Chapter 20: Falling into the River Styx

Zong Mi ran as fast as he could.

He even abandoned his usual habit of pulling tricks while fleeing. Normally, he would be doing things like he had done in Gazi—using the Fifth-Tier dark spell Shadow Technique to leap through the shadows of buildings while casually toying with the assassins chasing him.

But who exactly was pursuing him now?

That was the infamous and legendary Black Wizard, Loxi.

People might not know his actual name, but mention the title Wizard of the Black Forest, and nobody on the continent would find it unfamiliar.

Using dark magic in front of a legendary Black Wizard like that?

That was simply asking to die.

Zong Mi had seen others make that mistake before.

During the brief period he had lived in the Black Forest, a level-seventy-something Dark Mage once barged into the forest relying on his own strength.

Although mages and witches belonged to different spellcasting branches, both ultimately relied on magic power. Their foundations were similar despite differences in casting methods.

Zong Mi had personally watched that Dark Mage suffer backlash from his own Sixth-Tier spell.

Darkness engulfed him.

His face twisted grotesquely.

His flesh rotted away.

Then he died.

Back then, Zong Mi had asked Loxi why the Dark Mage had been devoured by his own spell.

The Black Wizard hadn’t even bothered looking at the troublemaker.

He merely said calmly:

“Because I am the lord of darkness itself. The dark elements obey me more than they obey him.”

Only then did Zong Mi realize how terrifying true mastery of magic could become.

At the highest levels, battles between spellcasters weren’t about who could cast a forbidden spell faster.

They were about who possessed greater control over the elements.

The stronger caster could seize the magical elements before the opponent even finished casting and turn them into his own power.

Under such circumstances, Zong Mi absolutely dared not use dark magic.

Even his wind spells were used with extreme caution.

If something went wrong, he wouldn’t even know who to cry to.

Standing atop the Bone Dragon, Loxi had already discovered him.

Technically speaking, Zong Mi hadn’t stolen the Harp of the God of Magic.

The Black Wizard had willingly allowed him to take it.

But if one calculated things carefully…

Zong Mi had promised to return to the Black Forest.

Then he had disappeared without a trace.

That definitely counted as deception.

And honestly, Zong Mi felt somewhat wronged.

Who could have predicted that after opening and closing his eyes, a major expansion update would skip the timeline forward by ten years?

He hadn’t even been given a chance to explain.

It was enough to make anyone despair.

The blond bard raced across the Undead Domain.

The Dark Priest Temple had been built deep within the region to avoid detection by Dawn Priests.

To reach the Elven Forest, Zong Mi would need to cross more than half the entire Undead Domain.

It was an incredibly difficult task.

He glanced back.

After calculating the distance between himself and the Bone Dragon, he came to a cold conclusion.

He probably wouldn’t survive another thirty seconds.

And even if he somehow did…

His future still looked grim.

What was it like being hunted by the strongest Black Wizard in the world?

Answer:

No idea.

Run one more step at a time.

Every extra day alive is profit.

Nothing to lose.

Past the largest plains of the Undead Domain flowed a river of rolling gray water.

The land surrounding it was barren and black-brown.

It looked like a dead river that had long since lost all life.

This was the River Styx, one of the Undead Domain’s defining features.

Unlike normal rivers, it possessed no buoyancy.

Anything touching its surface would be dragged beneath the water by an invisible force and sink endlessly into the depths.

Naturally, no living creatures existed within it.

The Styx encircled the entire Undead Domain, sealing it away from the outside world.

It was one of the primary reasons the region contained so little life.

Zong Mi drew closer.

The river surface remained perfectly still.

Not a ripple.

Not a wave.

Like eternal dead water.

He would rather choose a path filled with danger than turn back and face Loxi.

No one understood Loxi’s personality better than he did.

The man was a complete obsessive.

If he got captured this time, he doubted he would ever be allowed to leave again.

Unless he committed suicide on the spot and forcibly respawned at a Resurrection Fountain.

Otherwise, escape would be impossible.

His greatest reliance had always been the fact that Loxi carried a powerful curse and couldn’t leave the Black Forest.

As long as Loxi remained trapped there, everything could be negotiated.

But now that advantage was gone.

All Zong Mi could do was run.

People who walked rivers too often were bound to fall in eventually.

Zong Mi had always lived dangerously.

Besides, his goal was the stars themselves.

One day he intended to sit upon the throne of the Sky City.

How could he possibly stop here?

Gritting his teeth, he suddenly turned around.

His hand lifted toward the sky.

A Gale Spell formed.

Then—

He plunged directly into the River Styx.

Hopefully… it’s still in time.

His expression remained calm as he curled his fingers slightly.

The moment he saw this, Loxi’s face changed dramatically.

With a wave of his hand, countless black chains erupted from the void.

They shot toward the Styx.

Pure energy constructs wrapped in layers of spatial power.

Even space itself was sliced apart.

Yet despite all that—

They were still too late.

The eternally silent river finally rippled.

A gray wave rose.

The bard was swallowed by the icy embrace of the Styx.

Too fast.

Far too fast.

Before anyone could react, the dazzling flash of golden hair disappeared beneath the waters.

Gone without a trace.

Silence.

Loxi leapt from the Bone Dragon.

His black robes billowed.

His immense spiritual power exploded outward, covering dozens of kilometers.

Every inch of the Styx was searched.

Every grain of sand.

Every drop of water.

Nothing.

Still nothing.

Zong Mi had vanished from the entire Undead Domain within mere seconds.

As though he had never existed.

The Black Wizard’s thin fingers curled beneath his robes.

Countless dark emotions flickered through his gray eyes.

He stood motionless like an ancient statue.

Moments earlier, Zong Mi had thrown himself into the Styx with the resolve to die.

Truthfully, he wasn’t completely certain it would work.

At worst, he would lose three levels.

That was an acceptable price.

All he’d need to do afterward was make another trip to a Resurrection Temple.

The water was freezing.

Cold beyond imagination.

For an instant, he felt ice spreading across his skin.

The chill entered through every pore.

Flowed into his blood.

Seeped into his bones.

Everything froze.

Only one place remained warm.

The tip of his left ring finger.

The warmth was faint.

But it was unmistakable.

Like the center toward which all his blood flowed.

The only place where sensation remained.

Anyone who fell into the Styx would eventually die from its extreme cold once their body temperature disappeared completely.

Then a voice spoke.

“How did you accidentally fall in again?”

Within the darkness, Zong Mi felt himself gently wrapped by a tail.

In the next instant, countless layers of water and space were crossed.

He was pulled from the freezing Styx and brought into a warm spring.

The tail was covered in sharp spikes.

Yet it carefully avoided touching him with them.

It even used water manipulation to sever one of its own spikes.

Deep blue blood blossomed within the spring like a flower.

Its owner clearly had no intention of letting him notice.

The moment they arrived, the tail withdrew behind him.

Only then did the half-conscious Zong Mi lift his eyes.

Before him stretched endless white.

Snowflakes as large as cotton drifted from the sky.

They melted instantly upon touching the warm mist rising from the springs.

Towering snow-covered mountains surrounded the area.

White as far as the eye could see.

At the center of those peaks rested a heart-shaped lake.

Steam rose continuously from its waters.

Dividing warmth and ice into two separate worlds.

A miraculous sanctuary amidst snow and frost.

A heart-shaped lake.

Nestled among snowy mountains.

Filled with warm water.

The forbidden land sealed away since the Age of Gods.

Though ten thousand years had passed and the world had changed, the lake still remained.

“Because you once said you liked this place, I brought you here on my own initiative.”

Zong Mi stared silently at the gray sky.

Snow settled upon his eyelashes.

As the warmth of the spring slowly drove away the cold, he turned toward the speaker.

Then he froze.

A Siren stood behind him.

But unlike the terrifying creature in his memories, this figure had completely transformed.

Water droplets slid down a strikingly handsome face.

From a high nose bridge.

Across pale lips.

Down his collarbone.

Along deep-blue hair.

Across a beautifully sculpted bare chest.

The sight was breathtaking.

Most striking were those dark-green eyes.

Cold and reptilian by nature.

Yet when looking at Zong Mi, they shone with unmistakable warmth.

This face could easily rank among the top five most beautiful people Zong Mi had ever seen.

“You…”

For a moment, Zong Mi was speechless.

His gray eyes widened.

Unable to find the words.

Seeing this reaction, the Siren smiled.

A joyful smile.

He instinctively wanted to reach out.

But remembering the deadly poison hidden within his sharp nails, he stopped.

His hand retreated beneath the water.

Along with his tail.

Quietly, he manipulated the current to wash away traces of blood leaking from the wound where he’d broken off his own spike.

He didn’t want Zong Mi noticing anything unusual.

After finishing, he asked nervously:

“Do… do you like the way I look now?”

His dark-green eyes stared fixedly at Zong Mi.

Watching every tiny expression.

Waiting.

Hoping.

Afraid.

And for the first time in a long while…

Zong Mi genuinely didn’t know how to answer.

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