In the stillness of death, there was only the sound of bones grating against each other beneath the broken shell.
The moment the lamp was lit, frenzied flames flickered to life within the hollow eye sockets.
It was as if a Soul had once again returned from a nightmare.
"Ah, ah, Sun Caster... I beseech... I beseech your mercy..."
A sound like sobbing arose—intermittent, hoarse, and shrill. It was the delirious whispers of a Soul lost in the Abyss.
"I beseech you... to heed our prayers... I beseech... I beseech..."
The choked muttering suddenly ceased.
Accompanied by the grinding of joints, the figure crawling on the ground incredibly turned its head. The frenzied blaze illuminated Huai Shi and the others.
"No... not you..."
It stared fixedly at Huai Shi, as if in disbelief. "Why... why is it not you..."
For a moment, Huai Shi thought it was going to sing and even hummed a starting note for himself.
But Huai Shi cared little whether it wanted to sing or eat people. He took a step back, hid the Sword of Virtue's blade behind him, and signaled the Paradise Guard behind him to prepare for an "Offensive".
"Sorry, wrong place," he said, forcing a benign smile as he slowly retreated. "I'll just leave now, Old Pal. You continue your sleep. I won't disturb you. Bye, goodnight..."
BOOM!
Across the chasm of millennia, a torrential flood of rage and resentment swept over them.
"Liar!"
The sharp voice erupted again, resonating like thunder as it roared, "Liar!!!!"
Above its head, the mass of writhing darkness suddenly convulsed like boiling tar. It expanded rapidly, and innumerable chaotic glints of iron and fragments rained down, striking the ground with piercing clangs.
The shrill sound of shattering steel could not suppress that desperate roar.
"You promised... You clearly promised us..."
What the hell did I promise you? Huai Shi wondered. That I'd come back and marry you after my name was listed on the imperial honor rolls?
Huai Shi stared in astonishment, wondering whether he had owed this big shot from Hell money tens of millions of years ago, or if he had promised to marry his daughter, who remained unwed to this day.
But now, that naked hatred surged towards him.
As if pulled by invisible ropes, the shattered figure slowly rose from the ground. Barely touching the earth with its broken toes, it lifted the ornate Wind Lamp in its hands towards Huai Shi.
A tangible light poured from within, rising and intertwining, forming a bizarre miracle akin to an Alchemy Matrix.
It seemed like some technique formed by combining methods of Alchemy and Source Substance... just like, just like it was... Forging?
Huai Shi began to doubt his own eyes.
That creature was creating something similar to a holy Stigma vessel right before his eyes.
Within that complex structure woven from countless lights above its head!
It was... forging!
Forging a Stigma!
As the countless lights intertwined, a hoarse, frenzied chant began to rise from within, muddled with a cacophony of noises and eerie sounds.
But within it, one title was repeatedly invoked in the rising chorus:
"Variator!"
"Forger, Variator!"
"Master of the Thirteen Hours, Variator!"
"Creator of All Beings Pervading the Earth, the Supreme King of All Change!"
When a strikingly familiar Crown slowly proliferated from its skull, wreathed in light, Huai Shi's eyes nearly popped out in shock.
It was clearly the same model he had seen on that Skeleton's head. Even if the details differed, the style was identical!
One could never forget such a distinctive Crown after seeing it just once.
An indescribable conjecture surfaced in Huai Shi's mind.
—Wait, could it be that this thing is the 'Variator' mentioned in the hymn?
In that moment of stunned realization, a muffled rumble, like something boiling over, emanated from the darkness above the Caster's remains. Then, from the writhing, tar-like blackness, a 'familiar' face slowly emerged.
With the screech of metal, a ferocious visage was forged from the darkness. Writhing with countless sharp, blade-like legs, its elongated body reappeared in Hell.
It was the Steel Centipede Huai Shi had seen before!
Although its size had shrunk considerably, its agility had become shockingly terrifying. In an instant, its massive body, hundreds of meters long, emerged from that writhing blackness and coiled around the Variator.
It was incredibly affectionate, as if greeting its master.
Alright, case closed! Huai Shi realized with a start. So, those monsters were all your doing!
Without needing any command, the Paradise Guard behind Huai Shi uniformly raised their shotguns and pulled the triggers at the monster ahead.
Strike first!