The atmosphere of the Central Continent screamed. It wasn't the wind; it was the ambient spiritual energy recoiling from the abomination standing in the East.
Ye Chen floated in the center of the crimson pillar.
He was unrecognizable. His skin was obsidian black, cracking to reveal molten gold magma underneath. His hair was a flowing mane of white fire. From his back, huge wings made of bleached dragon bones extended, dripping with the red sludge of the Abyss.
He held the Asura Spear. It was no longer just a weapon; it was a tear in reality.
"Mo Tian."
Ye Chen spoke. His voice didn't travel through the air. It resonated in the marrow of every living being on the continent.
"I have crawled out of hell. I have eaten the ghosts of a million sinners. I have burned my own humanity to ash."
Ye Chen raised the spear, pointing it across the hundreds of miles separating them.
"All to kill you."
Mo Tian stood on the ruins of the Heavenly Dao Sect. He wiped a speck of golden blood (the Avatar's) from his cheek.
"Dramatic," Mo Tian commented to Yan Luo, who was shaking beside him. "The hero always gets a makeover before the finale."
"Master..." Yan Luo whispered, clutching her sword. "His aura... it's Divine Transformation. He... he surpassed you."
"Raw power is not strength," Mo Tian said calmly. "It's just weight."
He stepped forward, amplifying his voice with his Chaos Core.
"Ye Chen!" Mo Tian shouted back. "You bring an army of dead losers to fight me? Did you run out of living friends to get killed?"
The taunt hit its mark.
Ye Chen roared. The red pillar expanded.
"KILL THEM ALL! LEAVE NOTHING ALIVE!"
Behind Ye Chen, the Gate of the Abyss tore open wider.
They poured out like a plague of locusts. Abyssal Demons. Skeleton Warriors. Specters. Blood Beasts.
Millions of them. A tide of grey and red death sweeping across the green lands of the Central Continent, turning forests to dust and rivers to blood.
[System Warning] [Event Started: The Abyssal Invasion.] [Enemy Count: Infinite (Until the Gate is closed).] [Boss: Ye Chen (Solar Devil Sovereign).]
Mo Tian turned to his army. The Eternal Night disciples looked terrified. They were villains, yes, but they were human. This... this was the apocalypse.
"Look at them!" Mo Tian's voice boomed, snapping them out of their fear.
"They are ugly. They are dead. And they are trespassing on MY property!"
Mo Tian drew the Heaven-Splitter.
"This continent belongs to the Eternal Night! No ghost tells me what to do!"
"DEFEND YOUR EMPIRE!"
"ROAR!" The fear turned to frenzy. The Blood Devils, led by Xue Yao, screamed their battle cries.
Mo Tian looked at his generals.
"Xue Yao. Take the Beast Legion. Meet them in the field. Grind them down."
"Yan Luo. Take the Spell Corps. Raise the barriers. Don't let them flank us."
"Ghost One. Activate the Soul Siphons we planted in the major cities. If the mortals are going to die anyway, I want their souls before the demons get them."
"And you, Master?" Xue Yao asked, her eyes burning with excitement.
Mo Tian looked at the distant figure of Ye Chen, who was flying toward him at supersonic speed.
"I'm going to break the Protagonist's heart one last time."