Damned Healer

That day looked like any other in the Wild World. Daylight was just as bright as always, and the primordial Yin and Yang moved apart, each in its own isolated region.

But just minutes before the day ended, everything changed.

The primordial Yin and Yang started twisting violently. The two forces, which had always stayed separated, pushed forward and invaded each other's territory at the far north and south of that world.

To the south, in a vast region, the environment looked like an estuary, as if the waters of the ocean and river had met in a silent standoff. But in the north...

Over an area of more than ten kilometers, everything was swallowed by chaos. The two powers repelled each other, creating a raging gray zone.

Inside, the ground quaked, fissures splitting wide enough to swallow a colossal beast. Lightning slithered around, blowing up everything it touched. Flames shot into the skies, hot enough to reduce everything to ash. Winds cut like razors and carried sharp ice crystals like blades — an unstoppable combo.

This was the deadliest event in that world, but it wasn't exactly rare. It happened every 900 days, the first sign of the great eruption that was about to come.

It would last an entire day, and only the strongest and boldest dared to enter and try to push toward the center, where they could absorb the eruption. Even then, two-thirds of them always died.

Still, there was no other choice. After 80 cycles, relying only on simple and medium eruptions made progress so slow that many would die of old age before leaving the Wild World. In other words, if they wanted to escape, they had to take the risk.

Right then, all nine sects mobilized at the same time.

The Wilding Kin Sect was without a doubt the largest single army. The twenty thousand Darian had nurtured were already all at 70 cycles, strong enough to fight head-on with the most powerful.

Meanwhile, Darian, the three youths, and Zaen, because they were part of the bonus group, were at 90 cycles.

The great army also included the twenty High Elders and the leader of the Wilding Kin Sect, all ready to step in.

With the power of that eruption, Darian and his three allies would easily hit 100 cycles and still have a lot left over. Then he'd split the surplus among the others, leaving them close to finishing too.

Despite the extreme complaints and tears from the 9,000 Heavenly Elemental Spirits when he announced it, Darian wouldn't take everyone with him to the next stage. He already knew a bit about the final stage — it wasn't a place to mess around. Having too many people would be insanely risky.

So, his plan was to leave everyone in the Wild World safe, so they could either push forward later if they wanted, or wait until Darian completed the Trial and brought them out.

Zaen, being part of the group and getting the bonuses, would become the sect's strongest, probably just one or two cycles away from completing it all.

Darian had already talked with Mazur and the other High Elders. Before leaving, he would take with him the diagrams of the nine sects, finishing his special mission. If the eight sects knew their place and didn't try to block him, nothing would happen. But if it came down to it, he'd crush anyone standing in his way.

He had zero hesitation. They were all vassals of the Radiant King, someone who thought himself above everything, using lives however he pleased, spreading chaos in the desert with the Abscess. He sent out trained warriors to kill others and feed himself even more — all chasing after something Darian still didn't know.

When Darian stopped him, he was cursed. That's why the Radiant King was his sworn enemy, and sooner or later, that debt would be settled.

At the sect's center, the twenty thousand gathered. Mazur showed up shortly after, holding the sect's emblem. Behind him, a thousand figures released a terrifying aura. They were of different races and sizes, but they all had one thing in common: they had all already died.

"Let's go." Darian spoke calmly, and the entire army roared in sync. In practice, Darian was already the sect's informal leader.

Mazur activated the sect's inscription, which would move everyone straight into the chaotic region — doing it so the army of a thousand terrifying shadows would stay hidden from the others.

The entire sect trembled as the inscription was pushed to its limit. A spatial distortion covered them.

...

The people from the eight sects were already near the region. Suddenly, they all saw a massive distortion, like warped light appearing on the horizon. It blurred forward and vanished as it entered the gray zone.

Doing that was possible for everyone, but it was a pointless waste. It cost an absurd amount of resources, and once inside, everyone still had to push forward slowly toward the center anyway. It was obvious the Wilding Kin Sect had done it to hide something.

The leaders of the eight sects clenched their fists, but their eyes shone with excitement.

"Finally, the day has come." one of them spat the words dryly.

From Darian's actions in the last few years, it was obvious he was in a hurry to leave the Wild World. So, the great eruption would be the perfect chance to settle their debts.

The eight sects united, gathering their most powerful into one army. It was only a thousand people, but in their eyes there was no fear — only excitement.

Without delay, they all stepped into that place.

...

Inside, Darian focused his gaze and sharpened his senses.

Everything was soaked in a warped gray — noise from all directions and danger coming from every side.

He took a deep breath and murmured, "Awel, Tir, Eleri."

"YES!"

The three answered, their bodies dissolving into three small colored runes. Without hesitating, Darian sent all the ring's power at his forehead into them.

Awel trembled and vanished, merging with the chaotic atmosphere. Tir pulsed with a yellowish light that touched the ground, letting him feel everything around. Eleri glowed and landed on Darian's shoulder — there was water everywhere in the air, letting her pick up tons of detail easily.

The three, working together, became Darian's eyes and ears.

He didn't waste time — he inhaled deeply...

A bad premonition crawled over him, like a foreboding, so he tried to calm himself.

But... he'd already done everything to secure victory. He'd studied and analyzed everything he could about the sects and the possibilities. What more could he have done?

'There are things beyond my control, things I can't predict or know... in the end, fate and Heaven's Will always prevail,' Darian thought, snorted, and then stepped forward.

He heard the situation around him through the three and ordered the whole army to advance.

In theory, everyone had to move with extreme caution here, inching toward the central zone. Fighting now would be risky, since a large army could end up hit by the environment's dangers.

Another factor was the place's huge size: the other sects could enter from anywhere, and it'd be hard to intercept them in time. So Darian just had them keep moving forward.

The sect's elders were tense. Darian seemed to walk calmly, like he didn't care about anything. He guided them with help from his three assistants, picking the calmest route and making several detours.

What should've taken nearly a whole day ended up taking only five hours.

At the center, it looked like an oasis in the middle of a desert. The place was seven hundred meters across. Everything seemed shrouded in gray mist, but the dangers were almost non-existent.

"Get the formation ready, they'll be here soon."

Darian ordered seriously and everyone took a deep breath and moved.

Hours passed slowly...

Until Darian sensed the approach through his karma.

In this place, two-thirds always died on the way, but... all one thousand arrived together.

They walked slowly until they spotted the enemy army standing in the center. Darian noticed the eight sect leaders looked excited as they saw them.

At that moment, those eight waved.

"The sect emblems?" Mazur said, noticing them in their hands.

Then three diagrams appeared around each of the eight, floating calmly around them.

"Are they crazy?!" Mazur said, stunned. "The diagrams are fragile and easy to destroy — if anything happens to them... your sects will be doomed..."

As he said that, he turned to the nearby Darian.

Then he saw something wrong on Darian's face. His expression was grave. His heart pounded like a drum as he noticed something terrifying.

"How...?"