The Shadow Stone

The Chains of Lilith

Jisoo - Middle Ground - Eastern Lucid Forest

 

"Hansol make sure Chan is safe!" Jisoo hollered at the nether as he struggled to dodge the rancid spit of a murkroach, dislodge himself from the pincers of an amora all the while cutting three of the many limbs of the arnea in front of him.

 

It was a lot for him to take but he couldn't let the younger ones handle two or more of these creatures all by themselves. 

 

For Seungkwan and Hansol he might, because for all he knows Seungkwan didn't went to all of those hunting trips with Jihoon and Seokmin for nothing. Hansol on the other hand seem to also have experience with slaying demon beast with the way he fluidly fights. But with Chan, never. He would never take the risk, especially after knowing that the boy wasn't really given enough opportunities to slay demon beasts with his own hands.

 

"Don't worry hyung, he's in good hands." The nether replied as he strengthened the barrier that he made around the middle ground noble.

 

He twisted to his side to chop off the pincer of the amora that was holding him in and successfully freed himself. Jisoo then leaped a few feet up in the air and landed with the blades of his swords first on the hard shell of the amora, cracking it and killing the beast as the blades penetrated the soft flesh hidden underneath. 

 

Looking around, the murkroach that was spitting its acidic venom at him a few moments ago was now trying to destroy the barrier around Chan and Hansol was sweating profusely as he tried his best to keep the barrier up. 

 


Without second thought Jisoo went straight for the demon beast but before he can reach it, one of Seungkwan's axes went pass his face and landed right on the head of the murkroach killing it instantly.

 

Hansol visibly slumped inside the barrier, they have been doing this for quiet a while now since Chan started to look into the flow of energy in the forest. The boy, with his eyes closed has been slightly hovering from the ground and has never spoken or opened his eyes since he began.

 

"Are you alright Hansol?" Jisoo heard Seungkwan with a very concerned tone asking the nether noble.

 

"I am fine. You should worry about yourself, not me. I am right inside this barrier while you're out there risking yourself." Jisoo smiled at the scene unfolding right in front of him as he made his way to the two. It was a nice break from all the fighting he did earlier.

 

"Just a few scratches won't end me Hansol, now let my hand through." Jisoo's brows knitted in intrigue as Seungkwan placed his hands on the nethers right cheek and started to transfer some of his energy to the exhausted man. 

 

In the astral realm, sharing energies is viewed as something intimate and it mostly happens between couples, because a close bond of trust and confidence in one another is needed to commence the transfer. Jisoo was about to telepathically tease the younger astral when Chan suddenly opened his eyes.

 

"The river, the river to the borders, it is hidden inside the trunks of a methein tree." Chan declared as his feet slowly touched the ground.

 

"You've done a wonderful job Chan, thank you very much,"Jisoo paused as he patted the youngers head.

 

"But can you please tell us more about it?" Jisoo probed the younger for a clearer description.

 

"Hyung, the source is in the form of a crystal, a purple crystal. It took me a long time to look for it because it somehow got the roots of the methein tree to tangle itself to its neighbors and those trees in return will tangle some of their roots to other trees while some roots will spread the energy around the forest to fuel the demon beasts." Jisoo heard Seungkwan gasp at the information.

 

"So what you mean is that this whole forest for them is like a big ground to replenish their energy?" Fear can be seen etched on the face of the younger cloud denizen as he asked Chan.

 

"Yes hyung and not only that" this time it was Jisoo who held his breath. The fact alone that the whole forest is a fountain of energy for the demon beast was a lot for Jisoo to take, but to know that there is something more to it makes it harder for him to process.

 

"In some parts where the concentration of dark energy is big enough, the boundary between the humanly world and the demon world thins up allowing the demons to rip up an opening and spring out to our world just like what's happening in the shadow lands." Jisoo felt Seungkwan grip his arms for support, it appears that the information was too much for him to take as well. 

 

He wouldn't wonder though, he too felt light headed by this and a quick glance at Hansol's ashen face says it all. 

 

It was terrifying.

 

"Now this explains the sudden appearance of this creatures." Jisoo held Seungkwans hand and softly squeezed it. Although the young man has been training and fighting along side with them during their demon hunts for quite sometime now, he was still the young bubbly Seungkwan. Jeonghan's brother, and as his best friend would like to call it, his baby brother.

 

"Thank you Chan, do you know where this methein tree is exactly located? Can you lead us there?" Truthfully, Jisoo didn't want to know but in order to end it all they have to destroy the crystal.

 

"Yes hyung I can lead you there" the look of fear can also be seen in the young face of the middle grounder but Chan did his best to hide it.

 

"Very well, lets go then and destroy that crystal. We need to stop it from sending more demons in the human world." With that, they all flapped their wings and ascended to the bloody red sky.

 

***

 

"Hyung that's it" Chan hovered above the thick canopy of trees and pointed on a small purple tree right beside the riverbank. To be honest it looked normal, nothing seemed to be suspicious on the physical attributes of the said tree.

 

"Alright keep close and be alert." Jisoo commanded everyone as they made their way to the tree.

 

"The group assigned to the southern part of the forest is on there way here and Jihoon told me he already informed Jeonghan's group as well." Jisoo was the first one to dive down to the tree but he immediately halted once he was a few feet away from it when he felt a different shift in the air. 

 

Out of nowhere a shadow centipede appeared infront of him and its poisoned fangs almost got him if he was not able to dodge its attack right on time.

 

While the demon beast landed back to the ground, Jisoo swiftly took out both of his sickle swords from the sigil on his back and briskly but carefully dive back to attack the shadow centipede. 

 

The creature immediately died but Jisoo knew not to be thankful about it because as soon as the beast stopped flailing, the ground beneath it crumbled open and different screeches from various demon beast can be heard through the crack. 

 

Jisoo readied himself as a demon beast slowly ascended from the crack. He held tightly on his sickle swords as not one but three giant blood moths appear out of it. 

 

Jisoo felt his faith wither for a moment until he felt two hands softly grip both of his shoulders. He looked back and saw Seungkwan and Hansol, although both are scared and uncertain the undeniable determination drawn on there faces and the encouraging smile that Chan beamed him was enough to get his faith back.

 

With one last look, the four attacked the blood moths. Seungkwan and Hansol took the smaller ones while Jisoo and Chan teamed up to slay the biggest one out of the three. 

 

From what he knows, the most integral part of a blood moth other than its heart is their antennae. Chop them off and the blood moths turn into nothing but senseless creatures. So Jisoo decided to go for it first. 

 

With his sickle swords grasped tightly on both of his hands, he propelled himself upwards while instructing Chan to distract the demon beast from below. 

 

The young man started to charge at the blood moth with his a blazed lance while Jisoo started to concentrate his energy on his blades, once he deemed that it was enough he aimed at the base of the moths head where the antennae are and shot a burst of lightning to it.

 

With the burst of lighting, the antennae fell off and opposite to what Jisoo expected, the moth started to become feral. It started to spit acidic poison all the while spreading its air blocking spores.

 

"Cover your noses"  he telephatically communicated to avoid inhaling the contaminated air.

 

"Chan hang on down there. I'll make this quick."  Jisoo dove right to the head of the blood moth and was ready to stab it but because it was flailing, it unexpectedly turned at him while it was unconsciously spitting its venom. 

 

With swift movements Jisoo was able to dodge it but not all. 

 

His right arm was scathed with deep burns and he tried his hardest to not wail from the pain. 

 

With his aching limb he still made his way back to moth and successfully stab it on the head, splitting it in half.

 

The beast with its severed head fell instantly on the ground. As the beast started to fall, Jisoo slumped to ground with his knees first as well. He was bloody and weak and he would need a moment and a lot of energy to heal himself. In his peripheral he can see Chan making his way to him and all he can think of right in that moment is the need to close eyes and take a rest.

 

"Jisoo hyung!" It was Jihoon's voice and Jisoo unconsciously smiled just by hearing another familiar voice. It was comforting, it was lulling him to sleep.


 
"Stay with us please, don't fall asleep. We'll heal you now." Jisoo can hear shuffling, then he was being dragged to the side. 

 

He saw two other men, it was probobly the other nobles that was with Jihoon they were now the ones fighting the remaining blood moths. 

 

He looked around, worried for the younger ones when he saw the three huddled closely. They broke apart a few moments later and Seungkwan made his way to him. 

 

With Seungkwan and Jihoon by his side, he started to feel comfortable, maybe because they were healing him or maybe because the mere thought of his friends whom he treat as brothers was enough for him to calm his nerves down.

 

"Keep healing him Kwan, I'll go and help the others." And with that said he went to another middle grounder and helped him slay the thrashing blood moth. 

 

That was the last thing Jisoo saw before slumber claimed him.

 

*****

 

When things settled down for a bit, Jisoo's eyes fluttered open. Seungkwan was still by his side but the rest was huddled in front of where he thought the methein tree was. 

 

"Are you feeling fine now hyung?" The youngest cloud denizen asked.

 

"I'm feeling much better now Kwannie, thank you very much." He paused and smiled at the said man which earned him a tight hug and a small whisper of "I'm so glad you're fine now". 

 

He wasn't patched up completely but the burns were almost gone now and he has replenished a few of his lost strength from that short nap.

 

"What's happening?" Jisoo queried the younger cloud denizen.

 

"They have been trying to figure out how to destroy the stone but it's not budging" Jisoo slowly got up to get a glimps of the stone and what he saw befuddled him. 

 

For some reason the stone looked familiar and when he tried to dig deeper in his memory, the yellow pages of an old crusty book appears in his mind. 

 

Then it hit him, this stone is a shadow stone. He saw it in that old book that Jeonghan kept reading. In order to destroy this stone it needs the cumulative energies of a highland, middleland and a netherland dweller. Which in the modern times known as the three races from the three realms.

 

"In order to destroy it, you need to combine the energies of at least one person from each realm." Everybody turned their heads and gave Jisoo a questioning glance.

 

"Jihoon, Seungkwan, remember that old book that I kept pestering Jeonghan to stop reading?" The two mentioned men nodded silently.

 

"I saw this in that book. It has the exact look and discription and it stated how to destroy it." They all exchange glances and silently agreed to try it.

 

"Well we have nothing to lose if we try it." The nether whom Jisoo didn't know spoke up.

 

"I agree with Lord Jeon" Jihoon said. The younger nobles and a middle grounder whom Jisoo also didn't know nodded as well in agreement. 

 

Jisoo gave a quick glance at Jihoon and the younger male made his way in front of the tree, the two unknown nobles followed behind him.

 

The three men started to concentrate their energies at their palms. Reeling and welding it to create balls of light. 

 

A flash of white, green, and red light spruted out of their palms that went directly to the stone. A few moments later the stone started to crack. The three nobles amplified the force of their attack by pouring more of their energy to it and in no time the stone started to break apart. 

 

As the stone started to crack a bright speck of light from the inside started to seep out and as it completely broke off, a stream of blinding white light covered them all.

 

 

Facts about the Fic:

  • Murkroach - is a giant insect like demon beast that looks like a cross between a cockroach and a beetle. This demon beast loves burying itself under mud or any patch of moist soil. They are ambush attackers and spit acidic venom out of their mouths.
  • Blood moth - Blood moths are giant flesh eating moths. Their rich dark red color earned them their names. Aside from their flesh rotting spit, these beast also have a special powder like substance called moth spores that cause anything that enhales it to have difficulties in breathing.
  • Shadow lands - these are the lands outside of the three realms. Most of it are barren and demon beast infested.

 

 

Ok so this a tiny bit longer than the usual chapters that I put up and it only covered one POV but don't you worry guys because tomorrow I will update again. Why? Because I'm feeling inspired for it's our BOYS COMEBACK TOMORROW!!!

PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO STREAM TOMORROW FOR OUR BOYS DESERVE THE DAESANG AND WE MUST HELP THEM WITH EVERYTHING WE GOT!! Ok I'm gonna shut up now.. Byeeeee

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dinos_aegi #1
Chapter 34: i just came across this story yesterday night and sacrificed sleep just to read until the last available chapter!! ive been looking for a good story with seventeen ensemble but with jeongcheol and seoksoo agenda on it, and this book nailed it! plus i love chan here, he's my bias by the way. i love how you write him as someone who needs character development, like he's gonna be someone who'll have a big impact with the thirteen's success. that just basically means to stop sleeping on him irl! boy he got mad skills and is still improving day by day. also jeongcheol!! thank god author-nim youre a jeongcheol advocate. i will definitely wait for updates on this story, fighting! please take care author!!
17justmine #2
Chapter 34: I was doubtful at first to read it but thank god I give it a shot! The plot is so amazing! I love how all the characters have their own moments! and thank you for adding those facts at the end of each chapter it helps me understand and imagine the whole story, now I subscribe to this wonderful story waiting for the new updates author-nim! fighting!❣️❣️
Lemonzest95
#3
Chapter 34: Actually my heart skipped a beat in this chap lol.. The moment when Minah said that she can lure someone naive to take her place instead made me nervous... Like she isn't referring to our baby Channie right? Coz if she is.. ghorl my maternal instincts are kickin in!

I'm holding on tightly!!!!


P.S waaahh the teaser... Omg JeongCheol nailed it and Jun too oof~ and Soonyoung and The8... Actually all of them nailed it. I can't wait for the MV ❤️
Lemonzest95
#4
Chapter 33: First off, I would kill to live in this world. Like how you explain the detail of the sorroundings makes me want to live there ❤️

Also waaaaahhhh it's worth the wait. We got some JeongCheol action ❤️❤️❤️ yaaaassss and the back story oof. I finally have a clue as to why Cheol acted so weirdly abd cautious around Hannie ...

Aaand who is the girl with the purple eyes?????? where is Dino actually? Still dreaming? Probably ...
Ijimintoday #5
Chapter 33: Thank you for the update!!! I am loving the plot so much. IT'S different and adventurous. My jeongcheol made my day seriously !!! ???
Love all the other ships, but seriously the plot is too good , keep writing author :)
Lemonzest95
#6
Chapter 35: It's cool ❤️ I'll wait for the update ❤️ I feel you with the "SPARK" I lost mine too :( but it's nice to know that you got yours back. I'm genuinely excited for the update. Thanks for updating.
Lemonzest95
#7
Chapter 32: Argh these SoonHoon moments are all I need during quarantine XD.... So we got fluff from the prev chap and now angst wooooohhh ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you for updating ❤️ stay safe!
Lemonzest95
#8
Chapter 30: I shed a tear TT TT I'm like hella worried about Seokmin and Chan and the others waaahhhhhhh I think their still stuck in the mirage..... Although, I smell a character development for bb Chan ❤️ can't wait for the next update. Thank you for updating ❤️❤️❤️
Lemonzest95
#9
Chapter 29: Waaaaaaahhh SoonHoon ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ this chap had me at the edge of my seat *0* ... And the "you're beautiful" part waaahh mah hart melted TT TT

Omo omo they broke out of their illusions because of each other ....I kennat!!!!!
Lemonzest95
#10
Chapter 28: Stay safe. We're on community lockdown too. I hope things will get back to normal soon :( Fighting with your students' grades XD I just finished mine hahaha

I also love the character developments with these chapters ❤️ we'll have a better understanding with their relationship ...

You've work hard for this chap.. fighting for the next ones XD