Apotheosis

Zen looked up and said, "We'd better leave as soon as possible."

The black monkeys had broken the bridge and were sure to come crashing down into the ravine.

"Okay. Whatever you say," Elvinia agreed with a nod.

She felt Zen tug violently on her hand as he moved forward.

As she followed Zen, a strange thought crossed her mind. She realized that she had changed drastically.

She held a high status in the Source World, causing her peers to feel inferior to her. Even Efrain and Chaim felt she outshone them.

But this time, she had endured a number of setbacks before and after entering the Grand Sky Temple. This had greatly weakened her confidence.

Staying in the wooden hut had been bad for her nerves and she had gradually begun to follow Zen as meek as a lamb.

"Okay. Whatever you say."

She had never said words like this before.

Zen had no idea what Elvinia was thinking about as all he wanted was to get rid of the black monkeys.

As he ran wildly along the ravine, gigantic pincers emerged from the mud on the river and stretched towards him.

'How dare these crabs attack me?'

Zen thought, frowning.

Zen wasn't taking the crabs seriously even though these were also creatures from the Dark Region.

He quickly grabbed one of the pincers, pulled out the body that had been hidden in the mud, and smashed it repeatedly to the ground.

It was a washbasin-sized crab with a strange white pattern on its shell.

The crab struggled against Zen's grip but before it could raise its pincers, Zen stepped on its shell and it shattered into pieces.

Plop! Plop!

Dong!

Some sudden sounds from the ravine behind him startled him. He turned just in time to see the black monkeys jumping off the cliff, some falling to the ground and some into the river.

The black moneys obviously had strong bodies, brimming with energy as they jumped off the cliff.

They lived in the Dark Region all year round and had

ore.

But he couldn't do that after entering the Grand Sky Temple.

He had always used the Other Shore Power over the past few days. And since he was now running at full speed, the Other Shore Power was being consumed at a faster rate. Once the Other Shore Power of the Strength God Totem was exhausted, he would no longer be able to fight the black monkeys.

After more than ten miles, the ravine, which was originally over a thousand feet wide, began to narrow with each mile they crossed.

When the ravine was no longer than ten feet wide, Zen and Elvinia looked at each other, worried. It felt like the mountain was moving in on them.

And then, something weird happened.

The black monkeys that had been chasing after Zen and Elvinia stopped abruptly. They didn't dare to enter the narrow ravine. They stood at the border, chattering and shouting.

"Zen, they aren't coming in," said Elvinia.

"That's good, isn't it?" Zen said.

"What are they afraid of? I'm scared something bad is about to happen," Elvinia said worriedly.

"I know," Zen said, shrugging and gently lowering Elvinia to the ground.

"You knew that and still came running here? You are going to..."

Elvinia was reproaching Zen, but suddenly his body began to convulse before he collapsed to the ground.