The Forbidden God System

Killing The Weak

As his body descended from the branch of a massive tree, ready to pounce on the Sterling clan soldiers below, the world around Marvin suddenly stopped moving. The torches carried by the soldiers froze in midair, their flames no longer dancing in the wind. The thick night fog grew dense like viscous black liquid, swallowing the trees and enemy soldiers into a terrifying silence.

"System! What's happening? Why is reality suddenly collapsing?" Marvin shouted, trying to move his body, which was suspended in midair.

Warning. The mechanical voice of the Forbidden God System echoed directly inside his head, louder and colder than usual. The soul fusion with the Meridian Shadow Step has not yet fully stabilized. The remnants of humanity within the user are rejecting the power of darkness. Initiating the Second Phase of the Ancient Altar Trial: Soul Core Purification.

"Damn it! I already killed that shadow in the temple chamber! Why am I being dragged back?" Marvin snarled.

What you killed before was merely an outer projection of your doubts. Now, you must confront the deepest foundation of your former self. Failure in this phase will result in meridian rejection, permanently destroying your soul.

Before Marvin could protest any further, the gravity around him suddenly vanished. His body plunged into a bottomless darkness. It felt as though he were drowning in a thick lake of cold mud.

When his feet finally touched solid ground, a familiar scent immediately pierced his nose. It wasn't the smell of the Forbidden Forest's wet earth. It was the scent of expensive rose perfume, mixed with the sweet aroma of spiritual wine and the coppery stench of fresh blood pooling on the grass.

Marvin jolted. His eyes widened as he looked around.

He was standing in a dimly lit corridor of the Sterling clan residence. The lanterns from the engagement party glimmered in the distance, casting beautiful shadows across the magnificent stone walls. Faintly, the guests' boisterous laughter and the melodious sound of music drifted from the main hall.

"This place... It can't be," Marvin whispered, his chest suddenly tightening. His hand trembled as he touched the wall of the corridor.

"Please... Xena... please help me..."

A hoarse moan filled with agony came from the dark end of the corridor.

Marvin spun around. There, on the muddy ground soaked by rainwater, a young man was struggling to crawl forward. His left leg was shattered, twisted at an unnatural angle, with his shin bone protruding through the skin. Fresh blood poured from the wound, staining his torn party clothes.

The young man was himself. The old Marvin Sterling. The crippled, weak, naive Marvin who had just been brutally betrayed on the night of his engagement.

"Why are you just standing there?" asked the crippled version of himself. He raised his head, staring at Marvin with eyes swollen from tears and blood. "Why won't you help me? Where's Xena? She promised she'd always be with me..."

Marvin stepped backward, his eyes narrowing coldly. "She never loved you, you fool. She used you to reach a new realm, then threw you away like trash to Marco."

"No! You're lying!" the old Marvin screamed, his voice shrill with desperation. He clawed at the ground with his broken fingernails, trying to crawl closer to the new Marvin. "Xena was forced into it! Marco made her do it! We have to save her! We can't surrender to this darkness!"

"You're still that stupid, even after they destroyed your leg and threw you away to be eaten by monsters," Marvin sneered with deep disgust. "Look at yourself. Crawling around like a dog, begging for mercy from people who spat in your face."

"But we're human!" the shadow screamed, tears falling onto the muddy ground. "Mother always said that no matter how badly the world treats us, we must always keep the goodness in our hearts! Father loves us! If you accept this demonic power, you'll lose everything! You'll forget Mother's smile! You'll forget Father's embrace!"

Those words struck Marvin's chest like a massive iron hammer.

In an instant, the most beautiful memories of his childhood flashed before his eyes. He saw his gentle mother singing him a lullaby whenever he cried from the pain in his leg. He saw his dignified father smiling proudly as he patted his shoulder, even though he possessed no spiritual meridians.

"Marvin, my good boy," his father's shadow suddenly echoed through the corridor, so warm that Marvin's glowing red eyes trembled slightly.

Warning. The System suddenly issued an alert. The Forbidden God Meridian's synchronization rate has dropped to eighty percent. The dark energy within your body is becoming unstable. The remnants of your humanity are attempting to take control of your consciousness.

"Ugh!" Marvin clutched his chest. An unbearable pain suddenly spread from his heart throughout his entire body.

He felt as though the meridians inside him were burning with liquid ice. At the same time, his left leg, which had already fully healed, suddenly felt incredibly weak. The paralyzing pain from the night of his betrayal surged through his nerves once again, forcing him to fall to his knees before the shadow of his former self.

"See?" The crippled Marvin crawled closer, reaching out with his filthy, blood-covered hand toward Marvin's face. "You can't lie to your own heart. You miss them. You miss peace. Put down this cursed power, Marvin. Let's die peacefully together as humans. Don't let this demon use our body to commit atrocities."

"Die... peacefully?" Marvin whispered, his body trembling violently as he endured the crushing physical and emotional pain.