River of Existence

Gabriel glanced to his right and saw a small open opportunity amidst the cold gales of wind.

With Chen in his arms, he dashed forward as fast as he could towards that direction, and was aided by his impressive agility.

However, the Moonlight Drinker caught up with him instantly, and used a bloodstained broadsword summoned from thin air to slice the left side of his chest.

"Uegh…!"

Without any weapons, Gabriel would die immediately in a one-on-one fight against that demon, so he focused all his energy on running.

And then, just before he struck again, Gabriel saw it. The edge of a cliff leading into a dark abyss.

"Don't even try it!"

The Moonlight Drinker summoned a shattered blade held together by Qi in his other hand, and pointed it at Gabriel's back.

It was a living blade, a cursed weapon of destruction that consumed the souls of the living. Only someone without a 'real body' could wield such a lethal weapon without any danger involved.

The gales of wind shrouded Gabriel's presence, but using the smell of blood in the air, the demonic disciple predicted where he was, and unleashed the first strike of a foreign sword technique, sending a pulse of rippling sword intent flying his way.

"Haha! Rippling Moonshine Slash!"

The wide sword attack of crimson-gold light followed the traces that Gabriel left in the snow, and a powerful explosion was heard right afterwards, sending a powerful wave of energy through the air.

"Haha, it was really that easy. I hope the boy is still in one piece though… huh?"

Something glimmered in front of him. A blue light, that seemed like the tip of an arrow.

"What the…"

Though, before he knew what hit him, the Moonlight Drinker was struck through the body with an explosive flare of blue light, eradicating his entire chest.

The explosion mixed with blue and orange hues wracked his entire body, whilst also sending melted snow and ice flying meters upward alongside some smoke and dust from the explosion itself.

He watched as a handsome-looking man clad in black, embroidered and commandeering robes, holding a greatsword forged from cold steel, approached him while he was on the ground.

This man was Commander Luoyang of Frostfall Peak, a name that belonged to the tallest peak among the mountains.

"Ah… the sixth Commander under the country's command! I should have known…" The demonic disciple murmured, as he choked on his blood.

Commander Luoyang placed a foot on his head and asked a simple question.

"Were you chasing after those two?"

"Who's to say that I was?"

Commander Luoyang paused.

"Don't play smart with me, evil spirit. The Demon-slaying Crucible Knights aren't done with you yet."

"…You…! They were the ones who reduced me to being just a fragment of my former self, and you dare…!"

"Silence! Stay out of these mountains from now on, you accursed being! It'll guarantee you'll live for a bit longer if you do."

With that, Commander Luoyang crushed the head of the Moonlight Drinker with his foot.

And then, he turned around and walked forward, being met by the edge of a cliff, leading to an impenetrable darkness below.

This place was known as Burial Valley, which led deep down into the snowy mountains.

"That evil spirit… one of the most bloodthirsty demonic disciples among all of the demonic masters' men, after just two men. Interesting…"

<…>

A few hours later, within Burial Valley, tens of armoured horses trotted on the narrow, snowy trail.

On these horses were many trained soldiers and warriors, equipped with proper swords and spears.

"This journey into the Snowgrave Depths was unsuccessful yet again…" The vice-captain among all of these soldiers said.

"Indeed. Not only that, but the Qi flowing from the frost wyvern's core has increased. It seems the Cauldron Masters that came here a while ago did something to it." The captain replied.

"This'll be a great problem if we leave it alone for too long…"

Captain Evans shook his head and sighed.

"Who knew it'd cause such a headache? We can't just ignore it either, considering it's basically guarding the 'calamity' that's buried deeper within the Snowgrave Depths."

"Then, that just means we'll have to finish it off the next time we pay a visit, or else disaster will be awaiting everybody."

These two men, Stag Harrison and William Evans, led the entirety of the Polar Saber Squad by themselves.

They were sent by the sixth Commander of Frostfall Peak to aid in the elimination of the Wyvern in hiding within the Snowgrave Depths.

"Hm…"

The vice-captain glanced back and noticed the two unconscious individuals riding on the back of one of the horses.

"…To think those two would just drop from the sky out of nowhere… it's best we bring it up with the Commander once we get back."

<<…>>

Meanwhile, as the young man who called himself Chen Xian slumbered, he found himself in an unusual dream.

In this dream, there was nothing but darkness, coating everything in pitch-black. This darkness was foreign, extending to even the farthest reaches of Chen's mind.

It was indeed a dream, not a nightmare or anything like that, and yet, it was unlike any other dream that had ever been dreamt before.

Everything about this, including the darkness threatening to devour him whole, was not ordinary.

But, as he dreamt, a stream of luminous ashes swam through the murky darkness, infusing this dream realm with a mystic, mysterious energy that made it seem much more… 'vivid'.

The luminous ashes allowed him to see a 'truth' through his memory and what he perceived beforehand.

And, this mysterious power was related to his distant past, making the dream's darkness tremble and shiver with an unnatural vigour, as if it were somehow alive and afraid.

The darkness had tried its best to trap that innocent boy within its unsightly embrace, making time seemed endless in this abyss, and at that moment, nothing seemed to really exist.

But then, the luminous ashes of the past entered his body and disappeared, guiding him and leading him away from this darkness within the dream, allowing him to 'lucid dream', as if he were awake.

Chen shuddered as he regained colour in his face and eyes. He looked quite young for a seventeen-year-old, and while he slowly fluttered his eyes before he opened them fully, he noticed a foreign energy flowing inside of him.

But, he had no time to ponder on what it was, as he suddenly caught a glimpse of the future.

He saw something horrifying in front of him. A golden sword, emblazoned by crimson fire, that jutted out of the world's flesh and body, melting all inhabitants of this world, alongside the Heavenly Immortals and their envoys that are known as Angels.

The world's oceans and seas turned red like blood, and its trees and soil were overrun with plague and vermin.

This was only one of the many ways the world could be destroyed, just one of many possibilities.

Truth be told, Chen had witnessed this before. However, he didn't exactly know when…

What he did know was that it was horrible.

But he had not the slightest clue what it all meant.

All he knew was that the man who wielded that emblazoned and twisted blade, who he knew was the Revenant King, was the one who had truly embraced entropy.

Such a destructive nature could not naturally exist inside of one being. Unless they were born for the sole purpose of plight, death and war…

"No… I don't believe such a being can exist… that man must've seen something horrifying! Something that made him angry beyond compare!"

"Something that twisted and transformed him into a horrifying being obsessed with crimson flames, and the golden strength belonging to his blade and the golden-black armour that is his skin..."

"…I don't know, or even understand what my link is towards that shell of his former self, chasing after the beauty of death, chaos and destruction itself…"

"But, when I return to the world outside of this darkened dream… I'll make sure to free him from his curse… no matter what!"