Chapter 22: The Mockery of Gods

Darkness hung over the fort like a dying man's breath, thick with the stink of sweat, decay, and something far worse—fear.

Something was wrong.

No, not wrong. This was worse than anything we had faced before.

The air itself felt heavy, pressing against my skin like unseen hands, squeezing my chest with an invisible grip. The torches along the stone walls flickered weakly, their flames struggling as if they, too, wanted to flee.

And then—

It appeared.

A presence so overwhelming that my mind recoiled, my vision blurred, and for a brief second, I forgot how to breathe.

It wasn't just power. It was something beyond human comprehension. Something that should not exist, something that twisted the very fabric of reality just by being here.

I had felt death before.

This was worse.

A voice like shattered glass scraped against my skull.

"Ah... how delightful. A gathering of vermin."

The Outer God did not look like a god.

It didn't even look like a monster.

It was wrong.

A shifting mass of grotesque limbs and shifting faces, stretching and reforming like a living nightmare, yet… none of it felt real. As if it existed beyond this world, and we were merely catching glimpses of its presence.

Zhao Yue's breath hitched beside me. Yusheng took a step back. I could hear someone gagging, barely holding back the urge to vomit.

I understood. This thing was not meant to be seen.

Yet here we were.

And it was watching us.

Its many mouths twisted into something that might have been a grin, though it held no joy.

"I wonder… how much can you break before you shatter?"

Then it moved.

And all hell broke loose.

The First Strike

One moment, we were standing. The next—

Blood. Screams.

It took me a second to even register what had happened.

Yusheng was gone. No—he was flying backward, slamming into a wall so hard I heard the bones in his body shatter like dried twigs. He let out a wet, choking gasp, blood spraying from his mouth as he crumpled to the ground.

I barely had time to react before the Outer God laughed.

"Too slow."

Something hit me.

A force so overwhelming that my ribs caved in, air ripped from my lungs. I crashed into the ground, rolling over the dirt like a discarded doll. My vision swam— pain, searing and unbearable, shot through my entire body.

I coughed, and blood splattered onto the ground.

This isn't a fight.

It was toying with us.

A shadow loomed over me. Zhao Yue. She had already drawn her sword, stance low, her breathing ragged.

I forced myself to move. I couldn't stay down.

Not now.

Not when this thing was about to kill us all.

A Battle We Cannot Win

Zhao Yue lunged first.

Her blade shimmered, a desperate slash aimed at one of the writhing limbs. A perfect strike.

It never landed.

A claw the size of her entire body appeared out of nowhere, moving faster than the eye could follow. She barely dodged in time—but even the near-miss sent her skidding back, her arm hanging uselessly at her side.

Dislocated. Or broken.

Her face twisted in pain, but she didn't scream. She refused to.

I gritted my teeth, my heart pounding. We were nothing to this thing.

And it knew it.

"How fascinating," the Outer God mused. "You fight as if it matters. As if you are not already doomed."

It raised a limb, and the shadows around it twisted.

No.

I could feel it coming. A force beyond reason, beyond anything we could resist—

My legs moved before I could think.

I tackled Zhao Yue out of the way just as the ground where she had stood disintegrated into black void.

Not destroyed.

Erased.

She gasped as we tumbled together, landing hard against the cold ground.

I barely noticed the pain.

I looked up—and the Outer God was staring directly at me.

Something shifted.

"Ah. You… are different."

System Notification:

[You are being Observed.]

[Outer Influence detected.]

[Warning: Prolonged exposure will result in Corruption.]

My breath hitched. This was bad.

Very, very bad.

I forced myself up, pushing Zhao Yue behind me. I had no plan. No strategy. Nothing.

All I knew was that if we didn't move now—

We were dead.

A Desperate Stand

"Move!" I shouted, yanking Zhao Yue to her feet.

Yusheng was still alive, barely. His breaths were shallow, blood pooling beneath him. I had no idea how bad his injuries were.

But we couldn't stay here.

I turned back to the Outer God.

It was still watching me.

Like a predator indulging in a particularly amusing game before the final kill.

"You do not bow," it mused. "Most would have begged by now."

"Go to hell," I spat, wiping blood from my lips.

It chuckled. Actually chuckled.

Then it raised its claw.

A killing blow.

I knew—I knew I wouldn't be able to dodge this one.

But just as the strike came down—

Something changed.

The shadows pulsed. The air cracked.

And then—

A golden light erupted.

The Divine Crystal.

It was as if the world itself rejected the Outer God's presence.

A sound—impossibly loud, like a thousand voices screaming in unison—ripped through the space around us. The Outer God reeled back, its form flickering, distorting.

And for the first time—

It stopped laughing.

"Impossible."

I didn't waste a second.

I lunged toward Yusheng, throwing his arm over my shoulder. "Zhao Yue! Now!"

She didn't hesitate. We ran.

The Outer God howled behind us, its voice shaking the very walls of the fort.

But it did not pursue.

Not now.

And as we stumbled into the nearest alley, breathless, bleeding, and barely alive, I realized something.

This wasn't a victory.

We had just survived.

For now.

But the Outer Gods were watching.

And next time—

They wouldn't be playing.

System Notification:

[You have survived the Gaze of an Outer God.]

[Title Unlocked: Marked by the Abyss]

Your soul has been noticed by a higher existence.

+10% resistance to Outer Influence.

+5% perception against Unnatural Beings.

[Divine Crystal Resonance Activated.]

[You have awakened a fragment of power meant for those who would oppose the abyss.]

A Reward from the Abyss

I could barely stand.

Pain raged through my body, every limb screaming for rest. But the Divine Crystal continued to pulse, its light shifting—like it was calling to me.

I reached out.

The moment my fingers touched it—

A surge of power slammed into my soul.

System Notification:

[The Divine Crystal has chosen you.]

[Your will has been acknowledged.]

New Ability Unlocked: Abyssbane (Rank A)

When facing Outer Beings, your attacks ignore 30% of their resistance.

+20% speed and reaction time against Outer Beings.

Your presence burns them on contact.

A Sword Born from Legends

But that wasn't all.

The ground rumbled.

From the ruins of the fort, a weapon rose from the debris. It was buried in the stone, wrapped in chains that cracked and broke as the Divine Crystal's light bathed it.

A blade.

Not just any blade.

I knew this sword.

I had seen it before—in legends, in tales whispered among warriors.

And now, it was in front of me.

I reached out, fingers trembling, and wrapped my hands around the hilt.

The moment I did—

A storm of power exploded through my body.

System Notification:

[You have survived the Gaze of an Outer God.]

[Title Unlocked: Marked by the Abyss]

Your soul has been noticed by a higher existence.

+10% resistance to Outer Influence.

+5% perception against Unnatural Beings.

[Divine Crystal Resonance Activated.]

[You have awakened a fragment of power meant for those who would oppose the abyss.]

A Reward from the Abyss

I could barely stand.

Pain raged through my body, every limb screaming for rest. But the Divine Crystal continued to pulse, its light shifting—like it was calling to me.

I reached out.

The moment my fingers touched it—

A surge of power slammed into my soul.

System Notification:

[The Divine Crystal has chosen you.]

[Your will has been acknowledged.]

New Ability Unlocked: Abyssbane (Rank A)

When facing Outer Beings, your attacks ignore 30% of their resistance.

+20% speed and reaction time against Outer Beings.

Your presence burns them on contact.

[You have obtained the Legendary Blade: Shusui.]

Shusui (A+ Rank Weapon)

A sword bathed in the blood of a thousand battles.

Unbreakable.

Absorbs killing intent and converts it into strength.

When wielded against Outer Beings, attacks become twice as effective.

I exhaled slowly.

A sword like this… a power like this…

I tightened my grip.

The Outer Gods might have mocked us today.

They might have toyed with us.

But next time?

I would not run.

I would cut them down.

One by one.

Until nothing remained.