Eclipse of the Split God

Kael's vision blurred, the world inverted. Blood soaked the soil beneath his severed neck. "Huh? Why is the world upside down...?" His detached head lay sideways, green eyes narrowing as they locked onto the nightmare before him.

Lady Seraphine was gone. In her place writhed a creature of obscene beauty—a fusion of lust and slaughter. Her once-pale skin now glistened beneath a living black sludge that clung to her like liquid sin. The substance molded itself to her curves, slithering over her voluptuous breasts, cinching her wasp-like waist, and pooling between her thighs in a mockery of modesty. The sludge pulsed rhythmically, as if breathing, its surface shimmering with a sickly iridescence. Her hips swayed with predatory grace, every movement dripping with a perverse allure that clashed violently with the carnage around her.

Five eyes glowed across her twisted form: two on her forehead, two at the back of her skull, and a massive, lidless orb hovering above her head, its pupil dilating hungrily as it devoured crimson fumes rising from the butchered guards. Her lips—now swollen, blackened, and split into a jagged grin—stretched wide, revealing fangs slick with gore. Ten-centimeter claws extended from her fingers, slicing through flesh and ancient trees alike as though they were paper.

"Ahahaha! More! MORE!" Her voice was a symphony of madness, equal parts honey and venom. A guard stumbled backward, only for her claw to pierce his chest. She lifted him effortlessly, her tongue—long, forked, and glistening—lapping at the blood gushing from his mouth. "Pathetic," she purred, before ripping him in half with a wet snap.

The merchant tried to crawl away, his pudgy fingers clawing at the dirt. Seraphine's sludge tendrils lashed out, wrapping around his ankles and dragging him toward her. "N-No! Please—!" His plea died as she straddled him, her clawed hand plunging into his stomach. She tore out a fistful of entrails, holding them aloft like a macabre trophy before cramming them into her maw. "Delicious... but not as sweet as you, my love."

Her gaze snapped to Kael's disembodied head.

Thud.

She crouched, her sludge-clad thighs pressing together as she lifted his head. Her breath reeked of decay and copper, but her voice dropped to a sultry whisper. "Why didn't you take me, darling? I offered myself... begged you." Her forked tongue lashed out, tracing the edge of his ear. "Did my body disgust you? Or..." Her clawed finger tapped his forehead. "...did you know what I was?"

Kael's pupils flickered. One hour. His survival skill, [Phoenix Feather], needed 60 minutes to resurrect his body. But her claws were already skimming his jawline, the tip pricking his throat.

"No matter," she cooed, her central eye dilating. "I'll keep you close. Let's become one, yes?" Her tongue slithered into his mouth, invasive and wet, probing as if tasting his soul. "Or maybe I'll keep your head as a trophy. A reminder of the man who resisted Eldrath's Devourer."

Crunch.

Kael bit down, severing her tongue.

The creature recoiled, howling. Black ichor sprayed from her mouth as she staggered back. "YOUWRETCH!" Her voice shook the forest, trees splintering under the force. The sludge around her convulsed, tendrils lashing like whips. "I'll devour you slowly! Chew your soul to paste!"

Her jaws unhinged, stretching wide enough to engulf his skull. Rows of needle-like teeth glinted—

FWOOOSH!

A surge of crimson flames erupted from Kael's headless body, still seated in meditation. The campfire roared to life, twisting into a phoenix that slammed into the monster, hurling her into a tree.

"Impossible!" she shrieked, flesh sizzling.

Kael's head dissolved into ash, reforming atop his resurrected body. Muscles knitted, bones crackled, and his katana flared with hellish runes. He rose, shirtless, scars glowing like molten veins. "You talk too much," he growled.

The creature giggled, licking her regenerated tongue. "Ohhh, you're fun! Let's play harder!"

Her claws clashed against his blade, each strike shredding the earth. Trees toppled for kilometers, the forest collapsing into a wasteland. She moved like a hurricane, her sludge tendrils binding his wrists, her breasts pressing against his chest as she pinned him. "Submit," she breathed, her breath hot against his neck. "Let me ruin you... claim you..."

Kael's free hand gripped her throat. "Rot."

Runes flared across his palm. The creature screamed as holy fire seared her flesh, her sludge boiling away to reveal pulsating muscle beneath. She staggered back, her form flickering between beauty and rot. "You'll... regret this..."

"Doubt it."

He plunged his katana into her central eye. The orb burst, spraying black ichor. The creature wailed, her body dissolving into ash. "This isn't over! I'll find you... consume you..."

Silence fell.

Kael collapsed, coughing blood. A girlish voice chirped in his mind: "Fuck you, Host! Third death this month! Do you even realize what you've done? That skill of yours—that skill—was supposed to be your trump card, your last resort, which can cool down any skill, you know! Can't you stop picking fights with god-tier succubi?!"

He smirked. "Make it... a fourth... and I'll dismantle you... System."

---

Elsewhere, in the Void

The Devourer's remains coalesced into a voluptuous silhouette. Her remaining eyes narrowed. "Kael Veyne..." She trailed a claw down her sludge-clad body, a moan escaping her lips. "You'll beg to be devoured... and I'll savor every scream."