Immortal Paladin

524 Famine’s Greed

The barren land trembled.

Famine stood at its center, an emaciated figure draped in ruin, his ribs exposed and his torso entirely absent, replaced by a devouring void that warped the air around it. Within that black abyss, a scale hung in quiet judgment, swaying as if measuring the worth of all things it consumed. His skeletal hand gripped a spear worn by ages of hunger, and his hollow gaze swept across the world with mounting fury.

Around him rose the formation that imprisoned him, four towering pillars radiating with distinct authority, each one anchored by an overwhelming manifestation: a coiling dragon of primordial might, a serene buddha seated in unyielding stillness, an immense eye that pulsed with omniscient vigilance, and a radiant woman whose brilliance scorched even the heavens.

Famine gnawed at the air, his teeth grinding as his void-torso expanded and contracted, devouring everything within reach. The land itself folded inward, soil and stone dragged screaming into oblivion, yet the formation did not waver. Its light held firm, suppressing his endless hunger with divine precision. His fury deepened, a silent howl building in the emptiness where his body should have been.

Beyond the pillars, four cultivators stood their ground, their robes stained with effort and strain, yet their resolve unbroken.

One of the men clenched his fists, voice steady despite the tremor beneath his feet. “Hold strong. If we falter now, everything we’ve built will be swallowed whole.”

One of the women steadied her breathing, her gaze unwavering as she channeled her energy into the formation. “We didn’t come this far to break. Anchor your will. The formation will endure as long as we do.”

The second man gritted his teeth, forcing power through trembling meridians. “He’s weakening. I can feel it. Just a little longer.”

The last woman exhaled slowly, her voice calm yet firm. “Do not listen to the Void whispering in between. It is the desperation of a sealed existence who doesn’t know any better.”

Famine’s head snapped upward.

War had vanished.

The realization struck him with a clarity sharper than any blade. His gnashing ceased, replaced by a dreadful stillness as instinct clawed its way through his dulled senses. Delay was no longer an option. The void within him churned violently, the scale rattling as if disturbed by an unseen hand.

Then, from within that endless darkness, a voice erupted from the master he served.

“FLEE, MY DISCIPLE! IT’S A TRAP! DA WEI HAS PREPARED THOROUGHLY!”

The warning came too late.

A whisper brushed against the edge of his perception, faint and casual, yet impossibly close.

“Yo.”

Famine turned.

For a fleeting instant, he sensed something, an anomaly that slipped through his awareness like water through broken fingers. Then a fist collided with his face, the impact detonating with overwhelming force. His frail body bent unnaturally as he was hurled across the horizon, crashing into a distant mountain that shattered upon contact. Before the debris could settle, space itself twisted, and an unseen authority seized him, dragging his broken form through the fabric of the Hollowed World. In the next moment, he was expelled violently into the vast ocean, his body carving through waves before sinking into its depths.

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[POV: Da Wei]

I existed as two, yet remained one.

Under Divine Possession, Hei Mao and I shared a singular state, his body serving as the vessel while my will coursed through it with perfect clarity. The Mark of the Hollow pulsed faintly beneath our skin, anchoring our fusion as the borrowed authority of Death lingered within us like a fading storm. I steadied my breath, feeling the reserves dwindling at a controlled pace.

“How are we doing with the reserves of the borrowed Law of Death from the Death Daughters?” I asked inwardly, my voice echoing through the shared consciousness.

Hei Mao responded without hesitation, his tone grounded and precise. “We should have enough.”

That was all I needed.

The Four Pillars Sealing Formation collapsed behind me, its radiant constructs dissolving into fragments of fading light now that its purpose had been fulfilled. The pressure that once bound Famine was gone, replaced by an uneasy stillness that lingered in the air.

Ren Xun let out a low breath, his expression shifting as he caught sight of me. “So you’re finally here.”

Nongmin stepped forward, his gaze sharp with concern. “Do you really plan to do this?”

I didn’t answer immediately. Instead, I extended my perception through the Ophanim, my vision fracturing into countless overlapping perspectives as I traced Famine’s trajectory. The Hollowed World bent subtly under my authority, revealing the disturbance far beyond the horizon.

A hole had been carved into the ocean, the angry Famine lashing out.

I exhaled slowly, then allowed a grin to form.

“Damn right,” I said, my voice steady with intent. “If I have to run the gauntlet on the Four Horsemen, then so be it.”

A soft laugh followed, familiar and unrestrained.

Da Ji shook her head, though her amusement did little to hide the concern in her eyes. “Be careful with your words, brother. Famine isn’t like the others. He carries the essence of the Supreme Void, and from what I can tell, its influence on him runs deeper than we thought.”

“I’ll be fine.”

I raised my sword, its weight grounding me as I drew in a measured breath. Time slowed in my perception as I began counting internally, aligning my thoughts with the visions provided by the Ophanim. Countless outcomes unfolded before me, each one dissected and refined as I studied the emergence of the Slaughter Palace within my ring. The crimson horse manifested again and again in those projections, each iteration more violent than the last. I saw myself enduring its fury, sustaining injuries as it lashed out in berserk defiance after War’s sealing.

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“Here, take it,” Zai Ai tossed something toward me, her timing impeccable. “I managed to finish it. That mysterious quintessence golden liquid Sikao Biaoji created? It worked better than expected.”

I caught the items midair, immediately recognizing their purpose. A bridle woven from strands of my own treated hair, its structure reinforced with refined intent, and a saddle crafted from the hide of a behemoth I had once hunted in the Underworld. The moment I grasped them, I felt a subtle elevation within my Ascended Soul, as if the equipment resonated with my very essence.

I stored them within my pocket dimension without hesitation.

The final threads of my simulation aligned.

Victory was possible against Famine.

I turned slightly, my gaze sweeping over the group. “Begin recovery efforts. There are a million souls displaced from my fight with War. Prioritize them.”

There was no room for argument.

Before anyone could respond, I vanished.

The world folded around me, and in the next instant, I reappeared above the ocean. Below, the waters had been torn apart, revealing the land hidden beneath as if the sea itself had been peeled away. At the center of that impossible void stood Famine, his frail figure hovering in stillness as the surrounding terrain continued to unravel under his presence.

He looked up at me.

The void within his torso pulsed once.

“FOOD.”

I felt uncertain, and I did not like it.

Through the Ophanim, my vision fractured into layered perceptions, each one feeding me fragments of truth about Famine. What I saw unsettled me more than his power ever could.

There was no cunning in him, no depth of calculation or restraint. Instead, there was only a blunt, overwhelming hunger that drowned everything else. It was crude, almost childlike in its simplicity, and I found myself questioning what I was facing. Were the Four Horsemen truly becoming less intelligent the older they were, or was this something far worse? An existence so singular in purpose that critical thinking itself had been stripped away?

I did not have the luxury to dwell on it.

Famine appeared before me without warning.

The laws around us twisted violently, binding space and intent alike as they pressed down on me with suffocating force. My body locked in place, every movement halted as if I had been nailed to reality itself. For a brief, terrifying moment, I could do nothing but watch as he reached toward me, his arms spreading wide in a grotesque imitation of an embrace. The void within his torso churned hungrily, the scale rattling as if eager to measure my worth before consumption.

Helplessness was not something I experienced often.

It was worse than pain.

Then something cracked.

A sharp, splintering sound echoed from my hand as the ring on my finger shattered apart, unable to contain what lay within. From that fracture burst a furious presence, violent and unrestrained. A horse emerged, crimson in every sense of the word, its entire body drenched in a seething, blood-red intensity that distorted the air around it. Its eyes burned with feral rage as it lunged forward without hesitation, jaws snapping toward Famine’s face with savage intent.

Famine did not even try to avoid it.

The horse bit down.

Flesh tore, bone crunched, and yet the result was wrong. Famine’s body regenerated almost instantly, the damage undone as though it had never existed. The horse recoiled violently, retching as it spat out chunks of flesh that dissolved into nothingness before they could hit the ground. It let out an enraged screech and lashed out with its hind legs, the impact blasting Famine backward and carving a violent path through the air.

The creature reoriented itself almost immediately.

And then it turned toward me.

I did not hesitate.

I launched myself upward, Divine Step activating beneath my feet as space folded to carry me higher into the sky. The wind screamed past me as I ascended, pushing further and further away from the chaos below. I could feel it behind me, the pounding rhythm of hooves striking against nothingness itself.

The horse was chasing me.

It galloped through the air as though the sky were solid ground, its crimson form tearing through the heavens with relentless fury. I did not look back, but I did not need to. Through the Ophanim, I saw everything from the distance closing, the angles shifting, and the inevitability of pursuit.

So I kept flying.

Higher and higher, I ascended, drawing the battlefield into the open sky where fewer things could interfere, where I could stretch the fight into something I could control. The pressure built with every passing second, my thoughts racing as I calculated outcomes and prepared contingencies.

Behind me, the hunt continued.

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[POV: Famine]

Famine watched.

From below, his hollow gaze followed Da Wei’s ascent, tracking the fleeing figure as the crimson horse pursued him through the sky. Something about the man felt different from before, something that stirred faint recognition beneath the endless hunger. The white scarf around Da Wei’s neck shifted like a living mirage, skeletal forms and grinning skulls flowing through its fabric as though caught between worlds. Upon his forehead, a black diamond pulsed faintly, emanating an eerie presence that even Famine could not fully ignore.

A whisper slithered through the void within him, ancient and strained.

“Be cautious… that one is not as he was before. There is danger you do not—”

“I am hungry,” Famine replied simply.

The voice within him faltered, then erupted into frustrated disbelief. “Why are you like this? Why are you always like this? There is a trap unfolding right before you and all you can think about is eating! Must I bear witness to your idiocy for eternity?”

Famine did not answer.

He devoured the distance instead.

Space collapsed as his void consumed the separation between himself and Da Wei, his form flickering forward in an instant as he closed the gap. The sky warped around him, drawn inward by his presence as he reached for his prey once more.

Then reality shifted.

In a single, seamless motion, Da Wei and the crimson horse exchanged positions. The beast appeared directly before Famine, its jaws already snapping toward him with renewed fury. Famine’s void expanded instinctively, attempting to consume it outright, but something resisted. The laws bound to War clashed against his own nature, refusing to yield, an unseen restriction left behind by the Supreme Death ensuring that the Horsemen would not destroy one another.

Famine’s expression did not change.

He swung his spear.

The weapon tore through the air and struck the horse with overwhelming force, sending it hurtling away as its body twisted violently from the impact. Before the motion could even complete, Da Wei appeared beside him, his sword already in motion as it carved toward Famine’s form with lethal precision.

Famine reacted.

The spear shifted, intercepting the strike as steel met steel with a deafening clash. In the same instant, his void surged forward, engulfing Da Wei at point-blank range as the space between them ceased to exist.

Consumption.

And yet, the result twisted again.

Da Wei vanished, replaced by the crimson horse as the two switched positions once more. The beast’s teeth sank into Famine’s arm, ripping into him with savage force. Famine’s body regenerated even as the attack landed, but the impact forced him to shift, his leg lashing out as he kicked the horse away with brutal strength.

A voice rang out from above, sharp and mocking.

“What’s wrong, hungwy widdle baby? Wanna taste of me?”

“Do not engage,” the voice of the Void warned urgently. “That is provocation. You lack the awareness to navigate his—”

“I. WILL. KILL. YOU.”

The Void fell silent for a moment before letting out a long, suffering sigh. “Of course you would fall for it.”

Unbeknowst to the two of them, it was Da Wei’s Supremacy Trait at work, inciting Famine. This was true for everyone who suffered Da Wei’s trolling.

Above them, Da Wei continued to ascend, the crimson horse resuming its relentless pursuit as it chased him into the higher reaches of the sky. Famine’s hunger twisted violently within him, his body convulsing as something began to force its way out.

A scream tore from his throat.

From his mouth, a second form emerged. It was a black horse, its body dragging itself into existence with grotesque resistance as it clawed its way free through Famine’s throat. Famine seized it without hesitation, gripping it tightly before launching himself upward in pursuit.

The sky distorted under his advance.

Black holes bloomed across Da Wei’s path, tearing open the fabric of space in violent eruptions as they sought to swallow him whole. One after another, they manifested in rapid succession, each one positioned to intercept, to consume, to end the chase in an instant.

Yet Da Wei slipped through them.

Each movement precise, each step calculated, he wove through the collapsing void with impossible accuracy, evading every trap as though he could see the future itself. The distance between hunter and prey fluctuated wildly, the battle stretching higher and higher into the heavens as the pursuit intensified.

And still, Famine hungered.