Chapter 11 – Ashes of the Old King
The Scorched Wastes stretched like a graveyard beneath a sky painted blood-orange by the setting sun. Once a thriving kingdom, now reduced to endless dunes of blackened glass and ash, it bore the silence of forgotten tragedies. Twisted remnants of ancient towers jutted from the earth like broken ribs. No birds. No breeze. Just the haunting echo of things long buried.
Aayu tightened his cloak against the biting wind, every step leaving a crunch beneath his boots. Mara followed behind, eyes constantly scanning, twin daggers strapped across her back. Their journey from Velaria had taken days, with little rest and fewer answers.
"The Old King fell here," she said quietly, as if the land itself might hear. "A tyrant who opened his gates to the Demon Kings in exchange for immortality. When he failed… the first seal was made from his bones."
Aayu said nothing, but he could feel it. Magic here wasn't just heavy—it was rotten. His Echo Sense pinged with every step, picking up faint tremors beneath the surface, like something breathing far below.
As they passed a half-collapsed archway carved with runes, Aayu's status window flickered.
> [Environmental Status: Cursed Zone – Tier 2]
Warning: Passive corruption accumulation active.
Time Remaining Before Effects: 6 hours
Recommended Buff: Cleanse or Ward Enchantment
He frowned. "This place eats at us."
Mara nodded grimly. "Only the Tower's elite come here for research. Even they don't stay long. Whatever sleeps beneath us… it remembers."
But Aayu wasn't afraid.
He was calculating.
Corruption was a clock. So was the Demon King's awakening. Every second was a trade—between safety and strength, risk and reward. And he had Store Points.
> [SP: 570]
Unlock Progress: 76%
He opened the Shop.
The interface rippled like a pool disturbed by wind. New options now blinked to life, thanks to his rising level and completed missions.
Lesser Corruption Ward – 40 SP
Resistance: Mind Tampering – 60 SP
Trait: Demonbane Aura (Passive, Lv.1) – 200 SP
Skill: Temporal Edge (Rare, Lv.1) – 300 SP
His fingers hovered over the last one.
Temporal Edge – Bend perception slightly, allowing faster reaction time in combat for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes.
He bought it.
> [Skill Acquired: Temporal Edge (Lv.1)]
[SP Remaining: 270]
Then he added the Corruption Ward and Mind Tampering Resistance. Not flashy, but essential.
> [SP Remaining: 170]
His body lightened instantly, like an invisible weight had lifted from his skin.
Mara raised an eyebrow. "Feel better?"
"Safer," he replied. "But this place isn't just cursed. It's watched."
They descended into the crater of an ancient battlefield—charred bones, shattered blades, and sigils scorched into the ground.
At the center stood a throne of obsidian, melted into the earth.
And on it… a figure.
Draped in cracked armor and rotted regal robes, its face was hidden behind a helm of rust and shadow. But its voice rang clear.
"I smell the System."
Mara instinctively reached for her blades.
The figure rose.
"You are late, little heir," it rasped. "I held this seal for seven hundred years. I forget the taste of time. But I remember pain."
Aayu narrowed his eyes. "You're not a Demon King."
"No," the thing said, stepping forward. "I am a fragment. A warden. Bound to protect the seal you now seek to break."
"I'm not here to break anything," Aayu said. "I'm here to prevent it."
"Then you must earn the seal. In blood."
A system window popped open.
> [Boss Battle Initiated: The Forgotten Warden – Level 18]
Threat Level: High
Victory Reward: Seal of the First Key – Fragment | SP Bonus: +300 | Trait Unlock
Aayu didn't hesitate.
He whispered, "Shadow Veil."
Darkness wrapped around him like a second skin as he vanished from view. Mara darted left, striking with pinpoint daggers. The Warden's blade met her steel, sparks flying.
Aayu reappeared behind him, activating Temporal Edge. Time slowed.
He drove his blade forward—straight into the Warden's side.
The Warden howled. Not in pain. In laughter.
"I was made from the bones of kings and demons alike. You think I can bleed?"
"Everything bleeds," Aayu replied coldly. "Even history."
The battle stretched like a song of steel and will. Aayu dodged crushing blows, his new skill giving him the edge in every close moment. But the Warden was relentless, conjuring ashstorms and spectral chains.
At one point, Aayu was pinned, blade inches from his throat.
But Mara intervened, her dagger piercing the Warden's joint at the perfect angle. It gave Aayu the opening he needed.
He leapt—aiming for the exposed spine.
"Echo Strike!"
His blade hummed, and for a moment, it was as if sound itself cut through the world.
The Warden shattered.
Not just physically—but spiritually. Dust. Armor. Crown. All crumbled.
Then silence.
> [Victory Achieved: Forgotten Warden Defeated]
[SP Earned: +300]
[Item Obtained: Fragment of the First Seal]
[Trait Unlocked: Unshaken Will (Passive)]
He collapsed to one knee, breathing hard. Mara sat across from him, blood on her arm but smiling faintly.
"That was one."
Aayu opened his status again.
> [SP: 470]
[Unlock Progress: 94%]
So close.
Mara spoke quietly, "If that was just a fragment… what happens when the real Demon Kings wake?"
Aayu stood, voice steady.
"We get stronger. Smarter. Meaner."
He looked eastward again. Always east. Always forward.
"There are eleven left."