Yama Rising

The silent deal that was struck between Qin Ye and Kraken went unnoticed by the three death gods, and Qin Ye quickly continued on his way. After swimming for about five kilometers, a burst of violent tremors erupted from behind him. Even though it was impossible to hear anything within the sea, the powerful currents pushed him several hundred meters away.

Someone's made a move!

He sped up even further, and even without having to look back, he knew that someone had finally made a move. Right after this, countless Red Eagle Navy ships were going to surround this place in a watertight barrier. In fact, he could already see the hulls of the naval ships that were converging rapidly from several hundred meters away.

However, none of that had anything to do with him.

No one was going to be able to detect him from such depths, and even though this was going to delay his arrival at Los Angeles, it was well worth the delay to be able to avoid this devastating battlefield. Soon, the fleets passed by above his head, yet right as he was about to depart, he abruptly turned around to look at the fleets behind him.

Something's not right...

There was a certain scent emanating from these fleets, a scent that only a Yama-King would be able to detect!

"What is it?" He stared up at the ships above him, wondering if it were just a figment of his imagination. After close to 20 seconds of deliberation, he floated up 300 meters, only to discover that the smell was becoming stronger and stronger, and it was lingering in the seawater without dissipating!

All of a sudden, his heartbeat began to accelerate without any warning, and an incredulous look appeared in his eyes in response to this bodily reaction. What kind of scent could possibly quicken his pulse like this?

"It doesn't come from those ships..." He scanned his gaze across the ships one by one, then cast his gaze directly forward. "It's in deeper waters somewhere further ahead."

He didn't hesitate even for a moment before immediately swimming directly forward. Something that could draw such a strong reaction out of a Yama-King like himself definitely wasn't an ordinary object.

However, after swimming for only several hundred more meters, he stopped once again before casting his gaze forward through narrowed eyes.

The thing that was giving off this unique aroma was moving.

It was very strange because Qin Ye couldn't detect any signs of life from the object, but if it were a dead or inanimate object, then how was it capable of movement?

"Perhaps this is exactly what Kraken is searching for!" His brows furrowed tightly as this thought occurred to him, and his inky-black robes swayed and drifted in the seawater. "This scent isn't particularly strong, but it refuses to dissipate and is extremely alluring. This is most likely what's drawn Kraken all the way here!"

With that in mind, he sank down another kilometer. As a Yama-King, even in the sea, he would be able to inspect an area with a radius of several kilometers without any issues. Furthermore, the deeper he sank, the more well-concealed he would be, so descending even further was the best option.

He was like a patient and experienced hunter, waiting silently in the darkness. One minute passed... then two... then five... All of a sudden, a speck of bright red light finally appeared in his field of view.

This is it! He withdrew all of his Yin energy and injected all of it into his own eyes as he stared intently forward. The red light was drawing closer and closer, thereby making it appear brighter and brighter in his field of view. Two minutes later, it was already only around 100 meters in front of him!

At such close range, Qin Ye was finally able to discern what the item was, and the revelation presented by the sight of this item was so astonishing that he momentarily forgot that he was still in the sea, and his mouth sprang wide open in astonishment. As a result, salty and bitter seawater gushed into his mouth, and only then did he return to his senses.

However, he paid no heed to the seawater and swam upward at full speed.

Having identified the object, goosebumps had been raised all over his entire body. In the blink of an eye, he reached the seawater above the speck of red light, then squatted down to stroke the object beneath his feet with trembling, incredulous fingers.

He came into contact with a chunk of pale flesh.

This was a heart, a massive one that was around three to four meters in size, and it was beating in a slow and consistent rhythm.

The heart was of a pale white color, but with every single beat, bright red meridians would emerge beneath the surface of the flesh, releasing blood and red light that spread into the surrounding seawater.

This was the source of the scent!

"This is... the heart of an ancient god!!" Qin Ye gulped in disbelief as he stood atop the heart with an incredulous expression. If he hadn't encountered Yu Kiang in the past, he most likely wouldn't even know what this thing was.

Someone had dug out the heart of an ancient god, and the owner of the heart had only perished recently. The powerful life force of an ancient god ensured that the heart was still beating, and it was this alluring prize that had attracted Kraken all the way here to the Pacific Ocean!

The situation was finally beginning to make sense in Qin Ye's mind, but he didn't continue to ponder the matter. Instead, he cast his gaze toward the thing that was attached to the heart.

The heart wasn't just floating in the seawater.

Having already been detached from its host's body, it would only sink to the seabed and remain there unless an external force was acting upon it.

However, a spear had impaled the heart, and a thick metal chain was attached to the back-end of the spear. The chain ran all the way to the surface of the sea, where it was attached to the underside of a massive ship!

This thing had been dragged here by someone!

Someone had dragged the heart of an ancient god here, intentionally attracting Kraken here, drawing it into a frenzy so that it smashed straight through Xolotl's Screen to wreak havoc in the Pacific Ocean!

In this instant, Qin Ye's wariness toward the state of Northern Usonia reached an all-time high!

Everyone on this continent had gone insane! In order to fight for survival in this living purgatory, everyone had been driven to insanity! Even this devious plot to lure Kraken into the Pacific Ocean had been implemented, was there anything that these people wouldn't do?

He didn't know which power could be so insane, and he didn't want to take any guesses as there were simply far too many possible candidates. Under these circumstances, the more chaotic the state of the continent became, the more the three death gods and the three new death gods of the Caribbean would be able to benefit.

With that in mind, a cold smile appeared on Qin Ye's face, and he flicked a finger through the seawater, sending a burst of Yin energy heading straight toward the hull of the ship, instantly leaving his mark on it.

Unless a death god were to specifically examine the underside of the ship, there was no way they would be able to detect this faintest of marks.

There was no particular reason behind why he had done that, it was simply out of habit. Perhaps this could prove to be useful at some point in the future.

After doing all that, he took one final glance at the swarm of naval ships above him, then silently swam away toward the distance.

………………………………………………..

Edward Ross was a middle-aged police officer.

He was a Caucasian male who was around 37 to 38 years old, and he had already worked at the police station on 17th Street for 15 years. He was a competent and capable police officer.

He was single, and that wasn't all that remarkable in a nation like Usonia, where individualism was heavily endorsed. However, he didn't have the undesirable traits commonly seen in celibatarians. Instead, he was a big fan of cleanliness, and when he wasn't working, he would always be cleaning his own house or dedicating himself to personal grooming.

He lived in a rented house on 17th Street, and even though his salary as a police officer was enough for him to purchase an apartment in the city, he seemed to prefer renting instead, and very rarely did his colleagues go to visit him at his residence.

On this day, it was his day off, and early in the morning, he was already shaving his own facial hair in front of the mirror. At noon, he put on a black suit with a pristine white flower pinned to the breast pocket, then left his own house.

All of his colleagues knew that he would go to the Rose Hills Mortuary on the 13th of every month, even though there was quite a distance between 17th Street and the Rose Hills Mortuary.

Everyone assumed that someone very important to him was buried there, but of course, no one explicitly asked him as that would be quite rude.

Edward took the subway, and as he stepped out of the subway station, he heaved a forlorn sigh.

It had already been 10 years since any being had responded to his calls...

Ever since he was possessed on two occasions 10 years ago, he fell in love with that mysterious and exhilarating feeling. There really were beings that existed beyond the living world! That experience had completely shattered his worldview as a police officer!

After salvaging the pieces of his destroyed worldview, not only did he not go into denial, he gladly accepted the existence of these beings instead. He felt as if he had found his own purpose in life, and he felt like he was closer to the truth than anyone else had ever been.

Unfortunately, it had been 10 years since the last divine descent.

Just like every month for the past 10 years, he hadn't received any instructions, but traveling to the Rose Hills Mortuary on the 13th of every month had already become a habit of his, and he didn't have any high hopes.

Paths paved out of stone were present on the lawns of the Rose Hills Mortuary, and he strode along one of the paths, which quickly took him to the guard post of the mortuary

On the 13th of every month, the young man who was normally on duty would return to his home to visit his family, so Edward was always greeted by the young man's elderly replacement.

He made his way over to the guard post, then lowered the brim of his hat before offering a one-dollar bill to the elderly man. "One ticket please."

No one bought any tickets here aside from him.

"You're here again." The elderly man greeted him with a smile. There was not a single tooth left in the elderly man's mouth, making his oral cavity resemble a black hole, framed by the wrinkly and wizened skin of his face, and even during the day, it was quite a terrifying sight to behold.

"I hope you find what you're looking for." The elderly man accepted the bill with a wizened hand, then smeared his index finger across its surface, and an extremely eye-catching trail of blood was left on the back of the note.

Edward accepted the note, then departed in silence.

He made his way deeper and deeper into the mortuary along the stone staircase, and the graves slowly transitioned from simple tombstones to ones that were very tall and imposing, and there was even the occasional plot that resembled castles.

Close to 20 minutes later, he arrived outside a metal fence, and the metal gate was opened, revealing an extremely lavish burial ground inside.

The plot was as large as a normal room, and standing at the entrance was a statue of a death god in a black cloak. At the back of the room was a door that was wide open, and the entire building was constructed from marble. However, strangely enough, there was no text on the ground to indicate who this burial site was dedicated to.

Edward stopped in front of the entrance.

There was no one else here, and he quickly inspected the entire area before putting his palms together in prayer.

He had recited this eulogy every single month for the past 10 years, and he did so in an extremely devout manner every time. Time slowly passed by, and soon, 10 minutes had ticked past. He had already recited the eulogy thrice in succession, and only then did he heave a long sigh before allowing his hands to fall back to his sides again.

There was nothing.

Is there still no one responding to me? Edward turned around in a disappointed manner, yet right at this moment, he suddenly heard a faint rustling sound.

Immediately thereafter, all of the trees and grass in the entire burial site rocked back in unison as if some type of unspeakable being had just descended upon this place!

He faltered slightly before immediately turning toward the entrance of the tomb, only to find that the door had silently swung open!