last long. That was the point. Certain hidden realms prevented cultivators above a certain level from entering them. Only Foundation Establishment cultivators could enter Spiderwood Hollow. If Astra tried to enter it, the hidden realm would rebuff her. Forcing the issue wouldn’t work either. Trying might collapse the hidden realm.
A weak spirit energy clone was another matter altogether.
Astra inserted a bit of her divine will into the clone and it came to life. The clone looked at her, nodded once, before entering Spiderwood Hollow. Since the clone was going into a hidden realm, Astra wouldn’t be able to maintain a connection to it. She had to wait for the clone to either return, or dissipate. Regardless of which happened, the memories of what it saw would return to her.
While she waited, the others around her fidgeted with worry. Except Ellen, who remained cool and composed.
“Is something the matter?” Willow Stone Pillar asked.
Astra turned to find the girl walking over to them, accompanied by Avaline Snow Heart. She gave the Ice Witch’s daughter a brief glare, before turning her attention towards Willow.
“Something happened with Darian,” Astra said.
Worry flickered across the girl’s face. That was to her credit. If Darian was going to marry someone, even if they didn’t love each other, his wife should care about his well being. Otherwise, Astra would never consent to the marriage. As his Master’s stand in, she had that right.
“What happened?” Willow asked. “Is he hurt?”
“We’ll know soon enou-…”
Even as Astra spoke, the spirit energy clone returned. It flew into Astra and merged with her. As it did so, she received its memories. Astra sucked in a breath. What she saw alarmed her.
The clone had seen Darian fighting a demonic beast. When demonic spirits possessed a dire monster or a spirit beast, they became a demonic beast. That had happened to one of the Five Poison Spiders within Spiderwood Hollow.
Demonic beasts were vile creatures and dangerous opponents to face. They drew on both spirit energy and demonic energy, making them more powerful than their non-demonic counterparts. This demonic beast had injured Darian several times, but none of the injuries seemed life threatening. He was holding his own against the demonic beast.
That wasn’t what alarmed Astra.
What alarmed Astra was Darian himself. The seal keeping his Demon’s Wrath ability had broken, and Darian had turned into a demon with pitch black skin, horns on his head, and claws. He fought the spider demonic beast with unrelenting rage and fury.
Memories of another time and another Immortal’s child rose up in her mind. She remembered a slaughter that left millions of mortals dead and entire cities destroyed. She remembered a fight that left her injured, and several of her friends dead. She remembered watching as Senior Sister Nova burned Gavin’s soul to ash.
While Darian wasn’t Gavin, when Astra saw him she couldn’t help but be reminded of the one people called the Thunder Demon. She could not, would not, let him become like Gavin. However, that was a worry for another time.
Right now, Astra needed to ensure that no one found out about Darian’s demonic nature. Otherwise he would be labeled as a demonic cultivator, forcing him to flee his home. While Astra could take him to the Dawn and Dusk Sect early, she knew he didn’t want to leave home behind just yet. Besides, there was no guarantee that he would find a warm reception in the Dawn and Dusk Sect.
“All of you, step away!”
They all stared at her in confusion. The only one who didn’t was Ellen. Instead, she looked resigned.
“Now!”
As she said this, Astra let out her aura. The aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator spread out all around the area. Everyone around her stumbled back, including Ellen. The elders of Clan Wind Dance and Clan Stone Pillar fell silent and stared at her.
Without waiting for a response, Astra gathered her spirit energy and pushed everyone away from the entrance to Spiderwood Hollow. At the same time, she pulled formation flags out of her wreath, which also served as her spatial storage item.
Unlike Darian’s formation flags, the ones Astra had were much more powerful. They were made from Seven Lightning Wood, a rare material that was created when a tree was struck by heavenly lightning from an Immortal tribulation seven times. They were one of her most powerful items.
Astra threw the flags out to form an obfuscation and barrier formation. No one would be able to enter or exit the formation. Neither would they be able to see or hear what was going on inside.
She heard shouts of alarm when people realized what she was doing, but they were too late to stop her. As a Nascent Soul cultivator, and a grandmaster at formations, no one below the Nascent Soul stage would be able to break through, or even see through, this formation. It wasn’t her finest work, since she was in a hurry, but it didn’t need to be.
However, just before the last flag landed, Ellen slipped inside. Just as she did, a red barrier made of spirit energy snapped into place, cutting off the entrance to Spiderwood Hollow from the rest of the world.
“Get out,” Astra said. “Darian is fighting a demonic beast and is lost to his own demon right now. When he emerges, I can’t afford to look after you while I suppress him.”
While Darian was only in the Foundation Establishment stage, it was hard to tell just how powerful the Demon’s Wrath ability made him. Gavin had been weaker than her, but he still managed to hold his own against six Nascent Soul cultivators, including her. He killed three of them, before Senior Sister Nova killed him in return.
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Astra was confident in her ability to subdue Darian. What worried her was making sure he didn’t injure himself or others in the process.
“You’re going to need my help,” Ellen stated, remaining unruffled.
“Leave,” Astra growled. “If Darian ends up hurting you in his rage, he will never forgive himself.”
Ellen shook her head.
“He won’t hurt me,” she said. “Trust me on this, Guardian Astra. Let me deal with him.”
Ellen spoke with complete confidence. No, not confidence. Certainty.
Astra narrowed her eyes at the snake woman. She had long suspected that Ellen knew more about Darian’s nature than she let on, and her actions just now further fed those suspicions. For now, Astra put them aside. They had bigger things to worry about.
“Fine,” she spat out. “But when this is all over, you will tell me what you know.”
Ellen didn’t respond, and instead turned to face the entrance of Spiderwood Hollow. Astra did the same. The two of them waited for Darian to emerge. Neither one doubted that he would prevail against the demonic beast.
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Darian and the spider demon clashed within the corrupted center of Spiderwood Hollow. After unleashing his demonic nature, Darian found that he could hold his ground even though the spider demon was at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage while he was in the mid Foundation Establishment stage. A feeling of power ran through him as Wrath filled his being.
Ancestors, why had he ever been afraid of this? It felt amazing.
The spider demon had recovered from its shock and treated this battle with the seriousness it deserved. It no longer played around. At the moment, however, neither of them had a clear edge.
Darian’s spirit energy was running low. The antidote he took earlier helped, but the corrosive poison eating away at his spirit energy barriers refused to go away. Sooner or later, it would break through and start to eat away at his body. He needed to finish the fight before then.
The spider demon slashed at him with one of its claws. Darian blocked with the Flamebound Gauntlets. Sparks flew as claws met gauntlets. Darian retaliated, but the spider demon jumped back, avoiding the attack.
“Demonic Arts: Cloud of Corruption!”
The spider demon’s cheeks bulged out, before it exhaled. A black cloud emerged from its mouth, heading right for Darian. The black cloud felt like the same taint and corruption that had infected the land’s spirit energy, only it was more concentrated.
The cloud moved fast. Darian attempted to dodge, but some of the cloud grazed his skin. It…had no effect. Rather, it had no negative effect on him. Some of the black cloud sank into Darian’s skin and restored some of his spirit energy. Darian didn’t know who was more surprised by this, him or the demon.
Without pondering it much further, Darian launched himself at the spider demon with a roar.
“What are you?” it screeched again, even as it evaded his attacks. “Even demonic cultivators would have been unable to handle that much demonic energy!”
Was that what that stuff was? Demonic energy? In that case, did that mean Darian could use demonic energy as if it were spirit energy? He was part demon, so that made sense.
“You talk too much,” Darian growled. “Fire Fist!”
Black flames coated his fists as he used some of the demonic energy he had absorbed. He then pummeled the spider demon. One of his fists connected with its carapace, cracking it. The spider demon made him pay for this, however. It swiped at him with its claws, injecting more of its corrosive poison into his body. He created another spirit energy barrier to block it off.
Since the situation would grow worse the longer the fight went on, Darian took a gamble.
“Wings of Wind!”
With the burst of speed his movement technique gave him, Darian flanked the spider demon and attacked it from the side. It was slow to react. Darian attacked one of its legs, aiming to cripple it. His blow connected, but the spider demon moved at the last moment, robbing his attack of most of its momentum. He still did damage, but not as much as he wished to.
Darian let out a snarl of frustration as the spider demon skittered away from him. Its injured leg slowed it down, allowing Darian to keep up with it.
“Demonic Arts: Spider Swarm!”
As the spider demon used this technique, it turned around and leapt backwards into the air. It made seals with both of its hands and more demonic energy poured out of it. This time, the demonic energy took the form of countless tiny spiders that flew through the air towards Darian. He was unable to dodge in time, so most of them landed on his body. They crawled all over him, biting as they went.
The pain from one bite felt like a pair of needles jabbing into his skin. The pain from dozens of bites drove him mad. Each one also injected more of that corrosive poison into his body. This time, there was too much for him to block off with his spirit energy.
The pain enraged Darian even further.
The spider demon landed on a blackened tree, a smug look on its face. Darian ignored the pain coursing through his body, and punched the tree. His fist went through the soft, rotting wood as if it weren’t even there. The flames from his Fire First set the tree ablaze. Black flames roared to life, consuming the rotting tree as it went. This surprised Darian. He hadn’t expected his flames to have such a dramatic effect.
A savage smile stretched across his lips.
The spider demon let out a fearful screech and leapt towards the nearest tree. Darian gave chase, and punched the next tree. It caught fire as well, consumed by the black flames. This went on a few times. Darian observed the spider demon’s movements, looking for a weakness to exploit. The spiders made from demonic energy continued to bite him all over.
As the spider demon leapt towards the next tree, Darian took another gamble. This was his last one. If it didn’t work, he wouldn’t have the spirit energy to keep the corrosive poison at bay. There was too much of it, and he felt it burrowing into his body.
“Wings of Wind!”
Darian leapt up towards the spider demon, who was still midair.
“Severing Wind!”
His comprehension of the technique was still incomplete, but Darian knew enough to use a crude form of it.
A “sharp” breath of spirit energy coated Darian’s hand, replacing the flames. He chopped at the spider demon. Since it was midair, it was unable to dodge his attack. Darian’s slash cut deep into the spider demon’s body. Black ichor sprayed out from the wound. The spider demon let out a pain-filled shriek.
It collided with the tree and fell to the ground. The spider demon tried to skitter away, but its body refused to move properly.
“No!” it yelled. “I refuse to die here!”
The spider demon’s body went limp as a ball of black smoke emerged from its mouth. This ball contained a great deal of demonic energy. Darian realized that this was the demon’s true form. He grew hungry at the sight.
The ball started to fly away, but Darian grabbed it. Despite it being a ball of smoke, the demon felt solid to Darian.
Consume.
Following an impulse he barely understood, Darian shoved the demon into his mouth and bit down. It let out one last scream, before Darian’s teeth crushed it to death. The moment it died, the spiders biting Darian all disappeared.
The demon tasted like the corruption it spread, full of rot and decay. Despite that, Darian chewed several times before swallowing. When he did, demonic energy filled Darian’s body to bursting. There was so much energy that Darian couldn’t handle it all. His body felt like it would explode from all the pressure. His meridians strained to contain all the demonic energy.
The pain was unbearable. And that was on top of the pain from the corrosive poison eating away at him.
With no other choice, Darian circulated the demonic energy, cultivating with it. He used it to open his Mouth Aperture. His cultivation rose higher and higher, moving at a speed akin to when he had that moment of enlightenment. The pressure inside him eased a little.
As Darian circulated the demonic energy, it had an odd effect on the corrosive poison in his body. It drew the poison into itself. Darian had no idea if this was good or not. He had little choice but to let it happen. If he stopped circulating the demonic energy, he would die.
The corrosive poison in Darian’s body ate its way towards the demonic energy and merged with it. This was not a painless process. This did something to his Mouth Aperture, though he didn’t know what. It changed it somehow. Tainted it.
At that moment, Darian had an epiphany.
Fire consumed. The more it consumed, the stronger it grew. More powerful flames required more powerful fuel. Darian’s cultivation was like a fire. He needed to fuel it to keep it going and to make it stronger. The more he consumed, the stronger his flame would become.
Whatever he consumed would affect his flame, change its nature. In the same way that burning copper created bluish-green flames, the fuel he used would color his cultivation.
What would adding this corrosive poison do to his cultivation? His flame?
Darian stayed like that for hours, circulating the demonic energy and using it to open his Mouth Aperture. All the corrosive poison in his body merged with the demonic energy, becoming a part of the process. Pain wracked Darian this entire time. This did nothing to diminish his anger and rage.
The spider demon was dead, but there were more spiders in this hidden realm. He would kill them. He would kill them all.
Eventually the demonic energy lessened to the point where Darian could relax. He had made significant progress towards opening his Mouth Aperture. It wouldn’t be long now. However, his Mouth Aperture remained tainted. Darian didn’t know what would happen when he opened it.
That was for later, however. Right now, he had a forest of spiders to kill.
Darian stood up. At some point he had fallen to his hands and knees. As he stood, however, a smaller version of Astra in her feline form flew towards him from out of nowhere and batted his head, before flying off. Darian was so surprised by this that it took him a moment to comprehend what just happened. When he did, he let out a demonic roar and chased down the small version of Astra.
A part of him noted that she might be leading him to a trap. Darian didn’t care, as long as he had enemies to fight and kill.
He didn’t know how long he chased the small version of Astra. Minutes? Hours? He lost track of time as he pushed his injured and wrecked body beyond its limits. Wrath kept him going. Every now and again, the small version of Astra would let him almost catch up to her before she dashed off again. Every time this happened, Darian roared in anger.
Now he was certain she was baiting him into a trap. He just didn’t care. A part of him wondered what would happen if he ate this small version of Astra. Would he incorporate Astra’s fire into his own? He would have to find out.
Eventually, Darian caught sight of a warm yellow glow in the distance. It was the light crystal he left near the entrance to Spiderwood Hollow. Darian roared in triumph. Good. That meant this chase was almost over, and he could find Astra’s main body.
Surging on ahead, Darian caught sight of the boulder and the dark swirling mist that was the entrance to Spiderwood Hollow. The small version of Astra flew through it, and Darian wasn’t far behind. He hovered in nothingness for a brief moment, before finding himself outside.
The scenery he found was not what he had expected. The boulder was there, as were some of the trees in the forested glade, but some kind of barrier made of fiery red energy surrounded everything. A formation?
Darian caught sight of Astra, who was in human form, and all thoughts of the red barrier fled his mind. She wore a grim expression on her face. He rushed towards her, ready to do battle, but someone else got in his way.
It was Ellen.
Darian ground to a halt, stopping just in front of her.
“Move,” he growled.
Ellen wore a calm and composed expression on her face, unperturbed by his anger.
“No, Darian” she said.
“I said MOVE!”
Darian roared as he said that last word. Ellen just shook her head. His rage growing, Darian tried to move around her, but she stepped into his way again.
“Stop getting in my way!”
“No.”
Darian snarled at those words and reached over to move Ellen out of the way. Just as he touched her, a thought occurred to him. Wrath and rage flowed through his veins. Everything and everyone was an enemy that needed to be destroyed. His anger would set the world aflame and burn it all to ash.
Everything, except Ellen.
Ellen was the only one that didn’t stir his Wrath. His feelings for her hadn’t changed, even as she kept getting in his way. If anyone else had done that, he would have attacked them. Instead, he tried to move around her. Even as he reached out to move her out of his way, he took care not to hurt her.
The realization hit Darian like a thunderbolt. He sucked in a breath.
“Why am I not angry at you?” he asked. “Why don’t I want to hurt you?”
Tenderness filled Ellen’s eyes.
“Because you love me,” she placed a hand on Darian’s chest, over his heart. “You feel it, the bond connecting us. That’s why.”
Darian caught movement from the corner of his eyes, and looked to see the smaller version of Astra merge with the main body. He growled and started to rush over there, but then Ellen cupped his cheek with her free hand, forcing him to look at her.
“Look at me,” she commanded. “Nothing else matters. Just focus on me, Darian. Just me, and no one else.”
Darian did as she said. She leaned forward until their faces were almost touching. Her serpentine eyes filled his vision, until he saw nothing but her.
“It’s time to rest, Little Demon,” Ellen whispered. “You’re injured, and Vera can’t heal you as you are. You would attack her, and we can’t have that. Go to sleep. I will be here when you wake up.”
Little Demon. There was the name again. Ellen only called him that a few times. The first was when his demonic nature stirred, when she told him some of her past. The second was when they first discussed his marriage to Willow.
There was a connection there, though Darian didn’t know what it was. Regardless, he suspected Ellen knew more than she let on.
Darian gripped her hands.
“You’ve kept secrets from me,” he stated. “How long have you known about my demonic nature?”
Ellen studied him for a few moments, before letting out a sigh.
“That’s a complicated question to answer,” she said. “I will tell you, if you wish, but you need healing. The only reason you’re still standing is because of Demon’s Wrath. Put your demon to rest, and let Vera heal you. I will tell you everything you want to know afterwards. I promise.”
A part of Darian wanted to reject Ellen’s words. He wanted to stay a demon, to revel in the power and strength it gave him. Why should he trust her? She already proved that he couldn’t, given how many secrets she kept from him.
The rest of Darian wanted to listen to her. He wanted to trust her. Deep down, he knew she was right. While the Wrath flowing through his veins allowed him to ignore his wounds, they were still there. If he didn’t receive healing, he might become permanently injured.
The only problem was, he didn’t know how to stop using Demon’s Wrath.
“How do I stop?” he said.
“Let me help you.”
With that, Ellen kissed him. It wasn’t any different from any of their other kisses. Her lips felt soft and warm as always. Yet, it was different. Her love for him was like a balm for the soul, a light for the lost, a benediction for the damned. It seemed to flow through him. Wherever it went, the Wrath in him dissipated. Soon, there was nothing but Ellen and her love for him.
When the last of the Wrath disappeared, the power it gave Darian disappeared. He felt weak and weary. Pain wracked his body. He collapsed. Ellen caught him before he fell to the ground.
In the moments before he lost consciousness, Ellen spoke to him.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll watch over you.”
Her words eased his fears, and he fell into darkness.