Location: Deep Beneath the Imperial Palace – The World Tree Chamber
The atmosphere in the chamber shifted instantly.
When the Soul Warden entered Phase 2, the green, ghostly fog that coated the floor evaporated, replaced by a searing red mist. It smelled of iron and blood—the scent of an execution ground.
The Warden stood tall, steam hissing from the vents of its tombstone armor. It had discarded its shield, now gripping the massive, skull-tipped flail with both hands.
[Boss Analysis Update]
[Entity: The Soul Warden (Judge Mode)]
[Stats Adjusted:]
* Strength: +50%
* Speed: +200%
* Defense: -20% (Shield Discarded)
* New Trait: 'Inescapable Verdict' – All attacks have a 'Homing' property. Dodging is 80% less effective.
Aris narrowed his eyes. "Homing attacks? That's cheating."
"JUDGMENT," the Warden roared.
It didn't charge this time. It spun.
The massive flail swung in a horizontal arc. The chain extended supernaturally, the spiked skull screaming through the air like a meteor.
Aris activated Ghost-Step, turning into a blur of blue light to strafe left.
But the flail didn't follow the laws of momentum. Mid-swing, the heavy skull jerked sideways, correcting its path to follow Aris.
"Shit."
Aris crossed his arms, summoning layers of Abyssal Armor instantly.
CRASH.
The impact was like being hit by a train.
Aris was launched across the chamber. He smashed through a stone pillar, tumbling across the floor before digging his heels into the ground to stop the slide.
[HP: 72% / 100%]
[Armor Integrity: Critical.]
[Debuff Applied: 'Bone-Rattle' – Casting speed reduced by 0.5s.]
He spat out a mouthful of blood. It sizzled on the floor. "Okay," Aris wiped his mouth, a cold grin forming. "Now we're playing."
The Dance of Shadows
"Nox! Distraction pattern Delta!" Aris commanded.
The Eclipse Hound howled. Nox's body split apart, dividing into five identical shadow-clones. They circled the Warden, moving faster than the eye could follow, nipping at its heels and roaring to draw aggro.
The Warden swung the flail wildly, crushing one clone into smoke. "VERMIN."
While the Boss was distracted, Aris moved. He didn't attack directly. He began to run along the walls of the chamber, his feet sticking to the stone via Qi-adhesion.
"System, scan for environmental exploits," Aris thought, his mind racing. "This room is built around the World Tree. There has to be a power conduit I can hijack."
[Scan Active...]
[Result: Negative. The Warden's 'Red Aura' is jamming the signal.]
"Fine. Manual override it is."
Aris leaped from the wall, diving toward the Warden from above. He summoned the Wings of the Moderator, changing them from 'Flight Mode' to 'Weapon Mode'. The hard-light feathers sharpened into blades.
"Rain of Ruin!"
Aris fired a barrage of light-blades at the Warden's exposed neck joint.
Ping. Ping. Ping.
The blades shattered on impact. The Red Aura acted like a reactive shield, vaporizing the attacks before they touched the metal.
The Warden looked up, ignoring the clones. Its single green eye locked onto Aris in mid-air.
"FOUND YOU."
The Warden slammed its fist into the ground.
[Skill: Gravity Well.]
The air around Aris suddenly turned heavy. It felt like gravity had increased tenfold. He dropped from the sky like a stone, slamming onto the floor right in front of the Warden.
The flail raised up high, green fire blazing in its sockets.
"DIE."
The Glitch in the Movement
Aris lay pinned on the floor, the gravity crushing his lungs. He looked up at the descending weapon.
He couldn't dodge. He couldn't block.
"Switch," Aris whispered.
[Skill: Shadow Transposition.]
Instantaneously, Aris vanished. In his place, one of Nox's shadow clones appeared.
SPLAT.
The flail crushed the clone into nothingness.
Aris reappeared ten meters away, gasping for breath. The gravity hold was broken.
"That was close," Aris muttered, checking his cooldowns. Shadow Transposition had a 30-second timer. He couldn't spam it.
The Warden roared in frustration, dragging the flail out of the crater it had made in the floor. It turned toward Aris, its rage palpable.
[Boss Ability Triggered: The Jury of the Damned.]
The Warden slammed its chest plate.
The Red Mist in the room swirled and solidified. Twelve spectral figures emerged from the fog—ghostly executioners wielding ethereal axes.
[Summons: Jurors (Level 45 Elites)]
"Great," Aris sighed. "Adds. I hate adds."
The twelve Jurors floated toward Aris, surrounding him. They didn't have collision boxes; they drifted through the rubble, their axes raised in silent synchronization.
"Nox, keep the Big Guy busy!" Aris shouted. "I have to clear the trash!"
Nox, the real one, grew to his full size. He leaped onto the Warden's back, biting down on the shoulder pauldron and refusing to let go, acting as a living anchor to slow the Boss down.
Aris turned to the twelve ghosts.
"You guys are made of Spirit-Energy, right?" Aris asked, cracking his knuckles. His hands began to glow with a dark, violet suction force.
"Reverse Refinement: Vacuum Mode."
The Jurors charged.
Aris didn't punch them. He swept his hand through the air.
As the first Juror swung his axe, Aris caught the spectral blade. Instead of cutting him, the axe dissolved into blue mist and flowed into Aris's palm.
[Mana +500]
"Tasty."
Aris spun, turning the momentum into a roundhouse kick. His leg passed through the second Juror, but the Abyssal Qi coating his boot ripped the ghost's structure apart.
[Target Deleted.]
Two down. Ten to go.
But the Warden wasn't idle. It reached back, grabbed Nox by the tail, and threw the massive hound across the room. Nox slammed into the World Tree, whining in pain.
The Warden then turned its attention to Aris. It opened its mouth—or rather, the grille on its helmet slid open.
[Warning: High-Energy Signature Detected.]
[Attack Type: Breath Weapon.]
[Element: Soul-Rot.]
A stream of concentrated, black bile shot toward Aris.
Aris was in the middle of fighting three Jurors. He saw the stream coming.
"System! Deploy Abyssal Wall!"
A barrier of violet glass erected itself in front of him.
HISSSS.
The bile hit the wall. It didn't break it; it melted it. The acid ate through the Qi-barrier in seconds, spraying onto Aris's left arm.
"Gah!"
Aris hissed through his teeth. His sleeve dissolved, and his skin—his Abyssal Sovereign Skin—began to bubble.
[HP: 60% / 100%]
[Debuff: Soul Corrosion. Max HP reduced by 10% permanently until cured.]
Aris retreated, clutching his burning arm. He created distance, putting a stone pillar between him and the breath attack.
"Okay," Aris breathed heavily, sweat stinging his eyes. "Physical immunity. Homing attacks. Summons. And a defense-melting acid."
He looked at his stats. His MP was running low from the constant spellcasting. His HP was dropping.
For the first time since coming to this world, Aris wasn't the predator. He was in a raid fight, and he was losing the DPS race.
"I need to change the rules," Aris realized. "I can't beat him with brute force. He has more stats than me."
He looked at the World Tree Root behind the Warden. The Key was still embedded in it, vibrating.
The Warden was drawing power from the Underworld Gate to sustain its Red Aura.
"If I can't kill the Boss," Aris smirked, ignoring the pain in his arm. "I'll just unplug his router."
[Quest Update: The Judgment of the Dead]
[New Objective: Sever the Warden's connection to the Gate.]
Aris stood up. The Jurors were closing in. The Warden was charging its breath attack again.
"Nox," Aris called out to his injured companion. "Get up. We're going for the legs."
Aris pulled a new item from his inventory—a small, unassuming glass vial filled with a swirling, grey liquid.
[Item: The Grey Wither (Concentrated)]
[Rank: Prototype Virus.]
"Let's see if the dead can get sick."