Whoooooooosh.

Dozens of dark hands grabbed Wain and dragged him into a dense layer of darkness from which it seemed impossible to escape. He tried to resist, but it all happened too fast for him to do anything.

"Wain...?" Marlis muttered while in disbelief as she looked at the darkness in which Wain disappeared, "Shit! I have to help him!"

It took Marlis a few seconds to come to her senses, then she rushed forward. She was going to go through the darkness since she thought there was a portal to Death Shore, but... the way was closed to her.

"What? There's nothing here? How is that possible?" Marlis exclaimed with a worried look as her hands were covered in a powerful green flame.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

She hit the wall of darkness several times, but nothing happened as if she just attacked the void.

"No, no, no! Even if Wain hit Death Shore, it wasn't supposed to happen that way! We were supposed to get into Death Shore through a portal...! Why did some strange creature attack and drag him away?!" Marlis shouted with an angry look while trying to think of a way out of the situation.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Suddenly a powerful pressure came over Marlis as a tremor ran through her body and her heart shook violently. However, her soul trembled as if Marlis had stumbled upon a treasure.

"What...?" Marlis uttered as she looked up.

The energy from the Soul Pearl that destroyed Wain didn't dissolve into the air or head to other areas as it usually did. Instead, the energy condensed over Marlis as it slowly headed toward her as if she were their target.

"Hmm? Is that possible?" Marlis muttered while in disbelief, "The energy from Soul Pearls must go from one zone to another... though perhaps there is too much energy here and I am the only one capable of receiving it..."

For a moment there was greed in Marlis' eyes as getting a Soul Pearl this size was every creature's dream, but then her gaze grew serious as she jumped aside.

'I must not give in to temptation. In the first place, I have to save Wain somehow, even if he's okay, I have to make sure of it. Second... even if I want to absorb this energy, fuck, it will tear me apart, I could absorb 2/3 at most, but not all!' Marlis internally exclaimed before waving her arms.

She created a massive magic circle in front of her, using a tremendous amount of energy. Then, more than a hundred fireballs burst out of the magic circle with several massive spears that could easily pierce the dragon's body.

Whoooooosh.

All of the attacks just flew through the darkness and pierced the clouds in the distance. The portal or some sort of exit in which Wain disappeared as though there was no such thing.

"No... It can't be..." Marlis muttered in a lost voice as she didn't know what she should do.

At the same time, the pure energy of Soul Pearl, formed into a sword-like form that flashed through Marlis, filling her body with energy and making her eyes glow brightly like ghostly lanterns.

...

Crackling.

On the ashy ground studded with the bones of ancient creatures, where there were only a few long-dry trees, a torrent of dark wind blew through the ground as a tall man with black hair and green eyes appeared. Beside him were several dark arms that pursued him and constantly attacked.

"Shit! Who the hell are you?! What do you want from me?!" Wain exclaimed with an angry look as a Gladius appeared in his hand.

Whoooooosh.

Wain stepped forward as Gladius was covered in a dense layer of darkness. Then, he brought the sword down on his hands, unleashing a blade of devastating power.

The energy tore the hands apart as the dark blade cut through hundreds of meters of lifeless earth, leaving a long, wide gap.

"Phew... That was unexpected..." Wain said with a sigh as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He looked around and with a confused look muttered, "Where the fuck am I?"

This place looked creepier than any other place Wain had ever been. The bones in the ground and the scary trees were only a small part, as this land had no end and the only source of light was a gray, half-ruined moon.

'Congratulations.' Blind Sorcerer said suddenly as a sly smile appeared on his face.

"Hmm?" Wain bowed his head while in confusion.

'You've made it to Death Shore. Now all you have to do is find the Abyss Brush.' Blind Sorcerer uttered with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Right... Only this place can look so frightening and aloof... But, where am I supposed to find Abyss Brush? It's empty, there's nothing but lifeless land for miles around." Wain muttered while looking around.

'Huh, don't forget that you always knew how to find each of us!' Light Racer exclaimed with an excited expression, 'To meet me you even had to be on the brink of death and life.'

'Yeah... You just have to feel it... There's nothing hard about it. You've done it many times before.' Cursed Swordsman muttered while exhaling cold steam.historical

Wain's eyes widened as if he realized something obvious, but he'd forgotten it for some reason. Then, he shook his head, smiled, and concentrated.

'You're right. I had to go through a whole journey to find each of you, but I always knew just about where to look for you.' Wain inwardly muttered as his soul began to tremble just as his heart was beating.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Suddenly he felt a strange flow of energy as Wain turned north. This direction was no different from the others, but Wain knew this was where he needed to go.

"Alright, it's time to get the seventh form! Death Shore may be a dangerous place, but if Nameless King has been here, I can handle it too." Wain said with an excited look, clenched his hand into a fist, and rushed forward.

...

'Nameless King... Hah, you're right. Come here, I've waited...' Somewhere in Death Shore, a strange, mysterious voice sounded.