The God-Slayer's Trash Manual

Chapter 3

The darkness didn't last long, but it was thick enough to feel like a physical weight. When Renvar’s eyes finally slid open, he wasn't staring at a charred ceiling. He was looking at a canopy of weeping willow trees, their leaves shimmering with a faint, crystalline frost. The air was bitingly cold, so sharp it made his lungs ache, yet the heat inside his chest was still roaring like a forge.

"Oh, good. You’re not a charcoal briquette yet," a voice said.

Renvar groaned, feeling the world tilt as he tried to sit up. He was leaned against a smooth, frozen rock. "Did I miss the apocalypse? There was a giant eye. A very big, very creepy eye."

[System: You survived a psychic synchronization with a cosmic horror. Your current reward is a migraine and the fact that you still have skin. You’re welcome.]

"Shut up," Renvar muttered, then realized Yuexia was standing right over him. She looked pale, her usual composure fractured by a visible tremor in her hands.

"Who are you talking to?" she asked, her voice tight. "The eye... Renvar, how did you see that? No one else reacted. To the disciples, it was just a sunset. Only those marked by that power can see the Incinerator."

"It’s a long story involving a very pushy manual and a lot of bad luck," Renvar said, trying to stand. His legs felt like overcooked noodles. "Where are we? This doesn't look like the Xuandian dorms."

"The Jade Frost Springs," Yuexia said, reaching out to catch his arm. Her touch was freezing, a shocking contrast to the fire dancing under his skin. "It’s the only place in the sect where the Yin energy is dense enough to keep your core from melting your ribcage. Walk. If you stop moving, your blood will start to boil again."

Renvar leaned into her, more than he probably should have. "Is this the part where you tell me I have a fever and need a sponge bath? Because I’ve seen this trope before, Linruo."

"If you have the energy to be a pervert, you have the energy to move your feet," she snapped, though she didn't pull away. She hoisted his arm over her shoulder, guiding him toward a pool of glowing, milky-blue water. "Get in. Now."

Renvar looked at the water. Wisps of freezing vapor rose from the surface, and jagged shards of ice floated near the edges. "You want me to jump in there? It’s a literal ice bath. I’ll turn into a Ren-cicle."

"The Heaven-Burning Ash is consuming you from the inside out," Yuexia said, her eyes fierce. "The springs will counter the heat. It’s either the frost or spontaneous combustion. Pick one."

Renvar sighed, shivering as a fresh wave of heat surged from his solar plexus. "Fine. But if I shrink, I’m blaming you."

He stumbled into the water. The shock was instantaneous. It wasn't just cold; it felt like a thousand needles piercing every pore of his body. He let out a strangled yelp, his teeth instantly beginning to chatter.

"Holy—! That’s... that’s really cold! That is aggressively cold!"

"Sit down. Submerge your chest," Yuexia commanded. She stepped into the shallow edge of the pool, her silk robes soaking through, clinging to her frame. She didn't seem to care. She sat directly in front of him, grabbing his hands. "Focus, Renvar. Don't fight the cold. Use it. Draw the frost into your meridians and wrap it around that grey spark in your core."

Renvar gasped, his eyes wide as he looked at her. Her face was inches from his, her breath coming out in little white puffs. "I don't... I don't know how to do that. The manual didn't come with a 'how to chill out' chapter."

"Then feel my Qi," she whispered. "Follow me."

She closed her eyes, and Renvar felt a surge of energy flowing from her palms into his. It was like a river of liquid moonlight—smooth, silent, and devastatingly cold. As it entered his body, the screaming heat in his chest began to quiet. The dull, orange glow beneath his skin faded.

"Better?" she asked, her eyes fluttering open.

"A bit," Renvar panted. The physical proximity was starting to become a different kind of distraction. The water was waist-deep, and with her holding his hands like this, he could see the way the damp hair clung to her neck. "You know, for someone who supposedly hates me, you’re putting a lot of effort into keeping me alive."

Yuexia’s gaze softened, just for a second, before she looked away. "I don't hate you, Renvar. I hate that you’re a fool. I hate that you chose the one path that leads to a void."

"I told you, it chose me," Renvar said, his voice dropping an octave. "But why do you care? Our engagement was a political move. Everyone says you're the 'Ice Queen' of the sect. Why not just let the 'Smoke-Cloud Failure' burn out and find a nice, stable genius to marry?"

Yuexia’s grip on his hands tightened until it almost hurt. "Because I’ve seen what that ash does. I’ve seen that eye before."

Renvar froze, and this time it wasn't because of the water. "Wait. You were serious? You’ve actually seen that thing?"

"Ten years ago," she said, her voice trembling. The 'Ice Queen' persona was melting away, leaving behind something small and haunted. "My family’s estate was in the Northern Tundra. We were a minor branch, but we were happy. One night, the sky tore open. Not with thunder, but with silence. My father went out to investigate. By the time I reached the courtyard, there was no house. No guards. No father."

"Linruo..."

"Just ash," she whispered, a single tear tracing a path down her cheek before freezing into a tiny crystal. "Everything was grey. The trees, the stones, the people—they all just... crumbled. And in the sky, that skeletal eye was watching. It didn't even see us as enemies. We were just fuel."

Renvar felt a pang of genuine guilt. He reached out, his thumb brushing over her knuckles. "So that’s why you’re so pissed about my technique. You think I’m becoming the thing that killed them."

"You are using its power," she said, looking back at him with an intensity that burned. "The Heaven-Burning Ash isn't a human cultivation method. It’s a curse left behind by the Great Incinerator. Every time you use it, you’re feeding it. You’re giving it a doorway into this world. Three years, Renvar. That’s not a lifespan. That’s a countdown to a harvest."

[System: Error. Host’s emotional state is interfering with Qi stabilization. Also, this conversation is getting a bit too 'Main Character Backstory' for my liking. Suggestion: Crack a joke or kiss her. Either will break the tension.]

Not the time, you digital demon, Renvar thought. He looked at Yuexia, seeing the raw grief in her eyes. "Then I guess I’ll just have to be the first one to use the fire to burn the cook."

Yuexia blinked, startled. "What?"

"If this power comes from that thing, then it’s the only thing that can hurt it, right?" Renvar gave her a lopsided, defiant grin. "I’ve got three years. I could spend them hiding in an ice tub, or I could get strong enough to poke that giant eye with a very hot stick. I’m not going to be a pile of soot, Linruo. I’m going to be the guy who starts the backdraft."

Yuexia stared at him for a long moment, her expression shifting from shock to something that looked suspiciously like hope. "You really are an idiot. A complete, arrogant, suicidal idiot."

"But I'm your idiot," Renvar joked, giving her hands a playful squeeze. "And hey, the water’s actually starting to feel pretty good. Maybe we should—"

BOOM.

An explosion rocked the ground, sending a plume of frozen mud and steam into the air at the edge of the springs. The shockwave sent ripples through the pool, nearly knocking Renvar over.

"What the hell was that?" Renvar barked, his internal 'ash' core instantly flaring back to life.

Yuexia was on her feet in a second, her sword appearing in her hand in a flash of blue light. "The perimeter seals... they've been breached."

A group of figures emerged from the mist surrounding the springs. They weren't wearing the white robes of the Azure Cloud Sect. They were dressed in charcoal-grey leather, their faces covered by masks that looked like blackened bone.

"Renvar Xuandian!" one of the masked men shouted, his voice echoing with an unnatural, metallic rasp. "The Master wants his spark back. You can come quietly, or we can harvest the ash from your corpse."

Renvar scrambled out of the water, his wet clothes steaming as his body temperature spiked. He felt like crap, his soul felt like it was being sandpapered, and he was currently shivering and burning at the same time.

He looked at Yuexia, who had stepped in front of him, her blade humming with frost.

"Friends of yours?" Renvar asked, his eyes turning that eerie, deathly grey again.

"The Cult of the Cinder," Yuexia hissed, her eyes narrowing. "They worship the Incinerator. They must have felt the ripple when you slapped Zhaoren."

"Great," Renvar muttered, cracking his neck. "First day in a new world and I’ve already got a fan club. Hey, guys! Is there a sign-up sheet, or do I just start blowing smoke?"

The lead cultist didn't respond with words. He raised a hand, and a ball of concentrated, oily black flame ignited in his palm.

[System: Warning! High-intensity thermal energy detected. Probability of survival: 12%. Recommendation: Stop being a 'legendary nobody' and start being a 'legendary problem.']

"Three years," Renvar whispered to himself, a manic grin spreading across his face as grey soot began to leak from his fingertips. "Guess I'm starting the clock early."