Chapter 87: Monstrous Hunger

Fighting the Irunians had clearly taken a toll, because Anaelina bled from multiple wounds. Yet she still moved with ease and her eyes were glowing silver, just as they had when she'd tried to kill him. As she walked toward them, she flicked her hair back over her shoulder.

"So stubborn!" She clicked her tongue at them like a disapproving parent. "But I'm afraid I'm not letting up now. There's something strange about you that I'm desperately curious about."

Zae Zin Nim elbowed him in the ribs and stepped forward. She still wanted him to try the severing technique? It made the most sense to him to fight together and hope that they could kill Anaelina, but she seemed very determined, so he focused internally.

When Anaelina attacked, Zae Zin Nim met her with a qi strike. This time the silver demon wasn't holding back and her aura smothered the alley. Blue flames lit up around Zae Zin Nim and she didn't even stumble, allowing her to land one solid hit. Not enough.

While they fought, Kai desperately searched deeper within himself. He abandoned the idea of using his spiritual sight and scrabbled for something intuitive. There couldn't be any trace of Anaelina's monstrous nature within him or he would have noticed. Unless it could be the Monstrous Hunger? When Kai pondered it, his vision began to dim, as if he was sinking into a pitch-black pool...

A cry of pain pulled him back. He saw that Anaelina had grabbed Zae Zin Nim by the shoulder and now forced the other woman to her knees. Qi began to flow through her grip and Kai realized with horror that it was only beginning. Soon she would begin to drain away Zae Zin Nim's fundamental cultivation, destroying everything that she had worked so hard for.

Kai attacked with everything he had, but just before he used a claw, Anaelina lifted Zae Zin Nim as a human shield. He hesitated and a second later her hand was around his throat, slamming him into the wall.

"Now, let's see..." Anaelina gave him a predatory grin and squeezed... and then faltered. "What have you done to yourself? I can feel a deliciously strong power, but it's incredibly inaccessible... hmm..."

She spoke like her draining skill wasn't working, but Kai's head was swirling. Even if his strength wasn't draining, he couldn't stay conscious for long. His vision was going dark again, the water was rising, then all at once he plunged through.

.

..

.

At first he thrashed wildly in endless darkness, then Kai flailed into the air. He landed on what should have been a shore, but everything felt wrong. The sand didn't stick to his hands and felt oddly smooth, like it was composed of endless dark beads.

Black water, black sand, black sky, yet somehow he could see. Kai stumbled to his feet and looked around himself in confusion.

The only possible explanation was that he had been sent inside himself, either spiritually or mentally. It was almost like the technique Zae Zin Nim had been trying to teach him, but something had definitely gone wrong. What was he supposed to do in this empty landscape?

Thoughts of her urged him to hurry. Everything felt timeless around him, but the real world might still be moving forward. Anaelina might be draining away everything he'd gained or killing Zae Zin Nim. There was no time to waste.

When Kai pushed inward, a monster erupted from the sand. He raised a fist to fight it, only to stumble directly through. Thrown off balance, he staggered several steps before turning back and beginning to understand.

What he'd interpreted as a monster attack was actually a motionless Direboar. Not only that, he was sure that it was the exact beast he had fought in the Hunter Trials. Now that he wasn't so disoriented, he reached out and touched the fur. It wasn't ghostly anymore and instead thrummed with the strength he so often felt filling himself.

As he walked further, Kai almost stumbled over the Gomodo. Moving a little to one side, he managed to find the Isulfr. None of them moved as they had in life. The more he walked, the more confident he felt. Even if this was some sort of distorted mental technique, he was moving inside his own essence. This strange place was him, so he should be in charge.

Quickly moving in a circle, Kai made all the monsters he knew surface from the dark sand. Then the only issue was finding what didn't belong. One of the statue-like monsters was an amorphous mass and shifted every time he looked at it, but he was sure that was the unknown monster core. No, there must be something else.

Eventually he spotted it: a single brown bead amid all the black. Kai picked it up and immediately felt the long-forgotten sensation of his Laborer Class. Was this a final remnant that hadn't been stolen, or had Anaelina intentionally left it to track him? He didn't see any hint of her silvery power, so the bead was his best guess.

He had worried that it would be hard to destroy, but when Kai squeezed the bead in his fist, it crumbled instantly. That felt right. Regardless of whether or not it broke the connection between them, he was glad to turn his back on his old Class for good.

Now the only problem was that he hadn't left his soul.

Kai tried to run back to the water and only got his pants wet. When he tried to tunnel through the sand, it gently pushed him back to the surface. How was he supposed to leave? People could be fighting and dying outside while he fumbled with a new technique.

"No. Calm down. Think." Kai took a deep breath and examined his inner world more carefully.

It had seemed larger at first, but he was standing on a tiny island of dark sand in the midst of a dark ocean that extended forever. The monsters within him stood motionless... and he noted something about them. Not only were they arranged in a circle, they all seemed to be looking inward.

When he began walking to the center, his legs shook. There was something at the heart of all this, he was certain of it. He tried to tell himself that it would just be the human aspects of his strength or something else that would be a simple explanation. Instead he just kept thinking about the fact that there was one other thing unrepresented...

Something ravenous burst from the sand and leapt upon him with a world-shaking roar and it all came apart.

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..

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Kai opened his eyes and saw that Anaelina still had him pinned against the wall. She looked more frustrated than before, but not much time could have passed. He still didn't feel any of his strength draining away as it had the first time.

"I guess I didn't lose you after all." She grimaced up at him. "Honestly, this is the first time someone has resisted like this. Tell me what happened to you - how are you doing this? If you don't, I'll start tearing off the woman's limbs."

When Kai opened his mouth, unsure what he was going to say, he took a deep breath. He hadn't intended to, the air just seemed to flow inward. Yet Anaelina staggered and grabbed her hand around his neck with her other arm.

"Impossible... how..." For the first time, he saw her look truly afraid.

A palm struck her in the side and shockwaves of blue fire exploded through the street. Anaelina hurtled into an opposing building and disappeared.

"Be careful," Zae Zin Nim said. "That didn't finish her, and she might..."

Kai's breath ended and he felt his consciousness slipping away. There was no island to greet him this time, only darkness.