Throne Of The Forbidden God

Climbing the Wall of Death

"Are you ready, Heir?"

The System's voice echoed, bouncing between the wet and cold granite walls. Ravian stood before a perpendicular cliff face, a stone giant that seemed to have no end. Above, black mist blocked his view, hiding the world that had cast him out.

"Don't ask things you already know the answer to, System," Ravian hissed. He squeezed his fingers, feeling his nails now as hard as steel grating against each other.

"This wall reaches a height of ten thousand meters. Gravity here will not let you ascend easily. You will feel as if you are carrying a mountain on your shoulders," the System warned.

Ravian smirked, an expression that looked foreign on his face, which was now thinner and sharper. "Carrying a mountain? I've been carrying this hatred for months at the bottom of this hole. Gravity is just a minor nuisance."

"Then begin. Show me that the Demon Bone Structure isn't just for show."

Ravian took a deep breath. The air at the bottom of the abyss felt heavy and smelled of sulfur, but his new lungs greedily absorbed the essence. He bent his knees, feeling black energy swirling wildly within his Hell Meridians, gathering in his calves and the soles of his feet.

Now!

BOOM!

The ground beneath his feet exploded, shattering into dust as Ravian shot upward like an arrow released from a giant bow. He leaped thirty meters high in a single burst. As his momentum began to slow, his fingers slammed into the stone wall.

CRACK!

"Ugh!" Ravian groaned as his fingers sank into the twenty-centimeter-thick granite.

"Good. Don't let go," the System's voice sounded flat. "Thirty meters cleared. Nine thousand nine hundred and seventy meters to go."

"Shut your mouth and just watch!" Ravian shouted.

He pulled his body up with incredible arm strength. Every muscle in his back tensed, radiating a thin black aura. He leaped again, gripped, then pulled. His movements were rhythmic, fast, and powerful. He didn't climb like a human; he climbed like a predator chasing prey at the mountain's peak.

However, after reaching a height of one thousand meters, the air began to change. The surrounding pressure suddenly increased, making his bones emit an unpleasant creaking sound.

"What is this... why is my chest suddenly tight?" Ravian panted, cold sweat beginning to drench his forehead.

"Warning. You are entering the Soul Rejection Zone," the System reported. "The Abyss of Soul Annihilation realizes that prey is trying to escape. The gravity around you has increased fivefold."

Ravian felt his body suddenly become as heavy as a giant slab of lead. His fingers, dug into the stone wall, began to tremble. "Damn it... is it trying to drag me back down?"

"Correct. This abyss is hungry, Ravian. It wants you to fall. It wants you to be crushed at the bottom like the thousands before you."

I will not fall! Ravian thought furiously. Kaelan kicked me down so I would disappear. If I fall now, I'll only prove that bastard right!

"Tell me, System... how do I fight this pressure?"

"Don't fight it with physical strength alone. Channel your hell energy outward through your skin. Create a layer that rejects the pressure of this world. You are the Heir of the Forbidden God; you do not submit to the natural laws of Astrala!"

Ravian closed his eyes for a moment. He focused his concentration on the Hell Core in his chest. Black fire began to creep out of his pores, enveloping his body like invisible armor. Instantly, the tightness in his chest eased.

"Better," he muttered. He moved again. Leap after leap, grip after grip.

One hour passed. Two hours. Five hours.

"My hands... are starting to go numb," Ravian whispered. His fingertips no longer felt the texture of the stone, only a burning heat.

"Are you tired? Lin Xuelan is likely meditating peacefully in her luxurious room right now. Perhaps she is laughing with your brother, planning their wedding," the System's voice fueled the fire in Ravian's heart.

"Shut up! I know that!"

"You know? And yet you've stopped climbing. Do you want them to win?"

"NO!"

Ravian slammed his fist into the stone wall, creating a large hole for a foothold. "I won't stop until I see their faces turn pale with terror!"

The first night on the wall of death passed in a haunting silence. Only the sound of Ravian's heavy breathing and the sound of shattering stone broke the stillness. He didn't dare sleep. He remained motionless, gripping a crevice with one hand while resting the other in turns.

"How long has it been, System?"

"Twenty-four hours. You have reached a height of four thousand meters."

"Only four thousand?" Ravian looked down. He could no longer see the bottom of the abyss, only a sea of darkness that seemed to call for him to surrender.

"Gravity will continue to increase every thousand meters. Be prepared."

The second day was the true test of Ravian's mental state. His muscles began to scream from the buildup of lactic acid. The skin on his palms was shredded, leaving raw red flesh that constantly rubbed against the rough stone. His black blood congealed, creating a slippery layer that made the climb even more dangerous.

"Why... is it getting so slippery?"

"You are in the soul vapor area. The humidity here contains the essence of death that softens the stone," the System replied. "Use the Hell Step technique on the cliff wall. Stop climbing like an ape and start running!"

"Run on a perpendicular wall? You're crazy!"

"Do it or fall. The choice is yours."

Ravian gritted his teeth. He released his grip and let his body hover for a moment. Before gravity could drag him down, he kicked his feet against the cliff wall.

Zlap!

He shot upward vertically. His feet planted against the stone wall at an impossible angle. With hell energy acting as both adhesive and propellant, Ravian began to run upward. Every step left deep cracks in the cliff's surface.

"Hah... hah... it's working!"

"Focus! If your concentration breaks for even a second, you will slide down without mercy!"

Day three. Ravian's consciousness began to waver. He hadn't eaten, drunk, or slept for over sixty hours. His world consisted only of gray stone and black mist. Hallucinations began to appear. He seemed to see the shadow of his deceased mother calling to him from the darkness. He saw Xuelan waving at him, telling him to let go.

"Xuelan... you..."

"That's not her, Ravian! It's the whisper of the abyss!" the System's shout jolted his consciousness. "Use your pain! Burn the remnants of your energy!"

"I... I can't go on... my body... won't move..."

"Remember that engagement night! Remember the pain when your ribs were crushed! Remember how Kaelan grabbed your hair and insulted you as trash!"

Ravian's eyes, which had been haggard, suddenly snapped wide open. The red in his pupils flashed with a terrifying intensity. "Kaelan... that bastard..."

"Yes! He is living with the glory that should have been yours! He wears silk robes while you are drenched in blood here! Will you let him continue to live in peace?"

"NO! HE MUST DIE! THEY ALL MUST DIE!"

Ravian roared, a sound more like a wild beast than a human. The hell energy in his body exploded, incinerating the fatigue in his muscles. He leaped with greater power than ever before, piercing through the thinning black mist.

The gravitational pressure reached its peak. The surrounding air seemed to turn solid, trying to crush his body. But Ravian didn't care. He kept crawling, kept climbing, kept shattering the stone before him.

Suddenly, he felt something different. The air entering his lungs no longer smelled of sulfur. There was the scent of damp earth, the scent of grass, and something he hadn't felt in a very long time.

Light.

Above, a blue line began to appear. The light was thin, but in Ravian's eyes, it was the most beautiful yet most painful sight he had ever seen.

"The sun..." Ravian whispered hoarsely.

"Only ten meters left, Heir. Don't disappoint me at the finish line," the System's voice sounded softer, almost like an encouraging whisper.

Ravian gathered all his remaining energy into his right hand. He leaped one more time, a final jump that carried his entire life and his vengeance.

SLAP!

Fingers stained with black blood and stone dust gripped the flat edge of the cliff. Ravian could feel the soft grass beneath his palm. With what little strength he had left, he pulled his entire body up.

He rolled onto the level ground, panting heavily, his chest heaving. The bright morning sunlight hit his face, making his eyes which had grown accustomed to the darkness sting and water.

Ravian slowly stood up, sitting cross-legged while regulating his breath. He looked ahead. There, far on the horizon, he could see the magnificent towers of Azure City glistening in the sunlight. The city that had cast him out in disgrace one year ago.

He looked at his hands. His wounds were beginning to close at an unnatural speed thanks to the system. The power flowing through his body felt a thousand times greater than the weak youth who was once thrown into this abyss.

"I've made it," Ravian said, his voice cold and trembling with suppressed emotion.

"Welcome back to the upper world, Ravian Arkana. Or should I call you... the Heir of Hell?"

Ravian stood tall. He no longer needed a cane. He no longer dragged his feet. His back was perfectly straight, defying the vast sky. He took a deep breath, inhaling the air of freedom that he would soon fill with the scent of his enemies' blood.

"Call me whatever you like, System," Ravian hissed. His red eyes stared sharply toward Azure City. "But make sure this world is prepared. Because tonight, their party has just ended, and their nightmare has only just begun."