The Dawn of the New World

"Hahahaha!"

Hao Xuan threw his head back in a fit of laughter. The sudden realization that he had this ability all along but couldn't use it because there were no demons to absorb took him by surprise.

There was now another ray of hope in these dark times.

He would have to wait around five minutes for Grey to reach him safely. Because of the Turtle demon rampaging in the middle Grey had to take a slight detour with Hao Xuan's guidance.

Now he could also "spectate" Grey for much longer before the fatigue started to set in.

Even while sitting there in some random spot surrounded by trees and bushes from all sides Hao Xuan still felt like he was somewhere else entirely.

"What should I name this ability? Any suggestions?"

*beep*

"Considering the scope, range, and spectrum of the ability is bound to evolve as it is further reinforced, an appropriate name should be adequately eclectic."

"Eclectic...? What does that mean?"

"Broad. All-encompassing. Multifaceted-"

"Alright alright, I get it you can stop. I see where you're coming from but I'm gonna go with what something that feels good when I say it. So from now on...it will be called 'Arbiter' instead."

"As in Magistrate or Judge?"

"Yea, exactly like that. It sounds better than something like 'spectator' or something stupid like that. Plus I feel like this ability has a lot of potential for growth."

"If host thinks that is a viable reason."

"That reminds me, when did you start calling me the host? Or more importantly, why?"

"Host is a more suitable designation."

"A little cold though, don't you think? Makes me sound like some kind of a lab experiment."

"Would host prefer another identification marker?"

"No no, I don't care that much. Was just trying to make small talk until-Oh, there he is."

Hao Xuan stood up just as Grey came into view. He walked up to him and brushed his hand through Grey's mane, sensing the extreme state of weariness he was in from running all over the place at top speed.

"You did good, very good. I will try to find you something delicious to eat."

"Neigh!" x2

Grey's heads bobbed up and down merrily as he pulled Hao Xuan close affectionately.

"Good boy, let's go back to the mountain."

He jumped on and Grey was quickly on his way once more. They reached the mountain in a little over three minutes and this time Grey sat down by the entrance to rest for a while.

Hao Xuan walked in absentmindedly, lost in thought trying to think of some safer ways of getting some more demonic cores when he reached the side room.

"I'm back," he announced nonchalantly but the moment he saw what was happening inside he froze on the spot.

The guard was down on all fours scribbling something on the floor. There was a trail of blood going from him to Wern...or rather what was left of Wern.

"What the fuck have you done?!"

Hao Xuan jumped over the guard to reach the stone bed. Wern's abdomen was cut open and his intestines were pulled out. He checked for a pulse but there was far too much blood for even a healthy person to survive let alone someone that was as badly injured as him.

A squelching sound brought Hao Xuan back to reality. He turned around to face the source with a grim expression but most of his anger was quickly replaced by confusion when he saw the guard's state.

His entire body was covered in some kind of fungal thread with bulbous masses growing all over his face. He was using his fingers to etch something into the floor but the tips of his fingers had been ground down instead.

Hao Xuan's first instinct was to kill him on the spot but he kept his blood thirst in check and bent down to look at his face.

Only the guard's eyes were still unaffected because he was crying non-stop while whispering something in a barely audible tone. Hao Xuan had to focus his sense of hearing to listen to it without getting too close.

"Kill...me...please...kill...me.." he was repeating over and over again, one forced word at a time.

"What happened to you? Who did this to you and Wern?"

"Hand...spirit...mark...can't...stop...please..."

Hao Xuan looked at the guard's right hand which actually appeared to be the source of all the corruption.

"The spirit? The one that tried to pull you into the underworld? It did this?"

But the guard only had one thought on its mind.

"Please....I...can't...anymore...kill...me..."

Hao Xuan could tell how much pain he was in at first glance.

"I'm sorry, I should have been more careful."

He took out the hammer and with one quick swing the guard's head was smashed to bits.