Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 852 - 793: Above the Dark Tide

Mist wafted into the lush forest, darkness descending, cold wind howling through the stone cave with mournful whistles. The crisscrossing stalactites on the cave walls were hand-modified, a water-aligned path leading straight into the lightless depths of the cavern, the moisture growing heavier the deeper one went, until every breath seemed to bring about the vertigo of suffocation.

At the deepest part was the esoteric sect’s camp, where the sneaky cultists were worshipping their noble master. Sadly, this time, the master answered them.

Black liquid flowed from the eyes and mouth of the sacrifice, slowly seeping down, quickly exceeding the total fluid volume of an ordinary person. The cultists were shocked by the phenomenon before them, those with some ability detected the startling concentration of Magic Power within this liquid. In an era suppressed by holy light where high concentrations of Magic Power should not exist, they ecstatically pounced on the black water, like fish returning to the sea, indulging in the satisfaction of being cleansed by Magic Power.

"This is a gift from the gods!"

"This Magic Power, yes, must have come from the past, the god-controlled age of Divine Realm, before life had evolved."

They believed their distant master had come from the past and was about to pull the entire world back to that era, this ever-expanding pool of black water was the expanding Divine Realm, the supreme paradise.

The Magic Power that had seen no progress despite continuous practice was now surging wildly within their bodies, as if a spring had sprung from within. The cultists scooped up the black water and drank, greedily savoring more of the divine grace.

The god accepted them.

The liquid gained consciousness, defying gravity as it climbed up the cultists’ bodies, enveloped in black water, the praying cultists only felt utter bliss.

"My God! Tom, your appearance!!!" A scream of terror disrupted the worshiping believers; the named Tom opened his eyes.

He saw hell.

The black water clung to the cultists’ skin, their flesh corrupting and becoming part of the liquid, muscles exposed, bloody muscle fibers writhing like living things, organs enveloped by the liquid as if immersed in viscous honey, hearts pounding in the softening ribcage.

He became part of the black water, his lips still unconsciously curving upwards, until his lips melted away to reveal his teeth, eyelids removed, leaving optic nerves dangling with the eyeballs. Only at the end did they see the truth.

They lived within this spreading tide, without pain, witnessing each other’s miserable states screaming, not causing a single ripple. Their vocal cords assimilated, incapable of screaming; their eyes assimilated, plunged into darkness; their minds assimilated, halting all thought. They would not die, for they had become part of the master, granted eternal life.

The master accepted everyone.

"This... this isn’t... what I... wanted... eternity..."

The black tide continued to expand silently, the entire camp swallowed by this sole color. Small animals, insects, plants, soil, rocks, all merged into this singular hue.

There were no remains to signify their existence.

The slumbering god’s Divine Realm surged onto land, the black fluid the extension of his will, they were alive, his stretching limbs, and now, he wanted to devour everything.

The jungle and valleys disappeared without a noise, the first to be disturbed by fleeing animals were the remote village outskirts.

The hunter and butcher opened their doors, watching countless animals run past their front doors, even under their meat racks, with the groups even including fierce creatures like jackals. Yet at this time, they fled side by side with deer herds, far from their habitats.

The abnormal behavior of the animals was a sign of disaster. The villagers called their families and friends, seeking a sense of safety in each other’s company, turned to the elderly village chief for answers and consolation. Courageous farmers went out to look for omens of catastrophe, and saw plainly the unhidden black mire in their sights, unhurried, covering everything on the ground with a thin black film.

Even the bravest person didn’t dare to test the advancing boundary, when their vision focused on the undisturbed liquid, the human soul suffered a heavy blow, witnessing some indescribable horror. Their minds were torn apart, torn between the urge to merge with the Dark Tide and return, and the biological instinct to flee in terror.

They fled back, like those panicked animals, sweating profusely, eyes darting, stiffly swinging their legs to run back. They returned to the others as if they had lost their souls, the village chief touched their trembling bodies, shaking even more violently than an old man in his frailty, realizing the severity, he instantly demanded that everyone drop what they were doing and leave, organizing groups to run to the nearest town for help.

With their back to the direction of the spreading Dark Tide, they made quick progress, yet what they saw shortly after was enough to turn their insides out.

The Dark Tide wasn’t just coming from one direction; it was alive, branching out and encircling the village, turning human settlements into isolated islands with no way out.

The first five in front instantly fell into a frenzy, three of them stepping into the black mire mid-stride. Their bodies melted away like candles, igniting the fear in people’s hearts.

"No! Run!!!"

"Monster!!! Don’t kill me!!!"

They ran about like headless flies, shoving each other, two more falling into the mire, their twisted features dissolving in the Dark Tide, staring at the smoothed-over surface of the liquid as if peering into a bottomless abyss.

"Quiet!! Get to higher ground, quick, climb onto the rooftops!!!"

The elderly village chief yelled, climbing onto the rooftop with the help of his wife and children. This was his home, the tallest building in the town, with a thatched roof and a grid-like wooden frame underneath that could hold many people, before it collapsed. Holding his five- or six-year-old granddaughter, the senior stood on the rooftop, looking around. The encouraging words he had thought of were swallowed by the boundless Dark Tide, leaving him speechless as he embraced his slightly frightened granddaughter and whispered his true feelings.

"It’s going to be okay, Lia, someone will come to save us."

The sound of sobbing became the only noise under the sun, a situation that didn’t last long before it got even worse.

"The black is climbing up!!!"

Those who remained lucid restrained their frantic family members, and soon they had to face a choice. The black ooze spread, the ground one could stand on grew less and less, those on the outskirts were devoured, some bravely tried to jump to neighboring rooftops and fell. Some kicked down their wives, some abandoned their children.

Above the abyss, there was also hell.

Soon, it was the old man’s turn to make a choice. His son, who had just fended off the young man trying to seize higher ground, was already exhausted. The old man’s gaze turned hollow, reaching out his hand as he watched his child’s broad back.

Someone was quicker than him, his own spouse, Hannah. Like a light, fluttering bird, she flew to her son Rex’s side, kissed him, and amidst Lia’s screams, she leapt down.

Rex turned his head, and the old man’s tears fell into his gray-white beard. Hannah had flown away, the space she left allowed father and son to come closer together.

"I’m so sorry, Father."

"No, it’s me who should apologize."

He did not intend to spare them.

His daughter-in-law, that nodding herbalist’s daughter, Nasitan, came before the old man. She opened her arms, asking the elder for his granddaughter.

She and her mother had inherited the same beautiful green eyes, both large and small were pretty. Nasitan hugged Lia tightly, seeking permission from her beloved husband in Rex’s calls. She returned to the old man again, putting down the tear-streaked little granddaughter, crying and coughing, but Nasitan did not pat her back.

"Master Father..."

This call awoke the old man’s past dignity, he stood upright like a valiant warrior, and the snort he uttered made Nasitan shrink back.

"You don’t need to give Lia back to me, I don’t like this little crybaby."

He walked down from the thatched roof proudly, as if stepping down from his throne, not looking at his son, daughter-in-law, nor the blurred figure of his granddaughter in tears.

He was glad, because he was too cowardly to do something as beautiful as Hannah had done. Like an ordinary old man, he slipped awkwardly and tumbled into the mud.

After repeated separations, Rex hugged Lia tightly in his arms. She was already crying hoarsely, her head buried in his chest, the front soaked with tears.

"It will get better, Lia, someone will save me."

Rex repeated the words of the old man.

"Grandpa lied! Daddy lied!" The little girl, having experienced such things, had come to understand something; the black was the most dreadful thing, it had taken away her loved ones.

"Daddy’s not lying, Lia." Rex smiled, lifting his daughter high up, he had just promised Nasitan to treat her well, and he didn’t want to mess up on such a small matter.

The man lifted the girl, supporting her neck and bottom, letting the young girl look up at the sky.

"Look, Daddy has put Lia up in the sky, among the stars. That way, the black stuff won’t be able to find Lia."

"...Really?"

"Really."

The black ooze climbed up his chest, the man suppressed his fear, and uttered his last words.