Chapter 101: The Mists of the Dead Marshes and the Ghostly Guardian
The transition from the freezing, jagged peaks of Mount Aethelgard to the suffocating, humid air of the Dead Marshes was like stepping from one nightmare into another. As Von (Volt), Aki, Sai, and Rena descended the final slopes, the ground beneath their boots turned from solid stone to a treacherous, black sludge that smelled of sulfur and ancient decay.
The Dead Marshes were not merely a swamp; they were a graveyard of an entire civilization that had dared to defy the Heavens during the first Great Betrayal. Stunted, leafless trees rose from the murky waters like the skeletal fingers of a drowning giant, draped in a thick, yellowish fog that seemed to muffle even the sound of their own footsteps.
"I take it back," Aki whispered, pulling his cloak tightly around his chest and carefully stepping over a bubbling pool of green slime. "The sewer was better. At least in the sewer, you knew what was touching your boots. Here... I'm pretty sure something just winked at me from underwater."
Sai kept his massive shield raised, his eyes scanning the fog for any movement. "Stay focused, Aki. The mana in this place is inverted. It doesn't flow through the air; it seeps through the earth. If you lose your footing, the swamp won't just drown you—it'll dissolve your soul."
Rena was chanting a low-level purification spell, creating a small bubble of clean air around the group to ward off the toxic fumes. "Von, you said a friend of yours is buried here. But this place is cursed by the Celestial Judges. Nothing is supposed to survive here, not even as a ghost."
Von (Volt) walked at the front, his eyes glowing with a faint, obsidian light that pierced through the thickest parts of the fog. "He wasn't 'nothing,' Rena. He was the Commander of the Iron Legion. And he didn't survive—he waited."
As they reached the heart of the marshes, the water grew deeper, reaching their knees. Suddenly, the system interface flared with a warning that turned the surrounding fog a bloody red.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Entering 'The Forbidden Necropolis'. Area Effect: 'Touch of the Grave' - Mana regeneration reduced by 50%. Movement Speed reduced by 30%. Warning: Undead Presence Level: Calamity.]
Suddenly, the water around them began to boil, but without heat. Hundreds of skeletal hands, clad in rusted, ancient armor, erupted from the mud. They didn't attack immediately; they formed a circle, clearing a path for a figure riding a skeletal steed that walked on the surface of the water as if it were solid glass.
The rider was draped in a tattered, purple cape, and where a face should have been, there was only a swirling vortex of blue soul-fire. In his hand, he gripped a spear made of dragon bone.
"Who disturbs the slumber of the Silent Legion?" the rider spoke, his voice sounding like two grinding stones. "The Heavens have already taken everything from us. Is there more you wish to steal?"
Aki nearly fell backward into the sludge. "Von! Is this your 'friend'? Because he looks like he's about to turn us into a matching set of skeletons!"
Von stepped forward, ignoring the spears pointed at his throat. He reached into his shadow and pulled out the 'Broken Crown of Eternal Night'. The moment the fragment touched the air, the blue soul-fire in the rider's eyes flickered and then roared with intensity.
"Kaelen," Von said, his voice echoing with the authority of the Demon King. "The night has been long, but the dawn of the gods is finally over. Do you still remember the oath of the Iron Legion?"
The skeletal rider froze. He slowly dismounted his steed and knelt in the black mud, his spear splashing into the water. The hundreds of skeletons surrounding them followed suit, their rusted armor clattering in a haunting, rhythmic salute.
"My King..." Kaelen whispered, his voice trembling with a thousand years of suppressed loyalty. "We kept the fragment. We fed it with our own souls so the Judges could never find it. But we are tired, my Lord. We are so tired."
[QUEST UPDATE: The Second Fragment of the Crown found. Objective: Purify the souls of the Iron Legion to claim the fragment. Reward: +20,000 XP, Skill: 'Army of the Abyss'.]
Rena looked at the kneeling army, her heart aching for the suffering they had endured. "Von, they're trapped between life and death. You have to free them."
Von looked at his old commander, then at the glowing fragment Kaelen was pulling from his own ribcage. "I will free you, Kaelen. But first, we have one last war to win."
As Von reached for the second fragment, the sky above the marshes suddenly turned a brilliant, painful white. A beam of celestial light pierced through the toxic fog, striking the water just a few yards away. The Academy hadn't sent knights this time. They had sent an 'Avatar of Justice'.
"The King is here," the Avatar's voice boomed from the clouds. "And the Marshes shall be his final execution ground."
Von gripped the hilt of his sword, his eyes turning a deep, murderous black. "Aki, Sai, Rena... hold the line. I'm going to show this 'Avatar' why they were right to fear the dark."