CHAPTER 52: CHAPTER 52 - SIMPLY SUBMIT YOUR SOUL TO THE DEMON

Feng stood rigid at the entrance, her obsidian robes rippling as she channeled a barrier of ice qi to reinforce our seals.

But even her Mid-Nascent Soul power wavered, frost cracking and melting unnaturally.

"The whispers are precursors," she said, voice tight with rare strain. "Harbingers of the realm’s guardians. We need to move—now."

[System Alert: Corrupting Whispers Detected]

[Effect: Gradual Qi Erosion - Vitality Drain Increased to -15 per minute]

[Countermeasure Available: Activate Essence Bonding Network - Share Vitality with Partners to Stabilize (Cost: 200 Vitality)]

I didn’t hesitate. "Link up," I commanded, grabbing Mei’s hand on one side and Lin’s on the other.

Feng hesitated for a split second—her pride warring with necessity—before clasping my free wrist, her pale skin cool against mine.

The bond surged like lightning through our connected qi: Mei’s nature affinity flowing into me, Lin’s precise warrior energy sharpening my senses, and Feng’s glacial power adding a layer of defensive chill.

I felt the drain stabilize, the whispers fading to background noise.

[Vitality Shared: Drain Reduced to -5 per minute. Group Bond Boost: +10% to All Resistances]

But the relief was short-lived.

The ground trembled, cracks spiderwebbing across the floor as something massive burrowed up from below.

"Incoming!" Lin shouted, loosing an arrow into the largest fissure.

It struck true, exploding with qi-infused force, but whatever was coming just roared louder—a sound like grinding bones and tearing flesh.

The floor erupted in a shower of black stone and corrupted earth.

What emerged wasn’t one creature but a swarm—nightmare amalgamations of shadow and bone, void beasts fused into twisted hybrids: humanoid torsos sprouting from serpentine bodies, multiple arms ending in razor claws, faces that split open to reveal maws of endless teeth.

They phased in and out of reality, their forms flickering like bad illusions, making physical attacks useless half the time.

"Spread out!" I barked, activating Void Essence Manipulation from the earlier wyrm kill.

Dark energy coiled around my fists like living gloves, letting me strike at their phased forms.

I punched the nearest beast square in its splitting face, my hand passing through shadow only to solidify at the last second—crunch!

Black ichor sprayed as its head exploded, but the backlash hit me like acid.

[Vitality -30. Minor Corruption Exposure: -5% Qi Efficiency for 10 minutes]

Mei channeled her enhanced nature affinity, vines bursting from the ground to ensnare the beasts—but the corruption twisted them, turning green tendrils black and brittle.

"It’s fighting back!" she cried, switching to qi blasts that burned with green fire, scorching one beast’s phasing form mid-attack.

Lin’s arrows flew true now, boosted by our link—each shaft infused with piercing qi that ignored phasing, pinning beasts to the walls with explosive force.

But one got too close, its claws raking her arm—blood welled, and she staggered, aura flickering.

"Bastard!" she spat, spinning and firing point-blank, blowing its torso apart.

Feng was a whirlwind of ice—her spears now laced with our shared energy, freezing beasts solid before they could phase.

But even she took hits—a tendril grazed her side, drawing a hiss of pain as her qi drained visibly.

"We can’t hold here! Push to the exit!"

The swarm intensified, more beasts pouring from the cracks like demonic ants.

I grabbed Mei as one lunged for her, tackling it mid-phase and absorbing its essence mid-fight.

[Vitality +50 / Backlash -70]

Pain exploded through my meridians, but I channeled it into a burst aura, shattering three more with raw force.

We fought our way to the entrance, barriers cracking under the assault.

Feng blasted the sealed door open with a massive ice wave, and we spilled out into the twisted landscape—ruins crumbling behind us as the beasts pursued.

"Run!" I shouted, scooping Mei into my arms—she was weakening fastest, her nature affinity clashing worst with the corruption.

Lin covered our retreat with arrow barrages, Feng laying down suppressive ice fields that slowed the horde.

We sprinted through the gray wasteland, the Shadow Spires looming ahead like broken teeth against the purple sky.

But the beasts were gaining—phasing through obstacles, their numbers swelling as if the realm itself was spawning more.

"They’re herding us!" Lin yelled over the howling winds.

She was right.

The path narrowed into a canyon of red-veined rock, forcing us into a bottleneck.

At the end: a massive archway pulsing with demonic energy—the entrance to the Fragment Vault, according to the map.

But guarding it was something worse: a Void Behemoth, a colossal fusion of all the smaller beasts, its form shifting between solid and shadow, multiple heads roaring in unison.

[System Alert: Boss-Level Threat Detected - Void Behemoth]

[Stats: Equivalent to Peak Nascent Soul]

[Weakness: Core Exposure During Phase Shifts]

[Warning: Vitality Drain Critical - -25 per minute in Proximity]

We skidded to a halt at the canyon mouth, the swarm closing from behind, the behemoth blocking ahead.

No way out but through.

"Form up!" I commanded, setting Mei down.

"Feng, ice walls to funnel them! Mei, root traps on phase shifts! Lin, aim for eyes! I’ll draw its attention!"

Feng nodded grimly, summoning massive barriers that forced the beasts into kill zones.

Mei channeled what remained of her affinity, corrupted vines bursting to snare shifting forms.

Lin’s arrows flew like lightning, piercing eyes and forcing pained roars.

I charged the behemoth, dodging phasing tendrils and landing absorption punches that burned like hell.

[Vitality +100 / Backlash -150]

The drain was killing me, my vision blurring, but I pressed on, timing strikes for when it solidified.

"Now!" I yelled as it phased solid for a massive strike—I ducked, and Lin’s arrow struck its core, cracking the shadowy armor.

The beast howled, staggering, but countered with a wave of corrupting energy that hit us all.

Mei cried out, her affinity twisting painfully; Lin dropped to one knee, qi flickering; even Feng gasped, her ice cracking.

My vitality plummeted: [Vitality: 3,200/5,000 - Critical Threshold]

We needed something more.

"Bond link—max output!" I roared, channeling Essence Bonding at full power.

Our qi merged in a brilliant surge—Mei’s nature stabilizing us, Lin’s precision guiding attacks, Feng’s ice amplifying everything.

I felt their strengths flow into me, vitality stabilizing: [Group Sync Activated: Vitality Drain Nullified Temporarily]

United, we assaulted the core—Feng freezing it solid, Mei rooting it in place, Lin shattering the ice with pinpoint shots, me absorbing the exposed essence in a final, burning grasp.

The behemoth shattered with a realm-shaking roar, dissolving into wisps that fed my system.

[Major Victory: Void Behemoth Defeated] [Vitality +1,500] [Harem Points +800] [New Skill: Shadow Phase - Temporary Intangibility]

We collapsed at the vault entrance, panting, the swarm dissipating with their master’s fall.

The archway beckoned, pulsing with promise and peril.

"Inside," Feng gasped, staggering up. "The fragment... it’s close."

We pushed through, the vault unfolding into a chamber of floating crystal shards—each a piece of demonic power.

But at the center: the prize, a massive black fragment humming with raw energy.

As I reached for it, whispers returned—stronger, personal.

"Join us... become eternal..."

The moment my fingers brushed the fragment’s surface, the whispers crescendoed into screams.

A shockwave rippled through the chamber, rattling shards loose from their orbits.

Crimson light seared my vision as the fragment pulsed like a living heart, each beat echoing with a thousand dying voices.

[System Alert: Forbidden Artifact Detected – "Fragment of Eternal Woe"]

[Warning: Corruption Saturation +25%]

[Effect: Attempted Host Override Initiated]

I jerked my hand back, but the fragment’s shadow clung to my palm, tendrils of black qi burrowing into my skin.

My veins lit with dark fire, the system screaming in tandem with the voices.

"Stop!" Feng’s voice cut through the chaos as she staggered forward, pale and trembling.

Her ice qi flared, frost climbing her arm as she pressed her hand against mine, trying to freeze the corruption out.

Her jaw tightened, eyes flashing. "It’s feeding on you! If it takes root—"

"Then cut it out!" I snarled through clenched teeth, forcing the Horny God’s Legacy to flare golden against the invasive black.

Pain ripped through me, both forces colliding, neither giving ground.

Mei grabbed my other hand, her vines sprouting wildly as she forced her nature affinity into the bond, green light weaving into the struggle.

"Husband—don’t you dare let it win! You’re stronger than this!" Her voice cracked, fear and defiance mixing in her tone.

Lin planted herself between us and the floating shards, bow taut, arrow glowing with concentrated qi.

"If this thing tries to consume him, I’ll shatter it myself. Better the realm collapse than lose him to that thing."

The fragment pulsed harder, as if amused, and the whispers slithered into words once more:

"Why resist, little emperor? With me, you could command eternity. Power unending. Pleasure unending. All it costs is... you."

[System Alert: Host Override Resistance Check – Success Rate: 41%]

[Temporary Option Unlocked: Essence Bond Override – Fuse Fragment Power Through Group Sync]

[Cost: Unknown]