Worlds’ Apocalypse Online

This was an eternal river.

The dark waters of the river were silent and peaceful, forever flowing forward without stopping in the past, present, and future.

The dead all slumbered within the river, completely unconscious as they drift along the flow.

This was the River of Death.

A place where no living being could set their foot onto.

But if a Deity came to this place and entered the depths of the river, they would find that the abyss of the river wasn't quite as peaceful and calm as it appeared.

At a certain point.

Deep below the river's abyss, faint whispers echoed.

"To… the Realm of Life…"

"Hurry… go…"

Tiny and almost nonexistent whispers continuously echoed below the lightless water.

This sound was growing increasingly clearer, calling upon an indiscernible entity to answer it.

"Hidden in the River of Death…"

"Envoy of Apocalypse…"

"…It is time…"

"…Awaken!"

From the darkness, a pair of frigid vertical irises suddenly lit up.

An immensely violent presence radiated in every direction.

From deep below the silent water abyss, a gigantic figure rapidly floated to the water surface while whispering in a deep voice which echoed into the surrounding:

「 It is not yet time, why have you called me? 」

The continuous echoing voices drifted around it, overlapping one another as they spoke: "That corpse… the secret it carries… there have been traces…"

"…Hurry… hurry up…"

Boom!

A towering figure emerged from the River of Death, roaring to the silent water below:

「 My subjects, hidden children of the Apocalypse, come with me to the Realm of Life 」

「 We shall find that secret! 」

The dark water was immensely disturbed.

Numerous entities were churning within the river, all of them glowing with a dim gloomy light.

…

A snow-covered mountainside.

Behind a certain large rock.

Under the crackling of the campfire, a sense of warmth gradually chased away the surrounding frigid air as the fragrance of food slowly spread within the miniature formation.

"Time to eat!"

Gu Qing Shan declared.

The Professionists all gulped as they stared at the tray of food he carried.

After several days, everyone had discovered that the rests they took to reorganize themselves were always something to look forward to.

--------for Professionists of their level, it wasn't actually that big of a deal to travel continuously several days in a row across the snow-covered peaks.

But since this place was the Doomsday Necropolis, it was easy for them to run into sporadic Apocalypses.

And it was a tough battle each time they did so.

And so, being able to rest while enjoying the food that Gu Qing Shan had personally made was an unusual luxury for them.

-----or rather, just the ingredients he was using was already more than enough as the mission reward.

This Gu Qing Shan person seems to also be a Cultivation-type grandmaster spirit cook.

Anything he makes is a treasure itself.

Everyone chowed down on the food like it was their last.

Looking at them, Gu Qing Shan nodded slightly.

He was pleased with how much they enjoyed his food.

In this group of five.

The Necromancer Safaya was the first one to join him.

Followed by the Elven Lord Moon Song, and the Bottle Caster Hei Suo.

There was also a pair of siblings, the older brother Hakuru was an expert at blow darts, while the younger sister Ramata was an expert at voodoo techniques. While the two of them wore primitive leaves and feathers as clothes, they were both exceptional talents of the Savagery-type civilization, so no one dared look down on them.

Each of them belonged to a different mercenary corps as its Head.

They were exceptionally skilled and experienced with numerous expeditions into the Doomsday Necropolis, which would help Gu Qing Shan greatly.

For the last few days, they'd been advancing at an exceptional rate, the group had already gone far past the entrance to the Doomsday Necropolis towards the direction that Gu Qing Shan was sensing.

"Since the meal is done, I'll be investigating the surroundings" Hakuru offered.

"You take East, I'll take West" Moon Song said.

"Sure" Hakuru replied.

Their figures shifted and vanished from everyone's sight.

A blow dart user and an elven archer, both were among the best possible scouts.

In the camp.

"Safaya, explain the incantation you used at the time to me"

Gu Qing Shan asked with interest.

While he was the Death God, it had been too many years, and he hadn't actually done any research towards Death incantations.

The Necromancer Safaya looked at him respectfully and said: "Sir, I would not dare show off my meager skills to an expert"

Gu Qing Shan waved his hand dismissively: "Ah, that's not the case at all. I'm very seriously asking you about it. Of course, if you don't want to tell me about it, that's fine as well"

Safaya smiled wryly and said: "If you want to hear, I will slowly explain it, sir"

"Please take a look, when I performed the incantation, I pressed my fingers on the ground before those who die will ultimately return to the earth"

"I rubbed three kinds of materials on my thumb, index, and middle finger to be used as the medium; meanwhile, I focus the power of Death on my pinkie and ring fingers, using them to fuel the Death incantation in my palm------ attention, during the process of summoning the dead, I cannot breathe or hold any thoughts in my mind, using this to represent that I'm allied with the dead and not their enemy"

"Once the incantation has been triggered, my hands must immediately leave the ground and swiftly form three seals, which are respectively: the Seal of Past Death, the Seal of Awakening, and the Seal of Sacrificial Summon. The order must not get mixed up"

"Furthermore…"

Safaya continued for a long while.

Gu Qing Shan seriously listened to her.

The other two Combatants did not.

Both the Bottle Caster Hei Suo and Shaman Ramata were solemnly arranging their belongings.

------they were capable of unleashing attacks of immense power in the shortest possible time, but they had to rely on spell bottles and voodoo dolls in order to do so, which meant they needed a lot of time and meticulous preparation.

Gu Qing Shan continued listening to Safaya's explanation and occasionally nodded.

"…Finally, you chant the incantation: 'Dead men from the River of Death, emerge!'"

Safaya finished her small lesson.

"I understand now, it's quite complicated" Gu Qing Shan said emotionally.

"Yes, any small mistake could lead to terrible consequences, so it must be done in the most mindful manner" Safaya emphasized.

Gu Qing Shan thought briefly and lightly put his hand on the ground, muttering: "Dead men from the River of Death, emerge!"

Bam-------

A gloomy burst of light erupted.

The camp's formation array was immediately destroyed.

The ground broke apart to reveal a bottomless crevice to everyone.

Countless skeletons climbed out from the crevice and stood waiting by Gu Qing Shan's side.

Gu Qing Shan was surprised.

Without using any sort of seal or medium, he merely called out to them and the skeletons had emerged.

Safaya had already knelt respectfully by his side and spoke: "Your grace… your identity… as I thought"

Both the Bottle Caster Hei Suo and the Shaman Ramata took a bit of distance with a look of admiration and fear on their faces.

Right as Gu Qing Shan was about to say something, lines of glowing text appeared on the void of space:

[You are the Death God of the Twin Rivers of Life and Death, when it comes to Death techniques or the summoning of the dead, your words themselves are the incantation beyond a doubt]

Reading the War God UI's explanation, he felt a bit delighted.

After all of my efforts during the Age of Immemorial, it was an unexpected surprise for me to gain such power.

"That's too much of a commotion" he told the skeletons.

The skeletons silently nodded.

They climbed back into the ground, allowing the crevice to close back up.

Everything returned to its original state.

"Tsk tsk, the Twin Rivers of Life and Death sure are miraculous" Gu Qing Shan praised and looked at Safaya with a smile.

Safaya lowered her head: "Your grace… that is actually because of you…"

Suddenly, her gaze became stiff.

Everything around had been solidified.

Something seemed to have arrived in a breeze.

This sensation--------

Gu Qing Shan clasped his fist: "Esteemed lady, have you arrived?"

From the void of space, the familiar hoarse female voice resounded:

「 Gu Qing Shan, the Deathmatch Dance had been broken through by a true Apocalypse, but the Sacrificial Dance itself is undergoing immense changes 」

「 Right now, you need to dedicate your power to manifest a completely new Deathmatch Dance 」

Gu Qing Shan quickly asked: "What should I do? Should I dedicate my Soul Points?"

The hoarse female voice replied: 「 No, I can sense the advent of a great disturbance, you will need to speed up and find a power that can support you 」

Gu Qing Shan seemed puzzled: "A power that supports me?"

「 Indeed, you must utilize your authority------ as the Death God of the Twin Rivers of Life and Death, you must use this identity to form your own personal dance troupe 」

"Dance troupe?" Gu Qing Shan was stunned.

「 Indeed, give it a try, this is the condition to help the Sacrificial Dance evolve, it would also bring you a lot of support in battle as well as being beneficial to the Twin Rivers of Life and Death themselves 」

「 ------Hurry and teach your subordinates, starting from a warm-up dance 」

「 You must be fast! Or you shall regret it 」

The hoarse female voice faded away.

Everything returned to normal.

Gu Qing Shan noticed that Safaya was still looking at him with a gaze of admiration and fear.

The Bottle Caster Hei Suo and the Shaman Ramata were also the same.

He took a deep breath.

------I need a dance troupe.

I wonder what is going on that the esteemed lady had to urge me to hurry so much?

However, regardless------

I should indeed give it a try.

After all, this was how Reneedol was defeated.

The Sacrificial Dance is definitely a priority, I can't ignore or let it go to waste.

Gu Qing Shan made up his mind.

He then clapped his hands and whispered: "Give me a skeleton, one will be enough, don't cause too much commotion"

Poof!

With a puff of smoke, a skeleton wielding a sword and shield appeared in front of him.

Gu Qing Shan cleared his throat and walked forward, ordering: "Let go of your sword and shield"

The skeleton followed its orders.

"Very well" Gu Qing Shan clapped his hands again, recalling the steps for the warm-up Dance.

The one who taught me the initial basic Dance was the strongest Combatant of the Bygone Era.

I think it went like this--------

"First, I need you to try these movements-----"

Gu Qing Shan shifted into a dance pose and kept himself still.

The skeleton swiftly followed.

The world was silent.

Suddenly, the sound of music resounded.

Buun buun bang,

Buun buun bang,

Buu buu buu buu buun buun chang!

A highly mesmerizing rhythm!!!

Gu Qing Shan and the skeleton both nodded to the beat, beginning to build up the mood for the official Dance.

A mystical eerie atmosphere silently manifested.