The black snow was falling like burning ash, clinging to his form and making him feel as though his body was solidifying under the weight of a cold surpassing anything he had ever experienced
The cold pierced his bones before he even opened his eyes. It was not natural cold, but a sting capable of freezing souls
Zhang Yong opened his tired blue eyes to a world of grey shadows
A sky without sun or moon, only a dark fog devouring the horizon.
Black snow fell slowly, accumulating on frozen ground covered in coal-black rocks. In every direction, nothing but emptiness, cold, and death
The dense, dark grey fog was so thick he could barely see the black rocks surrounding him, like giant bones buried in eternal ice
The air itself was heavy, saturated with the smell of mildew and cold metal, as if he were breathing the poisons of the underworld.
He coughed for a moment before raising his body. "So... this is Helheim," he whispered in a hoarse voice, but the words froze in the air before even reaching his own ears
He felt an unnatural heaviness in his body. It wasn't just the exhaustion of battle; it was as if the laws of this world themselves were trying to crush him
This was natural. He was supposed to be dead now, yet he was still partially alive. The essence of life and death in his soul protected him from transforming into a dead ghost in this place.
'Bing Di, Ling Xi, comrades... can you hear me?' Zhang Yong spoke within his consciousness, but no one answered. Currently, only his soul was here.
He closed his eyes to sense the energy in this place. As expected, Death Qi was dense here, but there was something else.
With the amount of Death Qi present in this place, it left no room for the existence of Life Qi, which meant one thing.
"There is no spiritual energy, therefore most of my abilities are useless. Fortunately, I have enough ability to handle Death Qi to allow me to survive." Zhang Yong looked at the Death Qi in his hand.
Zhang Yong used the Death Qi in his hand, trying to shape it into a sword, but he noticed the process was much slower than he was used to. "The energy here... is very dense, but it's raw and undisciplined. Absorbing and refining it won't be a problem."
He raised his eyes toward the dense fog, trying to discern any landmark in this barren land
There was nothing but broken black rocks and eternal ice covering everything.
"If this truly is Helheim, there must be an exit. Uni, where am I currently?" he whispered to himself, trying to keep his mind clear.
(The host is currently in the Mist Plain)
Zhang Yong stared at the grey horizon, trying to discern any movement in this lifeless world. The dense fog blocked vision beyond just a few meters, but something seemed to be moving in the depths.
Suddenly, he heard a sound like rustling dead leaves underfoot. He turned quickly, ready to fight despite his exhaustion. From within the fog, a group of humanoid silhouettes appeared, but they were not human. Their red eyes flickered in the darkness, and their slender bodies seemed composed of darkness itself.
"Cursed souls..." Zhang Yong realized. They were the wandering souls without purpose in this world.
The souls advanced toward him slowly, then suddenly pounced like hungry wolves.
Shing!
Zhang Yong cut off the head of the first soul that approached him, but its body dissolved into the fog and then regenerated again. "They can't be killed this way..." he noted quickly. 'I need to return to the world of the living quickly.'
(The host can rest assured. Even if thousands of years pass in this place, it will only be a few seconds in the other world. Time is different in the world of the dead.)
'That's good, but I still need to survive first, because it's clear this won't end...' Zhang Yong realized he couldn't stay here for long. He had to find an exit, or at least a safer place.
He looked behind him, where the fog seemed less dense. Perhaps there was something there.
A soul shot toward him with lightning speed, but Zhang Yong evaded the attack, then cut the soul with his sword.
'If this is the only way...' Zhang Yong took a deep breath, then charged toward them.
Zhang Yong charged toward the wandering souls with his sword made of Death Qi. Each strike tore through the black shadows, but they reformed anew.
Suddenly, he heard a strange sound behind him – the sound of heavy footsteps grinding the black ice. He turned quickly to see a giant shadow approaching from within the fog.
It was over three meters tall, its body covered in black bone plates resembling armor, and its red eyes shone with hunger. From its open mouth, a black, tar-like liquid dripped onto the ground, freezing instantly.
The giant creature growled with a sound like a collapsing glacier, then pounced with speed unexpected for its size.
Zhang Yong tried to dodge, but the intense cold slowed his movement. The creature's massive claws pierced his left shoulder, causing him to scream in pain as he felt as though his very soul was being torn.
Because that was the situation. In this place, he existed as a soul. A soul without a physical body was weak, but his possession of the Life and Death Structure, which focused on the soul, gave him a slight advantage compared to others.
He felt as though his spiritual body was disintegrating under the force of the black claws. The blood – if it could be called blood – flowed from his wound, but it wasn't a liquid like in the living world; rather, it resembled dark smoke seeping from the wound.
The giant creature growled again, and the smell of mildew and death came with its thick breath.
"Disgusting," Zhang Yong gritted his teeth and charged toward it.
Tai Yin Si Xiang – White Tiger Sword
Tai Yin Si Xiang – Dragon Devourer
Zhang Yong leaped and swung his sword. At the same time, a black image of a dragon appeared behind Zhang Yong and pounced on it.
The beast let out a muffled scream as the dragon tore it to shreds, and Zhang Yong split its body, leaving only a cloud of black smoke rising into the frozen air.
But Zhang Yong had no time to rest. The wandering souls began to gather again, their red eyes flickering with hunger.
"This place... is endless," he whispered, trying to catch his breath. 'Regardless, I have to move.'
He charged along a random path. Clawed hands rose from the ground trying to grab him. Each step felt like walking through thick tar, but he did not stop.
Zhang Yong continued running through the dense fog, his feet sinking into the black snow that resembled frozen ash.
The whispering voices of the lost souls screamed and howled.
As he ran, the ground seemed to rise. He was climbing a plateau, but it began to shake. Zhang Yong leaped forward from it, and it seemed as though he was falling – not into an abyss, but from the height the ground had risen.
He slid down this plateau, and when he looked behind him, the ground had risen and revealed a giant.
A giant of black ice, its eyes like two pits of cold blue flame, from which rose smoke resembling the fog of death.
The giant rose slowly, like a mountain awakening from its slumber. The earth shook beneath its massive feet, which resembled the pillars of sunken temples.
"What... is this?" Zhang Yong whispered, trying to maintain his balance on the ground.
The giant raised its massive hand, its frozen fingers like pointed ice pillars, then struck the ground hard.
Crash!
The ground split like an eggshell, and dark blue cracks spread in every direction, releasing pillars of sharp black ice like swords.
Zhang Yong leaped to the side at the last moment. The giant took another step toward him, its blue eyes staring at him mercilessly.
It raised its hand again, and this time, it prepared to crush Zhang Yong completely.
Tai Yin Si Xiang – Phoenix Wings
Heavenly Demon Records – Dark Dragon Rush
Zhang Yong mounted the dark dragon and seemed to fly swiftly through the air, escaping the ice giant, which roared behind him with a sound like collapsing mountains.
The cold wind struck his face like invisible swords, and Helheim's dense fog tried to swallow him again.
"Where can I find an exit from this hell?" he whispered as the dragon soared over endless plains of black ice and cracked rocks.
Suddenly, he noticed a faint flicker on the far horizon. A pale blue light, dim as a candle in a storm, but it was different from Helheim's perpetual darkness.
The ghosts began to stand at the sides, blocking all the side paths, which made it seem as though they were guiding him toward that light. But it appeared that every soul that approached it began to burn and disappear. They weren't guiding him; they were afraid of it!
He headed toward the source. The closer he got, the larger the light grew, and what appeared to be a body shone, merged with the ground, with only the head, feet, belly, and arms visible.
The man – if he could be called a man – was pale as wax, his eyes closed, his long white hair spread around his head like ghostly rays. His body, or what remained of it, was trapped in black ice, as if the earth itself was slowly swallowing him.
"Finally... someone has come." The man's voice emerged as a distant echo, weak but clear in Helheim's silence.
Zhang Yong stopped a few steps away, his sword made of Death Qi still gripped tightly. "You..."
The man slowly opened his eyes – golden eyes without pupils, radiating ancient wisdom and a deeper sadness. "Young man, do you want to survive? I will help you eliminate that monster."
Zhang Yong hesitated. This place would not imprison someone without reason. Why would someone be imprisoned in a land for forgotten people? But with that giant pursuing him, it was only a matter of time before he perished alone.
Zhang Yong felt a coldness piercing his soul. "What do you want in return? It's impossible for you to help me without a reason."
The man laughed a muffled laugh, like dry autumn leaves. "Free me, or that giant will destroy you. Do you have another choice? I swear on my primordial soul that I will not kill you or devour your soul."
It was a dangerous deal. This man was dangerous, that was clear. But Zhang Yong looked behind him, where the ice giant was approaching, its steps shaking the earth. The wandering souls gathered like a black cloud, waiting for his end to eat the remains.
He had no choice.
"How do I free you?"
The man smiled for the first time. His teeth resembled small pieces of ice. "Cut the chains."
Zhang Yong looked down, noticing for the first time that ropes of darkness were wrapped around the man's body, embedded in the ground like the roots of a poisoned tree.
With a single strike, Zhang Yong cut the ropes.
The blue light suddenly exploded, filling the entire plain. The earth trembled, and the black ice cracked like shattered glass. The imprisoned man screamed, not in pain, but in freedom, as his body began to break free from Helheim's grip.
"Thank you," the man said, rising slowly, his body now completely free. "And now, I fulfill my promise."
A vortex of blue light formed around him, gathering in his palm, shaping into a sphere of blue light. In an instant, he released a beam of energy directly toward the giant.
The blue light exploded like lightning, tearing the ice giant's body into flying shreds that turned into rain of melting black ice.
Zhang Yong closed his eyes from the intensity of the glare, and when he opened them again, the mysterious man stood before him, his white hair floating in the cold air like a ghost.
The man's breath was visible, indicating that such an attack had consumed significant effort.
The man placed his hands on his hips and threw his head back in a long, hearty laugh. "Hahaha, finally! This is a refreshing feeling!"
Then the man walked toward Zhang Yong, wrapped his arms around him, and squeezed his body in a hug. "Thank you, little friend, haha!"
"Yeah, yeah, okay, put me down," Zhang Yong was bewildered by this man's actions, but his expressions were not those of a bad person. At least, his actions seemed childlike.
The man finally let him go, but his wide smile did not fade. "Sorry, sorry! It's been a long time since I last spoke with anyone." He raised his finger enthusiastically. "By the way, I am Luber!"
Zhang Yong rubbed his arms, trying to regain warmth after that strange hug. "Zhang Yong."
"Oh, a beautiful name!" Luber laughed, then turned his head toward the horizon where the grey fog was still dense. "Now that I've noticed, you are not entirely dead. There is even a trace of life in you. You are still alive, aren't you?"
Zhang Yong stared at Luber, his blue eyes burning with caution. "I just died, and I don't know what you're talking about. But I need to return to life quickly."
Luber laughed again, but this time his laugh carried something deeper. "Ah, you are one of those! Your soul is still connected to your body in the living world. That is very rare..."
He raised his golden finger, as if pointing at something invisible in the fog. "You are lucky. There is a gate connected to the world of the living. If you cross it, and your body is still intact, you can return. This is the resurrection opportunity that occurs once every hundred years. If you miss it, you will have to wait another hundred years in this place. Believe me, you will go mad during that time, if you don't become a wandering soul."
Zhang Yong stared at Luber, his blue eyes widening slightly. "A gate? Where?"
Luber nodded his head toward the horizon. "Not too far. The problem is how you will enter. If Queen Hel catches you, she will throw you into Nastrond, and believe me, you don't want that. We need to cross the Dead Trees Forest, then pass through the Shore of Shadows, toward the Gjoll River, then cross the Gjallarbrú bridge, and we will reach our destination. We should arrive within a year at most."
Zhang Yong couldn't help but narrow his eyes into slits. "Why would you help me?"
Luber laughed again, but this time his laugh carried something more resembling... sadness? "It's just that I have lost my body, unfortunately. It has been a long time since I came here. I have no reason to return. But for you? I bet you still have a reason to return, unlike me."
Zhang Yong couldn't help but notice his expression. "And you don't want something like a body, for example, to return to life?"
"Are you an idiot?" Luber couldn't help but stare at him as if he were stupid. "The body is the vessel of the soul. If the vessel is not similar to the soul, it won't work! That's why you can return if your body is fine. Otherwise, many would have returned to life when they were alive."
No matter how Zhang Yong looked at it, it was logical. In his memories from the Spirit Path, he had indeed experienced resurrection. It required preserving the soul to prevent it from going to the underworld, and second, building the body with some special materials. But this was certain: a previously damaged body whose time had passed would not receive a new soul.
The biggest proof was the method of his system's soul transfer, where he had to find a body between life and death. Therefore, he also would not take the body of an old man whose time had passed. That was the main idea.
"Alright, let's waste less time!" Luber suddenly shouted, clapping his hands. "The road is long, and we will face many hungry souls. You are ready, right?"
Zhang Yong nodded slowly, his blue eyes scanning the dense fog hiding the path. "As ready as I can be in this hell."
Luber laughed, his long white hair shaking with his movement. "Great! Then let's begin. But first..." He suddenly reached out and grabbed Zhang Yong's arm. "This will help you move faster here."
Zhang Yong felt a wave of cool blue energy flow through his arm, spreading into his spiritual body like fire in dry grass. Suddenly, the fog became less dense around him, as if he now saw it through transparent glass.
"What did you do?"
"I granted you a glimpse of my power, temporarily, of course." Luber nodded proudly. "This will make the hungry souls less inclined to attack you... at least until they recognize you."
"Thank you," Zhang Yong whispered, though he wasn't sure how much he could trust this stranger.
"Don't thank me yet. Let's go!"