Unedited*

"The outlook here is pretty bleak," Malakor said as he removed his borrowed head. It was of no use to him in this place.

Edward nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Just being here, I feel a dark heaviness in my chest," he confirmed. "How long is this Path? And how was it formed?" he asked.

Malakor sighed. "Thousands of years ago, longer than I can remember, this place was a thriving part of the world. There were cities, and many people lived here. The appearance of the Corrupted Sanguines is what caused this."

Edward nodded. He could see the ruins and rubble shrouded in a dangerous energy: cursed energy.

These ruins and old structures had stood for a long time, and it seemed that if you touched them, they would crumble into dust, for it was difficult for them to hold their shape after the corrosion of time and the cursed energy.

There were gravestones everywhere, too.

"If you look more closely," Malakor continued, "there aren’t just bones of evil beasts; there are also Sanguines camouflaged among the rest or hidden underground. Immortals died here, too."

’Bones of evil beasts... They’re cursed beasts from the Cursed Lands that plague my world,’ Edward realized.

’Are the evil beasts the same as the cursed beasts? And does this curse come from the same place as the Cursed Lands?’

Edward realized how little he knew about his own "world." But in a way, that was normal. He’d had very little time to explore it, since becoming a Beast Master, he’d been busy traveling and on missions around Lor City.

He had rarely set foot in a Cursed Land.

And when he finally did enter a Cursed Land, he was transported to a different world without warning.

Malakor continued speaking, oblivious to Edward’s thoughts.

"An unprecedented war broke out that devastated much of the world. This stretch of road here was part of a large city, a main thoroughfare. The thing is, only this area was shrouded in such darkness, and it was the one that, somehow, remained that way for many years, until it became a place of the dead."

Edward nodded. "And haven’t you thought about reclaiming it?"

"No one would do something so foolish. The guardians of this place—or rather, those who have taken control—are dangerous spirits capable of materializing. If you came here with large armies, they would attack you with every spirit at their disposal. Then you would surely fail."

"Don’t mess with evil spirits; it’s one of the commandments," Malakor replied.

Edward felt a slight headache coming on. "Then why are we going in?"

"We don’t plan on picking a fight with them, do we? We just want to pass through."

"What if they bother us?"

"They will." Malakor was blunt. "They’ll send spirits to harass us. Don’t worry, we can kill them. It’s just that they won’t send many if you don’t provoke them directly, so try to..."

Before he could finish speaking, Malakor had to step aside and raise his hand to block an incoming attack. "Avoid provoking them," he finished what he was about to say.

At that moment, a peculiar, ethereal entity materialized in front of them. It seemed to have no mass, but the fact that it was possible to stop it with his hands indicated that it did.

’So ghosts do have mass...’ Edward laughed.

Well, maybe it wasn’t a ghost. Just a spiritual entity corroded by cursed energy—or at least that’s what his eyes could see.

This one was weak.

Malakor knew this, so he simply conjured a spell right in front of the hooded figure’s head and detonated it.

The spirit body was hurled backward in a straight line, and after hitting the ground several times, it scattered into particles of cursed spiritual energy.

"Don’t worry too much about the weak. They’ll die from anything," Malakor informed him and continued on his way.

Edward nodded and thought about saying something. But just then, something happened that stopped him in his tracks.

His body was suddenly surrounded by that strange cursed energy that came from behind without warning. It felt like a torrent that alarmed him.

He tried to resist and also summoned his fire serpent, preparing it for a coordinated and precise attack that could kill the perpetrator of the assault.

However, the cursed energy disappeared shortly afterward.

Instead, something strange began to form in Edward’s chest, in his skin and flesh.

"Hm?" He looked at Malakor, who had turned around and braced himself for the attack.

They stared intently into each other’s eyes, both wondering the same thing: What happened?

It was Malakor, after several seconds of confusion, who remembered.

"Oh. They tried to control you, but they couldn’t, so they left," he said with a nod.

Edward nodded slightly. "I felt something approach like a torrent, but after a brief moment of hesitation, it went back the way it came. Was it a spirit?"

"It must have been. I’ve never seen that kind of attack happen before, but I have heard of it. Spirits trying to take control of the body."

Edward nodded. "And how do I know they aren’t controlling me?"

"It’s very simple. The curse of disobedience will take effect the moment you find yourself under control. Don’t you understand?" Malakor gestured around him. "All this dark energy is the curse itself."

’All the dark energy?’ Edward frowned. ’This dark energy is cursed energy... As expected, the curse of disobedience is associated with cursed energy. So this world and mine have something in common.’ He thought.

However...

’He didn’t notice the strange mark that left on me.’ He thought.

He didn’t show his chest; instead, he looked inside it. It was a dark mark that seemed to emanate gray energy.

As he opened his eyes to continue analyzing it mentally, he encountered some system notifications.

[Be careful, you have been marked with the Mark of the Dead by powerful spirits.]

[The Mark of the Dead will lead you through a series of unprecedented dangers and deaths. Remember who you are, and you’ll be able to avoid them.]

Edward frowned. "Remember who I am? How strange that the system is telling me that," he thought.

However, they didn’t stop, and he didn’t dwell on it.

About 15 minutes later, Edward narrowed his eyes slightly toward a section of his field of vision. He carefully observed what was there and tilted his head to the right.

Just then, a stake flew past where his head had been a moment earlier. The stake shot rapidly toward Malakor’s head, having missed Edward’s.

Edward raised his sword immediately and stopped it in midair.

The "stake" shattered the moment it touched the sword, and the dust from it covered an area of 45 centimeters as it scattered.

Malakor frowned. "Was that a death fragment?"

Edward didn’t turn to look at him, as he was engrossed in what he was watching.

"What is a death fragment?"

Malakor shook his head. "I can’t reveal classified information..."

"You’re no longer in a temple whose information you need to protect," Edward reminded him in a harsh voice. "Besides, we’re allies now. I sensed something heading toward us with near-perfect camouflage, and I had to stop it. If it weren’t for that, it would have hit you."

"It wouldn’t have killed me," Malakor replied firmly, unwilling to give up the information.

"Then what’s the problem with telling me? If it doesn’t kill, does it curse?" Edward leaped to the side just then, noticing that a similar shard was coming from another direction.

This time he didn’t stop it. Instead, he let it continue on its path toward Malakor.

"I’m a physical type, so we make a good team. But you don’t build a team by hiding from your partner the things you face along the way," Edward replied.

Malakor simply conjured some magic on the spot, which stopped the shards of death being hurled at him.

Under Edward’s steady gaze, Malakor sighed in resignation.

"A shard of death won’t kill you, but it will do you quite a bit of harm if you let it hit you. They’re actually formed from the bones of the dead who were infected by the curse and have spent many years bathed in its energy. They don’t cause physical harm, but they throw your spirit into chaos, which will prevent you from moving or responding to the attacks that will follow," he replied.

"All of these are actually aimed at you. I wonder what you did to these spirits to make them want to torture you," Malakor laughed.

Edward frowned again. "Is it because of the mark?" he wondered, turning to look into the darkness.

"Even so," Malakor spoke again. "I’m surprised. How were you able to see them? Usually, no one can see them until they’re within a meter."

’The mark or the title. I can’t think of any other explanation.’ Edward couldn’t give him that answer.

"Since they’re made of bones, do you mean it’s possible for us to use them too, as tools?" Edward asked.

"Sigh." Malakor let out a heavy sigh. This was exactly why he didn’t want to talk about it. It was too much information.

But they lived in a world where their side had already lost. The hero who once wanted to rise up had fallen, and they were left to live with the consequences.

It was only fair and necessary that he reveal this information to the one person who seemed willing to help him outside of his own allies.

"Yes. It’s a very good tool. That’s why I brought you here. I planned to pick it up on the way, since I haven’t been here in 20 years. The accumulation must have been significant."