But this thing was wrong, horribly wrong. Skin hung in bloody ribbons, hollow sockets leaking black ichor, mouth stretched in a scream layered with a thousand dying children’s voices. “Mother… why did you carve out my Echo while I still screamed?” It lunged, spectral claws raking across Elizabeth’s chest. Real flesh parted. Indigo essence sprayed in hot, hissing arcs.Behind it rose a second horror: a younger Elizabeth, knife trembling, standing over the grave she had wept at years ago. The phantom laughed with wet, maniacal glee and drove the blade into her own chest again and again. Black blood sprayed in burning arcs that sizzled against the real woman’s skin. “You wanted to wear their skin,” the phantom hissed between gurgles. “You wanted to devour your own children to ascend. Look at what you became!”“Get out of my head!” Elizabeth shrieked, blood streaming from her eyes and nose like tears of tar. The phantom’s jaws were locked around her throat, gnawing viciously while the ey

Thick iroko trees formed a huge umbrella above a small river, beside which was a giant lizard drinking water, carrying several bags.Fifteen tall dark warriors were dining around a camp fire near the giant lizard. Behind the lizard, a group of thin, malnourished men and one female child were crouching, having a quiet meal, there was nothing much in the bowl, just beans, their eyes dim.In a chair made of timber, a fat old man was sitting motionlessly. He was wearing a dark blue robe embroidered with seven white clouds on his back, eyes constantly staring at the chained people, his gaze carried viciousness.“Eat fast! I have places to be!”The female child stared back in defiance, determination in her poise, suddenly she hurled the bowl of cold beans at the man and turned to run in the opposite direction towards the small river.However the man only smiled as he watched her make a run for it.Suddenly he waved his two fingers in a lazy way and a strand of water twisted into a glowing w

“What do I do? How do I avoid drinking this?” he thought to himself inwardly, but in reality, he was talking to that entity in his eye, hoping it would give him a useful answer, but none came.The smell was revolting; it had the scent of rotten fish. He really felt like he would die if he drank this liquid.Kennedy clapped his hands and answered Vandal’s unspoken fears. “Mawrot Essence is my personal creation. It’s lots of fun. You are going to do whatever I say while you decay from the inside until you vomit your brain and die.”“Why should I drink this?” Vandal finally asked.“Well, if you drink it, you will die later… but if you don’t… you will die now,” Kennedy replied slowly.Vandal hesitated. After all his self-promises to become stronger, he was going to die like this? Used and killed by a strange poison?“What’s wrong? Huh? You will be super strong, I promise you. With your rich reserves of resonance energy and your sturdy, healthy body, you will be very useful to me in a lot

Vandal’s thoughts flashed back to the moment he had crossed eyes with that innocent-looking child who seemed to be his age mate. Her eyes were so clear, and she had a lot of fighting spirit in her demeanor.“That was the girl these bastards locked in a cage full of poop.” That memory made him retch in disgust. He could still remember the stench, and he could only imagine how she had managed to withstand it during her time of punishment.“Damn it, I can’t allow him to give her the Mawrot essence. She would certainly die — a very painful death.” His mind frantically searched for a way out of this predicament, a way to prevent her from taking the Mawrot poison.After a while, Emeka returned.“Boss, I think she has escaped. I can’t find her. She might have escaped somehow during the commotion when we got attacked.”Vandal breathed a sigh of relief. *Good girl. She was able to escape. That’s very good.*“Fine, I will organise a search party to bring her here. She can’t have gone far. She

“I can’t let you stop me!”Vandal’s face turned ice-cold. A ferocious strength surged from deep within him as a glowing Echo Mark flared to life in his body. Instantly, his internal organs rapidly shifted and strengthened, transforming into those of a bone-mouthed bear.He pushed all thoughts of his internal changes aside and channeled every bit of his resonance energy into his fists.Stamping his foot hard into the ground, he anchored himself.BAM!Faruk’s heavy fist slammed into his face with brutal force. Vandal’s nose broke with a sickening crunch, but he didn’t budge. His feet dug deeper into the dirt as he absorbed the blow. A sharp, electric pain exploded across his face, his nose swelling instantly and throbbing with intense tenderness. In the same breath, his small but empowered fist shot forward like a cannonball, smashing straight into Faruk’s stomach.CRACK!A sickening bone-crushing sound rang out.“Gaaahhh!” Faruk’s eyes bulged in shock and agony as the air was violently