Seo Jiwoo

  I sat on the floor of the balcony at the peak of the Tseige fortress, the world stretching endlessly before me like shadows.

  The wind danced past, carrying the chill of high altitudes and the faint scent of distant pine. Each shallow breeze seemed to scrape against my skin like spikes, stirring jagged memories I fought desperately to keep buried. They grew heavier in my mind, like a lump that wouldn’t dissolve no matter how hard I tried to push back.

  The battle against Amanises and then against Mordian—moments when Primordial took hold of me—remained elusive and fractured—as if seeing the world from the bottom of a glass bottle. At times, they were as clear as my own reflection in a still lake; other times, they shimmered and blurred, as if rippling in the same waters.

  Closing my eyes only brought the memories closer, looping endlessly like a broken tape—but it was like a storm, endless.

  Blood spattered across cracked stone. Shouts reverberated through the air, the echoes mingling with the sound of my own laboured breaths, mixed together with my own vague memories of seeing the world through Primordial’s intent. My hands trembled as I clutched them into fists, trying to squeeze the images away—everything away, that haunting nightmare clutched on to me like a shadow.

  I felt miserable just thinking about it all over again—the carnage, the helplessness, the overwhelming weight of it all.

  And that burden seemed less than the memory I’d seen a few days ago. It was Mordian’s past...

  He seemed unbothered at most time by any predicament, but I was wrong...I finally felt the weight of his loss press down me like it was my own. He had lost his entire race. Seen the death of his own parents in front of him, while he could only watch—he didn’t get a chance like me.

  Instead, my gaze drifted toward the horizon, where jagged mountain peaks clawed at the sky. The sunlight scattered over the landscape, painting everything in hues of gold and amber. My hair danced in the wind, strands teasing my face as I fiddled with the multifaceted keystone in my palm. Its cold, sharp edges pressed against my skin, grounding me in the present. There was something soothing about its unyielding surface, its crystalline structure catching and refracting the sunlight. The keystone anchored me, a tether against the haunting memories that threatened to consume me.

  My fingers traced the intricate lines and angles of the keystone, following its labyrinthine design. It was a puzzle that I still hadn’t made any progress with, it was waiting to be unravelled, but I unsure if I was ready to unravel it—I knew nothing what this keystone had to offer. I’d accessed it before—once, by sheer coincidence—but the process remained a mystery even now. Ever since I obtained it from Indra, it had refused to yield further, it remained locked behind some invisible barrier.

  And I didn’t even know how to access the realm inside it. What insight I could gain from it.

  In a futile attempt, I pushed a sliver of mana into the keystone, feeling its energy brush against the crystalline surface. Nothing. No pulse, no reaction. The keystone remained inert, as cold and unresponsive as ever. A sigh escaped me, carrying with it a thread of frustration. These keystones were supposed to be keys, maps guiding me on my journey to uncover the edicts. Yet here I was, fumbling in the dark, unsure of what steps to take.

  And with two keystone, there were answers, but only out of reach.

  I laid my hands down, tightening my grip around the keystones as I silently bid past my final moments in the orcen world.

  My thoughts wandered to the white void, to that strange, surreal conversation with Mordian. Or was it a conversation? The words had come from my mouth, but they felt too precise, too calculated to be my own. Primordial’s intent was behind them, directing me like a puppet on strings. If he was the one who granted me this system, who set me on this path, why orchestrate it in such a convoluted way? Why not reveal himself, explain his purpose, and guide me directly?

  To show me the path which would lead me to the best options.

  But, just like how the remnants had told me, they can only show me the right path, not walk it for me. The different choices, mistakes, and sacrifices that I needed to make to walk on the path I think was right, was my own to do.

  But the roundabout nature of it all felt maddening—like chasing my own shadow. There was still so much that I didn’t know.

  And my mind went back to the vague moment of Primordial asking something important...declaring some piece of information that I think was far important than any.

  And perhaps Mordian had been hiding something from me. Just what existence was Primordial speaking about? Was it a thing, or a person?

  He said that Mordian had been hiding the existence of some thing. Something that could help me in my journey to better understand the edicts.

  I drew in a breath, feeling my thoughts release from my mind just like the breath. If there was something Mordian knew and had hidden on purpose, then it must be something important. And I think—I want to believe—if he hid it from me, then it meant it wasn’t the right time for me to know.

  I trusted my bond. He had my back, and he must have thought that way for my own wellbeing.

  I gazed out at the sun, its golden light bathing the landscape in warmth. For a moment, I let myself get lost in the brilliance, the sheer radiance of it. It reminded me of autumn mornings, crisp and full of potential. There was a comfort in the sunlight, a quiet reassurance that no matter how dark the night had been, the day would always return.

  And this was only the beginning. With what I’d learned and can could do now, I would grow even stronger.

  The keystone remained in my hand, its cool weight a reminder of the road ahead. I traced its edges again, this time with a bit more care, as if searching for some hidden seam or secret mechanism. My mana touched it once more, gently probing, but it was like trying to light a fire with damp wood. Frustration curled in my chest, but I swallowed it down. There was no use in letting my emotions cloud my focus.

  I knew this journey wasn’t meant to be easy. Perhaps the answers I sought wouldn’t come from Primordial or anyone else—rather from within myself. Maybe the keystones weren’t just maps—but tests of my resolve, my ingenuity, and my understanding. I didn’t know what lay ahead, but the path forward would demand more than brute force or blind determination. It would require patience, clarity, and the ability to embrace the unknown.

  In this moment, a vague memory bloomed inside my mind like a distant past, they were the words Primordial spoke through me.

  “A fractured mirror, showing different reflections to each who gaze upon it.” I whispered into the passing breeze.

  ‘Then could the edicts be similar.’ The realisation was like the dawning of the first rays of the sun. ‘The edicts showed me what I wanted from them according to my own understanding and needs at the moment. I think that’s what the female remnant had hoped to tell me. Just like a mirror. The edicts were a reflection of my own needs. When I looked into that mirror, perhaps, it showed me what I wanted from the edicts, what I understood. Just like when I wanted to free Mordian from the static world.’

  “Perfection in imperfection,” I whispered, as I closed my eyes and let the wind wash over me again, carrying with it the distant whispers of the civilians below the fortress.

  Even if the keystone remained silent for now, I wouldn’t stop trying. One day, it would respond. One day, the insight it held would be mine. Until then, I would keep moving forward, step by step, toward whatever awaited me in this journey.

  I waited for a few more minutes, silently spending the last moments, as I felt the sound of foot steps approach.

  “Ugh, it’s cold. The winds are pretty strong up here.” Aurora’s gunmetal hair fluttered in the wind as she walked closer to me. She wore a shirt and some pants, with simple leather armour.

  “What’s up?” She said, catching sight of the keystone in my palm. “Playing with your magic legos again.” She teased as I stood to my foot.

  “Do you even know what a lego is?” I retorted in good humour.

  She inclined her head as our eyes met. “It’s a toy in the human world. I’ll have you know, Shun, I spent more time in the human world, than any else, since I started my journey. I think I know some of your customs.”

  I clapped a few times for her as she seemed to cross her arms in pride, and also due to the cold wind.

  I withdrew a blanket from the inside of the inventory, sequentially storing the keystone back, as I laid it over her shoulder.

  “You’re more intelligent than I thought. Excellent.” I shot back, as she smiled in response.

  Despite all the burden on my mind, spending time with Aurora and Mordian seemed to soothe my mind, and allow me to relax and take a breath for a moment, free from it all.

  “But Shun,” she said, “I was always curious about that square device the humans use. Do you have one? It's like an artifact you can touch and tap over to use different features.” She said as she leaned against the wall.

  I thought for a second and realized what she was talking about. “You mean a cell phone?” I said back and Aurora nodded in reply.

  “Yeah, I have one,” I said as I withdraw my phone from the inventory as I saw Aurora approach just like a child who had found a new exciting toy.

  I held back laughter, as I unlocked the phone and handed it to her. She looked at it like some otherworldly artifact, even more interesting than the keystones.

  She tapped over the screen, and I saw her face slack in confusion for a second. I found it odd, as I approached and saw she had opened the gallery on the phone and an old picture of Jihye and I, was being displayed on the screen.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. I just accidentally opened it.” She immediately said back as she offered my phone back.

  I took it in my hand and saw the image again, feeling a soft but painful smile bloom on my face. Reminding me of my short but precious time spent with Jihye.

  The image was around the time when the lock’s tournament had happened. Her expression seemed so lively and fresh, and beside her, I stood, my body looked slim, and shorter.

  Jihye had made a peace sign and I imitated her, as the image made me feel at peace for a moment. Seeing both of us smiling brightly and happily.

  “She seems someone precious from the way you are looking at the image. Is she your girlfriend?” Aurora asked, her question had come out palpable hesitation.

  I laughed, as I looked back at her and shook my head. “No. She’s my elder sister. Seo Jihye.”

  Aurora’s brows jumped in surprise, as she felt at a loss for words for a second. “Sorry, I just assumed.” She apologised, then turned to look at the picture again. “But she looks like the complete opposite of you. Cheerful, kind and beautiful. And she even made you smile, she must be a kind sister.”

  I nodded back, as I remembered each moment I’d spent with Jihye. “Does she know that you came to these trials?” Aurora asked, her voice probing, but not enough to pry.

  “No,” I replied, turning to look toward the mountains. “She is suffering from an incurable disease, brought by the inability to use and coop with the mana around her. At first, my only reason to come to these trials was to find a cure for her.”

  “And have you been successful so far?” She said, her words felt kind.

  “So far, I have only find two ingredients needed in order to make that cure. And hopefully I can find them all before the inevitable.” I replied, my tone somber with guilt as I felt Aurora’s warm hand wrap around mine, as she wrapped me into the blanket as well.

  We conversed a little, she told me about certain things about herself, and I did to. Telling her about Jihye’s condition, how the system was helping me find the ingredients for the ‘cold slumber disease’.

  Time went on like that and after a few hours went on, the time for our departure finally arrived.

  We rendezvoused with Mordian and the others at the appointed place.

  The elders stood around the open courtyard, all of them greeted us as Aurora and I approached.

  Among them, I saw Zalar walk closer to us, Hurum and Karan stood beside him.

  He straightened his hunched back a little as he spoke. “It's finally time for your departure, Jiwoo. I’d hoped you would’ve stayed longer. But, I wouldn’t want to be greedy enough to hold you back from your true purpose. And, no matter how much gratitude I show, it will never be enough for what you and your companions have done for us.” Zalar took my hand and gently grabbed it.

  “You brought us hope. A new future.” He placed something in my palm as I saw it was a dimensional artifact in the shape of a ring.

  My brows knitted in confusion, as I imbued it with mana, and felt all the belongings inside it.

  I looked back at Zalar, taking a breath as I spoke. “I didn’t help you with a reward in mind. You have already done more than enough to give me your word to help the humans get a chance to join the tri-union alliance. I can’t accept this, Zalar.”

  He wrapped my hand around the artifact, and then his hands around mine as he smiled, his kind and gentle expression seemed to speak louder than any action. His face stretched with old wrinkles, making him look even older.

  “No, Jiwoo. What you have done for us is something akin to a miracle.” Zalar said, his eyes turning to my palm. “And please, take this as a display of our goodwill and gratitude. No matter how much we are to thank you, it would never be enough for what you have done for the orcs.” His voice turned more determined as he added, each syllable holding his genuine conviction and trust. “We orcs will stand with the humans if they were need help, just like how you stood for us in our time of need. We shall remember this favour until generations to come, Seo Jiwoo.”

  I didn’t say anything back, but only nodded as I took the artifact stored to the brim with artifacts, jewels, gold and many precious materials only found in the orcen realm.

  He bowed his head respectfully at us. Turning from me to Aurora, and then Mordian.

  “I pray that you have a safe journey ahead. And whatever ordeal may come your way, you can overcome them with your companions.” Zalar said as I saw the other elders bidding their farewells to us.

  I turned with a kind smile, as I prickled the system as the interface bloomed in front of me.

  『DOES THE HOST WISH TO CONTINUE THE DUNGEON TRIALS?』

  『YES』 『NO』

  I immediately touched the ‘YES’ icon, as the interface started to dissolve from around me as I saw a ripple starting to form in front of me.

  The portal began to form with an almost imperceptible ripple in the air, a subtle distortion that quickly fractured into jagged cracks, tearing open a hole in space itself, as a sharp breeze swirled in the courtyard.

  A charged silence filled the atmosphere, static crackling faintly as if the air itself rebelled against the anomaly’s presence.

  The portal coalesced into a swirling mass of dark, abyssal energy—an unnatural stain upon reality that seemed fundamentally wrong, as though it had no right to exist—but coexisting.

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  Zalar fell short for words, the other elders present also seemed awestruck by me suddenly conjuring a portal out of nowhere—some looked with confused frowns, some seemed obviously intrigued and some had their mouths agape.

  “It seems there are still so many secrets about you, Jiwoo.” Zalar finally said as he gestured us to go. I nodded one last time as I turned.

  Beside me, Mordian stood steady, his presence a grounding anchor, while Aurora’s kind smile softened the chaos around us. Her gaze carried a quiet reassurance, a warmth that wrapped around me like a gentle shield. I tried to mirror her expression, but the weight of the moment left my gesture incomplete, a pale echo of her calming strength.

  Then we moved, stepping into the anomaly in the space as I felt my mind turn as all the colours from around me dissolved and the shift ended as soon as it had started as I stepped on hard soil once again.

  The first thing I registered was the emptiness—a white void stretching endlessly around us. It was so still, so eerily quiet, it felt like my very thoughts could echo in the air. Beneath us, however, was a darkness that seemed almost alive. A void so deep it almost pulled at the edges of my vision, like it wanted to consume the faint light around it. We stood on a platform, which hovered in this strange liminal space, disconnected yet somehow stable—and several more aligned around and in front of it, like some big puzzle.

  I searched the area as I activated Mind’s Eye, feeling the colours around me darken. My gaze moved from each platform, until it stopped on a particular platform in the very far distance, where I saw a flicker of distortion, bright colours shimmering like oil over water—a portal at the end of the many platforms which stretched on.

  "Well," I said, forcing some levity into my tone as my gaze wandered to the far-off portal shimmering at the edge of the void, "this looks inviting."

  Aurora's gaze hardened as she assessed the scene. Her delicate features betrayed no fear, but her fingers flexed, readying herself. Mordian, on the other hand, crossed his arms, his eyes fixed on the intricate puzzle of platforms stretching ahead of us, moving and twisting after every few seconds or instances. His stoic silence wasn’t new, but even he couldn’t hide the way his jaw tightened.

  The next platform floated into place a few feet away, locking into position with a low, grinding rumble. It only stayed for a few seconds before pulling away again, leaving a wide gap. Another shifted into its place a moment later. A pattern.

  “Timing seems to be key,” Mordian muttered after a quick analysis of the platforms ahead. His voice was calm, but there was a sharpness to it, a warning.

  I followed his gaze and observed the shifting platforms myself, and saw their pattern of change, the timing it took and how they moved, with what speed.

  “And the wrong timing?” I asked simply, glancing at the yawning darkness below which silently looked above like a predator.

  The platform beneath us hummed faintly, swaying ever so slightly in the air as my gaze drifted to the path ahead. Ahead, other platforms shifted in and out of alignment, each one moving as if on a rhythm only they understood. Some floated steadily, others darted like restless birds.

  Before he could respond, the void answered for him. Long, shadowy tendrils surged upward, writhing like living whips, snapping at the empty air. They didn’t reach us yet, but they moved with an intelligence that sent a shiver down my spine.

  “We don’t fly,” Aurora said firmly, are gaze never left the shadowy tentacles. “Not here.”

  “No kidding,” I muttered, my eyes narrowing as one of the tendrils lashed out and struck the nearest platform, reducing it to dust—but there seemed to be a pattern to their attacks.

  My eyes travelled to several smaller platforms scattered around the void, they looked like pillars, humming and simply afloat.

  Aurora’s sharp gaze darted between the tendrils; her lips pressed into a thin line. “Their strikes don’t seem to be random,” she said, breaking the silence. “There’s a pattern to them as well.”

  Mordian stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he tracked the movements of the platforms. He pointed to the nearest platform that slid into place a few feet ahead. “That one connects here every six seconds.”

  I followed his gaze, counting the intervals. Sure enough, the platform docked smoothly in front of us for a brief moment before retreating again.

  “Alright,” I said, crossing my arms. “So, we have to time our jumps perfectly, or we fall into that.” I gestured downward at the withering void. A tendril lashed out from the darkness, grazing one of the lower platforms and shattering it into shards—which was soon replaced by a new one which came into existence automatically, like a system stuck in an infinite loop.

  “No flying, no mistakes,” Mordian said flatly.

  Aurora suddenly knelt, her fingers brushing the edge of the platform we stood on. “Look closer,” she said, pointing to a faint glow on the surface. Etched lines flickered faintly, like a pulse.

  “This...might be a clue.”

  I crouched beside her, studying the markings. They resembled arrows, barely visible, pointing toward the rightmost platform.

  “So, some platforms are part of the path,” I said, glancing toward the next one. “And others?”

  Aurora stood, brushing her hands off. “Lead to nowhere. Or worse, backtrack us, or simply disintegrate if their path diverges from the others.”

  Mordian stepped closer to the platform’s edge, his expression colder than usual. “Not just that. Some might just collapse under us. Or move unexpectedly from their original path.”

  He gestured toward a platform farther out. It seemed stable for a moment before it wobbled violently and crumbled into the void, as another replaced it in an instant.

  “This would be hard,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair. “Moving targets, hidden traps, and those tentacles from the void working as an obstacle. Great start just after arriving.”

  Mordian ignored me, his eyes fixed on the shifting puzzle ahead. He pointed again, this time at a cluster of platforms. “Notice how those three move together?”

  I squinted. He was right—they weren’t aligned, but they drifted into place in a synchronized rhythm. After a few seconds, they connected for a brief moment before separating again.

  “They form a temporary bridge, connecting both sides, and look there,” Aurora said, catching on.

  I turned and followed where her finger was pointing at, as I saw a platform right in the middle, unbothered and unmoving in all that chaos which ensued.

  “That platform seems to be a safe-zone. Just like this one and the one where the portal is. There is good distance to the portal, but there are three safe platforms in between.”

  Both of us nodded, as Mordian added right after. “The platforms ahead of us work in chains. We need to follow the right sequence or we’ll be stuck—or worse.”

  I stood, dusting off my knees. “Alright, so we’ve got to jump to the right platforms, in the right order, at the right time. Easy enough.

  “For now,” I echoed grimly. “So, we just have to keep moving.”

  Aurora stepped forward, her eyes scanning the path ahead. “We’ll need to coordinate. Mordian can lead, since he can read the patterns faster. Shun, you and I will follow his timing. I can take note of any anomalies if they might occur around the platforms, and you can deal with those shadowy tentacles.”

  I nodded back at her as we turned to Mordian, as he locked eyes on the platform which was just about to connect with the one we were standing on.

  “Ready?” Mordian asked, his tone calm but firm.

  “Yeah,” I replied, drawing in a breath. “Let’s do this and get to the next trial.”

  With no time to hesitate, the floating platform ahead docked and we leapt onto the next platform as it slid into position. My boots hit the surface, and I stumbled slightly before regaining balance. Aurora and Mordian beside me as we did the same thing, we leapt once the platforms connected, forming the path forward, as Mordian took note of the patterns and platforms which would take us to the next platform safely.

  Aurora kept her eyes out for any subtle changes around us, as I warded off any void tentacles coming our way, releasing a zapping wave of lightning spells which struck the tentacles, blasting them back into the void.

  As the next platform connected ahead, Mordian darted forward without a word, his movements precise and unyielding. I followed close behind, Aurora right on my heels.

  We continued doing the same thing over again as we reached the first safe-zone, and studied the patterns of the next platforms carefully, only then did we decide to move once we made sure which platform was the right one.

  The process was slow, but we finally reached the second safe-zone, with only half the distance left between us and the portal.

  This trial seem to be easier than any previous trials we had faced. We leapt with precise timing, avoiding the tentacles coming out of the void and reaching the third safe-zone with half a mile’s distance left from the platform where the portal loomed.

  “We’re almost there,” Aurora announced, taking a breath of relief as we followed Mordian’s pace.

  But just as we leapt on to the next platform, I felt a subtle vibration through the air, with Mind’s Eye active, I read the flow of the energies around me and felt a shiver tear through me as a tremor ran through the entire void.

  The air changed suddenly, like the world around us thrummed with an irregular beat.

  A low hum vibrated through the void, and my instincts screamed at me to move, as I saw Aurora turning to look behind. I barely had time to glance upward before a flash of energy blasted from one of the floating stalactite-like pillars above which had seemed dormant and harmless.

  The air hummed with a creeping stillness, as I saw a nearby pillar transform and take aim at another platform in the distance as it released a potent blast of energy which reduced the platform to nothing in a matter of seconds.

  My eyes widened in horror as I felt the massive and potent amounts of energy about to be released from another pillar right at us.

  “Move!” I shouted, shoving Aurora forward as the blast seared past us, narrowly missing my shoulder, but I felt my muscles sear from the converged energy as I saw the wound healing painstakingly slow. The platform beneath us cracked under the force, sending shards of energy scattering.

  We barely scrambled to the next platform as another pulse began to hum through the void. I didn’t look back—I couldn’t afford to—but I felt the heat of another blast pass too close for comfort, as the platform—half of it—we stood on crumbled instantly.

  Mordian reached the next platform and skidded to a halt, his sharp gaze darting between the floating platforms ahead. He pointed to one off to the right, a little farther out than most.

  “This way. It connects to the path,” he said.

  Aurora and I followed his lead, jumping as the platform shifted. The hum of the pillars grew louder, the blasts more frequent, forcing us to weave and dodge with every step.

  “Mordian,” I called out between heavy breaths, “we have no choice but to fly. If we do this any longer, then the blasts will reach up to us eventually.”

  “That isn’t any better of an idea than barely avoiding those energy blasts,” Mordian said simply, his tone devoid of any reassurance, as he looked at the tentacles looming ahead, and I looked back at the pillars taking aim all at once at the platforms.

  “We don’t have a choice. I’ll use lightning surge to create a path forward.” I shouted as the defeaning sounds of the blasts reverberated through the void, shaking all the platforms scattered around the void.

  I glanced at Aurora, whose expression remained steadfast despite the danger. Her determination anchored me, even as the void’s tendrils grew more aggressive, lashing out at the platforms around us in a frenzy.

  Blood dripped from my shoulder, as my brows furrowed in pain and shock as the wound was yet to heal.

  ‘These blasts can somehow hamper my regeneration to some extent. And that energy is neither mana or demonic energy, it’s something else—something far more potent and dangerous.’ I thought as I looked ahead.

  The last stretch was ahead, the portal glowing faintly in the distance. But the platforms leading to it were more erratic now, shifting and sliding with almost no rhythm, the flow seemed broken at this point, making it a gamble to find the right path.

  The storm of blasts and tendrils raged around us, tearing at everything like a living tempest. My breaths came in ragged gasps as I dashed along Aurora and Mordian, narrowly avoiding the tendrils.

  The blasts from above and the writhing shadows below made every step feel like balancing on the edge of a knife.

  Suddenly, countless amounts of tendrils lunged from below, like monsters crawling their way up from the abyss, as they targeted us from all directions.

  I stepped forward, my mana worked into an intricate spell, as a tremendous surge of lightning rushed through the path up ahead. I took Aurora by her arm and Mordian and I flew to the next platform, barely avoiding the tentacles and blasts.

  I suddenly felt a tug at my ankle, my speed and balance was disrupted as I immediately threw Aurora in Mordian’s direction and conjured a blade of pure mana as I severed the tentacles about to attack me, but an unimaginable amount of searing pain coursed through me as a blast struck the platform below me, the energy spread like a maelstrom and took my feet along with it.

  I somehow flew and reached the next platform where my companions stood, as I clenched my jaw tightly, my feet regenerated so slowly, each second felt like an eternity of agony, blood oozing on the soil, as I forced myself to move.

  Aurora turned to me with concern in her eyes, her face frowning as she looked at my feet healing. The bones regenerated and then the muscles and nerves coiled around them, as I stepped closer, only a few steps behind them.

  “Damn it. Those pillars just had to come as a surprise. They can blast potent amounts of energy, enough to destroy a single platform.” I grunted as I saw both of them jumping to the next platform as I followed suit

  And as if on cue, another hum reverberated through the air, and a bright lance of energy shot from one of the stalactite-like pillars above. It struck a platform to our left, disintegrating it instantly, as I lost my balance, the shockwave pushing me forward as I stumbled.

  Aurora flinched slightly, her hands instinctively clenching into fists. “The blasts target platforms,” she said, her voice steady despite the chaos. “Not us, at least for now.

  Mordian’s eyes narrowed. “They’re not entirely random. The hum intensifies before they fire.”

  “So, if we pay much attention, we might just dodge them before they hit?” I asked.

  “Maybe,” Mordian said. “But we can’t hesitate. If the hum starts while we’re on the wrong platform…” his eyes jumped to the swarm of tentacles flailing randomly now.

  Then with a loud boom the previous platform we had barely escaped shattered into fine dust.

  Just as we moved to the edge of this platform, I saw Mordain hesitate for the shortest of a second, as I felt the hum of a pillar, taking aim in our direction, as the particles of mana and demonic energy wheezed as if squeezed too hard.

  “Mordian,” I shouted, desperation gripped at my insides as I saw him still looking for the right platform to arrive. His face replaced by a frown as he kept searching.

  Near us, hundreds or maybe thousands of shadowy tendrils wriggled, making no path forward, even if we decided to fly.

  But the pillar released the potent amount of energy as the platform began to disintrigate from the other edge, reaching us.

  “Mordian, hurry,” I shouted again, and a platform zoomed closer to the platform we stood on. Mordian leapt, but just as we were about to do the same, the platform shifted, it’s trajectory changed and it reversed coursed, taking Mordian to another platform in the correct path, but I saw the countless tentacles lurch at him as he fought against them, safe from the blasts for the time being.

  The blast loomed behind us, and I turned to look at Aurora, her face twisted into a frown, fear palpably visible in her eyes, and I felt my face slack in desperation and dread.

  I grabbed her and activated leap, searching through the pathways for a way out, but my eyes widened in shock and confusion as I saw a distortion, a swirling resonance which disrupted the flow of the pathways, as I followed the writhing particles around us, as the paths appeared diverged and unstable due to the rampant energy shooting through the void.

  ‘Damn it. Why at a time like this?’

  I grounded my teeth in frustration, as I leapt blindly on to a nearby platform, not sure if it was one of the right ones or not.

  I crashed on to the soil as the tendrils lurched at us and struck us both, but I wrapped around Aurora’s body, taking all the hits as I conjured the relic armour, I felt my mind go blank for a moment as one tentacle struck the back of my head, similarly, one tentacle blindly struck Aurora’s head, knocking her out cold.

  She was barely conscious, her frame trembling against the force of the storm. Her lips moved soundlessly, her eyes half-lidded and unfocused. I couldn’t lose her. Not here. Not like this.

  If I had controlled my greed and not brought her with us...none of this would have happened, she wouldn’t have to put her life in danger. It’s all my fault.

  My mind drowned in the ramifications of my decision as I saw hundreds of tentacles lurch at us. I moved, and with a surge, all of the tentacles stood frozen in their position as I released absolute zero.

  ‘Jiwoo, take the platform to your right,’ Mordian’s voice echoed inside my mind, as I forced my body to move and took Aurora in my arms, leaping, but unable to time my jump perfectly, I crashed against the hard soil as the pain was nullified by the relic armour.

  The platform shifted and I felt it draw closer to the distorting energy of the portal.

  My joints hurt, blood streaked down my face, as I saw all of the pillars take aim at us at once.

  I immediately wielded all the mana I could command, as I forced it around us in the shape of a massive barrier.

  And immediately, three blasts rained down at the barrier, the force unbearable as it threatened to shatter the barrier under its assault, as I finally gave in and went flying, the blast hit the platform and the energy struck against the relic armour, the scales cracked and it forcefully pulled back into my body, vanishing, as flesh wounds appeared on my body, Aurora’s figure several feet away lying motionlessly.

  I had no time to go to Aurora, but just then, I felt myself being picked up, feeling the colours drain from my eyes, as I saw a cascade of mighty obsidian scales and the flapping of wings.

  Mordian in his dragonic form appeared, unbothered by the endless assault of the tentacles around him, piercing his form, and striking him as his face twisted.

  I tried to speak, but pain clawed away at my insides.

  But my eyes widened as I weakly tried to warn Mordian, but another blast reverberated and struck Mordian in one of his wings, as he wailed and lost balance, sending all of us stumbling and crashing on to a platform, as his body shifted back into his humanoid form.

  I looked ahead, seeing the twisting and churning colours, as I saw the portal shimmering ahead, seeing only one platform between us and the portal, the last safe-zone.

  I forced myself to my feet, as I felt the air hum once again as a pillar took aim at us, but I reached within myself, as I released the shackles of Acasuality, feeling the world around me lose all colour and life, as everything turned motionless.

  I turned to my companions, as my intent surged through the frozen world, feeling the presence of my companions as I pulled Aurora and Mordian into the static world.

  Mordian groaned as I took him in one arm and Aurora’s unconscious figure in the other as I shot in the direction of the final platform.

  But the growing pain felt me miserable. My insides churned, my mouth felt dry, my eyes soaked with blood, as each step grew heavier under the effects of keeping Acasuality active, and in the end I released Acasuality, unable to coop with the burden brought by the skill before reaching the platform, as I bended the particles of wind around me and coated them around my companions’ body as a barrier to protect them.

  Just as the world regained its colour, the blast reverberated from behind us, as the shockwave sent us tumbling forward. I forced my trembling arms to move as I created a vacuum around them both, and then blasted a high density of air which propelled them to the edge of the next platform, as I stumbled and crashed, the broken piece of the platform moved and shifted, barely avoiding its annihilation as it moved in its previous rhythm.

  I felt relief wash over me as I saw Mordain and Aurora on the other side, the portal just a few steps ahead of them, as I drifted away from them, the pillars taking aim at different platforms and the tentacles destroying everything in a relentless display of chaos.

  I pushed to my knees, as I tried to call out to the relic armour, feeling the hum in the air, the armour appeared, but alas damaged and cracked.

  ‘The blast’s energy is strong enough to even damage the relic armour. It’s concentrated to the point of piercing the armour’s defences.’ I dashed with all the energy I could muster, but the pillar released the converged energy right at me, as my knees gave out at the final moment, feeling the full strength of the blast hit me, as the relic armour was pierced and the energy blast took away one of my arms and thrust a hole in my abdomen.

  My body went flying, as I felt something crack inside me, my mind churned, my thoughts jumped as I felt my body stop healing for a moment as my connection with the mana around me weaken with each passing second.

  My body laid on a nearby platform, still a few yards close to where my companions were. I felt my mind connect with Mordian, as I sent to him, feeling each part of my body groan, my vision blurring and darkening.

  ‘Mordian go. Take Aurora with you...and go.’ I whispered.

  Mordian’s thoughts crashed into my mind like a storm. ‘I am not leaving you behind.’ He shouted, his determination felt so reassuring in this moment as I felt relieved.

  The wounds over my body refused to heal as I laid in the pool of my own blood, my body refused to move, I felt so weak, just like when I’d first regressed back in time. My connection with the around me felt almost diminished.

  ‘Go,’ I murmured through our link. ‘I’ll be right behind you. Trust me. Go. Please...don’t be stubborn this once, please...Mordian...’ I pleaded as Mordian fell silent, feeling my breathing harden to the point each breath felt like a burden.

  And through my blurred vision I witnessed another pillar taking aim at the platform I laid on.