Jin stared at the crimson notifications floating in his vision, his hand unconsciously tightening around Elena's communication crystal. The warmth from the small pendant felt reassuring against his palm, but it couldn't chase away the chill that had nothing to do with his recent trip to the Ice Phoenix Sect.
"The Shadow Deliverer," he said slowly, testing the words. They felt heavy on his tongue, like speaking them might summon something dangerous. "Who is that exactly?"
Yuki closed her book with a soft sound that somehow carried weight. When she looked at him, her usually playful expression had turned serious in a way that made Jin's stomach clench.
"Someone like you," she said quietly. "Or rather, someone you could become if you make the wrong choices."
Before Jin could ask what that meant, his phone buzzed again. This time, the notification was different—not the usual system blue, but a sickly yellow that made his eyes water.
DELIVERY ROUTE COMPROMISED!
Shadow interference detected on Cultivation Earth #32
Mission parameters have changed
New objective: Survive and complete delivery despite sabotage
Failure penalty: PERMANENT RECYCLING
Accept modified mission? Y/N
Warning: Refusing this mission will result in immediate termination
"That's new," Jin muttered, but his finger was already moving toward the 'Y' before he consciously decided. Something about the phrasing made it clear this wasn't really a choice.
Yuki was suddenly beside him, moving faster than human eyes could follow. She grabbed his wrist before he could confirm the mission.
"Wait," she said urgently. "Jin, this is a trap. The Shadow Deliverer has corrupted your next delivery. He's trying to get you killed."
"Then I won't go." Jin tried to pull his hand back, but Yuki's grip was like trying to escape from steel cables wrapped in silk.
"You don't understand. The system won't let you refuse now. If you don't accept, you'll be 'recycled'—broken down into component parts and rebuilt as a system drone. But if you do accept..." She trailed off, her expression troubled.
"If I do accept, what?"
"Then you'll face whatever trap he's set for you. And the Shadow Deliverer doesn't play fair. He cheats, he corrupts the worlds you visit, he turns your delivery targets against you. People have died, Jin. Good people who just wanted to help."
Jin looked at the notification, then at Yuki's worried face, then at the crystal in his other hand. Elena's words echoed in his memory: If you ever need help... it will find me across any distance, any dimension.
"What if I don't go alone?"
Yuki blinked. "What?"
"Can the communication crystal work across delivery missions? Can Elena help me even if she's in a different world?"
A slow smile spread across Yuki's face, and Jin caught a glimpse of something that might have been pride.
"Jin Woo," she said softly, "that's either brilliant or completely insane."
"Can it work?"
"Theoretically? Yes. Communication crystals can pierce dimensional barriers if the connection is strong enough. But Elena would have to choose to help you, and she'd be risking her own safety by sending power across dimensions during her cultivation breakthrough."
Jin thought about the loneliness he'd seen in Elena's eyes, the way she'd looked at him like he was something precious. The way she'd thanked him for seeing her as a person.
"She'll help," he said with more confidence than he felt. "The question is, will the system let me bring outside assistance?"
Yuki's expression turned thoughtful. "The system has rules, but it also values results. If you can complete the delivery despite the sabotage, it might overlook the methods you use. Especially if..." She paused, looking at him with an unreadable expression.
"Especially if what?"
"Especially if it's testing you for something bigger."
Before Jin could ask what she meant, his phone's screen flashed red.
DECISION REQUIRED!
Accept modified mission in 30 seconds or face immediate recycling
29... 28... 27...
"I have to go," Jin said, and pressed 'Y' before he could lose his nerve.
The world dissolved around him, but this time something was wrong. Instead of the smooth transition he'd experienced before, reality tore apart like wet paper. Colors bled into each other, sounds became tastes, and Jin felt like he was being stretched across an infinite distance while simultaneously compressed into a single point.
When the chaos finally stopped, Jin found himself lying face-down on what felt like hot sand. Every muscle in his body ached like he'd been hit by a truck, and his mouth tasted like copper and burned electronics.
He pushed himself up slowly, blinking away tears caused by the dimensional trauma. The world around him swam into focus, and Jin's first thought was that he'd definitely not landed where he was supposed to.
Instead of the Fire Cult Sect's mountain temple complex that his briefing had described, Jin found himself in what looked like a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The sky was the color of dried blood, lit by two suns that hung at impossible angles. The ground was cracked red earth dotted with the twisted remains of buildings that looked like they'd been melted rather than destroyed.
And everywhere, absolutely everywhere, there was ash falling like gray snow.
[Environmental Analysis: CRITICAL DANGER]
[Radiation Levels: Extreme]
[Spiritual Corruption: 95%]
[Air Quality: Toxic to baseline humans]
[Recommendation: EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY]
"Well," Jin said to himself, "this is definitely not where I was supposed to be."
His phone screen was flickering with error messages, but through the static he could make out fragments of text:
DELIVERY TARGET: Master Tanwoo - STATUS: CORRUPTED
WORLD STATE: COMPROMISED BY SHADOW INFLUENCE
MISSION OBJECTIVE: Deliver package before total world collapse
TIME LIMIT: 47 minutes
FAILURE PENALTY: [ERROR - DATA CORRUPTED]
Jin struggled to his feet, package clutched against his chest. The leather wrapping was warm to the touch, almost hot, and it pulsed with a rhythm that felt like a heartbeat made of fire.
"Elena," he said quietly, pulling out the communication crystal. "I really hope this works."
The crystal flickered to life, and suddenly Elena's voice was in his head, clear as if she were standing next to him.
Jin? What's wrong? Your distress is so strong it cut through my cultivation breakthrough.
"I'm in trouble," Jin said, looking around at the devastated landscape. "The Shadow Deliverer corrupted my delivery. I'm supposed to find Master Tanwoo in what looks like the aftermath of a nuclear war."
Describe your surroundings.
Jin gave her a quick rundown of the wasteland, the toxic air, the falling ash. As he spoke, he began walking toward what looked like it might have once been a city, following a road made of glass that crunched under his feet.
Jin, listen to me carefully. What you're describing sounds like a world that's been corrupted by shadow qi. It's a technique the ancient demons used—they would poison the spiritual energy of entire realms, turning paradise into hell.
"That's... concerning. How do I fix it?"
You can't. Not directly. But the package you're carrying—can you describe it?
Jin looked down at the leather-wrapped item. Under his analysis ability, he could see threads of power flowing through it like golden veins.
"It's warm, pulsing like a heartbeat. My ability shows it's got some kind of fire energy in it."
That's probably a Phoenix Heart Elixir or something similar. Fire energy is one of the few things that can cleanse shadow corruption. But Jin...
Elena's mental voice carried worry that made his chest tight.
If Master Tanwoo has been corrupted by shadow qi, he won't be the same person anymore. Corrupted cultivators become something else—violent, unpredictable, driven by dark impulses. He might try to kill you the moment he sees you.
"Great. Any advice on how to not die?"
I'm going to share some of my ice qi with you through the crystal. It won't make you a cultivator, but it should protect you from the worst of the corruption and give you some defensive abilities. But Jin, this is going to hurt.
"How much hurt are we talking about?"
Remember how it felt when you first arrived in my world and the cold nearly killed you? This will be worse.
Before Jin could object, power flooded through the communication crystal like liquid lightning. Ice qi poured into his body, and Jin's scream echoed across the wasteland as his nervous system tried to process energy it was never designed to handle.
It felt like being flash-frozen from the inside out. Every cell in his body crystallized and shattered and reformed in the space of a heartbeat. His bones became ice, his blood became frost, his breath became winter itself.
But when the agony finally faded, Jin felt different. Stronger. The toxic air no longer burned his lungs, and the falling ash seemed to slide off him without sticking. When he looked at his hands, he could see faint patterns of frost moving under his skin like living tattoos.
[New Ability Acquired: ICE QI INFUSION - TEMPORARY]
[Cold Immunity: ABSOLUTE]
[Shadow Corruption Resistance: HIGH]
[Physical Enhancement: +200% to all stats]
[Duration: 2 hours]
[Warning: Ability granted by external source - may have unexpected side effects]
Better? Elena's mental voice was strained, and Jin could feel her exhaustion through the crystal.
"Much better. Thank you. But are you okay? That felt like it took a lot out of you."
I'm fine. Though I may have just set back my cultivation breakthrough by several months.* There was no regret in her mental voice, which made Jin's chest warm in a way that had nothing to do with qi. *Now go. Find Master Tanwoo before the corruption spreads further. And Jin?
"Yeah?"
Be careful. Shadow corruption doesn't just change people—it reveals their worst impulses and amplifies them. Whatever Master Tanwoo was like before, he'll be a twisted reflection of that now.
The communication crystal went quiet, leaving Jin alone in the wasteland with Elena's ice qi flowing through his veins like liquid courage.
He followed the glass road toward the ruins of the city, his enhanced senses picking up details he'd missed before. The twisted buildings weren't random—they'd been deliberately shaped into symbols that hurt to look at directly. The ash wasn't natural either; it was the remains of spiritual energy that had been corrupted and burned away.
And somewhere in the distance, Jin could hear laughter.
It wasn't the kind of laughter that suggested humor. It was the kind that suggested madness, cruelty, and things that enjoyed other people's pain.
Jin picked up his pace.
The city ruins were worse up close. What had once been a thriving cultivation sect had been transformed into something from a nightmare. Buildings twisted into impossible shapes, their surfaces covered in symbols that seemed to move when Jin wasn't looking directly at them. Gardens that had probably once been beautiful were now filled with plants that looked like they were made of crystallized screams.
And in the center of it all, surrounded by a ring of fire that burned black instead of red, stood what had once been the Fire Cult Sect's main temple.
The building looked like it had been turned inside-out. Stairs led to nowhere, doorways opened onto walls, and the roof grew downward into the ground like roots. But the worst part was the sound coming from inside—a rhythmic chanting in a language that made Jin's teeth ache.
This is definitely the place, Jin thought, clutching the package tighter. Now I just have to find Master Tanwoo and somehow convince him to accept a delivery without getting myself killed.
He approached the ring of black fire cautiously, Elena's ice qi creating a barrier of cold around him that made the flames hiss and retreat. When he stepped through the ring, the world on the other side was different—quieter, more focused, like stepping into the eye of a hurricane.
The inside of the inverted temple was even more disorienting than the outside. Jin found himself walking on what had once been the ceiling, with furniture and decorations hanging above his head like some kind of surreal art installation. The chanting was louder here, echoing from deeper in the building.
Following the sound, Jin made his way through corridors that bent in directions that shouldn't exist, past rooms where the laws of physics seemed to be more like suggestions. Finally, he reached what had once been the temple's main hall.
Master Tanwoo was there, but he was nothing like what Jin had been expecting.
The briefing had described him as a middle-aged fire cultivator, respected teacher, known for his calm wisdom and dedication to his students. The thing sitting in the center of the hall was still recognizably human, but only just.
Master Tanwoo's skin had turned the color of charcoal, with veins of molten gold running through it like cracks in volcanic rock. His hair had become literal flame, flickering and dancing with every movement. His eyes were pools of liquid fire that tracked Jin's movement with predatory intelligence.
But the worst part was his smile. It was too wide, showing too many teeth, and it never wavered even as he continued his rhythmic chanting in that tooth-ache language.
[Master Tanwoo - Level: ??? - CORRUPTED]
[Threat Level: EXTREME]
[Corruption Status: 97%]
[Mental State: INSANE]
[Special Note: Approach with extreme caution]
The chanting stopped abruptly, and Master Tanwoo's burning gaze fixed on Jin.
"Well, well, well," the corrupted master said, his voice like the sound of bones breaking in a fire. "What have we here? A little delivery boy, all alone in the big scary wasteland?"
Jin swallowed hard but forced himself to step forward. "Master Tanwoo? I have a delivery for you."
Master Tanwoo's too-wide smile grew even wider. "A delivery! How delightful! And what could you possibly be delivering to me in my moment of glorious transformation?"
"This package," Jin said, holding up the leather-wrapped item. "I don't know what's inside, but I was told it was meant for you."
The moment Master Tanwoo's eyes fell on the package, his expression changed. The mad smile faltered, and for just a moment, Jin caught a glimpse of the man he had once been—confused, frightened, struggling against something that was consuming him from the inside.
"No," Master Tanwoo whispered, and his voice was suddenly human again. "No, you can't... he said no one would come. He said I was forgotten. He said..."
Then the corruption reasserted itself, and the mad smile returned with doubled intensity.
"He lied to you, little delivery boy!" Master Tanwoo laughed, rising to his feet with movements that were too fluid, too graceful for human joints. "The Shadow Deliverer promised me power, promised me that I would never be weak again! And all I had to do was give up my pathetic human limitations!"
"The Shadow Deliverer was here?" Jin asked, even as he prepared to run.
"Oh yes! He showed me such wonderful things! He showed me what I could become if I stopped clinging to mercy, to compassion, to all those weak human emotions that held me back!" Master Tanwoo began walking toward Jin, each step leaving footprints of molten glass in the stone floor. "And now you come here with a cure I no longer want!"
Jin's analysis ability was screaming warnings at him, but he forced himself to stand his ground. "Master Tanwoo, please. I know this isn't who you really are. The corruption is making you think these things, but—"
"SILENCE!"
Master Tanwoo's roar shook the entire building, and Jin felt the temperature in the room spike to nearly unbearable levels. Only Elena's ice qi protection kept him from being cooked alive.
"You know nothing about me, little boy! Nothing about the years I spent being overlooked, being passed over for promotion, being treated like a failure by students half my age!" Flames began to dance around Master Tanwoo's hands, but they were the wrong color—black edged with sickly green. "The Shadow Deliverer showed me the truth! Power is the only thing that matters! Everything else is just weakness waiting to be burned away!"
Master Tanwoo lunged forward with inhuman speed, claws of crystallized flame extending from his fingertips. Jin threw himself to the side, feeling the heat of the attack singe the air where he'd been standing.
"You can't run forever, delivery boy!" Master Tanwoo laughed, his voice echoing strangely in the inverted hall. "And when I catch you, I'm going to show you what real fire can do! I'm going to burn away everything soft and weak about you until only strength remains!"
Jin rolled behind a pillar, his mind racing. The package in his hands was pulsing faster now, as if responding to the presence of so much corrupted fire energy. Through the communication crystal, he could feel Elena's concern like a warm presence in the back of his mind.
Jin, what's happening? I can sense you're in combat.
Master Tanwoo is completely corrupted, Jin thought back. He's trying to kill me, and I don't think talking is going to work.
Then you need to force him to accept the delivery. The package—can you describe the energy patterns you're seeing?
Jin risked a glance at the package while Master Tanwoo's flames turned the pillar he was hiding behind into slag.
Golden veins, pulsing like a heartbeat, getting faster when he gets closer.
That's definitely a Phoenix Heart Elixir. It's designed to burn away corruption and restore someone's original spiritual state. But he has to consume it willingly, or it won't work.
How do I get a crazy fire demon to willingly drink something that will cure his craziness?
You make him remember who he used to be.
Another blast of black flame turned Jin's hiding spot into molten metal. He dove behind another pillar, closer to where Master Tanwoo was standing.
"Come out, little delivery boy!" Master Tanwoo called. "Let's finish this dance! Let me show you what true power looks like!"
Jin took a deep breath, Elena's ice qi flowing through him like liquid courage. Then he stepped out from behind the pillar, package held high.
"You want to know what true power looks like?" Jin called out. "It looks like a teacher who dedicated his life to helping his students grow. It looks like someone who chose compassion over cruelty, even when it would have been easier to be selfish."
Master Tanwoo paused, confusion flickering across his corrupted features.
"The Shadow Deliverer told you that mercy was weakness," Jin continued, walking forward slowly. "But he lied. Do you know what real weakness is? It's giving up who you are because someone else told you it wasn't good enough."
"Shut up!" Master Tanwoo snarled, but his flames flickered uncertainly.
"Your students remembered you," Jin said, pulling information from his briefing files and hoping it was accurate. "Even after the corruption started, they talked about Master Tanwoo who stayed late to help struggling students. Master Tanwoo who used his own money to buy supplies for students who couldn't afford them. Master Tanwoo who never gave up on anyone, no matter how many times they failed."
"LIES!" But Master Tanwoo's voice cracked, and Jin saw tears of liquid fire running down his charcoal-colored cheeks.
"The Shadow Deliverer showed you power," Jin said, now close enough to see the war being fought behind Master Tanwoo's burning eyes. "But I'm showing you who you really are. And I'm offering you a choice."
Jin held up the package, its golden glow clearly visible through the leather wrapping.
"Phoenix Heart Elixir," he said. "It will burn away the corruption, let you remember who you were before the Shadow Deliverer poisoned your mind. But you have to choose it. You have to want to be Master Tanwoo again instead of this thing the shadows turned you into."
Master Tanwoo stared at the package, his whole body shaking. The flames around him flickered between black corruption and the pure red-gold of natural fire.
"I... I hurt my students," he whispered. "When the corruption first took hold, I lashed out at them. I called them weak, worthless. I made them cry."
"They forgave you," Jin said softly. "They knew it wasn't really you. They're hoping you come back."
"They... they really said that?"
Jin nodded, even though he had no idea if it was true. But it felt true, and sometimes feeling was more important than facts.
Master Tanwoo reached out with a trembling hand, his claws slowly retracting back into normal fingernails. The moment his skin touched the leather wrapping, the package burst into flames—but these were good flames, pure and clean and warm.
The corruption began to burn away like paper in a bonfire. Master Tanwoo screamed, but it was the scream of someone in healing pain, not agony. The charcoal color faded from his skin, the molten gold veins became human blood vessels again, and his hair stopped being literal fire and became normal human hair with a few distinguished streaks of silver.
When the transformation was complete, Master Tanwoo collapsed to his knees, fully human again but looking like he'd aged ten years in ten seconds.
"I remember," he whispered, looking at his normal human hands like they were miracles. "I remember who I was. What I wanted to be."
He looked up at Jin with eyes that were brown and kind and utterly human.
"Thank you," he said simply. "Thank you for not giving up on me."
DELIVERY COMPLETE!
Payment Received: $3,500.00
Corruption Cleansing Bonus: $1,000.00
Shadow Resistance Bonus: $750.00
New Ability Unlocked: [PURIFICATION TOUCH - CAN CLEANSE MINOR CORRUPTION]
New Ability Unlocked: [ENHANCED EMPATHY - BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF TARGET EMOTIONAL STATES]
Special Achievement: Saved a Soul from Shadow Corruption
Reward: +2000 Reputation with Fire Cult Sect
Reward: +500 Reputation with Phoenix Alliance
Warning: Shadow Deliverer has marked you as a priority target
As the notifications faded, the world around them began to change. The inverted temple slowly righted itself, the corrupted decorations faded back to their original beauty, and through the windows Jin could see the wasteland transforming back into the mountain paradise it had once been.
"The world is healing," Master Tanwoo said in wonder. "Your delivery didn't just save me—it saved everything."
But Jin was reading the final warning with growing unease. Priority target.
His phone buzzed with an incoming message, but this one wasn't from the system. It was from an unknown number, and the text made his blood run cold:
Impressive work, delivery boy. You cost me a perfectly good corrupted world. I suppose I'll have to deal with you personally now. Don't worry—I'll make sure to corrupt everything you care about first. Starting with that ice princess who gave you her power. - S.D.
Through the communication crystal, Jin felt Elena's sudden spike of alarm.
Jin! Someone's trying to breach my world's dimensional barriers! The attack is focused on—
The connection cut off abruptly.
Jin stared at his phone, Master Tanwoo's gratitude fading to background noise as cold rage filled his chest. The Shadow Deliverer wasn't just threatening him anymore.
He was going after Elena.
"Master Tanwoo," Jin said, his voice deadly calm. "I need to go. Right now."
"Of course. But young man, before you leave—take this." Master Tanwoo pulled off a ring that glowed with inner fire. "Phoenix protection ring. It will shield you from shadow corruption and boost your fire resistance. And if you ever need an ally in your fight against the shadows..."
He smiled, and it was the warm smile of a teacher who genuinely cared about his students.
"The Fire Cult Sect remembers its debts."
Jin slipped the ring onto his finger, feeling its protective warmth settle into his bones. But his mind was already focused on getting back to Elena, on making sure she was safe, on showing the Shadow Deliverer what happened to people who threatened the ones he cared about.
As the dimensional gateway opened to take him home, Jin caught a glimpse of something in the shadows at the edge of his vision. A figure watching him with glowing eyes, smiling a smile that was too wide and too cruel.
The Shadow Deliverer. And he was closer than Jin had realized.
I'm coming, Elena, Jin thought as reality dissolved around him. Hold on. I'm coming
But as he fell through the spaces between worlds, Jin couldn't shake the feeling that he was already too late.
---
END OF CHAPTER 3
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