The moon hangs high in the sky, casting a silver sheen over Platea Verdi. Jagged rocks jutted from the earth of the broken temple, and the distant wind whispered through the crags. But beneath the pale light, the ground was stained with something darker—an unnatural mist, clinging to the earth like a living thing.

Keno still stood in front of Martel it was evident that the hooded man used him as bait. But it didn’t matter. Keno couldn’t leave him.

A voice slithered from the hooded man coming out oily and mocking. "Oh, Keno... You've finally come. I knew you would."

The man lowered his hood, revealing a face far younger than Keno had anticipated—a man barely older than Keno himself, with wild brown hair and unnervingly sharp, blood-red eyes. His smile spread wide, revealing rows of teeth that had been filed into wicked points. His tongue, long and slick, flicked across his lips, dripping with saliva.

“Porcelis,” Keno breathed, feeling his stomach tighten. He had heard the stories—the legend of the mad alchemist of Veedur—but the reality was far worse than the tales.

Porcelis laughed, a sound that sent chills down Keno’s spine. "Oh yesss, the great Keno. And look, you’ve brought my little treasures with you." His eyes flicked to the two Chaos Devices that Keno wore, and a glint of greed flickered in his expression.

"Two Chaos Devicesss in one place, in the handsss of sssomeone who barely understandsss what they are. How preciousss and convenient."

Keno’s jaw tightened. “I won’t let you take them, ever!”

“I won’t let you take them.” Porcelis mimicked with exaggerated mockery. His smile grew impossibly wider, his sharp teeth glistening in the moonlight. “I’m not asssking, Keno. These Chaosss Devicesss… they’re mine. All mine.”

In one fluid motion, Porcelis let his cloak fall away, revealing a peculiar outfit beneath—a stained leather apron, covered in pockets, each one bulging with tiny vials and bottles of various colors. His arms, bare and wiry, were smeared with streaks of alchemical residue, and his fingers twitched with the barely restrained urge to reach for one of his many concoctions.

Keno tensed. He had seen alchemists fight before, but Porcelis was no ordinary alchemist. He was known for his ability to blend magic with alchemy in ways that defied reason, bending the laws of reality to his will.

“I know who you are,” Keno said, his voice steady but his grip tightening around his sword. “I’ve heard the stories. They say you slaughtered an entire village making them explode. They say you’re mad and merciless.”

Porcelis’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “Oh, you’ve heard the sssweet ssstories, haven’t you? Let me guess, they sssaid I lossst my mind in pursssuit of power?” He let out a high-pitched giggle. “I assure you, Keno, I’m perfectly sssane. I just happen to have very... particular desssires. And right now, those desssires are focusssed on you and thossse deliciousss treasuresss you’ve got.”

Keno glanced at Martel, still bound and helpless. The man’s wide eyes were filled with pleading. He needed to act, but Porcelis was a threat he had never faced before.

With a sharp breath, Keno decided. He couldn’t waste any more time. He summoned the power of the Artifacts, feeling the familiar surge of chaos within him. His body became weightless, his form fading into nothingness. He had used this power before—the invisibility granted by the Boots of Pride helped him release Martel while remaining unseen and the strength of the Amulet of Conceit gave him the power of a thousand men to face the mad alchemist. These two devices together gave him even more power and none of the drawbacks of these Chaos Devices if wore alone.

Porcelis’s eyes darted around as Keno vanished. “Oh, clever boy,” he murmured, his tongue flicking out again as he scanned the empty air. “But do you think I haven’t faced invisssibility before? Do you think you can hide from me?”

Without hesitation, Porcelis reached into his apron, pulling out three vials, each glowing with a faint light. He threw them to the ground with a sharp flick of his wrist, and the bottles shattered, releasing thick clouds of colored smoke. The mist curled and writhed, spreading rapidly, and Keno could feel it seeping into his lungs, despite holding his breath.

Suddenly, his invisibility wavered, flickering like a candle caught in the wind. He stumbled, coughing violently as the alchemical fog filled his chest. His body became visible again, and before he could react, Porcelis was already moving.

With a manic grin, the alchemist hurled a small, pink vial directly at Keno. The glass container spun through the air, a trail of iridescent liquid spiraling behind it. Keno barely had time to raise his sword before the vial shattered against his chest, releasing a burst of smoke that enveloped him completely.

He gasped, inhaling the strange fumes before he could stop himself. The effect was immediate.

Keno fell to the ground, his limbs going limp as a wave of intense, indescribable pleasure coursed through his body. His muscles started to twitch involuntarily, and a low groan escaped his lips. The sensation was unlike anything he had ever felt—overwhelming, all-consuming, as though every nerve in his body was on fire with ecstasy.

Porcelis stood over him, laughing gleefully. “Oh, look at you! Sssuch a ssstrong warrior, reduced to thisss. Isssn’t it magnificent? That'sss your true power, Keno?”

Keno writhed on the ground, trying to fight the overwhelming sensations that clouded his mind. He could barely think, let alone act. His body betrayed him, succumbing to the pleasure that threatened to swallow him whole.

He forced himself to focus, his hand twitching toward the sword that lay just out of reach. He had to move. He had to fight.

Porcelis, noticing Keno’s struggle, let out a disappointed sigh. “You really don’t know when to give up, do you? Fine. Let’sss end thisss.”

The alchemist reached into his apron once more, pulling out a larger vial—a dark, bubbling liquid that pulsed with a sickly purple glow. He held it aloft, grinning down at Keno. “Thisss one... thisss one will kill you, Keno. Ssslowly. Painfully. But don’t worry—you’ll enjoy every sssecond of it.”

With a sharp laugh, Porcelis flung the vial toward Keno’s prone form. Time seemed to slow as the bottle spun through the air, the deadly concoction inside sloshing ominously. Keno’s heart pounded in his chest, but his body refused to move.

Suddenly, a blur of motion shot through the mist, and before the vial could reach its target, it was intercepted by a swift, powerful strike. The bottle shattered in midair, the deadly liquid splashing harmlessly against the rocks.

Porcelis’s eyes widened in surprise. “What—?”

From the shadows stepped a figure resembling an old man, cloaked and hooded, their movements fluid and precise. The air grew colder, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. Porcelis’s lips curled into a snarl as he studied the newcomer. “Who daresss to interfere with me?”

The figure did not respond immediately. Instead, they reached up, pulling back the hood of their cloak to reveal a familiar face—a face Keno didn’t expect.

“Uperios!?” Keno croaked, disbelief flooding his mind. He could barely believe what he was seeing.

Umbriel and Carter, who had just arrived at the temple, froze in place as Uperios’s identity was revealed.

“Y… You… You were the old man in Foldrean!?” Umbriel whispered, her voice filled with shock. “We thought you were dead.”

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Carter’s face twisted with shock. “You! I killed you, Uperios. I watched you die!”

Uperios’s expression was calm, unreadable, as he turned his gaze toward them. “Umbriel, Carter… you meddle with forces you don’t understand, Porcelis is pure chaos. You better run from here now before it's too late.”

Porcelis’s laughter rang through the temple, unhinged and wild. “Pure Chaosss? Oh, Uperiosss, you’re flattering me.. Chaosss is mine to command! And sssoon, ssso will the Chaosss Devicesss!”

Porcelis’s confidence wavered for a split second, but he quickly masked it with a sneer. “You think you can ssstop me?”

The air hung thicker and thicker, with tension, as though the very earth trembled beneath their feet. Porcelis stood in the center of it all, his twisted smile still plastered across his face. His blood-red eyes darted between Keno, who was gasping for breath, and Uperios, who stood calm and composed before him. The mad alchemist’s hands twitched, reaching into his apron to retrieve more vials.

"Uperiosss..." Porcelis spat, his voice dripping with disdain. "The ssso-called massster of huntersss, come to lecture me? Ssspare me your self-righteousss drivel."

Uperios, his face serene but his eyes intense, made no move to speak. Instead, he simply watched Porcelis with an unnerving stillness. It was the kind of calm that unsettled, as if Uperios was a step ahead, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Porcelis, however, was anything but calm. His hands fumbled, pulling out a fistful of vials, each one brimming with volatile concoctions. "I am the Alchemissst of Chaosss! Do you hear me? Chaosss itssself bendsss to my will!"

With a roar of rage, Porcelis hurled the vials at Uperios in a frenzied attack. They whizzed through the air, glowing with a sinister light, and as they shattered on the ground, they released a mixture of poisons, acidic fumes, and magical energy. The ground around Uperios sizzled, melting under the alchemical assault.

But Uperios did not flinch. With a single, fluid motion, he raised his hand, and a wall of dark energy surged up to meet the attack. The vials shattered harmlessly against it, their contents evaporating before they could reach him. The air crackled with power as Uperios’s magic absorbed the alchemical chaos, rendering it inert.

Porcelis staggered back, his eyes wide with disbelief. "No! This isn’t how it’s supposed to go, you don’t have your device, you’re not supposed to have the dark power! I’m supposed to win! I’m the one with the power!"

The confidence that had once radiated from Porcelis was now cracking, his voice tinged with desperation. His manic grin faltered, and his sharp, filed teeth ground together as his red eyes flickered between his remaining potions and the calm, immovable force that was Uperios.

“I don’t underssstand!” Porcelis snarled, his body trembling with rage and something else—something darker. “I’ve given everything to Chaosss! Everything!” His hands shook as he reached for more vials, but now, there was a distinct tremor in his fingers. His movements were no longer deliberate, no longer calculated. There was fear.

Uperios’s voice was low, almost sorrowful. “Chaos doesn’t care who wins, Porcelis. It only cares about destruction. And you’ve already brought more than enough for a lifetime.”

Porcelis let out a guttural scream. “Liar! You’re lying! Chaos doesss care! It lovesss me! It needsss me! It cravesss me” His body jerked forward, and he threw another vial with a wild, uncoordinated motion. But this one missed entirely, crashing harmlessly into the rocks far behind Uperios.

“You’re nothing more than a fool,” Uperios said softly. “And now, Chaos will consume you.”

For a moment, Porcelis froze, his eyes wide and his breath coming in ragged gasps. His red eyes locked onto Keno, who still lay on the ground, watching the scene unfold with a mixture of fear and confusion. There was something in Porcelis’s gaze—something desperate, something almost human. But just as quickly, it was gone, replaced by a twisted sneer.

“You ssstupid Uperiosss... you think you’ve won?” Porcelis’s voice was shaking now, the veneer of control slipping away entirely. “You think I’m finissshed?!” He stumbled backward, clutching his chest and took a particular pinkish bottle that resembled a parfum and sprayed it over his body.

And then, something otherworldly began to happen.

Porcelis’s body convulsed, his limbs jerking uncontrollably. His hands, which had once moved with precision and purpose, now flailed wildly, knocking over bottles and spilling their contents onto the ground. His skin, once smooth and taut, began to shift and ripple, as though something beneath it was trying to break free.

"No..." Keno whispered, his voice hoarse. He had seen transformations before, but this was something far worse. The air around Porcelis seemed to grow thicker, more oppressive, as though the very fabric of reality was warping around him.

Porcelis let out a wheezing laugh, though there was nothing joyful about it. “You thought you could ssstop me with your tricksss? Your magic?” His voice cracked, and his tongue flicked out, wetting his lips as his eyes darted wildly. “I am Chaosss! You can’t ssstop me! No one can!”

Umbriel, who had remained silent throughout the battle, took a step forward. Her face was pale, her hands clenched into fists.

“Porcelis, stop this, accept your defeat.”

Porcelis’s head snapped toward her, his eyes wide and unfocused. “Defeat? No... No, Umbriel. Thisss... thisss is my ascensssion. Thisss isss power. Thisss isss true power!”

His skin began to boil, swelling grotesquely as if his very flesh was trying to tear itself apart. Blisters formed across his arms and face, bubbling up like festering wounds, and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air. The vials still strapped to his apron shattered from the pressure, spilling their toxic contents onto his bloated form.

Porcelis’s laugh turned into a gurgling choke as his body continued to bloat and contort, growing larger and more grotesque with every passing second. His skin stretched to the breaking point, and beneath it, something writhed, something dark and formless, something that pulsed with the raw energy of Chaos.

Keno forced himself to his feet, his body weak but his mind sharp. “He’s... he’s going to explode.”

Carter, standing beside him, nodded grimly. “We have to move. Now.”

But Uperios remained still, his eyes locked on Porcelis. “No. There’s no running from this.”

Porcelis’s laughter grew louder, more deranged, as his body swelled to an impossible size. His red eyes, once sharp and predatory, now bulged grotesquely from his face, bloodshot and wild. “Yesss! Yesss! Thisss isss it! Thisss isss what I wasss promisssed! Power beyond imagining!”

But there was no control left in him. His body had become a prison, a vessel for the chaotic forces he had tried to command, and now, those forces were breaking free.

Porcelis’s voice became a wail of agony as his skin began to split, dark energy pouring out in tendrils of raw chaos. His body convulsed violently, and the ground trembled beneath him.

“Porcelis!” Umbriel cried out, her voice breaking with horror. But there was no reaching him now.

“I... I am Chaosss!” Porcelis screamed, his voice ragged and distorted. “I... will... not... be... undone!”

The tension in the air thickened even more as Porcelis continued to transform, his once-human form now grotesque and bloated, skin bubbling and stretching beyond its natural limits. His laughter, once maniacal, now echoed with an otherworldly distortion. His eyes, those predatory red orbs, flickered with a strange, frantic glow, as if something darker was surfacing within him.

"Do you sssee now?" Porcelis cackled, his voice warping as his body grew larger and more monstrous. "Thisss isss the true power of Chaosss! I am unssstoppable!"

Suddenly, from behind him, a shadow began to shift, rising up like smoke from the ground. It coiled and swirled, forming a shape that seemed almost human but far too large, its eyes glowing with an eerie crimson light. The shadow moved as if it were alive, its tendrils wrapping around Porcelis, merging with his bloated form.

Keno, still gasping for breath, stared in horror. "What... what is that?"

The shadow spoke, its voice low and menacing, like the rustling of leaves in a storm. "I am Porneia. I am the shadow guarding this Chaos Device. None shall take it from him."

Without warning, Porcelis hurled more vials, glowing with a sickly, pinkish light, towards Keno, Umbriel, Martel—who had just been freed from his bindings—and Uperios. The four of them scattered, narrowly avoiding the explosive impact as the vials burst on the ground, releasing clouds of noxious gas and sparks of volatile magic.

The battle raged on, but no matter how many attacks they threw at Porcelis and Porneia now attached to his back, nothing seemed to affect them. Umbriel’s swift attacks, Carter’s precise arrows and magic flasks, Martel’s perilous strikes, and Uperios’s dark magic—all were absorbed or deflected by Porneia, the dark entity that surrounded the mad alchemist was far more powerful than they thought. The shadow seemed impervious, it was a living barrier that protected Porcelis at every turn.

“We can’t keep this up,” Carter said between labored breaths. “Our attacks aren’t doing anything.”

Keno looked at the monstrous figure, his mind racing. "It’s feeding off the Artifact... off his obsession, his lust for power. That’s what’s keeping him invulnerable."

Uperios’s eyes narrowed. "Then we use that against him."

Umbriel, struggling to maintain her energy, glanced at Uperios. "How?"

Uperios pointed to the vials Porcelis hurled. "Redirect them. Make him choke on his own potions."

Keno understood immediately. "His lust is driving him mad. If we turn that lust inward—"

"—He’ll destroy himself," Umbriel finished, nodding as the pieces fell into place.

Porcelis, now more creature than man, let out a thunderous roar, hurling another vial, this one glowing with an even more intense pink light. Keno, summoning the power of the Boots of Pride, dashed forward in invisibility, moving faster than the eye could track. With a precise strike, he knocked the vial out of its trajectory, sending it careening back toward Porcelis. The glass shattered against his grotesque form, and the pink smoke enveloped him.

Porcelis inhaled deeply, his bloated chest swelling even more. His eyes rolled back in his head as a wave of pleasure coursed through him. “Yesss... thisss isss power... thisss isss everything I ever wanted!”

They kept up the strategy, redirecting every vial Porcelis threw back toward him. Each one made him grow larger, more swollen, his body contorting as the magic potions fed into his insatiable lust. His skin bubbled grotesquely, more blisters formed and they started bursting, releasing waves of foul-smelling fumes.

“I... I can feel it!” Porcelis bellowed, his voice slurred and distorted. “The power, my lussst... it’sss too much! I’m... I’m going to...”

And then, in a final act of desperation, Porcelis reached for one last vial, a large pinkish flask that glowed with a menacing light. He hurled it directly at Keno, his eyes gleaming with madness.

“You’ll die with me!” Porcelis screamed. “Thisss will be your end, Keno! For good!”

Keno’s eyes widened as the flask hurtled toward him. There was no time to dodge. He braced for impact, knowing that this vial would be the end of him.

But just before the flask could hit, Uperios stepped in front of Keno, raising his hand to shield his younger brother. The flask shattered against Uperios, and the liquid inside splashed over him, instantly beginning to dissolve his skin.

“No!” Keno screamed, his voice raw with grief as he watched Uperios’s body begin to melt, the flesh peeling away in sickening chunks. Uperios turned to him, his face twisted in pain but his eyes calm.

“I had to protect you,” Uperios whispered, his voice weak but resolute. “You’re the only one who can finish this.”

Keno dropped to his knees, his hands trembling as he reached for his brother. But Uperios shook his head, a sad smile on his face. “It’s too late for me... but not for you.”

With a final, pained gasp, Uperios’s body crumbled, dissolving into nothing as the alchemical liquid consumed him. Keno’s scream echoed through the temple, a cry of loss and fury.

Porcelis, still bloated and grotesque, let out one final laugh. “You’re all... too late...”