NOVEL NEXT Chapter 311: The Perfect Body
Lilith stumbled forward as they moved deeper into the sea palace.
Her breaths were growing shorter, more labored. Flickers of soul energy arced wildly from her skin like broken lightning, shifting in erratic bursts.
Her condition was deteriorating faster than any of them had feared. Every few steps, she staggered, her knees trembling as her body fought to remain upright.
Ren walked beside her, his hand hovering near but never touching, afraid her volatile aura would lash out again.
Her energy had scorched Thorn's hand only minutes before when he tried to catch her during a fall. And now, he brought up the rear, his sword unsheathed and his cloak rippling behind him.
His eyes constantly flicked back to Lilith, concern buried beneath layers of battle readiness.
"She's getting worse." He muttered, breaking the silence.
"I know." Ren replied, his voice clipped and tense. "We need to finish this. Quickly. Before she burns herself out."
"I think we're close." Thorn said, his eyes on the end of the hallway. "Very close."
The hallway narrowed, then suddenly opened into a vast antechamber flanked by sharp, jagged ridges of water solidified like bone.
Thick pillars stretched from the floor to the tall ceiling overhead, looking as if they were holding up the sky.
At the far end, standing like a guard before a tomb beneath the distorted light of the sea around them, was Tam.
He stood motionless, his figure backlit by the glow of the inverted ocean. In his hands was a massive axe, and his eyes were still the same.
Golden. Hollow. Merciless.
"Welcome." Tam said, his voice distorted, warbling as if two voices were layered together. His tone was mockingly warm. "You've come far."
Ren's fingers twitched as he fought the urge to just start blasting till kingdom come. But he had told himself he'd save Tam.
Instead, he stepped forward. "Is that you, Shing? Or is this the corruption using Tam's body through Shing?"
Tam chuckled, tilting his head. The sound was cold and inhuman. "I am everything and nothing. I am me. I am Shing. Tam is mine. As you all will be."
"What do you want?" Ren asked, though he already feared the answer. "Why did you destroy Patino?"
"Her." Tam said, gesturing at Lilith. "I want her and I had to raze that island to the ground to find her. I knew she'd survive it. I knew your little group would. You would be useless to me if you couldn't survive that."
Ren's eyes narrowed. Something else he didn't know about that had been watching them. "What do you mean? What do you want Lilith for?"
"I want her body. Her Divine Gift. Her soul has been steeped in death and rebirth. She is the perfect vessel for me. My soul will be reborn through her."
Lilith wiped the blood from her mouth and spat defiantly at the ground. "Over my dead body."
"That is acceptable." Tam replied calmly. "Ren of House Ross. His loyal guard, Thorn. Leave. Both of you. You were never part of this. In my finite mercy, I will let you go."
Ren didn't budge. "We don't leave our own behind."
Thorn stepped up beside him, eyes narrowing. "Even if this is where I die, I'll fight you until I stop breathing."
Lilith's legs gave out. She collapsed to her knees, her arms shaking. Her coughing returned, violent and wet.
Blood sprayed across her hand. Her aura exploded outward, the glow flickering dangerously.
"She will die." Tam intoned. "Unless she surrenders. Only I can stabilize her now. Only I can make her whole."
Ren turned to Lilith, jaw clenched. "Stay back. Let us open the path to Shing. You focus on surviving."
Thorn nodded. "We'll handle this."
Without another word, Ren and Thorn stepped forward. Tam didn't wait. He lifted his axe and slammed it down, unleashing a massive pillar of golden energy that split the chamber.
The beam roared across the room like a ravenous beast.
Ren and Thorn dove to opposite sides, rolling just as the blast cut the air between them, carving lines into the floor. Tam moved with it, racing toward Thorn.
His axe swept down like a falling star. Thorn raised his hand, and his cloak flared in front of him and solidified, catching the impact.
However, the force launched him backward, sending him flying into one of the pillars around the room.
Ren closed in from behind, a sword in his hand. He swung at Tam's back, but Tam turned with preternatural speed and caught the blade on the edge of his axe. The sword shattered like glass, fragments scattering.
Tam spun and swung again. Ren blocked with his bracers. The impact drove him to his knees, but he absorbed the energy and released it, sending Tam hurtling backward.
Tam spun through the air to dig his feet into the ground, digging furrows before stopping himself.
Ren surged forward, but suddenly, everything blurred.
His nerves tingled, and euphoria flooded his limbs.
Withdrawal.
He stumbled, gasping as his vision grew hazy. The pain came next, sharp, stabbing through his chest. He grunted, falling to one knee.
Tam rose from where he'd landed and charged.
Thorn intercepted him before he could get to the struggling Ren. Their weapons clashed in a spray of sparks.
Thorn swung at Tam's neck, but Tam twisted low, caught Thorn's leg with the crook of his axe, and yanked. Thorn lost his footing.
As Thorn stumbled, Tam's hand snapped forward and caught Thorn's throat. Then, with a snarl, Tam hurled him forward, straight into Ren. They fell in a tangle.
Tam surged to them and raised his axe.
Ren gasped back into awareness and his hand snapped up. A kinetic barrier flared into existence.
The axe smashed down. The barrier shattered. Ren was driven a foot deeper into the floor.
Tam raised the axe again.
The axe descended and a clang resounded in the hall.
Thorn had caught the axe head with his bone hand. He roared, pouring power into his grip. With a surge, he shattered the axe head, sending shards spraying.
He lunged upward, swinging with lethal force. Tam ducked, retaliating with a heavy punch. Thorn's cloak caught it, but he was still launched across the hall from the force of the punch.
Ren was already moving. He swung a fist at Tam's head, and just as expected, the man ducked, but Ren's knee was already waiting.
He drove his knee into Tam's face and there was a crunch as he broke his nose. Tam's head snapped backwards, blood spraying through the hair from his nose.
Ren surged forward to finish the job, but in mid-air, Tam's hand snapped to the floor to anchor himself and his leg blurred.
Ren's eyes widened as he quickly snapped his arm to the side of his face, his bracer absorbing the force of the kick.
Tam's second hand touched the floor as his kick was repelled, and with the stability, he flipped himself to his feet.
"Pity." He said with a grin, looking at his hands. "With Soul Dominion in this body, it would've been perfect."
Ren surged forward, ducking beneath Tam's punch, and again, just as he'd expected, Tam had copied his move, his knee snapping up to meet his face.
Ren grabbed the thigh, and with a twist, threw Tam into a nearby pillar. Tam's body hit the pillar with a thud, cracking it, but Ren was already there.
He unleashed several punches into Tam's stomach and the pillar shattered, sending Tam flying.
Tam dug his hands into the ground, stopping his momentum. Then, he pushed forward to meet Ren, snarling. He swung his fist, and Ren caught the punch.
His eyes glowed faintly purple.
"Enough."
[Hypnosis Activated.]
Tam's body jerked. The golden glow in his eyes flickered.
Purple light replaced it.
His limbs went slack, then he collapsed unconscious.
Ren stumbled back, panting hard. Thorn limped over to see.
Lilith hadn't moved. She knelt, surrounded by sparks of her dying soul energy, breathing shallow.
"Finally." Thorn said, voice hoarse.
Ren looked at Tam's still form. Then at Lilith.
"Not yet." He said. "Shing's still waiting."
And the palace trembled.