The descent into the bowels of the Obsidian Spire felt like falling into the throat of a dying star. The elevator, a massive platform of jagged basalt held together by pulsing red veins of mana, groaned as it dropped thousands of meters. Fang Yuan stood at the center, his green robes now appearing a bruised, sickly violet under the flickering light of the mine's bioluminescent fungi.
Beside him, Kaelen and Zane stood like statues of cold marble. Their transformation into Void-Sentinels was nearly complete; their skin had turned a translucent grey, and their eyes were hollow pits that seemed to inhale the very light around them.
Xarax, the Rank 2 Demon Stalker, paced the perimeter of the platform. His yellow eyes never left Fang Yuan for a second. "The Abyss does not tolerate parasites, Pilgrim," Xarax hissed, his voice echoing against the damp, acidic walls. "In Sector C-12, a group of 'Rock-Eaters' have ceased their tribute. They are Rank 2 brutes with hides thicker than star-ship hull. If your 'toys' cannot break them, I will personally weave your soul into the furnace."
Fang Yuan didn't blink. He reached out with his Space-Time Threads, which were now laced with the charcoal rot of this world. He felt the shift in gravity as the platform slammed into the bottom of the shaft.
The doors groaned open to reveal a hellish landscape. Massive, hulking figures made of jagged red crystal and obsidian muscle—the Rock-Demons—were tearing through the mine's infrastructure. They roared, a sound that vibrated with enough force to shatter regular bone.
"Go," Fang Yuan commanded, his voice a low, melodic rasp.
He didn't use a physical gesture. Instead, he tugged on the Void-Tethers he had sewn into the hearts of Kaelen and Zane.
Kaelen moved first. In his past life, he was a Hero of Light; now, he was a Breach in Reality. He didn't run; he slipped through the gaps in Space-Time. He appeared instantly in front of a three-meter-tall Rock-Demon. The demon swung a fist that could pulverize a mountain, but Kaelen simply raised a grey hand.
"VOID TOUCH: MOLECULAR UNRAVELING."
The moment Kaelen's fingers brushed the demon's crystalline hide, the laws of physics ceased to apply. The Rock-Demon didn't break; it unraveled. Its solid form turned into fine, grey ash that was instantly sucked into the vacuum of Kaelen's palm. There was no blood, no scream—only a terrifying, silent erasure.
On the other side, Zane had become an entity of pure, jagged shadow. He erupted into a whirlwind of black smoke, his claws vibrating at a frequency that bypassed matter. Every demon he touched was cast into a localized "Time-Stasis" before being shattered into a thousand frozen fragments.
Xarax, watching from the shadows of the ceiling, felt a cold shiver run down his translucent spine. He was a Rank 2 Weaver, but he had never seen power that didn't just destroy, but deleted.
"What... what are they?" Xarax whispered to himself, his suspicion turning into genuine fear.
Fang Yuan watched the slaughter with the cold precision of a grandmaster. His blackened indigo threads moved invisibly through the air, harvesting the lingering "Essence of Rebellion" from the dying Rock-Demons. He wasn't just clearing a mine; he was feeding his puppets and refining his own corrupted mana.
By the time the last Rock-Demon turned to dust, Sector C-12 was a graveyard of shadows. Fang Yuan turned to look at Xarax, his violet eyes glowing with a predatory light.
"The tribute has been paid in full, Stalker," Fang Yuan said. "Now, show us the deeper veins. I believe my Sentinels are still... hungry."