The gates groaned open with the wails of a thousand tortured souls, and an oppressive darkness spilled out like liquid ink, soaking the air with a pressure that pressed on their bones. Asura took the first step forward, his eyes scanning the ruined streets of Demonfang's capital. Cracked stone roads coiled like serpent spines between towering structures carved from obsidian and bone. The buildings seemed to breathe, some pulsating faintly as if alive, whispering to one another in forgotten demonic tongues.
The sky was veiled in an unending dusk, with a deep crimson mist flowing lazily through the streets like the sigh of a dying god. Asura didn't flinch. His sword remained sheathed at his hip, but his senses were sharper than ever. Every twitch of shadow, every breeze that felt colder than it should have, passed through him like a signal. His companions followed closely behind, each of them silent, as if speaking would awaken something they weren't ready to face.
Lira moved next to him, her hand glowing faintly with divine frost, a thin layer of ice trailing from her fingers. "Something is watching," she whispered.
"I know," Asura replied calmly. "But it's not hostile. At least, not yet."
Xian kept his back to them, eyes scanning every rooftop. "This place is cursed. That Guardian was only the first test. Whatever rules this city doesn't just want to kill us—it wants to break us first."
Asura agreed silently.
Then, from the shadow of an alleyway, a faint cry echoed. Soft. Fragile. Human.
It stopped them all.
A child?
Asura moved toward the sound, ignoring the cautious voices behind him. His instincts should have warned him to stay back—but something about the voice… it didn't feel like a trap.
He turned a corner.
There, in the center of a ruined courtyard, stood a young girl. No more than twelve years old. Pale skin, long silver hair cascading down her back, and eyes—impossibly large, glowing with a soft violet hue. She wore a black robe stitched with golden runes that shimmered faintly with divine energy. Her bare feet stood on bloodstained stone, yet she seemed untouched by the filth around her.
She looked up at him.
"You're late," she said softly.
Asura blinked. "What?"
She tilted her head. "He said you'd come. The one who killed the Guardian of the Gate. The boy who walks like a mortal but carries the weight of a thousand stars in his soul."
Xian stepped in behind him, glaive drawn. "Step away from her. It's a trick."
The girl smiled—sadly.
"No trick. No illusion. I was waiting for you."
Asura narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
"I'm Aravae," she replied gently. "Daughter of the Demon King. And possibly… your ally."
Lira's steps faltered. "Daughter of Vraxxion? The devourer of gods? You're his daughter?"
"Yes," Aravae said simply. "But I'm not like him. I was born of his blood, but not his will. I don't share his hatred… only his burden."
Asura studied her closely. There was no aura of malice in her. No darkness swirling around her heart. And yet… the moment his Supreme Martial Eyes activated, he saw it.
A cage.
A seal.
She was shackled from the inside out. Her soul wasn't just imprisoned—it was split. One part human, one part… something else. Something older.
"You're being controlled," he said.
The girl nodded slowly. "Every sunrise, he tries to awaken the part of me that belongs to him. The monster. But every time, I suppress it. I'm still me. For now."
Asura exhaled. "Why wait here for us?"
"Because you'll need me to reach him." Her voice turned colder. "There are nine guardians. You defeated the weakest. The next ones will not fall to strength alone. The further you go, the more twisted the path becomes. This capital is a living trial. He made it that way. For you."
"Me?" Asura asked.
"He foresaw your arrival. He doesn't fear humans. He doesn't fear gods. But he fears you."
Lira looked at Asura, then back to the girl. "Why?"
"Because he saw your path leads beyond gods. Because you carry something he tried to erase from the world." She looked at his chest. "You bear the core that shouldn't exist."
Asura didn't respond.
The girl stepped forward, slowly, holding out a small glowing charm—an obsidian pendant shaped like a crescent moon.
"Take it. It will allow you to pass through the next district. Without it, the next Guardian will erase your existence the moment you cross the line."
Asura reached out, fingers brushing hers as he accepted the charm.
A jolt passed through him.
A fragment of a memory that wasn't his flashed before his eyes—a child crying in a throne room of shadows, a monstrous hand reaching down, a voice whispering, "You are my salvation and my curse, little one."
He gasped and staggered back.
"You saw it, didn't you?" Aravae said gently. "A piece of my beginning."
Asura steadied himself. "How long do you have?"
She paused. "Before I lose control? A week. Maybe less. If you don't reach the Core Tower before then, I won't be able to help you again."
"What happens if you lose control?" Xian asked.
Her eyes dimmed. "I become the Tenth Guardian. And I'll kill you."
Asura's jaw tightened.
"Then we don't waste time," he said. "Guide us."
Aravae smiled faintly, her eyes glassy.
"Thank you. For believing… even a little."
As they moved forward into the city of curses, the girl with violet eyes walked silently at Asura's side. She seemed delicate, but he could feel it now—beneath that small frame lay a storm sealed behind a thousand walls.
And if those walls ever broke…
Not even Asura was sure he could stop what would emerge.
The path to Vraxxion had truly begun.
And the darkness was only getting deeper.
End of Chapter 98