Inside The Black Mist

of light…

The Spreader spreads a high concentration of black mist, making it one of the few Dark Ones who could withstand the light emitted by the Pillar of Star.
Once it discovers a Pillar, it would do everything to destroy it.

Its danger rating was level three, the rating criteria being based on Ascenders' rank.

In other words, only Ascenders with a rank three or above could fight against the calamity.

As for common folk, the handbook suggested to run, if you could.

So, when he regained his senses, the young boy turned and ran, but the nightmare did not intend to let him go.

Before he could get around the Pillar of Star, Tianyang's heel tightened, and a force suddenly pulled him, causing him to fall to the ground.

He turned around to look.

The 'woman' had emerged from under the cloak with tendrils sticking to his left foot, covered with nerves and blood vessels.

“No no no!”

Tianyang halted and tried to cut it off with his dagger, but the alloy dagger corroded by Prowler's acids was no longer as sharp.

Although the tentacles of Spreader looked soft, its skin was extremely hard.
The blade emitted a high-pitched noise upon contact.
Suddenly, the tentacle shrank and dragged him towards it.
The disgusting body just kept expanding in the young man's eyes.
Even if he tried his best, he couldn't stop himself from being pulled into the nightmare.

Tianyang hung in the air, his eyes locking with the beautiful face of Spreader.
The woman opened her delicate lips, but instead of a tempting red tongue, a mosquito-like mouthpiece, magnified countless times, came from her mouth.

The black, tube-like object lightly touched his helmet's faceplate.
The strong polycarbonate material that could withstand over a ton of pressure unexpectedly had a small crack.

The young man's pupils dilated slightly from fear.
With a slight sound, the deadly syringe pierced through the faceplate and his eye.
There was nothing to stop it from getting to him.

Tianyang was only left with one eye filled with terror.
He clenched his dagger tightly and jammed it into one of Spreader's eyeballs.
Eye for an eye!

Surprisingly, Spreader's eyeball was soft, and the blade easily cut through it.
The woman's mouthpiece suddenly contracted and Tianyang saw the black mist that emerged from the needle's tip.

His heart immediately sank halfway.
Did Spreader inject something into him when the needle entered his eye just now?

Before he could comprehend what happened, his body was thrown into the air by the Spreader's reaction.
With a fierce swing of her tentacle, Tianyang was thrown out fiercely.
He crashed upon the Pillar of Star, and rolled down under the big tree, falling onto the knotty roots.

Pain! Extreme pain!

In his head, it seemed as if molten lava had been poured in.
It streamed between the grooves and lobes of his brain, roasting it all! 

The face inside the helmet quickly turned red, and the still-intact eye of Tianyang began to blacken, covering the world in front of his eyes with an indelible darkness.

Tianyang felt himself sinking down.
His seventeen years of life played before him like an old-school movie.

As his mind sank into darkness, he saw his mother's eyes and Qin Wu's grimacing face flashing.
They were the two extreme emotions intertwining – the one he loved, and the one he hated.

Finally, a strong urge struck Tianyang's nerve. 

I do not want to die…I do not want to die…I want revenge!

The second thought surfaced, and it was overwhelmingly strong, covering the first one, like a sharp blade cutting through the dark. 

The boy saw light – silver, pure, holy, and hope.
He reached out and grabbed it with all his might! 

Dang.

The Spreader pulled the dagger from its eye with its tentacles, ignoring the bleeding eye socket, as it focused its only eye on Pillar of Star.

It continued to attack.
It would not stop until the crystal tree was destroyed.

It didn't notice that the boy lying under the Pillar of Star had clenched the tree's root firmly.

The silver glow radiated from the tree root, penetrating through Tianyang's glove and falling onto his fingers, then… 

It disappeared. 

However, his fingers gradually shone like the galaxy – stars and void blooming in his flesh.