The Final Vessel
1545 Words
Episode 4: The Final Vessel
Darkness swallowed everything.
Lin Yue felt herself falling.
Falling endlessly through an abyss with no bottom.
The monstrous eye remained burned into her memory.
The Devourer.
Just hearing the name had filled the powerful Demon King with fear.
Who—or what—could terrify someone like Mo Chen?
The answer came sooner than she expected.
A violent force suddenly pulled her upward.
The darkness shattered.
Lin Yue opened her eyes.
She was back inside her apartment.
Or what remained of it.
The walls were cracked.
Furniture lay broken across the floor.
Black flames flickered in the corners.
And standing before her was Mo Chen.
His hand gripped her shoulder tightly.
His crimson eyes were locked on her face.
Relief flashed through them.
Only for a second.
Then it disappeared.
“You came back.”
Lin Yue blinked.
“What happened?”
Mo Chen looked away.
“The spiritual realm collapsed.”
The silver-eyed woman stood near the broken window.
Her expression was unusually serious.
Gone was her arrogance.
Gone was her amusement.
She looked genuinely frightened.
Lin Yue stared.
“You know that thing, don’t you?”
The woman closed her eyes.
For several moments, she remained silent.
Then she nodded.
“Yes.”
“Tell me.”
The woman hesitated.
Mo Chen’s jaw tightened.
But neither stopped her.
Finally, she spoke.
“The Devourer is older than demons.”
The room became silent.
“It existed before kingdoms.”
“Before immortals.”
“Before humanity.”
Lin Yue felt a chill.
“What does it want?”
The woman’s expression darkened.
“Everything.”
Thunder exploded outside.
Rain hammered against the city.
The spirit continued.
“It consumes worlds.”
Lin Yue’s breathing slowed.
“What?”
“It devours souls.”
“Life.”
“Energy.”
“Civilizations.”
Her voice trembled slightly.
“Entire dimensions.”
The words sounded impossible.
Yet after everything she had seen, impossible no longer existed.
The spirit pointed toward Lin Yue.
“And now it wants you.”
Fear twisted inside her stomach.
“Why me?”
Neither answered immediately.
The silence was enough to terrify her.
Eventually Mo Chen spoke.
“Because you’re the Final Vessel.”
The words echoed in the room.
Lin Yue shook her head.
“I don’t even know what that means.”
The Demon King looked at her.
For once, there was no coldness in his eyes.
Only concern.
“Thousands of years ago, powerful beings sealed the Devourer away.”
Lin Yue listened carefully.
“The seal required a living vessel.”
The silver-eyed woman continued.
“Each generation carried a fragment of that seal.”
Lin Yue’s heart sank.
“No…”
The woman nodded.
“Your family became the guardians.”
The realization struck her.
“My ancestors?”
“Yes.”
The spirit’s voice softened.
“They protected humanity.”
Lin Yue laughed bitterly.
“By selling their descendants to demons?”
Nobody answered.
Because it was true.
Mo Chen looked away.
The silence hurt more than words.
Suddenly—
A loud scream echoed from outside.
Everyone froze.
Another scream followed.
Then another.
And another.
Lin Yue rushed toward the shattered window.
What she saw made her blood run cold.
People were running through the streets.
Cars crashed into one another.
Buildings trembled.
Dark creatures crawled across rooftops.
Hundreds of them.
Thousands.
Monsters had entered the city.
The invasion had begun.
“Oh my God…”
The silver-eyed woman cursed.
“It found us.”
A massive roar shook Shanghai.
Several skyscrapers exploded in the distance.
Smoke filled the night sky.
Chaos spread everywhere.
Lin Yue’s legs weakened.
This wasn’t a nightmare anymore.
Real people were dying.
Real lives were being destroyed.
Because of her.
The guilt hit instantly.
Mo Chen seemed to notice.
His voice became softer.
“This isn’t your fault.”
Lin Yue looked at him.
“People are dying because of me.”
“No.”
His eyes hardened.
“They are dying because of it.”
The Demon King’s aura exploded.
Dark energy filled the apartment.
“The Devourer is accelerating its plans.”
The spirit nodded.
“We don’t have much time.”
Lin Yue turned toward them.
“What are we supposed to do?”
Neither answered immediately.
Then the spirit finally spoke.
“We kill it.”
Lin Yue stared.
“You can kill that thing?”
The spirit laughed humorlessly.
“No.”
That wasn’t reassuring.
Mo Chen crossed his arms.
“But we can stop it.”
“How?”
The Demon King looked directly at her.
“We complete the bond.”
Silence.
Lin Yue blinked.
“The bond?”
The spirit groaned.
“Oh, here we go.”
Mo Chen ignored her.
“The marriage contract.”
Lin Yue froze.
“What?”
The Demon King’s expression remained serious.
“If we complete the ancient pact—”
“No.”
Mo Chen stopped.
Lin Yue shook her head.
“No.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand perfectly.”
Her voice rose.
“You want me to marry you.”
The spirit looked entertained again.
“This should be fun.”
Mo Chen glared at her.
She immediately became quiet.
Then he turned back toward Lin Yue.
“Marriage is the only way.”
“Absolutely not.”
The answer came instantly.
The Demon King sighed.
For the first time, he actually looked tired.
“Lin Yue.”
“No.”
“The bond would protect you.”
“No.”
“It would strengthen the seal.”
“No.”
“It could save millions of lives.”
Lin Yue hesitated.
Mo Chen noticed.
And pressed forward.
“The Devourer cannot fully reach you if you’re under my protection.”
The words lingered.
Millions of lives.
Countless innocent people.
All depending on her decision.
The weight felt unbearable.
Before she could answer—
A sudden explosion rocked the building.
BOOM!
The floor cracked.
The entire apartment shook violently.
Something enormous had landed outside.
The spirit immediately turned pale.
“No.”
Mo Chen’s eyes narrowed.
“It’s here.”
Fear gripped Lin Yue.
“What is?”
Nobody needed to answer.
A shadow appeared outside the building.
Huge.
Monstrous.
Impossible.
Slowly, a gigantic hand wrapped around the skyscraper.
Concrete crumbled.
Steel twisted.
The building groaned under the pressure.
Residents screamed.
Cars crashed below.
Lin Yue stepped closer to the window.
Then she saw it.
A giant.
At least two hundred feet tall.
Its body looked human.
Almost.
Black skin covered in eyes.
Thousands of eyes.
All staring at her.
The creature smiled.
Rows of teeth stretched across its face.
And then it spoke.
“Found you.”
Lin Yue’s heart stopped.
The voice belonged to the Devourer.
Or one of its avatars.
Mo Chen stepped forward instantly.
Dark flames erupted around him.
The sky above Shanghai darkened.
Lightning flashed.
The Demon King’s power exploded.
The giant laughed.
“You cannot stop what is coming.”
Mo Chen’s crimson eyes glowed.
“Watch me.”
The next second—
He vanished.
And appeared directly in front of the giant.
The collision that followed shook the entire city.
BOOM!
A shockwave blasted through Shanghai.
Windows shattered for miles.
Clouds split apart.
The battle had begun.
Lin Yue stared in disbelief.
The Demon King punched the giant.
The creature crashed through three buildings.
The giant retaliated.
Mo Chen blocked the attack.
The sky erupted with energy.
Every strike looked capable of destroying mountains.
The spirit watched grimly.
“He’s holding back.”
Lin Yue looked at her.
“What?”
The woman’s silver eyes narrowed.
“He’s protecting the city.”
Outside, Mo Chen continued fighting.
Each movement was impossibly fast.
Each attack shook the heavens.
Yet despite his power—
The giant kept smiling.
As though none of this mattered.
As though victory was already guaranteed.
Then something happened.
The giant suddenly looked toward Lin Yue.
Its smile widened.
The thousands of eyes covering its body opened simultaneously.
A beam of black light shot toward the apartment.
The spirit screamed.
“GET DOWN!”
Too late.
The beam struck.
The world exploded.
Light consumed everything.
Pain tore through Lin Yue’s body.
The mark on her chest ignited.
Fire spread through her veins.
She screamed.
Dark energy erupted from within her.
The room shattered.
The spirit’s eyes widened.
“No…”
Silver light surrounded Lin Yue.
Ancient power awakened.
Something sleeping deep inside her finally opened its eyes.
Memories flooded her mind.
Not her memories.
Someone else’s.
Wars.
Gods.
Demons.
The creation of the seal.
The birth of the Devourer.
And a terrifying truth.
A truth hidden for thousands of years.
Lin Yue gasped.
Tears filled her eyes.
“Impossible…”
The spirit stared.
“You saw it.”
Lin Yue slowly looked up.
Horror filled her face.
The Final Vessel wasn’t merely a prison.
It was something far worse.
Something the world had forgotten.
Something capable of destroying everything.
Outside, even Mo Chen froze.
Because he felt it too.
The awakening.
The power sleeping inside Lin Yue.
And for the first time since meeting her—
The Demon King looked terrified.
End of Episode 4
- Writer
