Immortal Paladin

[POV: Ru Qiu]

Ru Qiu had been arrogant.

The thought floated through what remained of his consciousness as he drifted in the cold vacuum of space, his silver flames sputtering like dying embers. His left arm was gone, torn away at the shoulder. A gaping hole where his heart should have been leaked faint trails of divine essence into the void. When he tried to look down, he realized his legs had also vanished; only glistening entrails spilled outward, slowly unraveling in the absence of gravity.

He had managed, at the very last moment, to hide Fanarys and Arthur. The two had proven themselves reliable comrades, their skills and powers matching many legends, yet they were still only new at the Ascended Soul realm. They lacked true familiarity with immortality and the thousand ways one could be erased beyond resurrection. This enemy had been far beyond what their current strategies could handle, forcing a bitter retreat.

Floating in the distance like a grotesque monument to gluttony was the culprit of his one-sided defeat: Famine.

The figure’s stomach had become a swirling black hole, while an ancient, rusted scale hung precariously from chains wrapped around his torso, tilting ominously to one side.

“ANY. LAST. WORDS?” Famine’s voice boomed across the vacuum, each syllable heavy with devouring intent.

Ru Qiu took a slow, painful breath, gathering the last fragments of his will. His voice came out hoarse but defiant.

“Next time… I will kill you.”

Famine grinned grotesquely, rows of jagged teeth gleaming as he raised one wrinkly hand and gestured. Ru Qiu’s body immediately scattered into countless inky black pieces, pulled inexorably toward the insatiable maw of the black hole in Famine’s stomach.

In that final instant, Ru Qiu ignited his Supremacy Trait of the Fallen. Quintessence within him reversed dramatically, tearing violently at Famine’s devouring spell. He struggled with every ounce of his remaining power, silver flames flaring one last time in desperate rebellion.

But the darkness came swiftly.

His consciousness shattered like glass, and everything faded into absolute nothingness.

…

..

.

[POV: Da Wei]

Back aboard the Mighty Duck, we had already set off once more toward the Underworld. Gao Fu stood quietly near the observation deck, while Chen Wei lingered close by, eyes bright with barely contained excitement.

“Uncle Da Wei,” Chen Wei said with a respectful bow of his head, “thank you for allowing me to join your party. I promise I won’t slow anyone down.”

I couldn’t help but smile faintly at the words. The concept of “party” and various other gamer terms had begun spreading like wildfire throughout the Hollowed World. The players were certainly to blame, but the Adventurer’s Guild had played a massive role in popularizing the lingo. Dave’s long tenure as Guild Leader had undoubtedly contributed to it.

“You have the ability, so you were free to join,” I replied calmly. “But in your case, Chen Wei, you still needed permission from your mother.”

Chen Wei straightened up with a proud grin. “I already have permission, Uncle. Mother said as long as I stay close to you and don’t do anything reckless, it’s fine.”

I nodded, satisfied. Before I could say more, a strange sensation tugged at the edge of my awareness, like an invisible thread being cut somewhere far away in the cosmos. It was faint, yet sharp enough to make me pause mid-step.

Alice glanced over, her sharp eyes narrowing. “Is there a problem, David?”

I frowned, reaching inward to consult my Ophanim. The celestial eyes revealed the truth in an instant.

“It’s Ru Qiu.”

Gu Jie’s head snapped toward me in surprise. “He… died?”

Her eyes turned crimson as a compass-like pattern swirled within them. She blinked the prophetic sight away a moment later and spoke with quiet certainty. “The destiny I left in him just vanished. He really died.”

The words hung heavy in the air. I felt a mix of irritation and concern settle in my chest. Ru Qiu had grown increasingly aggressive lately, pushing himself harder than necessary. I should have reminded him to take it easy.

“Our next destination is decided,” I said firmly. “Let’s go find Ru Qiu or whatever we can find of him and bring him back.”

Gu Jie hesitated, her expression clouded. “Father, I am not confident much of him had survived. I’d know if his soul was still somewhere out there, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

I nodded, acknowledging her words but refusing to give up so easily. “We should at least try. He’s a Supreme Being like me. Moreover, he had unlocked his Supremacy Trait. Most importantly, with me locked on a Binding Vow with War, he’s the only mobile fighter we have who can actually be a threat to our enemies.”

Gu Jie sighed softly and placed a gentle hand on my arm. “Father, not everyone is your responsibility.”

I offered her a small, rueful smile. She was right, of course. Still, I couldn’t simply abandon one of the few beings who stood on equal footing with me. Not when the Greater Universe grew more dangerous by the day.

I glanced over at Alice, who was currently steering the Mighty Duck with casual confidence. “Alice, let me take the wheel for a bit.”

She raised an eyebrow but stepped aside without argument, sliding into the co-pilot seat with a lazy shrug. “All yours, David. Just don’t crash us into a dead star.”

I took the controls and consulted the navigation array, my fingers tracing glowing runes that mapped the vast coordinates where Ru Qiu had perished.

“Gao Fu,” I said, turning slightly toward her, “what can you tell me about the sixth layer?”

Gao Fu stepped closer, her expression thoughtful as she recalled ancient knowledge. “It is a chaotic place that even the Four Horsemen left alone. It has become a nesting ground of Void Beasts and lost worlds, realms that have been torn from their original anchors and drift endlessly in the darkness.”

I pressed for more. “Tell me more about these lost worlds.”

“While some worlds were pulled into the Hollowed World during the great upheavals,” she answered calmly, “most of them end up here, swallowed by the sixth layer’s instability. They float as broken fragments, leaking qi, souls, and residual laws into the void.”

I nodded, connecting the dots to past encounters. “What about the graveyard of worlds?”

Gao Fu’s eyes sharpened with recognition. “The graveyard of worlds is a special realm connected directly to the sixth layer. It appears sporadically to other layers and even randomly across the rest of the Greater Universe. It acts as a vast repository that receives destroyed worlds and floods of souls all at once, entire civilizations reduced to drifting tombs. It is both a treasure trove and a deathtrap.”

Her words confirmed my suspicions. To reach the site of Ru Qiu’s fall, we would first have to push through the seventh layer, which was firmly the territory of War. That alone promised complications.

Hei Mao, who had been quietly observing from the side, crossed his arms and muttered, “I guess I will have to split from the rest of you, huh?” He was clearly referring to Luminary’s Rest. It seemed the he had grown genuinely attached to the place during our time there.

I turned to him with a serious look. “I’d really appreciate it if you stay, disciple.”

Before Hei Mao could respond, a sudden distortion warped the space ahead of us. Ripples of unstable qi spread outward as a battered Soaring Dragon vessel materialized, looking worse for wear with scorched hull plates and flickering arrays. I sighed, already sensing a very familia presence inside it.

“Jue Bu, what the hell are you doing here?” I transmitted through Qi Speech, my tone laced with exasperation.

A figure leaped from the damaged Soaring Dragon and landed lightly on the deck of the Mighty Duck. It was a headless person dressed in flowing green robes, the neck stump sealed cleanly with faint purple qi. I was momentarily speechless as I quickly pieced together what had happened. Jue Bu had tried to get clever by beheading himself and sending only the body to the Underworld in order to bypass his curse and the crown that bound him to the Hollowed World.

Jue Bu’s voice echoed directly into my mind via qi speech. “Okay, before you lose your shit. Listen to me first, okay? Also, I want you to meet someone.”

An elegant woman then leaped gracefully from the Soaring Dragon, landing on our deck with poise that spoke of ancient nobility. Her dark robes shimmered like starlit night, and an aura of quiet authority surrounded her.

Jue Bu gestured proudly with one hand. “Meet my younger sister, Wang Zhou! Ruler of the Ninth Layer!”

Gao Fu immediately offered a respectful cupped-fist salute. “Salutations to the Lady of the Night.”

Wang Zhou seemed surprised, though a flicker of conflict crossed her features. “Greetings, Death Daughter. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen your kind. It almost makes me question what you are doing on the Holy Emperor’s side.”

Gao Fu replied evenly, “Allegiances change.”

“But not a Death Daughter—” Wang Zhou began, her tone sharpening slightly.

Jue Bu cut her off quickly. “Little sis, enough… We can get over the lore drop later, but first, we need to talk more important stuff.”

I felt a strange unease at how casually modern Jue Bu’s speech had become lately, phrases straight out of 21st-century Earth slipping into his ancient tongue with increasing frequency.

Jue Bu continued without missing a beat. “You see, Da Wei. I have a very good reason why I’m doing this. I know, I know… I should’ve run it over you first, but it seemed important enough. Anyway, what do you think of becoming a Yama King?”

Gao Fu’s eyes widened in genuine shock. “I don’t know who you are, but you don’t mean for the Lady of the Night to give up the Ninth Layer? This is closely tied to her existence. You could kill her.”

Jue Bu simply shrugged, his headless form somehow conveying nonchalance. “She’ll be fine. Da Wei’s reservoir of faith is deep and he could afford it. What do you think, old friend? It seems you are at an enormous strategic disadvantage against the local hegemony of the realm. What do you think of taking over the Underworld through their essence? Sounds nice, right?”

Wang Zhou met my gaze directly and began to explain without hesitation.

“The rulers of the Underworld were created through faith,” she said, her voice smooth and ancient. “We were chosen from a long line of mortals who drank Meng Po’s soup, forgetting our past lives before being raised to our positions through the accumulated faith of the departed. The gods of the Underworld sustain themselves on the faith generated by the Underworld itself. If you take the Ninth Layer, Holy Emperor, you would become a god of the Underworld in truth. I would become a lesser god falling under your pantheon, subsisting through the power of faith you wield.”

It was tempting. The arrangement would grant me real legitimacy over that portion of the Underworld, not to mention adding a powerful Ascended Soul subordinate who already commanded an entire layer. I weighed the risks and rewards in silence for a moment before speaking.

“What would you gain from this?” I asked.

Wang Zhou’s eyes softened with something close to relief. “This way, I would be able to sever my ties with the Supreme Death and walk freely out there without fear. I have admired your Eternals for some time now. They have made the Underworld a better place, and since you are their master, it is only right that I come to you. Jue Bu was another reason why I decided on this course of action.”

I thought about it carefully, considering the strategic implications, the potential backlash, and the simple fact that another ally in the Underworld could prove decisive in the coming conflicts. In the end, I decided.

“What do I need to do?” I asked.

“I only need you to accept my symbol,” Wang Zhou replied.

She extended her hand and offered a bracelet made of smooth obsidian beads that seemed to absorb light itself. I held it in my palm, feeling the cool weight and the faint pulse of layered faith within.

Wang Zhou’s voice rang clear and formal as she declared, “I, Wang Zhou, Lady of the Night and former Ruler of the Ninth Layer, offer my service to you, Holy Emperor Da Wei. From this moment onward, you are a Yama King who rules the Ninth Layer.”

I accepted her words with a solemn nod. “I accept your service, Wang Zhou.”

The obsidian beads dissolved into streams of dark light and vanished into my body, merging seamlessly with my core. A new thread of authority settled into my being, subtle yet profound, the recognition of an entire layer now answering to me.

My first order came without delay. “Keep watch over Luminary’s Rest in my stead while we are away.”

I reached out and took back the Dark Veil I had used to cloak the sanctuary. The veil rippled like living shadow before transforming into a sleek cape that settled behind me, slowly merging with my imperial robes until it became part of them.

Wang Zhou bowed deeply. “As you command, Yama King.”

I turned next to Hei Mao, who had been watching the entire exchange with wary interest. “You’ll be coming with me, disciple. No arguments.”

Hei Mao gave a reluctant nod, muttering something under his breath about troublesome masters.

Finally, I looked at Jue Bu’s headless form. “Jue Bu, you will act as commander of our army here in the Greater Universe for the duration that Ru Qiu is out of commission. Hold the line and coordinate with the Eternals until I return.”

Jue Bu threw his arms up in childish celebration, his green robes flapping wildly. “Yes! Thank you, Ru Qiu, for sucking so hard!” he cheered through qi speech, his voice dripping with exaggerated relief.

“Alice,” I said, glancing sideways at her, “prepare your planar spell. When we reach the edge of the Seventh Layer, we’re going to punch through them.”

Alice cracked her knuckles with a predatory grin, already gathering shimmering threads of spatial qi around her fingertips. “Finally. Been itching for some real work. Consider it done, David.”

Jue Bu and Wang Zhou exchanged a quick look before the headless man stepped forward, his green robes fluttering. “We’ll excuse ourselves here, old friend. My sister and I still have a few preparations to make on our end before tending to our duties you’ve assigned us.”

Wang Zhou offered a graceful bow, her night-like aura flickering faintly. “Until then, Yama King.”

With that, the two of them vanished in a swirl of dark qi, returning to the battered Soaring Dragon vessel.

Chen Wei’s eyes lit up with youthful excitement as he gripped the hilt of his sword. “This is going to be amazing! I can finally test my swordsmanship against real opponents from the Greater Universe. Uncle Da Wei, just point me at them… I won’t let you down!”

I offered him a small nod, appreciating the enthusiasm even if it carried the recklessness of inexperience. “Stay close and don’t overextend. This isn’t training ground sparring.”

Gu Jie moved to my side, her expression calm but serious. “Father, remember to also look for Fanarys and Arthur. It seemed they were with Ru Qiu when he fell. If they survived, they’ll likely be hiding somewhere nearby.”

“Good point,” I replied, filing the reminder away.

Hei Mao, who had been lounging against a bulkhead with his arms crossed, finally pushed off and cracked his knuckles loudly. The sound echoed like breaking stones. “Tch. Sounds like a real drag,” he grumbled, though a feral glint sparked in his eyes. “But since I’m already here, I might as well enjoy it. Let’s see how rusty these claws have gotten.”

“Hold on tight and be patient,” I warned the others as the warp array activated. “This is going to be a long ride.”