CHAPTER 171: CHAPTER 170: MARKED BY CHAOS

As the battle wore on, the High Priest’s chaotic aura intensified. The shadows around him writhed unnaturally, pulsing with mana that twisted and cracked like breaking bone. Each time he released a burst of power, the floor shuddered. His control was slipping.

Skitz growled low, his voice wary. "He’s losing it... his mana’s turning wild."

Suddenly, the High Priest raised a hand, halting his own advance. His crimson eyes glowed with fanatic light, and his voice echoed unnaturally, both a warning and a threat.

"Stop this madness," he bellowed, his voice reverberating through the chamber. "You are offending the supreme God Naxxiriss! Kill me, and you’ll be marked as her enemies for eternity!"

Lumberling didn’t answer. Neither did Skitz.

The High Priest trembled, blood dripping from his mouth, his form weakened, but his fanatical eyes blazed brighter than ever. Then, in one last act of defiance, he spread his arms wide and drew in the chaotic dark element, enveloping himself in a vortex of writhing shadows and corrupted mana.

"You will pay... for your sins."

His voice dropped into a guttural whisper, almost reverent, as the air around him twisted violently.

Suddenly, the chamber trembled.

A weight pressed down from all directions. The darkness pulsed, and then....

"KUAANGGG!"

A howl erupted from deep within the lizardmen’s den. It wasn’t human. It wasn’t mortal. It was a roar, long, serpentine, and otherworldly. Like a Serpent god had screamed through a man’s throat.

The pressure slammed down like a falling mountain. The air thickened, turning to lead in their lungs. Even the act of breathing felt like dragging blades through their chests. Limbs stiffened. Movement became a trial of will.

Lumberling’s knees nearly gave out. A sharp burn seared through his chest as his muscles locked. Sweat beaded instantly along his spine.

His instincts screamed as an ancient weight pressed into his bones, something primal, alien, and deeply wrong.

’This pressure... it’s even heavier than Vaenyra’s,’ he thought, as his body began to shift unconsciously into a defensive stance. ’No... this isn’t just power. It’s presence. It’s malice given form.’

A pressure that didn’t just threaten to kill, it threatened to unmake.

Before them, the High Priest’s body convulsed. His aura surged, no longer his own. It ballooned past the limits of a normal man, past even a peak Knight One. It clawed dangerously toward Knight Two, or worse. The priest’s eyes rolled back, his mouth moving in silent prayer as a sliver of something greater, something divine slithered into his flesh.

’Naxxiriss... something is descending into him.’

No... this wasn’t just possession. This was a partial descent. A God clawing her way into the mortal plane.

"RUN!" Lumberling shouted, but he was already sprinting, instincts overriding reason.

Skitz had vanished into the shadows a heartbeat earlier.

Then... Boom! Boom! Boom!

Skitz’s detonation seals ignited, blasting apart the cavern behind them. Explosions cascaded through the rock walls, sending dust, fire, and collapsing debris in every direction. The shockwaves rattled the tunnel as they fled.

Behind them, the High Priest’s voice echoed through the chaos, furious, unhinged, and closing in.

By the time they burst through to the surface, the cold air hit like salvation. Their lungs gasped for breath, their limbs still aching from the pressure below.

On the cliff’s edge, the captains and vice-captains stood ready, weapons drawn, eyes wary, sensing the shift in the world beneath their feet.

Lumberling didn’t hesitate.

"Retreat. Now!" Lumberling barked. "Get as far from here as possible!"

There was no hesitation. They obeyed instantly, scattering toward the forest line, abandoning any thought of formation or pride.

A deep hum rumbled through the earth. The river rippled... then burst.

A deafening boom cracked through the earth as water surged upward in a violent geyser, laced with black, steaming mist. From the churning chaos, the Lizardman High Priest emerged, his body grotesquely twisted, his flesh barely containing the seething energy writhing within him.

His face was no longer his own.

It was contorted, as if something ancient and terrible had taken the reins of his body.

Then a voice came, not from his mouth, but from deep within, echoing through the valley like a whisper and a roar at once.

"My child."

Skitz, retreating down a different path, suddenly staggered. His knees buckled, and he collapsed, clutching at his chest as if something inside was trying to claw its way out.

Dark, chaotic energy flared around him, identical to the aura erupting from the High Priest.

"Who the hell are you!?" Skitz snarled through gritted teeth.

The thing that had taken over the High Priest stepped forward, its movements elegant and serpentine. Its voice was rough, yet laced with amusement.

"Ah... My precious child, and yet you look at me with such defiance. Have you forgotten the womb of chaos from which you were birthed?"

Her voice slithered through the air, silken, ancient, and dripping with indulgent amusement. "Even now, you flinch from me. But you carry my mark, etched into your very soul. You are mine, little one, whether you accept it or not."

Skitz bared his fangs. "My mother’s a human. And she’s dead."

The creature let out a low, velvety laugh, like silk dragged across bone.

"That little Knight? She was merely a vessel. A shell to carry my voice. I am the one who breathed chaos into your veins. I am your beginning."

She stepped closer, voice thick with twisted affection. "Come now... my wayward child."

It extended a clawed hand toward him.

Skitz didn’t move. His eyes were wild, yet searching. "Answer me first. What are you? And what do you mean I’m your child?"

The being’s expression shifted, an eerie mix of fondness and disdain. "Ah... such defiance. Never before has one of my children dared to bare their fangs at me."

"Just ANSWER me!" Skitz roared, his own aura flaring violently, like oil set ablaze.

The entity’s smile widened with amusement.

"Disobedience... how quaint. Even now, you entertain me."

Her voice rang like rusted bells echoing in eternity.

"I am Naxxiriss, the Serpent God. Your creator. Your beginning. I birthed the chaos that slithers through your veins."

Skitz froze.

"You’re a God?" he whispered. "Someone beyond even Knight Stage Five?"