“You’re wasting your energy on unnecessary thoughts right now.” Teivel squeezed Darius’ shoulder, adding, “I should’ve died long ago. Yet, by some miracle, my consciousness remained in this book. Thus, our meeting is abnormal and should never have happened.”

Teivel no longer spoke. He lowered his hand, watched as the black gas vaporized, then looked ahead to where the old man in black robes ran.

With a level stare at Darius, he stated, “We have to hunt him down and kill him at once—because he’s always had a hand in all the suffering the past years had brought. One could even say he planned the first seed of these many tragedies. If he escapes, he can disguise himself as anyone and continue to do terrible things. We won’t be around to stop him. Although you and I are enlightened martial artists and have slightly longer lifespans than most people, we’ll still die at some point. Our deaths will come much sooner than his, especially considering how he’s been devising ways to extend his l