The descent into Tartarus felt like falling through the throat of a dying star. The air grew thick, smelling of sulfur and the iron tang of ancient, dried blood. There was no wind, only a heavy, static pressure that pressed against our eardrums. The spiraling staircase of black iron eventually gave way to a shore of grey, powdery ash.
Before us stretched the Cocytus—the River of Lamentation.
The water did not flow; it churned like a soup of liquid mercury, thick and sluggish. It didn't make a sound, but the air above it vibrated with the collective psychic residue of a billion souls who had died regretting their lives. It was the sound of a silent scream.
"The Auditor's presence has changed the water," Leticia whispered, her white robes fluttering in a draft that only she could feel. She pointed to the far bank, hidden in a sickly yellow mist. "The river used to be a place of mourning. Now, it is a filter. It strips away the ego of anything that tries to cross."
[Warning: Cocytus Mists Detected.]
[Effect: Ego-Erosion. Your 'Indecency' rating is being suppressed by 15% every minute.]
[Status: Mental Resistance at 88%.]
"I can't feel my shadows," Yuna muttered, her voice trembling. She gripped my arm so hard her knuckles turned white. "Jin-Woo, the dark is... it's empty here. There's nothing to hide in."
So-Hee raised her hand to manifest an ice bridge, but the moment the frost touched the grey air, it shattered into dust. She gasped, clutching her chest. "My mana... it feels like it's being audited. Like it's been deemed 'unnecessary'."
I looked at the 1.2 billion EXP in my bank. If I let the river strip them down, we'd be nothing but mindless husks before we even saw the Auditor.
"System," I commanded, my voice echoing in the gloom. "Open the [Conceptual Upgrade] menu. I need an anchor for my party. Something that keeps our 'Self' intact."
[Accessing Restricted Store...]
[Item Purchased: The Ego-Chain of the Narcissist (Epic Grade).]
[Cost: 400 Million EXP.]
[Effect: Links the mentalities of the party to the 'Sovereign'. As long as the Sovereign believes in himself, the party cannot lose their sense of self.]
I felt the mana leave my account, and a golden chain, invisible to the naked eye but blazing in my divine sight, snapped into place, connecting my heart to theirs.
So-Hee let out a long breath, her posture straightening instantly. Yuna's shadows returned to life, dancing frantically around her feet.
"That's better," I said, stepping onto the ashen shore. "But we aren't crossing yet. We have company."
From the yellow mist on the riverbank, a figure emerged. He was dressed in the battered armor of an ancient king, but the bronze was pitted with age and stained with a black, oily substance. He carried a shield that was the twin of the one on my back, but his was intact—and glowing with a cold, blue light.
Achilles. The Corrupted Hero.
[Notice: A Hero-Soul has been 'Re-Programmed' by the Auditor.]
[Rank: Mythic (Corrupted).]
[Logic: "Only the perfect may pass. You are flawed. You must be erased."]
Achilles didn't speak. He didn't have a face. Beneath his helmet was a void of swirling blue light. He raised his spear, and the air around him hummed with a perfection that was physically painful to look at.
"He's been turned into a guardian of the code," Leticia said, her eyes wide. "He isn't a man anymore. He's a firewall."
"Then I guess I'm a virus," I said, drawing my blade.
Achilles moved. He didn't run; he blurred. The spear-tip was at my throat before I could even blink. I barely managed to deflect it with the [Shattered Aegis], the impact sending a shockwave through my arms that nearly cracked my collarbone.
The hero was fast—faster than Hermes under the Chronos Anchor. Every strike was mathematically perfect. Every lunge was aimed at a vital organ. He didn't waste energy; he didn't show emotion. He was a machine designed for the sole purpose of ending my existence.
"So-Hee, freeze his path! Yuna, get behind the logic!"
So-Hee slammed her hands into the ash. "Glacial Prison!"
A wall of violet ice erupted, but Achilles simply stepped through it. The ice didn't break; it simply ceased to exist where he touched it. He was operating on a higher administrative level.
"It's no use," Leticia cried out. "He's shielded by the Auditor's 'Correction'! You can't hit him with standard mana!"
I dodged a sweep of his spear that took a chunk out of a nearby obsidian pillar. I needed a different angle. I needed to make him 'imperfect'.
I looked at the [Shattered Aegis] on my arm. The shield was still weeping black ichor—the residue of Athena's failure.
"Medusa!" I shouted. "The Caduceus! Hit the shield!"
Medusa, standing back with her green eyes glowing, understood instantly. She lunged forward, striking the staff of Hermes against the surface of the broken shield.
The reaction was violent. The black ichor on the shield turned into a cloud of 'Divine Shame', spraying across the riverbank. Achilles was caught in the center of the mist.
The Corrupted Hero stumbled. The blue light beneath his helmet flickered. For a second, his mathematical perfection was interrupted by a memory of a heel, a war, and a lost friend.
[Logic Error Detected in Target.]
[System Vulnerability: Emotional Residue.]
"Now!" I roared.
I didn't use a sword strike. I used the [Touch of the Conqueror].
I slammed my palm against Achilles's chest plate. The golden light of my skill flooded into the void of his helmet. I wasn't trying to kill him. I was trying to remind him of his 'Indecency'. I showed him the blood, the sweat, and the rage of the Trojan War. I showed him that being a hero was about being human, not being a firewall.
Achilles's spear dropped into the ash. The blue light in his helmet turned to a warm, flickering orange. The black, oily substance on his armor began to flake away, revealing the shining bronze beneath.
[Dominion Check: Success.]
[Unit Acquired: Achilles (Hero-Soul).]
[Notice: The Auditor is 'Displeased'.]
The legendary hero fell to one knee, his head bowed. "I... I remember. The light... it was so cold. It told me I was an error."
"You're not an error, Achilles," I said, breathing hard. "You're a legend. And I need a legend to help me kill a machine."
I looked across the river. The yellow mist was parting, revealing a massive, floating geometric shape made of pure, white light. It was a dodecahedron, spinning slowly in the air, emitting a sound like a server rack in a cold room.
The Celestial Auditor.
"There it is," I said, feeling the weight of the [Ego-Chain] pulse against my heart. "Let's see if it knows how to handle an army of 'mistakes'."
I turned to my group. So-Hee was glowing with frost, Yuna was a shadow of teeth, and Achilles stood behind me, his spear once again ready—but this time, it was aimed at the Heavens.
"We cross the river now," I commanded.