Mad God

With a new boat, traveling down the multiple rivers, all heading towards the same ocean, Ren, Ariana, and Kyu were closing in on the territory that belonged to Kaizer's Sect, the Midnight's Shadow Sect. Throughout the journey, Ren couldn't help but mull over the case of the fragmented souls and how that one town seemingly was made up of all those who suffered through something that scarring. Somehow they all found their way to each other as if they were connected on a level, not even the Gods or Immortals could recognize. No other group they encountered on their journey had the same problems; Ren even captured some other small bandit camps' leaders, making them bow to Orsi and let her probe their souls. Everyone else was fine.

"Master!" Ariana came up with a cup of coffee, smiling at her, placing it between her fingers. "This will help clear your thoughts~."

"Ehehe~ Thanks!" She chuckled, blowing on it gently before taking a sip and closing her eyes. Above them, the sky was dark, filled with gray, thick clouds, sometimes rumbling with thunder, but the rain was yet to pour down from them.

"The weather here is… awful!" Ariana sighed, sitting down next to her as it was Kyu who was steering their small boat, happy to be entrusted with something meaningful.

"Really? I like it!" Ren laughed, opening one of her eyes and watching Ariana's face.

"Of course, you do, with that affinity of yours! Still… the wind is strong; if I do not tie my hair up, I can't see at all! And it is like we are still in the middle of the night even when it's already morning!"

"It is more dramatic than our Storm Coast." Ren nodded in agreement. "But with darkness being prevalent here, you should feel more at home~."

"Not really!" She shrugged. "My 'darkness' is more attuned to people's darkness… and that is present everywhere, no matter what the weather is like!"

"That is why you are going to train under Kaizer a little! It will bring you a little bit of a balance and may even push you into the 3rd stage!"

"You think?" She tilted her head. "I don't know, I just… go along with everything; I have no idea what even that stage requires from me to be reached!"

"That is what I can't help you with!" Ren shook her head, "You need to find your own balance, goals, and truth! When you do, you are going to reach the 3rd stage! Then you can start merging your energy points, and that… I can help you out with that!" She rubbed her back lovingly. "My best bet is to place you into his hands for a little bit!"

"It will be weird listening to someone else instead of you, Master…."

"Don't worry, Kaizer is going to be cordial! Maybe flirt with you a little bit, but that is all~."

"Heh, don't worry, I won't shoo him away as rudely as I do with others!" Ariana joked, making her Master also laugh out loud.

"While you are going to listen to him and train with him in his sect, I'm going to check out the surrounding territories!"

"So, while I'm working, you are going on a vacation?" Ariana continued with a joking voice.

"Of course! Guess what? I was working for years without pause! Demons, family matters, the dwarven menace! I deserve a little bit of me time!" Ren answered proudly, emptying her cup.

"Vacation! Yey! That is the best word!" Kyu's voice came from the back, making the boat echo with laughter.

…
….
…..

Skoorn was, once again, kneeling in deep darkness, eyes closed, with his rusty sword across his thighs. Amongst the Gods, he was even more reclusive than the twins, rarely leaving his little realm, maybe once every hundred years.

"What do you want?" He asked with a dry, deep-cutting voice, not even opening his eyes, feeling the presence of Nilier, letting her enter into the dark abyss.

"I was visited by one of the Immortals."

"And you let her go?" Skoorn opened his eyes ever so slightly, already guessing which one it must have been as the other two would not be let in her main temple. "Instead of sending me a message? We could've killed her!"

"Maybe we could have. Or maybe not." Nilier replied calmly. "They are stronger than you think."

"You were always too soft and afraid of confrontation!" Skoorn snorted. "It would have been a perfect opportunity! No wonder you and your people are the weakest and most useless!"

"I did not come here to be lectured by you, you bald fuck!" Nilier flared up, unable to keep her composure anymore.

"What did you say?" he stood up, holding his sword but not yet aiming it at her. On the other hand, his eyes were now completely open, ready to fight. He was trying to intimidate her as he always did when they were still kids, being raised by Kai.

"I'm not here to get lectured by someone who went bald when Master punished him for disobedience! Since he shaved off your golden mane, it has never regrown, has it?" Nilier said, grinning and stepping even closer, standing face to face with him as their nose almost touched. "So stop with the tough play Skoorn and don't act like you are the best of us because you ain't nothing but a battle maniac, bald, virgin, cuntsniffer! Was I clear, or should I repeat myself again?"

"I should cut your tongue out for this!" Skoorn said with clenched teeth.

"Try me!" Nilier smiled with an extra tinge of provocation. "I came here to warn you, but now it seems I won't need to! I bet you already know that the twins are planning something."

"..."

"Hm? What? You didn't know?" she stepped back a little, tilting her head while crossing her arms before her chest.

"Go on!"

"That is the maximum to be expected from you, huh? No sorry or anything? Oh well! No wonder you never bested Athos!"

"Enough! Don't even bring him up! I KILLED him!"

"Sure!" Nilier rolled her eyes, "Back to the twins. They are fiddling with the reincarnation circle again! I don't know what they did now or how, but I found evidence that a large number of souls are going elsewhere instead of reincarnating normally! When they die, they don't become part of the cycle!"

"And?" Skoorn asked, closing his eyes and calming himself down. "So what?"

"Are you still this dumb, or is this an act? Didn't you learn anything from Master? Or from his fate, so to speak?! We couldn't destroy his soul or his crystal… instead, we imprisoned him! Who was the one who came up with the technique to do so?"

"Alfina and Oynega."

"Who said they will find a way to destroy even a God's soul?"

"..."

"If we are not careful enough, we will be the next Kai! Or even worse…!" Nilier warned him.

"Did this information come from the Immortals?" Skoorn asked finally, after a brief pause, and Nilier just nodded before answering.

"Partially. But I went and confirmed it myself."

"Partially? Who was the other part?" He furrowed his brows.

"Athos."

"..." Skoorn immediately flinched, clenching the hilt of his weapon before relaxing his fingers a little. "I'm not convinced yet," he said, feeling a bit threatened by the sudden news as it was confirmed now that the Immortals found him before they did.

"That is good. Me neither. But keep an eye out for the twins! I heard you sent demons up to the surface to catch someone you have your eyes on. When some of your minions bite the dust, keep your senses glued to their souls and see what is happening with them!" Nilier warned him once again, "That is going to be the best proof for us!" She sighed, before disappearing, not even waiting for his answer.

When he remained utterly alone again, he couldn't help but shout out continuously, releasing his anger, slashing with his sword, leaving behind dark, crimson trails in the air. The way Nilier spoke to him now… in the past, she never dared to do something like this. Not until she met with Athos. The time they spent together changed her. Since those days, he could no longer intimidate her or the twins, and he felt like he had lost the position he had before; The leading figure of the four Gods. All because of a newcomer who always dared to stand up to him, humiliate him and poke fun at him… Nothing changed after his death; the others never again spoke to him like before Athos's appearance. He was the reason everything had changed from their supposed ways.

…
….
…..

"Welcome to my Sect!" Kaizer smiled, welcoming Ren, Ariana, and Kyu personally. Beside him stood two of his Grand Elders. One of them was Ishkar, a man looking like someone in his 30s with short, black hair and a clean shave. He was standing there unperturbed by their arrival, following his leader's orders to the letter in welcoming the guests cordially. The other was Klement, a woman, still only looking like someone in her teens, smiling charmingly as her black hair flowed behind her like a cape, reaching down to her ankles. Still, no matter how friendly of a smile she wore, her gray, steel-colored eyes gave her the expression of a stern and cold woman. "This is Ishkar, my left hand, and Klement, my right hand; I raised them myself!" He introduced them proudly, and even if the two did not get why their Master was so… weird right now, they only cupped their hands, bowing towards them cordially.

"Greetings, my name is Ren; she is my disciple Ariana and my good-for-nothing daughter, Kyu."

"I am good for a lot of things!" Kyu protested immediately, but Ren just grinned, rubbing her head with one hand and also… holding her back before she could rush away and plunder some resources.

"We were already informed by Master. We were looking forward to meeting you!" both of them answered simultaneously.

"Don't worry about Kyu!" Kaizer chuckled, "I already prepared everything!" he said calmly, turning towards his disciples. "Go, take the girl to her… buffet."

"Yes!" they nodded as Ren lifted her hand, letting Kyu excitedly follow the two.

Kaizer's Sect was taking up a large land, lying at the edge of the Black Coast, where the sky was always dark with clouds. The wild waters of the ocean were assaulting the shoreline at every time of the day, wildly clashing against it. It resulted in a jagged, high cliffside stretching for hundreds of kilometers. The natural walls were hundreds of meters high and sharp as blades, cutting up the waves coming at them. There were no harbors here as the waters were too violent, and no buildings could withstand nature's wrath for long. At least not at ground zero. High up, on the cliffside, at the same level where the Midnight's Shadow Sect was built, they established multiple cultivation abodes and training grounds. They were right where the rocks opened up, cracked by the waves, and deep caverns lay below them, the perfect environments for many disciples to hone their skills by venturing into the dangerous depths of darkness.

"The air around here… feels heavy," Ariana said, taking a few deep breaths.

"Of course!" Kaizer nodded, "My Lil Sis laid down a formation for me in the depths of the land, deep below the Sect. The air is filled with energy that is beneficial to those who practice any affinity that draws from the absence of light!"

"So, not just darkness affinities?" Ren asked as they started walking closer, watching the multiple, pointy and sharp-edged buildings dotting the horizon, having the vast, 40-50 meters high black waves crashing against each other as a backdrop.

"Yep!" Kaizer said proudly, "I have a lot of disciples with different affinities, and I teach them how to tune them towards darkness."

"Sounds evil!" Ariana chuckled.

"It is only a misconception!" Kaizer shook his head, "Humans are afraid of the dark because back in the ancient days, we were only prey when night fell! It does not mean it is inherently evil! Are you evil?" He asked back at her, but Ariana just shook her head as Kaizer continued, "For another example; I have a lot of water affinity disciples who now use the Black Coast's dark water when forming a spell. It is a much heavier type of water; it crashes through everything and erodes the defenses of cultivators, just like the sea cuts up the shoreline here!"

"What about those with fire?" Ren asked.

"You won't find any of them here!" Kaizer grinned, "They wouldn't stand it, plus they usually aim to join big bro's Sect! So, Ariana, how do you like it so far?"

"I don't know." She answered honestly, "I need time to adjust; it is still jarring to go from a chaotic feeling to an orderly one…." She murmured as the switch between the outside world and the territory of a big Sect's air was huge.

"Come! I'll help you quickly get used to it, and I'll teach you everything I know!" Kaizer patted her shoulders.

"R-really?" Ariana asked, surprised, looking at Ren and then at Kaizer.

"Of course!" Kaizer laughed. "Everything I know is based on the teachings of hers!" He pointed at Ren. "Plus, being her disciple makes you my little sister! Nothing is held back between siblings!" He smiled, looking at Ariana, leading her away while Ren just stood there with a happy look in her eyes. Ren's face returned to calmness when they were away as she disappeared, already flying towards the south, alongside the shoreline.

What Ariana did not know was that as Kaiser was explaining things to her, he was also communicating with Ren;

"There have been demon sightings in the past days. They are pushing into the mainland and trying to establish an outpost. They have already wiped out two towns, killed around two dozen disciples of mine… I am afraid you came at a time when war is brewing." Kaizer said to her immediately when they arrived.

"Will you step in?"

"I can't deal with every instance of trouble!" He replied with a stern voice, "I did not raise them to be useless people who always come to me when there is trouble! I'll train Ariana as planned. I'll only step in if there is way too much pressure on my people."

"I'll go and check it out!" Ren said after a brief pause.

"Sure! I knew you would; I already sent word to expect you there! Don't worry; I'll keep the two busy and train Kyu, too, on the sides! Also, be careful; for now, the invading demons' strength is only around the Harmony stage, but that does not mean stronger ones won't be swimming to shore!"

"Relax! It won't be the first time for me to fight demons~" Ren laughed, flying towards the south, mumbling to herself. "Fishes should stay in the ocean… if it is not big enough for you, don't blame me for hosting an open barbecue…."