A system window appeared once more.
[Skill Evolved]
[Corpse Memory → Death Beyond]
[Death Beyond: Grants the ability to conjure the future memories of the deceased, showing the life they would have lived had death not claimed them.]
The book slowly withered away upon the altar.
The cultists surrounding it roared in unison as it happened. One of them cried out,
"The Domain has returned to our hands."
But their rejoicing did not last long. Soon, all of them began to wither as well, their bodies crumbling into dust.
Yet none of them resisted. None even screamed. It was as if they had accepted their fate long ago.
Rosacer stood in silence. He inspected the gothic altar and its surroundings, then left after finding nothing else of interest.
Back on the surface, the Men in Black roamed the streets, searching for someone.
"Hey, you. Have you seen this woman?" one of them asked.
In his hand was a crudely drawn portrait of a woman with long hair and striking hazel eyes.
"No, sir," replied an old man. His knees were swollen, and he could barely stand.
With a snarl, the men moved on.
From a nearby corner, a woman stepped out. She was secretly listening to their conversation. Her features were ordinary, her presence easy to overlook. A dull sword hung at her waist as she slipped into the shadows.
She slipped into the building quietly, making sure no one was on her trail.
"Katrina, they were here," she whispered.
She was speaking to a woman seated in front of her, holding a vial filled with crimson liquid.
"I am almost ready," Katrina said, turning her gaze toward her. "Make sure you keep your end of the deal."
Elizabeth nodded in return.
"The warehouse was in uproar today. It seems there have been some killings," she added.
"Will it affect the plan?" Katrina asked.
"Should not," Elizabeth replied in a low voice.
Suddenly, purple flames erupted inside the building, and a figure stepped out of them.
"Are you two ready?" Josan said, brushing dust from his clothes. Yellow fungal fragments fell from his coat onto the floor.
Elizabeth and Katrina did not even flinch.
With a snarling tone, Katrina said, "Next time, warn us before you appear like that."
Josan smiled.
"There were complications at the warehouse," he continued. "Neb has been killed."
Elizabeth's expression changed. "What? Does that mean the plan must be postponed?"
"No," Josan said. "But you both need to be careful. Maysee is on high alert."
He paused, then asked, "What about Fea? Do you trust her?"
"Yes," Elizabeth replied. "She will do her part."
"Good." Josan nodded firmly.
Katrina interjected, "Will Leviathan Mariner delay after this incident?"
Josan shook his head. "No. They will venture out tomorrow."
He looked at both of them and spoke in a lower voice. "Then we hunt tonight."
With that, he began to explain.
"Fea will create the opening. When Opelia leaves her den, we strike. Katrina will use her blood magic to restrain the guards. Elizabeth, you will support her. Once the opening is secured, I will tear out her heart."
He added, "Elizabeth will maintain the shield while Katrina handles the offensive magic."
"The plan is simple, right?" he asked, his eyes moving between them.
Katrina cut in, "What if Fea betrays us?"
"Then you both die, and I take on another identity," Josan replied casually.
Elizabeth spoke up, her voice steady. "She will not. Like us, she is tired. She wants to escape this wretched place. She has more reason to hate Opelia than we do. Opelia bound her here for ages."
As she said this, Elizabeth turned to Katrina.
Katrina did not reply. She remained silent.
Before the tension could thicken further, Josan clapped his hands.
"If everything goes well, I get the heart. Elizabeth gains the ruler's title. Katrina, you get a chance to board the ship without being caught by the Blood Rose Sect. A win for everyone."
Katrina frowned. "And what about Maysee? I told my clan I was hunting him. The Men in Black will expect me to be here. What if I run into them during the operation? You made this plan, yet you do not even control them."
She continued, her voice sharper, "Elizabeth just told me they are looking for me."
Josan sighed but remained calm. "With Neb's assassination, Maysee wants to eliminate every loose end. Do not worry. I will handle it. But if Maysee reaches you first, then you had better run fast."
Katrina looked annoyed by his answer, but she did not lash out. Instead, she asked quietly, "Who killed Neb, anyway?"
Josan fell silent.
After a long moment, he said, "I do not know yet."
Elizabeth and Katrina exchanged suspicious glances, but neither pressed further. If it affected the plan, Josan would have said so.
After more discussion and careful cross-questioning, the meeting finally ended.
"Follow the plan. I will arrive when the time comes," Josan said.
With a flick of his wrist, purple flames engulfed him, and he vanished.
Katrina whispered, even though he was already gone, "Do you trust him?"
"No," Elizabeth replied. "But he is the only way I can control the Southern Sector."
"Why do you need to rule this forsaken land?" Katrina asked. "Come with me instead. There are beautiful places beyond this city."
"I cannot," Elizabeth said. "There is someone I must find."
"Which sector is he in?" Katrina asked, her brow furrowed.
"He's not in the Mist City," came the reply in a grim, low voice.
"Then why search for him here?" Katrina asked, confusion clear in her eyes.
Elizabeth did not answer.
She stayed silent as the night deepened, the mist growing heavier and colder.
It was time.
The hunt for the ruler of the Southern Sector had begun.
Opelia, the Wretched Beauty.
In the night, a shadow emerged from a crypt, its body cloaked in an ancient aura. The mist twisted around him, swirling and dancing before swallowing him whole.
"Something is different."
The shadow whispered.
"System, what has happened to me?"
[Oblivion aura is seeping from the user's body. The Mist, a fragment of the Death Body of the Dream God, is reacting to Oblivion. No danger detected for the user.]
Rosacer exhaled.
After checking his status once more, he moved.
With Neb dead, it was time to hunt the remaining Men in Black. Next was Michael Maysee.
Maysee possessed a special ability tied to the Domain of the Sun, inherited from the Veer Clan. Rosacer had someone who could deal with him, but the cooldown had not yet ended. He would need time before he could summon Arcis again.
That left Josan after method of elimination.
"If I want to kill him, I need to use Ananta," Rosacer muttered.
For Josan was incredibly fast and could teleport far away from him. It seemed Josan could even track people. Rosacer didn't know how, but he witnessed it firsthand when Josan tracked him to the slums.
He called upon the system for guidance.
A window shimmered into existence.
[Domain: Oblivion resides in the darkness of the universe, within Ananta. By drawing upon the power of this Domain, the user can wield Ananta more effectively.
Warning: Using a Domain at the user's current level is not advisable.]
"Just tell me how to use it," he said sharply.
Another window appeared.
[Domain Usage Protocol:
To activate a Domain, the user must channel the residing Domain's power through a medium into the body. The converted internal power must then be released outward, forming a spatial volume.The size and stability of this space depend entirely on the user's ability to internalize the power.]
Rosacer formed a plan in his mind.
He was already wearing the relics of the Dark Messiah and the Death God. If he poured mana into the suit, drew it into his body, corrupted it into Oblivion, and then expelled it outward, he could create a domain-space where his control over Ananta would increase.
"It is simple," he muttered.
Then sighed. "Nothing is ever simple."
Slowly, he began pouring mana into the suit.
The suit convulsed and tightened, rejecting the blight-infested mana. His eyes turned yellow as pus leaked from their corners.
He groaned and cut off the flow.
His head spun. He dropped to his knees, clutching his skull.
It felt as if his head had turned upside down, blood surging violently through his brain. For a brief moment, he felt the urge to split his own skull just to release the pressure.
He forced himself to stop.
Exhaustion flooded him. Slowly, his blood refined the blight mana inside him, turning it into a twisted elixir. The pain faded. His vision cleared.
He released a heavy breath.
The Foulborn title was working.
"I need death-aligned mana to use this," Rosacer realized. "That rejection nearly killed me with my own poison."
After several moments, when he could finally move again, he tried once more.
This time, he used the Doll of Macabre.
He poured mana into the doll.
Its hair stiffened, then began to writhe.
Like living tendrils, the strands slithered toward his chest. With a sudden snap, they pierced into him as ethereal threads and wrapped around his heart, turning solid once more.
Without hesitation, Rosacer redirected the mana flow from his heart into the doll.
He gritted his teeth, as he had to be fast. If the doll fully sealed his heart, not even his immortality might revive him.
He groaned in agony.
The threads tightened.
Tighter.
And tighter still.