The sky didn't just darken; it bruised. Ominous, purple-black clouds boiled up from the north, moving with a predatory speed that defied meteorology. The temperature plummeted. A foul, swampy odor, the smell of rot and decay a thousand years old, washed over the valley.
This wasn't weather. This was an entrance.
The disciples, who had just been re-convinced of my heroic nature, were now pale with a primal, instinctual fear. This was an aura of dread far more potent than any System-granted boon. This was the real deal.
"What is that?!" a disciple stammered, pointing a trembling finger at the northern ridge.
A shadow was moving over the mountain. It was impossibly large, a river of darkness flowing down the slopes, flattening trees and scarring the earth as it passed. It was heading directly for us. Directly for the Phoenix Egg in my arm.
"It is the enemy I spoke of," Fang Heng said, his voice grim. He drew his own sword, a simple but well-maintained steel blade. It looked like a toothpick against the encroaching darkness. "Master Li, what are your orders?"
Orders? My orders are for everyone to run in the opposite direction while I curl up in a ball and cry! I am not a general! I am a librarian with a death wish!
My body, however, remained a pillar of unshakeable calm. I looked at the approaching shadow, then at the terrified disciples, then at the useless sword in Fang Heng's hand.
[Emergency Mandate: Rally the Troops (Even if They're Useless).]
[A Master does not panic. He commands.]
[Action: Issue a clear, concise, and utterly hopeless command to your new 'ally'.]
My voice cut through the rising panic. "Fang Heng."
"Yes, Master Li!"
"You will create a diversion."
Fang Heng blinked. "A diversion? Master, against… that? What kind of diversion?"
My gaze was cold and unflinching. "A loud one. And a brief one."
The implication was clear: Go over there and die loudly to buy me a few seconds.
To his credit, Fang Heng didn't even hesitate. He simply nodded, his face set with grim determination. "I understand. I will buy you the time you need." He turned to the other disciples. "You heard him! We must protect Master Li and the sacred egg! To the western flank! We will draw its attention!"
He was a madman. A brave, analytical, completely insane madman. He actually rallied a small group of the bravest (or most foolish) disciples, and they charged off to perform their "loud and brief" diversion.
They are all going to die. Their deaths are now officially on my conscience. My karmic debt is getting so large it's going to start accruing interest.
With the diversion underway, I turned and ran.
Not away from the fight. The System wouldn't allow that. My body, under the quest's imperative, was moving toward a more strategic location: a narrow canyon pass a few hundred yards away. It was the only way into the valley from the north. A natural chokepoint.
The Phoenix Egg in my arm pulsed faster, a panicked heartbeat. It could feel its nemesis approaching. My hand was wrapped tightly around the Serpent's Bane Amulet in my sleeve. My one and only shot.
I reached the pass and flattened myself against the rock wall, my heart hammering against my ribs. A loud roar echoed from the west, followed by screams. The diversion had begun. It sounded appropriately loud and brief.
A moment later, the head of the serpent appeared at the mouth of the canyon.
"Serpent" was an understatement. This was a god of decay given reptilian form. It was colossal, its head alone the size of a carriage house. Its scales were a diseased, mottled black, slick with a foul ooze that sizzled and killed the grass it touched. Its eyes were twin pools of molten gold, burning with ancient malice and hunger. It had no legs, but pulled itself forward on massive, bony spurs that scraped against the rock.
This was the Black-Hearted Serpent. And it was looking right at me. Its golden eyes were locked onto the glowing egg in my arm.
It let out a hiss that sounded like a thousand graves opening at once. A wave of pure, concentrated venomous Qi washed over me.
But it didn't hit me directly. It hit the Phoenix Egg. Or rather, the egg projected a faint, pearlescent shield of its own, barely deflecting the wave. The egg was protecting me.
[The Black-Hearted Serpent's emotion: Overwhelming Hunger and Hatred.]
[Its only thought: KILL. THE. EGG. CONSUME. ITS. LIGHT.]
There was no reasoning with this thing. There was no weeding or head-patting my way out of this.
The serpent coiled, its massive body blocking the entire canyon pass. It opened its maw, revealing rows of fangs as long as my arm, dripping with black venom. It was preparing a direct attack.
This was it. My one chance.
Okay. System. You got me into this. Your stupid amulet better work. Please, for the love of all that is holy, do not let it be a dud.
As the serpent lunged, its shadow swallowing the sky, I pulled the Serpent's Bane Amulet from my sleeve. It was a simple, obsidian-colored disc, cool to the touch.
With all the strength I possessed, I crushed it in my palm.
It didn't explode. It imploded. It crumbled into dust, and from that dust, a wave of invisible, silent energy erupted outwards.
The serpent was mid-lunge when the wave hit it.
Its reaction was instantaneous and violent. It let out a shriek of pure, unadulterated agony, a sound so high-pitched and terrible it cracked the very stones of the canyon walls. Its lunge was aborted. Its massive body went into violent convulsions, slamming against the canyon sides with enough force to cause landslides.
The golden light in its eyes flickered, replaced by the white of pure pain. Thick, black smoke poured from its mouth and nostrils. The amulet's energy was like a potent acid to its corrupted form. It was paralyzed, helpless, caught in a seizure of absolute agony.
It had worked. The amulet had worked perfectly.
I stood there, breathing heavily, my entire body trembling with adrenaline. I had done it. I had faced down a Continental Threat and won.
A sense of profound relief washed over me.
And then, the System, in its infinite cruelty, decided to give me one final notification for this encounter. It was not a quest completion. It was not a reward.
It was a title.
[Battle Log: You have defeated the Black-Hearted Serpent (Temporarily).]
[A Legendary Feat has been witnessed by the Heavens.]
[New Title Forged: Nemesis of the Serpent God.]
[Title Effect: The Black-Hearted Serpent now considers you its mortal, eternal enemy. It will never rest, never stop, until it has personally devoured your soul. Its hatred for you now eclipses its hunger for the egg.]
My blood ran cold.
I had come here to save the egg. I had succeeded.
But I had just made the problem personal. I hadn't just defeated the monster. I had painted a permanent, eternal target on my own back.
The serpent's agonizing convulsions began to subside. Its golden eyes, now burning with a fresh, focused, and deeply personal hatred, locked onto mine. It couldn't move, but it could look.
And in that look, I understood my fate.
This was no longer a quest. This was a blood feud. And I was on the losing side.