Chương 47: Blood Lies in Shadow

The same night, around 122 kilometers from the capital, stood the Pyramid in all its glory. It rose like an ancient monument of power, towering 500 meters into the sky. The surface was crafted from smooth bronze-colored stone that gleamed under the moonlight. At the very tip, a large turquoise orb shone with a soft, ethereal glow, casting an otherworldly light across the surrounding turquoise grass and hanging branches.

It was as if the ancestors themselves whispered even in death:" In death, we still light the way for our people… so they never forget the past." Outside, 2, 000 elite guards stood in disciplined formation, protecting the sacred site from any intruders. Inside, however, three infiltrators moved silently through the shadows, cloaked in dark robes. Golden necklaces clasped their robes at the chest, each featuring a prominent red blood-drop emblem in the center.

They looked like rare members of a forgotten, legendary society who had come back to haunt the present with their presence, should they choose to reveal themselves out in the open. One of them spoke in a low, reverent voice.

"Bloodpather Arus, we have yet to hear good news of the Blood Worms' success. Why did you call us now? We could have waited another twenty minutes... this seems to rushed of a summon." Bloodpather Arus stood tall among them, his presence commanding and intense. He slowly turned, his eyes burning with zealous fire.

"I called you here because our plan in this region is about to enter its final stage," he said, his voice trembling with barely contained excitement.

"Do you not feel it, Baarus and Maalai? The blood flow here is growing stronger pulsing, alive, hungry. It calls to us." Baarus and Maalai closed their eyes for a moment, reaching out with their senses. They stood deep in the inner hall of the pyramid, right beside the grand sarcophaguses of many long-dead Herzog of this nation... all ancient rulers whose preserved bodies rested in solemn silence.

Their faces shifted from doubt to pure awe as they perceived the invisible molecular currents of blood flowing powerfully through the pyramid. The sacred energy swirled around the ancient corpses, growing stronger by the hour, feeding off the lingering life force of the dead towards something foreign to the Orbis Terrarum. Arus stepped closer, his voice dropping into a passionate whisper.

"Thanks to this divine gift, the ability to see the world as it truly is... our holy mission can finally commence." His breathing quickened.

"This pyramid, where the ancestors lie preserved according to ancient tradition, is the perfect vessel. It is here we will plant our Flow and open the door our aditus. The bloody sacrifice of sullying the dead… is but a small price to pay for the greater awakening." He chuckled darkly at first, then the laugh grew deeper, almost manic, echoing through the sacred chambers like a prophecy.

"Oh, Bloodifier Istiainus the 12th Purosangue…" His voice cracked with devotion.

"She will rejoice when she learns how smoothly everything is progressing. After all these years of waiting… our time has come for us to show, in this Continent we are going to bleed all very well." Then, from deep beneath the ground, several Blood Worms crawled silently through the earth, completely unnoticed by the 2, 000 elite guards stationed outside. They wriggled upward through hidden cracks and ancient ventilation shafts until they finally reached the inner tomb of the pyramid.

One by one, they slipped into the sacred chamber where the three infiltrators waited. Maalai's Blood Worm led the rest, its bloated body glistening as it entered. Together, they released the red and green accumulated blood they had harvested from their victims. The thick droplets rose into the air, hovering eerily like sinister jewels, pulsing with stolen life force. The three robed figures watched with visible hunger and fanatical excitement as the harvest took form before them.

The air grew thick with the metallic scent of the fresh harvested blood. The Blood Worms then wiggled back onto Maalai's body, their slick, segmented forms crawling up her legs and torso with disturbing familiarity. One by one, they slipped into her open mouth, retreating deep into her body to rest and digest. After a few moments, Maalai's throat convulsed. She burped loudly a wet, guttural sound that echoed through the sacred chamber. A thin trail of mixed red and green blood dribbled from the corner of her lips.

She blinked several times, looking slightly confused and disoriented, as if waking from a deep trance. Her hands instinctively touched her stomach, where the worms now started to rest. A faint, satisfied smile slowly crept across her face. The two others still stared at the swirling blood flow circling the chamber, their eyes gleaming with anticipation. Maalai suddenly froze. Her hands which she pressed against her stomach as her expression shifted from satisfaction to concern.

"Wait…" she whispered. The room inside her stomach, the living nest where her children rested was not fully filled. A noticeable emptiness lingered. Her face paled.

"Three of my babies… did not make it back." Bloodpather Arus's face twisted from ecstasy to shock.

"Is the jig up?" His voice rose sharply, laced with disbelief and rising panic.

"That cannot be… We only need three more days and it will begin in full swing! This Continent will finally witness the true world on how truly should be!" He grabbed both of their shoulders tightly, eyes wide with urgency and fervor.

"Both of you... find out what is going on. If there is an issue you cannot handle, apply the blood ritual immediately and summon me. We cannot let her down. She chose us all those years ago for this sacred trial… to connect the world once more. Failure is not an option." Meanwhile, back in the capital… The night ended and a new day began. Galer and I had regained our freedom. The luxurious guest room we had originally received was returned to us.

After the princess invited us to join her for breakfast, a great feast awaited us once again. I went all out, eating with unrestrained enthusiasm. This could be a repeat, I thought. Any moment I might be dragged back to a cell. Still, I refused to let the incredible food go to waste. Dish after dish disappeared in front of me. Later in the afternoon, we set out with a clear goal: to investigate the sewer system beneath Aegus, which had never been properly checked for the Blood Worms.

Galer and I ventured inside while the others waited above. The stench was absolutely brutal, as it was thick, overwhelming, and eye-watering. The air was heavy with excrement and decay. Strangely, the worms seemed to have protected themselves from smell-hounds, which are animals bred to smell out abnormalities; however, only their slimy residue was still visible on the exit grates outside the city walls. Beyond that, there were no further traces. Our clues ended right there.

When we emerged, the princess held her nose in disgust while soldiers stood around her.

"This stench is unbearable," she complained.

"I cannot concentrate with all that. Force them to take a bath immediately!" After a thorough bath in mint-infused water, we finally smelled fresh again. We then joined 20, 000 soldiers to search outside the capital. We scoured the surrounding branches and fields, even having Earth users examine the ground for any hidden tunnels or traces. But it was all in vain. It turned out there was nothing. The order to check the sewer systems and surrounding villages quickly spread to other generals in nearby cities.

By the time we returned to the palace, it was already deep into the night. Galer meditated again before sleep, kneeling in his usual genuflection. As I collapsed onto the bed, exhausted from the long day, I suddenly felt something cold and slimy latch onto my Achilles heel. A Blood Worm. Galer, deep in his meditation, heard nothing. In mere seconds, a terrifying weakness flooded my body. My limbs grew heavy, my vision blurred.

The horrifying realization struck me, this was how the worms had remained hidden for years. Once they attached, their victims became too weak to scream, too weak to fight back. Rage ignited inside me. With gritted teeth, I forced my Heart Flame to roar to life with strong pumps. Hot, blazing blood surged violently into the parasite. The worm swelled rapidly and exploded with a sickening wet pop, spraying green and red goo across the walls and ceiling. I gasped in relief as control returned to my body.

But the damage was done... my activated Heart Flame burned like a beacon, drawing every active Blood Worm in the vicinity straight to me. Dozens of them swarmed through the windows, under the door, and from the shadows. A desperate, brutal war of attrition began. Wave after wave attached to my body, desperately trying to drain me dry. I kept pumping my Heart Flame hotter and hotter, making my blood lethal to them. One by one they imploded, covering me and the room in disgusting sludge.

For 22 agonizing minutes I fought, my body trembling, vision fading in and out. By the end, I lay collapsed in a massive puddle of blood and worm remains, barely conscious, my breathing shallow. Galer finally opened his eye. The sight before him made his face go pale, the luxurious guest room was now a slaughterhouse of red and green filth, with me lying broken in the middle, weakly raising a trembling hand. He moved like lightning.

Rushing to his satchel, he poured the last of the miracle juice from Run to Glory down my throat. The liquid burned through my veins like liquid fire, restoring my strength in seconds. I staggered to my feet, still covered in gore, eyes blazing with fury.

"Follow me, Galer," I said, voice hoarse but determined.

"What we did yesterday must have pissed off their master. They sent these things after us tonight. I don't know how they found us so quickly… but they paid for it. And now, I know exactly where the Master is." I clenched my bloody fist.

"When I pumped my Heart Flame into them, I felt a connection… a link to something far away. He's in the slum sector, above the central plaza. I don't know the building's name, but i know when i see it, that will guide us there. We have to strike now, before they disappear. We do this alone. There's no time to warn anyone this deep into the night. If we cause enough chaos, they'll know we're coming anyway." We rushed toward the slum sector under the deep moonlight.

Just hours ago, I had marveled at Aegus from the sky, a shining capital of white limestone and gleaming bronze, full of grandeur and hope. Now, only a few kilometers away, that illusion shattered completely. The area was worlds apart. It felt like we had stepped into another town entirely. The people here were no longer the hopeful merchants or proud citizens I had seen earlier. Instead, they were broken souls...

alcoholics reeking of cheap, sour drink, slumped against walls or lying unconscious on the filthy ground. Rotten, broken-down buildings leaned precariously as if they might collapse at any moment. The air was thick with the overwhelming stench of urine, decay, and despair. My chest tightened with disbelief and anger. How could such poverty and misery exist so close to all that beauty and wealth? The contrast hit me like a physical blow.

In a single night, the glittering dream of Aegus had transformed into this harsh, ugly reality. Six kilometers deeper, on the very edge of the capital, stood a dusty two-story tavern with broken windows. That was where the presence felt strongest as i felt the connection came from right in there, a dark, pulsing hatred that made my blood burn. I turned to Galer, heart pounding.

"Let's go in and beat them down for the Herzog… and for our own goal." Galer scanned the area with his Animo, his expression turning grim.

"Two strong presences inside… roughly 3700 and 3800 Animo." We stepped inside the tavern. The room was pitch dark. Only thin beams of moonlight cut through the shattered windows, casting long silver streaks across the dusty floor and lighting up floating particles like ghosts in the air. The atmosphere was suffocating... heavy with the stench of stale ale, rotting wood, and the sharp metallic tang of old blood. In the back, one robed figure sat cross-legged on a windowsill, calmly drinking from a dusty bottle.

The other, Maalai, stood beside him, her entire body trembling with barely contained fury.

"Ahhh, you dirty, unappreciated bastards!" Maalai snarled, her voice breaking with raw grief.

"You killed my babies… I felt them die! I tried calling them back… but so few returned back to me!" Baarus placed a steadying hand on her shoulder, though his own voice carried clear tension.

"Maalai, hold your tongue. Do not let your anger cloud your judgment. We must be smart. The boy is stronger than the information suggested. We still don't even know how they found us—""No!" Maalai screamed, violently shrugging his hand off. Tears of rage and sorrow streamed down her face.

"I raised those little ones for over a decade! They were loyal… they were mine! They worked so well for all of us… especially for him! And now you want me to stay calm after I lost a part of myself? After losing my children?!" Her pain and fury exploded outward. The pressure in the room skyrocketed. The remaining broken windows shattered completely, glass exploding outward as her aura crushed everything around her. A great battle was about to begin...

one that would change the fate of the Orbis Terrarum in this region forever. We just didn't know it yet.