The darkness inside the Soul Labyrinth was not an ordinary absence of light. It was a living darkness, one that breathed, that pressed down on consciousness like water filling the lungs of a drowning man. Every step I took echoed unnaturally, as if the stone floor beneath me was a thin membrane covering a bottomless abyss.
My "Seed" reacted to this environment in a way I had never felt before. It was not just wary or hungry—it felt at home. The vibrations emanating from it were a mixture of terrifying comfort and dark anticipation. This place, I realized with a creeping dread down my spine, was the birthplace of its kind. This was the womb of all Dark Seeds.
The voices in my head exploded into chaos at once—the thousands of souls I had absorbed all reacting simultaneously to the dense spiritual energy in the air. Some screamed in terror, recognizing this place as the location of their final death. Others whispered in tones of horror about legends they had heard. And Liang Jie, his voice the clearest in the crowd, growled with burning anger.
"This damned place," he hissed, his memories flooding my consciousness. "I almost died here during my rebellion. In the depths of this Labyrinth, there is something even the Elders fear to approach. A space they call the Parasite's Heart—where the Buried One truly resides."
I swallowed, my mouth dry as dust. The Fragment of the Primordial Core in my pocket felt increasingly heavy, as if the gravity around it had multiplied. If this Labyrinth was truly the native habitat of the Buried One, then bringing a piece of its core here was like bringing a drop of fresh blood into a nest of starving sharks.
The scream came again, this time closer—a shriek that was abruptly cut off, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the floor. One of the Chosen Disciples was already dead, or worse, had become part of the Labyrinth.
I had to move. Standing still here was suicide.
Focusing completely, I let my "Seed" stretch its awareness, using its primordial connection to this place to sense the flow of energy. As I suspected, this Labyrinth was not merely a physical structure—it was a giant, living spiritual formation, with energy pathways flowing like blood vessels. And within those vessels, I could feel a "pulse"—a slow, rhythmic beat from a profound depth far below.
The Parasite's Heart. The Buried One was sleeping, but its sleep was not deep. It could feel all of us—ten little mice scurrying around in its cage.
"We must find a Seal Fragment before the others," the strategist's voice whispered in my head. "But which one is real? Yan has surely planted traps."
That was the right question. Yan was too cunning to give a straightforward test. The five Seal Fragments he mentioned were undoubtedly designed to test more than just survival skills—he wanted to see how we reacted under pressure, how we chose between cooperation and betrayal, and most importantly, who among us had the strongest predatory instincts.
I decided to follow the pulse of the energy—not towards its center, which would be too dangerous, but along one of the smaller tributary vessels. My intuition, amplified by the collective experience of thousands of souls, told me that the Seal Fragments would be placed at key junctions of the energy flow—places dangerous enough to be a test, but not so lethal that no one could survive.
The corridor I took gradually narrowed, its walls changing from carved stone to something more organic—like giant bones forming ribs. The air grew heavier, filled with a sweet, rotten stench that reminded me of the Lower Chamber. But this was older, more concentrated.
Suddenly, my "Seed" sent a sharp warning. I stopped just before my foot stepped on what appeared to be ordinary floor. Focusing my spiritually-enhanced vision, I saw that the floor ahead was actually a thin illusion—beneath it was a pit filled with bone needles emitting thick negative energy.
The first trap. I jumped over it carefully, using a small projection on the wall as a foothold.
The sound of footsteps echoed from behind me—fast, not cautious. I turned and saw the shadow of someone running in the dark. Before I could warn them, they stepped on the illusory floor.
A piercing scream echoed as their body fell into the pit. The sound of bones piercing flesh, followed by a sucking of energy—the trap didn't just kill physically; it also drained the victim's soul to feed the Labyrinth.
I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling a wave of sadness from the souls within me. Nine remained now. Including me.
"There can be no mercy," Liang Jie hissed. "In a place like this, kindness is a fatal weakness."
I knew he was right, but a small part of me that was still Wa Lang from Earth rebelled against that cold calculation. How much of my humanity would I have to lose before I was no better than Yan?
The question hung unanswered as I pressed on.
The corridor finally opened into a larger circular chamber. In its center stood a black crystal pillar emitting a pale purple light. And attached to the top of the pillar, protected by a swirling layer of energy, was a Seal Fragment—a metallic token carved with the Clan's symbol, glowing faintly.
Too easy.
Instincts honed by the experience of thousands of deaths screamed a warning. This was bait. But bait for what?
I circled the pillar, observing from a safe distance. My "Seed" analyzed the pattern of the protective energy, and after a moment, it told me something horrifying: the protective layer wasn't to guard the Fragment—it was to keep something in.
In other words, anyone who took the Fragment would release whatever was imprisoned inside the pillar.
"A classic trap," murmured the trap expert in my head—an absorbed thief. "But why would they bother? Unless..."
Unless Yan wanted to see who was foolish enough to fall for an obvious trap, and who was clever enough to avoid it. This was a test of intelligence, not strength.
I decided to leave the Fragment. But before I could turn away, a voice echoed from the shadows on the other side of the room.
"Stone-Eater. I knew you would come here."
Jiao stepped out, his large body blocking the only exit I could see. His red eyes shone in the darkness, and the aura of his Seed, strengthened by murder, made the air around him vibrate. In his dirty hand, he held a Seal Fragment—real or fake, I couldn't be sure.
"Got one already?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
"Maybe," he answered with an unpleasant smile. "Or maybe I was just waiting for my prey to arrive." He stepped closer, every movement dripping with clear murderous intent. "You know what the Instructors told me yesterday? They said a Seed that absorbs another Seed evolves exponentially. And your Seed, Stone-Eater, is the most evolved among us all."
So that was his plan. He wasn't here to hunt Seal Fragments—he was here to hunt me. To absorb my "Seed" and become the strongest.
"I don't want to fight you, Jiao," I said, and that was partly true. Killing a fellow slave—even a hostile one—still left a bitter taste that was hard to swallow.
"But I do," he retorted, and without further warning, he attacked.
His speed and power had increased since our fight at the Forgotten Spring. His killer Seed had evolved, likely by consuming other slaves on his way here. His fist, coated in glowing red energy, tore through the air with a speed that made my ears ring.
I dodged by a hair's breadth, feeling the heat of his energy burn the skin on my cheek. My counter was a low kick guided by the martial knowledge of dozens of absorbed soldiers—disrupting his balance, forcing him to adjust his posture.
But Jiao was no stupid opponent. He used the momentum from his lost balance to spin and launch a second, more brutal attack—a blow aimed directly at my neck.
I blocked with my left arm, and the sound of bone against bone echoed in the chamber. Pain shot through me, but I had no time to react. He was already driving his knee towards my stomach.
This time I couldn't avoid it completely. His knee hit my ribs, and I felt something crack. Breath was forced from my lungs as I was thrown backward, my back slamming hard against the black crystal pillar.
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