NOVEL WEB Chapter 41: The rift opens, and the altar falls
Blades clashed.
Skies ruptured.
And at the very edge of existence, the battlefield between General Xu Wulong and Khur'Zhal had transcended mortal conflict.
They were no longer just two warriors.
They were avatars of two worlds colliding.
---
Above the Wreckage, Titans Waged War
Khur'Zhal's roar thundered through the valley as his dark blade struck down with the force of a falling mountain. Wulong met it with a shimmering arc of divine light, his lion-engraved sword ringing like a celestial bell.
The shockwave from the impact flattened hills. Entire rivers reversed. Hundreds of weaker warriors on both sides dropped to the ground, vomiting blood, unable to withstand the spiritual pressure.
> "YOU'VE GROWN SOFT, WULONG!"
Khur'Zhal laughed, his body shrouded in red lightning.
> "AND YOU'VE GROWN LOUDER,"
Wulong replied as he parried with one hand and flicked his sword, cutting across the general's armored chest, leaving a crack.
---
The Rift Widens
As their battle reached its peak, the space around them trembled.
The altar where Ash was sealed—deep beneath the destroyed shrine—began to hum violently.
Its ancient inscriptions lit up once more.
> Shen Mu's voice trembled,
"No… the altar is reacting to the battle."
The Yin-Yang Lion spirit growled low.
> "Their clash is breaking the veil. This place is not anchored anymore…"
Suddenly, a tear—thin at first—ripped across the foundation of the altar.
The Yin-Yang sanctum, hidden away for centuries in the mortal realm, began to fall.
Not crumble.
Fall.
It was being sucked through a rapidly widening spatial fissure, one that glowed red and black—
—the Demonic Realm.
---
The Fall into Darkness
Massive chains of abyssal energy burst through the altar walls, dragging its foundation into a swirling spiral of demonic energy.
> "ASH!" Shen Mu shouted inside the subconscious.
> "Wake up, damn it!"
But Ash didn't stir.
His body, wrapped in Yin-Yang aura, hovered midair as the shrine itself collapsed into a vortex, vanishing from the human world—
—and reappearing in the Forbidden Wastes, deep in the Demonic Realm.
---
Demonic Realm – Altar Emerges
From the broken soil of the black deserts, a monumental altar erupted, crushing nearby demon camps and startling entire legions.
Dark generals stared in shock.
Whispers swept through the ranks.
> "What… is that?"
> "That's not one of ours…"
> "Is that the shrine the general spoke of?"
As they approached, the aura from the altar made even tier 5 beasts tremble. Half Yin, half Yang, the energy pushed against the demonic air like a heartbeat of defiance.
Inside, Ash hovered—unconscious, but his spiritual aura was growing.
---
Back on the Battlefield
Khur'Zhal froze mid-swing.
His violet eyes narrowed.
> "The altar… it's here."
Wulong, breathing heavily, noticed the shift in his opponent.
> "What happened?"
Khur'Zhal didn't answer. He sheathed his massive blade.
> "Another time, Lion."
> "You run?"
> "I advance, old man. The true war has just begun."
In a flash of cursed wind, the demon general retreated, vanishing into the breach with a snarl.
The demons followed.
The invasion… had ended.
But only because their goal had shifted.
---
Aenya Collapses
With the retreat of the enemy, the soldiers broke into stunned silence.
Then…
Aenya dropped to her knees, blood dripping from her armor.
> "They didn't come to conquer," she whispered. "They came to… retrieve something."
She didn't know it yet.
But the "something"… was a someone.
---
Meanwhile… Deep in the Demonic Realm
Ash's body was bathed in moonless light. The altar, now embedded in the wastes of the demon world, pulsed with Yin-Yang power, creating a spiritual storm around it.
Inside Ash's soul sea—
> Shen Mu stood atop a growing throne of bone and light.
"You can't sleep anymore, Ash…"
The Yin-Yang Lion stood beside him.
> "They will come for you now. And if you do not rise… you will fall forever."