The Southern Zone – The Fringe
A column of blue light pierced the red canopy of the corrupted forest.
ZAP.
Arthev materialized back in the center of the depression, exactly where he had left. The humid, bloody air hit him instantly, a stark contrast to the sterile cold of the underground Silo.
He looked around.
The Iron Spider was still there. But it wasn't attacking. It stood frozen mid-step, its bladed legs twitching erratically.
Without the Pulse of Gluttony broadcasting the command signal, the construct was lost. It had no target. It had no purpose.
Around him, the forest felt... different.
The overwhelming pressure was gone. The trees still bled, and the moss still pulsed, but the frantic, cancerous energy was fading.
The zombie wolves nearby had collapsed, their forced regeneration failing.
They would rot now, like normal flesh.
"Entropy returns," Arthev whispered.
'It will take time,' Matatabi analyzed. 'The biological corruption is deep. It may take a century for this zone to purify itself completely. But the engine is off.'
Arthev nodded. Deactivating his Shinragan.
Sssssss.
A sharp, stinging pain shot through his optic nerves.
Arthev winced, bringing a hand to his eyes. His vision blurred for a split second, the edges of the world glitching before snapping back into focus.
"Damage?" Arthev muttered, surprised.
Isobu's tone sharpened. 'Cellular degradation detected in the retina. The use of Mangekyou abilities, specifically spatial warping, placed immense strain on the nerves.'
Arthev lowered his hand. He felt a warm, soothing energy flow, the vitality of the Divine Tree, rushing to his eyes to repair the micro-tears. The pain faded, but the realization was still there.
'Interesting,' Arthev thought, walking past the confused Spider.
'I assumed that because my Base Shinragan evolved through Soul power rather than emotional trauma, the Mangekyou would be free of flaws. But it seems the side effect of blindness still remains.'
It made sense. The Mangekyou was a power that burned the user's light.
'However,' Arthev theorized, feeling the Divine Tree's energy knitting his nerves back together.
'I do not need to fear it. The Divine Tree heals faster than the eyes degrade.'
He looked at his palm.
"In the stories, one needed to transplant a sibling's eyes to gain the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan (EMS) and cure the blindness. But my evolution is spiritual, linked to my Soul Rank."
"Then, maybe the Eternal Mangekyou may not need a transplant. It might be simply the next stage of growth. Perhaps at Level 50? Or 60?"
A natural evolution. A perfect eye that would not bleed.
"Something to look forward to," Arthev murmured.
He kicked off the ground, launching himself into the canopy. He had a Titled Douluo waiting for him.
-------
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well
Dugu Bo was pacing.
The sun was dipping below the crater rim, casting long shadows over the garden. The Poison Douluo looked toward the South every few seconds, his expression a mix of annoyance and worry.
"Stupid kid," Dugu Bo grumbled. "Probably got eaten by the Iron Spider. Now who's going to cure me?"
A rustle in the bushes.
Arthev stepped out of the tree line. He looked unruffled, though there was a smudge of red dirt on his cheek.
Dugu Bo stopped pacing. He scanned the boy from head to toe. No missing limbs. No bite marks.
"You're alive," Dugu Bo said, sounding almost disappointed though secretly relieved.
"Did you find your... binding agent? Or did you just hide in a tree for three hours?"
Arthev reached into his pocket. He pulled out a piece of dried, grey root he had grabbed near the teleportation site. It wasn't the Artifact, but it was saturated with the chaotic energy of the zone.
"I found it," Arthev said, tossing the root onto the stone table.
"And I found the source of noise."
Dugu Bo looked at the root. Even detached, it twitched slightly.
"The source?" Dugu Bo asked warily.
"A geological leak," Arthev lied smoothly.
"Ancient energy trapped underground. I managed to... plug the leak. You should find that the Pulse is gone tonight."
Dugu Bo paused. He cocked his head, listening.
The faint, maddening thump-thump that usually vibrated through the earth at sunset... was gone. The silence was absolute.
Dugu Bo stared at Arthev with wide green eyes. "You plugged it? How? That area eats Soul Masters.
"Science," Arthev said with a small, tired smile. "I collapsed a tunnel. Physics did the rest."
Dugu Bo didn't believe it was that simple. But the noise was gone. And the boy was standing here.
"You are a monster," Dugu Bo decided, shaking his head. "A true monster. Fine. You have your ingredients. Finish the cure."
-----
Night fell. The valley was lit only by the glowing herbs and the lake.
Dugu Bo sat bare-chested on the stone bench. Arthev stood before him, arranging his tools, twelve silver needles, the mortar containing the Magnetic Solvent, a mixture of Dragon Saliva Grass, Snow Silkworm, and a clean cloth.
"Remind me again why this won't kill me?" Dugu Bo asked, looking at the glowing green gel in the mortar.
"Because the poison in your bones is heavy metal," Arthev explained, dipping a needle into the gel.
"And this solvent is a magnet. I am not fighting the poison, Senior. I am inviting it to leave."
"Phase One: Injection."
Arthev moved with a blur of speed.
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
Twelve needles sank deep into Dugu Bo's chest, along the sternum and the major
meridian points of the ribs.
"Inhale."
Dugu Bo inhaled. Arthev tapped the needles.
Zip.
The gel shot into the Titled Douluo's body.
"GNNNH!"
Dugu Bo arched his back, a guttural roar tearing from his throat. It felt like liquid nitrogen was being pumped into his marrow, followed instantly by molten lead.
The solvent rushed through his calcified channels, scouring the walls, ripping the ancient, hardened toxin loose.
"Surrender control!" Arthev commanded sharply, his eyes glowing faintly. "Do not circulate soul power! Let it flow!"
Dugu Bo gritted his teeth, forcing his instincts down. He lay there, trembling, as the solvent did its work.
Arthev watched the skin. The purple veins turned pitch black.
"Phase Two: Extraction."
Arthev hovered his hand over Dugu Bo's chest. He activated Shukaku's Magnet Release.
A powerful magnetic field enveloped Dugu Bo's torso. The solvent, now bound to the toxins, was dragged violently toward the surface.
"OUT!"
Arthev yanked the needles free.
SPLASH.
A fountain of jet-black, tar-like blood erupted from the punctures. It hit the stone floor and sizzled, burning holes in the rock. The stench was acrid, pure, concentrated death.
Arthev held the magnetic field steady until the blood turned from black to purple, and finally to a healthy, bright red.
Dugu Bo slumped forward, gasping, his body trembling from the sudden void in his system.
"Is... is it done?"
"No," Arthev said, his voice calm and professional. "Your marrow is clear, but your Soul Power is still toxic. Without a vessel, it will just settle in your bones again within a year. You need a filter."
Arthev reached into his storage. He pulled out the 90,000-year Serpentine Torso Soul Bone.
The moment it appeared, the air in the valley grew heavy. The bone glowed with a rhythmic, crimson light, shaped like a skeletal serpent's ribcage.
Dugu Bo's jaw dropped. As a Poison Douluo, he felt the immediate, violent resonance.
"A... a soul bone? Where did you...this energy... it's nearly a hundred thousand years old!"
"Synthesized from the very leak I plugged," Arthev said.
"It is a serpentine type, a perfect match for your Jade Phosphor Serpent. I've tuned it to act as a permanent biological filter. It will house your toxins so your blood doesn't have to."
Arthev pressed the glowing crimson bone against Dugu Bo's chest.
"Absorb it. Now, while your marrow is still in flux."
Dugu Bo didn't hesitate. He closed his eyes, his Level 91 soul power erupting in a green blaze. The Serpentine Torso Bone dissolved into threads of crimson light, weaving themselves into his skeletal structure.
BOOM.
A massive wave of green energy exploded from the Poison Douluo. His nine soul rings appeared involuntarily: Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Black, Black.
The ninth ring flared with blinding intensity. The air pressure spiked so hard the surface of the Yin Yang Well began to swirl.
"Level 94..." Dugu Bo whispered, looking at his hands. He felt a lightness he hadn't known since childhood. The agonizing ache in his ribs was replaced by a cold, efficient power. The crimson glow of the bone settled deep within his chest, humming in harmony with his heart.
He looked at Arthev. The boy was simply wiping the black blood from his hands with a clean cloth.
"The reservoir is secured," Arthev said, tossing the cloth aside.
"Your toxins will now accumulate within the bone's lattice. You can't be cured of being a poison master, Senior, but you are no longer a victim of your own power."
Arthev handed him a small, flickering red-and-blue pill.
"For your granddaughter. A Yin-Yang Poison Core. It will perform a similar stabilization for her, though without the need for surgery . Her cultivation will be much smoother than yours. But its temporary"
Dugu Bo's face fell. "Then... it's only a stay of execution?"
"For now," Arthev said, walking toward a specific corner of the garden. He pointed to a massive, heavy-looking plant that resembled a melon forged from dark ore and red crystals.
"I am saving this Cinnabar Iron Watermelon for her."
Dugu Bo looked at the immortal herb. He could feel the dense, stabilizing aura radiating from it.
"This herb possesses the ultimate Heavy Metal and Yang properties," Arthev explained.
"I will return when she is ready. We will use it not just to cure her, but to trigger a Martial Soul Evolution. We will transform her Jade Phosphor Serpent into something that can consume its own poison as fuel, much like your new bone does for you."
Dugu Bo stood up and bowed deeply. "You didn't just save me. You've paved the way for my entire lineage."
"I honored the deal," Arthev replied. He walked over to the garden and dug up the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower.
"I am taking this. And I am leaving."
"I will escort you—"
"No," Arthev said. "I will walk alone."
-------
Arthev arrived back at the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy well past midnight.
The campus was silent. He slipped past the patrols, his stealth perfect. He climbed the wall of Dormitory C and opened the
window to his room.
He was exhausted. The fight with the Gardener, the Mangekyou usage, the surgery, he needed sleep.
He stepped inside his dark room.
Click.
A lamp on his desk light up.
Arthev froze.
Sitting in his chair, bathed in the warm yellow light, was a figure.
He was dressed in gold and white robes. His face was handsome, gentle, and smiling. A cup of tea steamed in his hand.
Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.
"You have been gone for three days, Arthev," the Prince said softly. His golden eyes didn't look gentle, they looked like a trap snapping shut.
"And you smell like the Sunset Forest."
Xue Qinghe took a sip of tea.
"Tell me... did you find the ghost you were looking for? Or did you find something else?"
Arthev stood by the window, the cool night air at his back.
The game wasn't over. It had just begun.
To be continued.....