The river flowed quietly.
Moonlight shimmered on the surface like silver dust.
But the air…
was wrong.
Too heavy.
Too cold.
Too sharp.
Arjun stood still, sword in hand.
Across from him, the masked figure of the Crimson Eye Cult bowed like a noble greeting a king.
"Devourer…"
"We've waited a long time for you."
Arjun's gaze didn't soften.
It got colder.
Because those words weren't admiration.
They were ownership.
Arjun replied calmly:
"Say it again."
The envoy's head tilted.
"Devourer."
Arjun stepped forward slowly.
Every step was pressure.
🩸 CRIMSON KILLING INTENT (Intermediate) began spreading without him even trying.
The grass trembled.
The river surface rippled.
Even the trees seemed to lean away.
Arjun spoke softly:
"You call me Devourer like it's my name."
The envoy chuckled behind the mask.
"It is your name."
"It is your nature."
"You can fight it…"
"But you will only suffer."
Arjun raised his sword slightly.
⚫ The blade hummed with Void-Cut residue.
Arjun's voice was calm.
"You want to bring me 'home'…"
"Home to what?"
The envoy opened his arms slightly, like offering paradise.
"To the Crimson Eye."
"To the true path."
"To power that won't be limited by sect laws."
"To freedom."
Arjun smiled faintly.
"Freedom?"
The envoy nodded confidently.
"Yes."
Arjun's smile sharpened.
"And who would own me there?"
The envoy was silent for a breath.
Then he answered like it was obvious.
"The Cult."
Arjun laughed softly.
Not loud.
Not crazy.
Just… disgusting amusement.
"So you're the same as the sect."
Elder Vayu tried to leash him.
Shailendra tried to erase him.
Now the cult tried to claim him.
Different words.
Same chains.
Arjun asked:
"How did you find me so fast?"
The envoy's voice became proud.
"Your bloodline awakened."
"Your Devouring Body cracked open."
"Your hatred reached the heavens."
The envoy tapped the crimson eye symbol on his mask.
"To us…"
"You shine like a torch in darkness."
Arjun's eyes narrowed.
"So I can't hide."
The envoy stepped closer.
"You don't need to."
He raised a hand.
A small black jar appeared.
Inside it was thick crimson liquid.
Blood.
Not normal blood.
It was alive.
It moved.
It pulsed.
The envoy spoke:
"This is Crimson Eye Baptism Blood."
"Drink it."
"It will stabilize your Devouring Body."
"It will remove the pain of hunger."
"It will remove fear."
"And it will give you your first true blessing."
Arjun stared at the jar.
Then he asked softly:
"And the price?"
The envoy's tone became gentle.
"Only loyalty."
Arjun nodded slowly.
"Loyalty…"
Then he stepped closer.
The envoy's posture relaxed.
He thought he was winning.
He thought Arjun was just a beast craving guidance.
He thought he could tame him.
The envoy held the jar forward.
"Drink."
Arjun reached out.
His fingers touched the jar.
The envoy smiled.
"Yes… good… you finally—"
Arjun crushed the jar.
CRACK!!
The crimson blood splashed on the ground like liquid hatred.
The envoy froze.
Arjun whispered:
"I don't drink poison offered by dogs."
The envoy's aura snapped.
The polite tone vanished.
A pressure erupted from his body like a curse released.
Black-red mist spread around him.
The riverbank grass instantly withered.
Trees turned gray.
The moonlight seemed darker.
The envoy's voice became cold.
"So you refuse."
Arjun's grip tightened on the sword.
"Yes."
The envoy's voice sharpened:
"Then you will be dragged."
Arjun nodded.
"Try."
The envoy lifted his hand.
A crimson thread shot out from his finger like a living worm.
It wrapped around Arjun's ankle instantly.
Arjun felt something horrifying.
Not physical restraint.
A spiritual hook.
The thread tried to enter his meridians and sink into his soul.
The envoy whispered:
🩸 CRIMSON SOUL THREAD
Arjun's eyes widened slightly.
"This is…"
A soul-binding technique.
More disgusting than Elder Vayu's pill.
Because this didn't track.
This controlled.
The envoy pulled his finger back.
And Arjun's body jerked forward slightly against his will.
The envoy's voice turned mocking:
"See? Your body belongs to the Cult already."
Arjun's expression didn't change.
But inside…
his Devouring Body roared.
🔊 [Foreign soul thread detected]
✅ Devour option: YES
⚠️ Risk: soul contamination (low)Proceed? (YES/NO)
Arjun smiled.
"YES."
🩸 TRUE DEVOURING BODY — SOUL THREAD CONSUMPTION!
The crimson thread turned black for a moment.
Then it began to dissolve.
The envoy's eyes widened.
"What?!"
He tried to pull it back.
But he couldn't.
Because the thread was being eaten.
Arjun took one step forward.
The envoy took one step back.
For the first time…
the cult envoy felt fear.
"You… you're eating my soul technique?!"
Arjun whispered:
"I eat everything that tries to own me."
Then Arjun vanished.
✨ SHADOW STEP!
He appeared right in front of the envoy.
Too close.
The envoy's hand lifted for defense—
Arjun grabbed his wrist and twisted.
CRACK!!
Bone snapped.
The envoy hissed.
His aura exploded violently.
Black-red flames burst outward.
🩸🔥 BLOOD CURSE FLAME ARMOR
The flames wrapped around him like living armor.
Arjun felt them burn even without touching.
The envoy whispered coldly:
"You are valuable."
"So I won't kill you."
"But I will break you."
The envoy slammed his palm down.
The ground erupted with crimson spikes.
🩸 BLOOD SPIKE PRISON
Spikes rose around Arjun like a cage.
Each spike pulsed with cursed blood.
Arjun's skin sizzled.
His bones hummed.
Pain tried to return.
But Arjun's hatred was colder than pain.
He raised his sword.
⚫ VOID-CUT SWORD ART (Fragment) — FIRST CUT
A black slash cut through three spikes cleanly.
The prison shattered.
The envoy's eyes widened.
That prison could hold inner disciples.
Yet Arjun sliced it like paper.
The envoy hissed:
"Fine."
"If you want violence…"
"I'll give it."
His aura surged.
The riverbank turned crimson.
The water itself began to boil.
The envoy's mask cracked slightly from pressure.
Under it…
Arjun saw a glimpse of a face.
Not human.
Not fully.
The skin looked pale like wax.
The eyes behind the mask were crimson.
And smiling.
The envoy whispered:
"You are not the only one with a monster inside."
Then he pulled his mask off.
And revealed the cult truth.
His forehead had a real vertical crimson eye.
Not a symbol.
A real eye.
It opened.
And when it opened—
Arjun felt his soul shiver.
Because that eye wasn't looking at his body.
It was looking at his system.
The envoy smiled softly.
"Beautiful."
"The Heaven-Crushing Martial Arts System…"
"…belongs to the Crimson Eye."
Arjun's face went still.
Cold.
Dangerously still.
He whispered:
"You know about it…"
The envoy nodded.
"Of course."
"We created many systems."
"Some failed."
"Some became weapons."
"But you…"
His smile widened.
"You became perfect."
Arjun's grip tightened on the sword so hard the handle creaked.
The envoy spread his arms wide.
"Come."
"Submit."
"Or bleed."
Arjun didn't answer.
He simply took one slow step forward.
His killing intent thickened.
His Bone King bloodline hummed.
His Devouring Body woke like a starving demon.
And then Arjun whispered:
"I will bleed."
"But only…"
"…if your blood is the first I taste."
Then he vanished.
✨ SHADOW STEP!
Arjun appeared above the envoy.
His fist came down like judgment.
🦴💥 BONE KING FIST — CULT BREAKER!