"Speak, mortal."
The voice didn't just echo in the cave. It vibrated in Jiyul's bones.
Jiyul stood his ground, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. The creature before him was massive, wreathed in shadows that clung to its form like tattered robes. Its eyes burned with a pale, ghostly fire.
"Where is the owner of this cave?" Jiyul asked. His voice was calm, cutting through the oppressive pressure of the room.
The figure stepped forward into the torchlight. It was humanoid, but its skin was like cracked grey stone, and horns curled back from its forehead. In its hand, it held a massive trident that hummed with dark energy.
"I am Zekiel," the being rumbled. "Demon. Warden of this sacred temple sealed by the gods."
Jiyul tilted his head, unimpressed.
Zekiel continued, his voice dripping with old bitterness. "But my clan was wiped clean. Burned. Forgotten." He slammed the end of his trident against the stone floor. "I begged the gods for mercy. And they let me live... to guard this temple for eternity."
A cruel smile stretched across the demon's face. "A mercy that feels more like a curse."
Jiyul stepped forward. "So... you are immortal?"
"No ," Zekiel replied. "But no age can wither me."
A cold smirk tugged at the corner of Jiyul's lips.
"Good. This mountain isn't a disappointment after all."
Zekiel narrowed his glowing eyes. "You wish to fight?"
"No," Jiyul said, drawing his sword. The black steel caught the flickering light. "I wish to gain."
The demon let out a low growl that rose into a roar, shaking dust from the ceiling.
"So be it!"
Zekiel spun his trident, the weapon glowing with purple infernal qi. "It has been centuries since someone dared to challenge me!"
He rushed forward like a storm.
Jiyul dodged right, his blade flashing out. Steel clashed with the trident, sending a shower of sparks into the dark air.
The demon moved like a beast of war. He was faster than any man and heavier than any beast.
Jiyul struck three times in the blink of an eye. Slash. Thrust. Slash.
Zekiel blocked every one effortlessly and drove a knee into Jiyul's gut.
THUD.
Jiyul gasped, stumbling back as blood spilled from his lips.
"You bleed well," Zekiel mocked. "But it won't be enough."
He lunged again, the trident aiming straight for Jiyul's throat.
Jiyul parried the first strike, but the second one was too fast. The trident's tip tore through his shoulder, ripping flesh.
He gritted his teeth, spinning low to slash at Zekiel's leg.
It was a shallow cut. Barely a scratch on the demon's stone-like skin.
Zekiel laughed. "You cut me? Impressive."
Jiyul didn't respond. He couldn't. He was fighting just to breathe.
Zekiel surged again, striking with explosive bursts of cursed qi. The temple shook with every impact. Jiyul blocked as much as he could, but he was losing. The trident pierced his side. Then his arm. Then his back.
He fell to one knee. Blood poured down his body, pooling on the cold stone. His face was pale, his hands trembling as he tried to lift his sword.
Zekiel stood over him, a looming shadow of death.
"Is that all, mortal?"
Jiyul's body shook. His head hung low.
Then... a roar.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
It wasn't a scream of pain. It was a scream of release.
Jiyul's body exploded with black energy. The Blood Ember flared in his chest, wild and hungry. But then, a second light joined it. Gold. Ancient and terrifying.
Two opposing forces fought for dominance inside him.
Zekiel froze. His grip on the trident loosened.
"No... that power..."
Jiyul screamed again as the ground beneath him cracked. His wounds sealed shut with unnatural speed. His hair rose with the surge of energy, floating as if he were underwater. Black and gold qi swirled around him like twin storms tearing the world apart.
Zekiel's eyes widened in genuine horror.
"That glow... that flower... no... it can't be..."
He took a step back. The demon who feared nothing was trembling.
Jiyul rose. He was silent now. His eyes were no longer human. They were pitch black voids.
Zekiel whispered, his voice shaking.
"The... the Flower of Askaroth... It was said to destroy gods who tried to consume it. It drives the divine insane. It... it should have killed you..."
He looked at the red pulse in Jiyul's chest.
"And that red ember...."
Zekiel looked at the boy who was now a monster.
"Who are you...?"
Jiyul took a step forward. The air warped around him.
He didn't answer.
"Who are you?!" Zekiel roared, desperate for an answer.
Jiyul's voice finally came. It was low, distorted, and monstrous.
"I don't know what I am."
He took another step.
"But I know what I am becoming."
Zekiel felt something cold in his chest. Fear. Real fear.
"You should be dead," the demon hissed. "No mortal can survive that flower!"
"Then what are you?!"
Jiyul smiled. It was a smile that promised the end of all things.
"I am the thing even gods didn't plan for."
Zekiel's hands tightened around his trident.
"You...!!"
But his voice cracked. His knees weakened. His body instinctively stepped back. The torchlight flickered violently as the pressure in the room grew unbearable.
Jiyul stood there, glowing in black and gold chaos.