It was dark. Everything was dark. All his senses was numb and unresponsive.
And then—he felt excruciating pain.
"....!!" Huo Yuhao's mouth opened wide to scream, but there was no noise. It was like his voice had been stolen, swallowed by the void surrounding him.
His body convulsed as waves of agony crashed over him, searing through his nerves like molten steel. Every skin, muscle, bone and blood vessels in his was slowly being scorched into ashes.
Then, there was a moment of silence.
It had burned, then it itched.
It was like millions of tiny insects burrowing into his flesh, crawling under his skin, gnawing at his nerves. The sensation was maddening, an unbearable torment that made him start clawing at himself, tearing off skin and flesh.
What was going on? Where was he?
Who...was he...?
Just as he was losing his sanity, the excruciating pain gradually started to fade into a dull, lingering ache. His ragged breaths came in short gasps, his fingers trembling as they hovered over the torn flesh.
Yet, even as his mind teetered on the edge of oblivion, something stirred within him.
Within his head — he could feel a familiar warmth, of vigorous life energy pulsating gently. A split appeared vertically on his forehead, opening to reveal a grey-golden eye with black circles and six tomoes.
Brilliant emerald rays of light exuded out of his newly revealed eye, cutting through the darkness like a beacon in the void. The emerald glow pulsed with an unfathomable power, illuminating the space around him.
As the light spread, the agonizing pain that had tormented him moments ago disappeared. His breath steadied as his eyesight, voice, and other senses gradually returned.
The suffocating darkness that once surrounded him receded, replaced by a completely white void
In an instant, his body had healed.
The grey-golden eye on his forehead pulsed again, its six tomoes spinning slowly. With each revolution, clarity flooded his mind, pushing away the lingering fog of confusion. His name, his ambitions, the fragments of his past—everything was coming back.
"I... I am Huo Yuhao." He exclaimed with a gasp, his eyes wide.
"Where am I...?!"
He looked around him in confusion, utterly baffled by his situation.
He could now clearly remember his impending death — a heavenly bolt of lightning carrying the concept of destruction descending upon him, and despite using everything and with the help of his friends, he had clearly failed.
"Don't tell me... is this the afterlife?" Huo Yuhao muttered skeptically, his voice laced with disbelief.
Where's the river? Or golden gates? Or even...the pits of hell?
"This might be hell!" Huo Yuhao shuddered, after experiencing such excruciating pain, the thought didn't seem too far-fetched. If this was the afterlife, then it was a cruel one—no guiding spirits, no judgment, just an abyss of suffering.
But was he truly dead?
Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes, coming to a sudden realization. "...This isn't my physical body."
As someone who has practiced the Inner Eight Gates, Huo Yuhao knew the inner workings of his body with the flick of his fingers; considering that practicing the technique needs the user to understand human anatomy so that they wouldn't screw up opening the wrong "Gate".
And immediately he couldn't find the "Gates" in his body, heck, he couldn't even find his organs!
"Am I only a soul...?" He realized.
Huo Yuhao looked down and his eyes twitched, even in death, he still only had his right arm.
"This is bullshit..."
Even in death, that divine curse still lingers?
He swears, if could find a way to revive, he'd do the things he had in mind for his revenge on the Ice God multiplied by a hundred fold.
The grey-golden eye on his forehead pulsed again, and this time, he felt something — a hand on his shoulder.
"Who?!" Huo Yuhao turned and jumped back, entering a combat stance.
"Calm down, Yuhao."
"Hmph. Looks like you're fine."
Huo Yuhao's eyes widened. "Teacher? Ancestor?"
Electrolux and Indra both stood in front of him in their true forms.
Electrolux softly said. "It's good, it's good that you're fine. I was afraid that the momentary contact with the "Void" would've caused irreversible damage to your soul."
Huo Yuhao frowned. 'Void?' He felt something inside of him tremble, his lips pursed.
That single word carried an ominous weight, a concept beyond simple emptiness.
Indra crossed his arms, his gaze sharp as lightning and black flames crackled faintly around him. "Yuhao, I'm sorry, but we have to cut this short."
"Ancestor? What's wrong?" Huo Yuhao frowned.
Electrolux replied. "It's just a uninvited guest. You don't have to worry about that for now. However, listen to me. You're alive, barely. You had survived due to a skill that all Necromancers have been granted the moment they started learning Necromancy, however, it only has the smallest chance of activating—
Resist Death. Necromancers perverts the natural way of life and death, it's only natural that they can defy death itself. However! Its activation rate is one of lowest possible among all Necromancy spells. You'd have a higher chance of becoming a powerful God before activating this skill."
Huo Yuhao was stunned. "Then, how? How did the skill activate? Am I really just that lucky?"
Electrolux hummed. "A third party intervened, particularly strong as well since I felt the flow of destiny around you grow stronger, the air of fortune and luck around you thickened considerably. Someone—or something—tilted fate in your favor at the last possible moment."
Huo Yuhao's brows furrowed. "A third party?" He didn't recall receiving any outside help during the Heavenly Tribulation.
Who could have done this? And more importantly....why?
Indra frowned, looking up, the cloak of lightning and flames surrounding his body intensified. "Tch. He's stubborn."
He turned towards Huo Yuhao and said, "Yuhao, I understand you have a lot of questions but unfortunately, we cannot answer them all right now. Even the worm, scorpion and the snow woman cannot help you when you wake up."
Huo Yuhao tensed at Indra's words. "What do you mean?"
Electrolux sighed. "Your current state is.... unstable. Your soul is barely holding together, your body is on the verge of breaking apart and when you return — Skydream, Ice Empress, and Snow Empress are all in hibernation."
"They were also affected by the Heavenly Tribulation; consuming almost of their soul and spiritual power, and origin essence — leading to their immediate shutdown. Snow Empress was affected the most."
Indra added. "Moreover, at the last moment, I sensed several powerful beings heading to your location — none of them from Shrek."
Huo Yuhao gulped. "You gotta be kidding me... Wait, what's going to happen to you two? Is it the uninvited guest?" He narrowed his eyes.
"Is it the Ice God again?"
Electrolux shook his head. "No. I'm afraid, it's someone far more terrifying."
Indra said. "Good news is that it's only a clone of himself with a small fraction of his true powers. Bad news however, is that we can't quickly defeat him. It's going to take days, weeks even."
"Or worse, months." Indra's face darkened.
"Even then, we'd sustain serious injuries that would force us into a deep slumber as well." Electrolux finished with a grim expression.
"Yuhao.... you're going to be on your own for a while."
Huo Yuhao clenched his fist as an overwhelming sense of pressure settled over him.
Alone? Without Skydream, Ice Empress, and Snow Empress? Without his teachers and ancestor?
His mind raced. Even if he had miraculously survived the Heavenly Tribulation, he was now at his weakest. No external help, no safety net—just himself, with an unknown force possibly hunting him down.
His deep blue eyes closed, and he exhaled sharply.
"Teacher, Ancestor. Please, be careful. Whoever this person might be, no matter how strong they might be, I have faith that you will triumph over him."
Huo Yuhao raised his head, staring at his teacher and ancestor straight in the eyes, his expression filled with unwavering determination.
He softly smiled. "And please, don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."
Both old men smiled at his words.
Electrolux nodded, his voice warm yet solemn. "We know you can, Yuhao. However, never overestimate yourself."
"Also remember, no mercy to your enemies." Indra simply stated.
Huo Yuhao nodded.
He blinked, looking down he saw his body fading into motes of blue light.
Before he could say anything else to them, he disappeared.
And at that moment, the white void above Electrolux and Indra cracked like glass, before shattering into pieces to reveal a boundless ocean pouring down on them.
"Hmph!" Indra snapped his fingers. Pitch-black flames manifested on the vast water, spreading like a wildfire, turning the cascading ocean into an inferno of darkness. The water hissed and evaporated upon contact, creating a thick mist that obscured everything.
Electrolux calmly raised his hand, a bright golden light mixed with a grey mist exuded from his body and a golden staff appeared in his hand. With a slight tap on the white space beneath him, he uttered,
"Arise."
Almost immediately, his shadow stretched unnaturally, twisting and writhing like a living entity. From its depths, spectral chains wreathed in golden and grey mist shot out, anchoring themselves into the very fabric of space.
The air trembled as figures emerged—warriors clad in ghostly armor, their hollow eyes burning with a dim golden glow. Some bore swords, others wielded ancient axes and shields, with some using staves and wearing long robes, and all stood in solemn silence, awaiting Electrolux's command.
At the same time, Indra's eyes shifted into a deep purple with black rings. His hair grew crazily and turned pale white, just as his skin was as well, with his grey kimono turning into a white and black mystical cloak, six tomoe symbols beneath his collarbone and around his sleeves, and a horned forehead armor piece appeared on his forehead.
He raised his hand and a black staff appeared, with nine black floating spheres appeared behind him.
"Sage of Six Paths Mode." Indra muttered, a complicated expression appeared on his face.
"You dare get in my way..." A calm yet oppressive voice echoed through the white void, carrying an unfathomable weight.
The two looked up with grim expressions.
Slowly walking down like a majestic God, was a handsome man with piercing azure eyes that momentarily flashed with purple — it could make any mortal kneel in submission, a golden trident shining on his forehead.
He had long blue hair that cascaded his back like a waterfall. His luxurious blue robes seemed to contain rippling water. He gripped the magnificent golden trident in his hand, golden rings circled around it.
However, any eyes would immediately stare at the mystical, no, incredibly divine deep-blue rings rippling like tidal waves behind this man.
His presence alone felt like the boundless ocean—vast, unfathomable, and eternal. It was not just water; it was the essence of the sea itself, the embodiment of dominion over all that flowed and surged. The pressure radiating from him was suffocating, like standing beneath the crushing depths of the abyss, where no light could reach.
Electrolux and Indra remained still, their expressions unreadable.
"....God of Seas, I presume." Electrolux murmured, gripping his golden staff tighter. His eyes gleamed with an ancient wisdom, but there was a wary glint in them.
As someone who was close to becoming a God, he understood them the most out of all their group.
Indra scoffed. "He isn't just any God of the Sea or Ocean, take a good look of his face. Doesn't he seem...a little familiar?"
Electrolux was taken aback. And taking a good look at his face once more, he was stunned.
He saw that face before in numerous statues and portraits in Shrek Academy.
"Founder of Tang Sect, hero of the continent ten thousand years ago, and....one of the few who ascended to Godhood in that time period. Sea God, Tang San!"
Tang San coldly stared down at them. "Since you know who I am, then I don't have to waste any time. Both of you, stand down."
"This, for what I am doing, is for the sake of the world. If you know my exploits, I'm sure esteemed experts such as yourselves would understand my motives are for the greater good."
Both Electrolux and Indra shared a look, and they both scoffed.
They both recognize that aura.
It was the same aura they caught that was trying to mind control Huo Yuhao during his Heavenly Tribulation.
"To me, my army!" Electrolux let out a war cry for the first time in many millennia. The undead let our terrifying howls and a rotting, gigantic dragon appeared from underneath his feet.
"A god of the sea..." Indra muttered, smirking.
"With my black flames, it's enough to evaporate the sea itself. At my current form, even a God of your state is no match."
Tang San's eyes narrowed. "Such foolishness. My domain stretches across galaxies!"
Two people, who were called demigods in their respective worlds, versus a fragment of a True God!
At this moment, Huo Yuhao opened his eyes to the physical world.
The first thing he felt, was pain. Fortunately, it wasn't as terrible as what he had experienced in the "Void", the realm that stands between life and death.
Then the first thing he saw, was a tall, dark-haired man with golden eyes. He also had dark scales covering most of his face and his arms were dragon claws.
Also, he was glaring down at him, just a hair's breadth away of killing him.
The man sneered and spoke.
"Boy. Right now..."
"You are destined to die."
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AN: Welp, that's how Yuhao survived. Luck.
See ya next chapter!
2/4 chapters of the week