บท 35: Chapter 35 - The "Pyramid"

The massive chasm loomed before Wang Zi, Xian Mei, and Bea Might like the gaping maw of an ancient beast.

The swirling gray mist at the edge seemed alive, beckoning them.

Wang Zi stood still for a moment, staring into the abyss. Without a word, he stepped forward, leading the descent, his figure moving with silent confidence.

The path down was a spiraling slope carved into dark stone, the walls faintly illuminated by cracks of flowing mana. The deeper they went, the colder it became, an unnatural chill that seeped into their bones.

No one spoke. Even Bea, who usually filled silence with chatter, remained quiet. Her earlier nervous energy had given way to unease as the ancient passage seemed to stretch endlessly downward.

As they reached what felt like the halfway point, Wang Zi's Rinnegan revealed that the world around him changed, the vibrant flow of mana revealing hidden presences within the cavern.

Hovering at the edges of perception were shadows, twisting figures cloaked in something like a shroud.

Their bodies seemed incorporeal, their elongated heads turning toward the trio. They floated silently along the walls, their mouths moving as if whispering among themselves, though no sound reached Wang Zi's ears.

He narrowed his eyes, watching them as they observed his group like unseen judges. The shadows didn't move closer, nor did they interfere, they just watched.

"..." Wang Zi looked at them, his hand unconsciously brushing against his side.

The shadows stared back at him, unmoving. Their hollow, eyeless faces sent shivers through his spine, yet he said nothing.

"Wang Zi?"

Xian Mei's voice broke the silence. She had stopped walking and was staring directly at him.

"What are you looking at?" Her purple eyes narrowed suspiciously as she scanned the walls, finding nothing.

Wang Zi turned his head slowly.

"Nothing," he said, his voice calm. "Keep moving."

Xian Mei lingered for a moment longer, clearly unconvinced. She shot one last glance at the walls before silently following.

After what felt like an eternity, the slope finally ended. The trio emerged into a massive underground cavern, its vastness lit by a faint, ominous red glow. The ceiling stretched high into darkness, and the mana around them pulsed unnaturally, flowing toward something ahead.

There, in the center of the cavern, a pyramid sat in eerie silence.

It was immense. Its black surface flawless and angular, as though it had been carved from the void itself. Tubes of swirling gray mist flowed into it like veins, converging at the base of the structure. Its smooth exterior reflected the red mana glow, casting unsettling shadows across the cavern floor.

The faint sound of whispers echoed faintly in the back of their minds, the air heavy and suffocating.

Wang Zi stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing as he took in the sight.

"Hmm."

Bea stepped up beside him, her voice hushed. "Is this where all the mist is going?"

"Seems like it." Wang Zi scanned the structure with his Rinnegan, observing the flows of mana being siphoned into the pyramid.

"It's feeding on something. If souls really did come here they're probably not having a good time."

Xian Mei knelt beside a stream of gray mist, brushing her hand above it.

"It's this," she murmured. "I can feel it being pulled in."

Wang Zi didn't respond. Instead, his attention shifted toward the shadowy figures, now gathered near the pyramid's apex.

They floated silently, their mouths still moving, their whispers threading through the mana currents like ghostly strands.

"They're watching us huh." Wang Zi thought to himself.

The trio approached the pyramid cautiously, its open archway leading into a shadowy interior. The markings etched into the walls glowed faintly as they passed, symbols none of them recognized, pulsing with the red light.

Wang Zi was the first to step inside. The air was thick, heavier than before, as though the space itself resisted their presence.

The walls seemed to shift faintly in the corner of their vision, as though watching them.

Encased in transparent pods running inside the pyramid were souls, balls of faint light.

Some of them glowed brighter than others, their humanoid forms vaguely visible, as though their strength had allowed them to resist complete dissolution.

One, in particular, caught Wang Zi's attention, Alicia Frost's soul. Her faint light was flickering but unmistakable, drained and fed into the pyramid through the glowing tubes.

"Are they feeding something…?" Wang Zi narrowed his eyes, muttering under his breath.

The faint pulses of energy flowing downward caught his attention next. He followed them with his gaze, realizing something unsettling. The pyramid wasn't isolated, it was just the tip of something much larger, its base buried deep beneath the cavern floor.

"This isn't all of it," Wang Zi murmured to himself, his eyes scanning the surroundings.

"The rest of is underground huh."

His Rinnegan revealed even more detail, faint outlines of other souls trapped within the tubes, their light flickering as though barely clinging to existence. This wasn't just a graveyard; it was a factory, methodically harvesting energy from the dead.

His attention shifted to the central pedestal inside the pyramid's open chamber. At its heart rested a transparent orb, glowing faintly and pulsing like a heartbeat.

"So that's what its feeding. Hehehe..." Wang Zi smirked silently. Wasn't this just free food for his Rinnegan?

"It feels like… it's watching us." Bea shifted nervously while looking around.

Bea Might froze the moment her gaze fell on Alicia's glowing form. Her usually cheerful face twisted into shock, then despair.

"Alicia?" she whispered, her voice trembling. Without waiting for a second thought, she sprinted toward the nearest pod, where Alicia's form flickered weakly inside.

"Bea, wait!" Xian Mei's sharp voice called after her, but Bea ignored it.

Bea fell to her knees in front of the pod, her hands slamming against the transparent surface.

"Alicia! Hang on, I'll get you out!" Her voice broke with desperation as she clawed at the pod, fingers scraping uselessly against the smooth barrier.

Nothing.

No matter how hard she tried, her hands passed through the energy like mist. She could see Alicia's form now, could even make out her faintly glowing face, but she couldn't touch her.

"No… no, no, no!" Bea cried, tears pooling in her eyes.

Xian Mei reached her, placing a hand on Bea's shoulder.

"You can't help her like this. It's-"

"I have to try!" Bea screamed back, pounding the pod again. "She's right there, Xian Mei! I can see her!"

Wang Zi, standing a few steps back, narrowed his eyes as the faint pulse of energy from the central orb began to quicken.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

"How cliche. Suddenly rushing to save a friend only to trigger a trap that could wipe everyone out. Boring." Wang Zi's face didn't change at all, just waiting for what was to come.

He was also looking at how Bea's struggles amounted to nothing. He was surprised she could now see the souls, perhaps because of the high density of mana here... But touching them? That wasn't something you could do just because you wanted to.

His gaze suddenly turned back to the orb in the middle of the room, as the pulse turned into a low hum.

The tubes feeding into the orb glowed brighter, and a deep vibration shook the chamber. The pods flickered, their misty forms swirling unnaturally.

THUMP. THUMP.

The ground trembled.

"Bea, get back!" Wang Zi barked, his tone sharp.

A sound like tearing flesh echoed through the chamber as the walls began to bleed black liquid, oozing down and pooling onto the floor. The liquid bubbled and twisted unnaturally, rising into grotesque shapes.

They took humanoid form, beast form, a combination of everything and anything that the obelisk managed to attract to itself, dripping with viscous black sludge.

Their faces were featureless, save for faint, eerie glows where their eyes should be. Each of them moved with jerking, unnatural motions, the liquid of their bodies rippling and reshaping with every step.

"Its that annoying black goo huh. Tsk." Wang Zi said.

Wang Zi felt a slight vibration ripple through the ground while the creatures were forming, a low hum that seemed to reverberate through the walls.

Vrrrm.

It was faint but unmistakable. His eyes narrowed as he looked toward the entrance, it was vibrating.

When he noticed that he immediately turned to Bea.

"Banshō Ten'in!" Wang Zi's tone was sharp, pulling the hysterical girl away from Alicia's pod and into his arms.

"Let me go!" Bea cried, thrashing against him. Her tears streamed uncontrollably as her hands reached back toward Alicia, the flickering light of her soul visible through the transparent tubes.

"She's right there! I can save her!"

"You can't save shit!" Wang Zi snapped.

Bea froze at the ferocity in his voice.

The hum grew louder, and the vibrations became unmistakable, the pyramid was sealing itself.

"Fucking hell." Wang Zi's face darkened.

Without hesitation, he raised a hand, his Rinnegan flaring to life as the oppressive gravity of his ability began to swell.

"Shinra Tensei!"

A BOOM erupted as an invisible force blasted outward.

Bea and Xian Mei were both flung backward, soaring through the air with a startled cry.

The wave of repulsive energy tore through the sea of black goo creatures, splattering them against the walls as the force carried Bea and Xian Mei all the way to the entrance.

"Wang Zi!"

Xian Mei's voice echoed as she skidded across the ground, her wide eyes darting back toward him.

The door was already beginning to close.

With a final, shuddering groan, the massive stone doors slammed shut behind them, sealing Wang Zi inside.

Silence followed for a heartbeat, broken only by the faint hum of the pyramid's pulsing energy.

Alone now, Wang Zi straightened, brushing dust off his shoulders with an almost nonchalant air. A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Haaaah…" He let out a long sigh of relief.

"Finally, some peace and quiet."

His Rinnegan glowed as he surveyed the room. The faint souls still flickering inside their pods, strong souls, were like lamps in the darkness, calling to him.

The gray mist-like tendrils that fed into the orb at the center pulsed faintly as they drained the energy from the trapped souls.

"All of you… are about to become dinner." Wang Zi's smirk widened into a wicked grin. His voice was soft but laced with menace.

He stopped in front of Alicia's pod. Her form flickered, the gray tendrils sapping her energy relentlessly. Wang Zi's grin faltered.

"…Except you." He reached for the misty tendrils, his Rinnegan flaring with power.

With a deliberate pull, he tore the gray tendrils apart, the mist evaporating as though it had been burned away. Alicia's soul dimmed for a moment before stabilizing, no longer being drained.

"Hmm." Wang Zi hummed. His expression softened briefly, but only for a second. Then he turned back to the room, cracking his knuckles.

The silence of the chamber broke as the black goo creatures began to reform, their liquid bodies stitching themselves back together as they rose from the floor and walls.

Wang Zi's grin returned. "Oh? You're back already?"

"Shuradō!"

Mechanized appendages burst forth from his body, two additional arms unfurling from his back.

"Let's see what you're really made of," Wang Zi taunted.

The first goo creature lunged toward him, its elongated arms forming into scythe-like blades.

"Boom!"

A cluster of missiles fired from Wang Zi's mechanical arms, streaking across the room with a high-pitched screech. The explosives detonated upon impact, tearing through the creature and sending its black sludge splattering against the walls.

"Next!"

Another beast rose from the floor, this one sprouting multiple appendages at once. Wang Zi's extra arms flickered, bladed tendrils extending from them and whipping through the air. The mechanical blades sliced through the goo, carving it apart, but the pieces twitched and reformed almost instantly.

Wang Zi's grin faltered slightly. "Huh. You're persistent."

That's when he saw it, amidst the flickering goo and reconstituting creatures, a faint glow pulsed from within their bodies.

It was an orb, faintly transparent but unmistakable, similar to the one at the center of the room.

Wang Zi paused, momentarily stunned. Then he laughed... loudly.

"HAHAHA!"

"Are you kidding me?!" Wang Zi clutched his stomach, his laughter echoing off the stone walls.

"You mean you're made of SOULS?!"

The black creatures hissed and shrieked, converging on him as though insulted by his discovery.

Still laughing, Wang Zi straightened. His mechanical arms retracted slightly.

"Oh, you seem to be able to understand me somewhat?" He tilted his head.

"Then let me tell you something a wise man once said,

I'm not stuck in here with you, no.

You're stuck in here with me!"

He charged forward, his massive frame surprisingly fast, leaving deep footprints behind.

The creatures surged forward in waves, their gooey limbs elongating into deadly blades, spikes, and hammers.

The black sludge seemed endless, reshaping itself even as it was torn apart.

"Come on!" Wang Zi grinned wildly, teeth flashing.

A cluster of goo creatures lunged at him-

"Shinra Tensei!"

BOOM!

A massive repulsive force erupted from Wang Zi's body, blowing away a dozen creatures in an instant. The sheer shockwave flattened the room, cracks splintering across the walls as the creatures were launched backward, their goo splattering against the stone surfaces once again.

But they didn't stay down. Within moments, the black sludge began to twitch, reforming once again.

"I told you, that won't work anymore," Wang Zi muttered with mock annoyance, his Rinnegan narrowing in focus. The glow from the hidden orbs became visible once again, pulsing faintly inside their reforming bodies.

"Banshō Ten'in!"

Wang Zi raised a mechanical hand and extended his fingers. Instantly, the orbs were ripped free from the goo creatures, sucked into his gravitational pull with a metallic screech.

The glowing orbs shot toward him like comets, the black goo following close behind, trying to catch up but lacking in speed, while the orbs slammed into each of his four mechanical hands as they hovered helplessly in his grip.

"Time to feast!" Wang Zi declared, his eyes flaring.

"Ningendō!"

He activated the Human Path (Ningendō), his palms sinking into the floating orbs. The souls within screamed silently, their energy forcibly torn out.

The sensation was intoxicating.

Wang Zi's smile widened as raw soul energy poured into him. It was warm, electric, and invigorating.

His Rinnegan pulsed with newfound power, the eerie glow in his eyes growing brighter. He could feel it, the Rinnegan was attuning itself to him, its control becoming smoother, its powers sharper.

His mind buzzed with clarity as though a door had been opened to a deeper understanding of these god-like abilities.

The creatures roared, reforming again in the shadows, but Wang Zi just laughed.

"Hahaha! More!" he shouted, lunging forward.

"Come here!"

A wave of goo monsters converged from all sides. Wang Zi didn't stop.

WHIRR!

One of his mechanical arms transformed into a serrated buzzsaw, whirring violently as it cleaved through the first wave, slicing their gooey forms apart.

Another arm fired missiles into the backlines, creating explosions that tore through the chamber.

BOOM!

The remaining creatures tried to surround him, but Wang Zi was already one step ahead.

"Shinra Tensei!"

BOOM! Another massive shockwave rippled outward, scattering the creatures like debris in a storm.

"Banshō Ten'in!"

Before the sludge could reform, Wang Zi raised a hand again, and more orbs were ripped free, dragged toward him like moths to a flame.

He absorbed their souls one after another with the Human Path.

The sheer power invigorated him further. His body thrummed with vitality as though every fiber of his being was alive with energy.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Wang Zi's laughter echoed in the chamber, cold and genuine.

For all his enjoyment of anime, of games, and even his artistic pursuits, nothing compared to this, to the thrill of battle, the rush of strength, and the satisfaction of his enemies falling before him.

"This… this is what I live for." Wang Zi's grin was... a little maniacal.

Even as the creatures continued to swarm, Wang Zi's mechanical arms moved relentlessly. His body was a whirlwind of destruction, his Rinnegan blazing with power.

After what felt like an eternity, the chamber finally fell silent. The last of the goo creatures' orbs floated toward Wang Zi, where he crushed them and absorbed their lingering souls.

Wang Zi let out a slow exhale, his grin fading into a look of pure satisfaction. He stood in the center of the room, surrounded by the cracked remains of goo creatures and the lingering glow of fading orbs.

His Rinnegan shimmered, now calm and steady, as though it had finally settled into its true form.

"Finally getting the hang of it," Wang Zi muttered, glancing upward as though speaking to his eyes. He flexed his hands, feeling the power coursing through him.