Darian and Niara shot through the skies like lightning. The draconic fluctuations were unmistakable — they only existed among the Mannaz, so every instructor in that place imdiately realized they were dealing with intruders.
That space had been created with help from the Risen Lords, using the supre power of the Celestial Shadow itself. A massive restriction had been left there: only people with the Blood Race Bloodline could enter without triggering the alarm. So, those outside the barrier were shocked and furious, unable to believe soone had actually infiltrated.
"He… he's the Missionary the Risen Lords warned us about!!" The instructors connected the dots instantly. "Call everyone and lock the whole place down!"
Inside the mountain, the figure chasing the couple roared, "You dare invade? Hahaha… what luck we've had!"
It was only a hundred ters away, but still couldn't reach them, so it pulled out a crimson bow and started firing arrows ahead. The arrows pulsed with strange, fiery energy.
Darian snorted. Everyone in there had at least eight rings — and he could even sense soone beyond that level. If he wasn't fast and precise, things could turn irreversible for him.
This whole place wasn't that big; it was like an artificial island, created by so strange power that bent space itself. Because of that, he was sure he could make it to the exit and escape if he burned through a few resources. But he couldn't leave without taking the ultimate prize — or destroying it completely.
*PENG*
A blazing arrow shot toward Niara's wings.
She didn't even turn around, staying focused on flying. Darian, on the other hand, gave a faint grin and activated his elental control.
**BOOM!**
He could've just blocked or dodged the arrow, but he chose to make it explode with full power.
The detonation created a violent burst of air and spatial distortion, which Niara used to multiply her speed several tis over, reaching the top much faster.
At the sa ti, on the opposite side, the figure was thrown backward, sent flying far away.
Its flying beast was gravely injured. As for the figure, it got up holding its bow, furious and shocked. That bow was a terrifying artifact — stolen from a Mannaz ages ago and forged by the greatest dwarves that had ever existed in the universe.
Even Spiritual Guardians with nine rings had to run from their shots. That's why it couldn't believe Darian had pulled that off. In an instant, the two were already way out of range.
"Sir, the commander's on his way! Should we go in and attack?!"
Outside, the test instructors were preparing for battle.
Their leader spoke coldly: "No. Just hold position. He's inside the mountain's seal and trapped under the supre power that built this whole place. Escape is impossible."
"But… the Risen Lords' orders were clear — attack with everything and kill the mont anyone's suspected of being the Missionary," one of them said seriously.
"This Missionary has only four rings. This is the greatest chance our Black Blood Race has ever had. He's climbing the mountain — maybe he'll achieve what no Spiritual Guardian ever could: convincing the Soul's Divine Fla to surrender completely," replied the instructor leader, indifferent.
"I've already ordered the only entrance to this small world, completely sealed. Even if the worst happens and we all die, he'll be trapped here until reinforcents arrive. So now, we can take the risk of capturing him alive — and bring back the full power of the Soul's Divine Fla with us. After that, our race will rise to the top."
Hearing that, everyone relaxed.
"What insane speed! They've already reached the top!"
One of the instructors shouted in shock. Even the greatest genius among the Trial participants, who was chasing them with all his might, was only halfway up the mountain, while the couple had already reached the peak.
The arrow's explosive force had definitely helped — but the closer they got to the summit, the heavier the pressure beca. Even Niara's speed began to drop.
While they slowed down, the others pushed upward as fast as they could — but the increasing pressure kept claiming lives. More and more disciples died, leaving fewer than thirty of the original three hundred.
After several minutes of enduring that crushing pressure, the two finally reached the top. There, they found a cage surrounded by eight golden chains.
Inside it… was a small thirty-centiter fla, swirling around a tiny rune that served as its core. The fla had a faint blue tone — it wasn't fire, but an incredibly powerful soul energy.
The golden chains ford a terrifying kind of seal. Because of that, Darian hadn't sensed anything inside until now. As he got closer, he finally felt it — and his eyes widened.
"That fla… it's got traces of an immortal soul… how?" he murmured, stunned.
"Dan! That rune — I'm sure of it! It's really similar to the one the Divine Dragon gave ," Niara exclaid.
Darian took a deep breath. That explained everything. A power like that could only be created with the strength of a Primordial Beast. The Celestial Shadow had once been one of the three Primordial Beasts of this universe. That's why the fla radiated soul energy with traces of immortal power — a direct result of its might.
Wasting no ti, Darian drew one of his rune-sealed daggers. With his dagger, dark power, and mastery over energies, he could break through any seal or barrier. But as he prepared to act… he instinctively felt sothing was wrong.
He focused on the chains and realized it.
Everything was connected. This entire world was linked to the mountain — its very center. And that seal was the heart, with everything else built around it. Worse still, there was an imnse primordial power left behind by the Celestial Shadow itself.
The soul of the creature that was this fla was tied to the whole thing. Everything had been designed to prevent any escape. If he destroyed the chains, the creature's soul would be severely damaged, and the place's entire power would move to block any attempt to flee. Even with all his mastery, removing it in ti would be nearly impossible.
"Using brute force to steal it's impossible… only sothing primordial and similar, Niara!" He turned quickly. "Use your Bloodline and try to influence the chain's energy. Create a small opening and connection."
Niara nodded, understanding his request. She took a deep breath and channeled what little draconic power she had left. That power could also be called primordial, since all power from the Primordial Beasts shared the sa origin and nature.
Niara had precise control over her draconic power — the strongest of them all. So, influencing power that ca from other Beasts was easy for her.
Quickly, the energies in the chains began to vibrate, slowly being influenced. It wasn't enough to open fully, but it weakened them a bit and created a tiny gap — enough already.
After a few minutes...
A small opening appeared in the chains — as narrow as the eye of a needle. Niara shoved her energy in, creating a thin conductor that connected to that bluish fla.
The instant she did it... both felt as if sothing had opened its eyes. It was the Soul's Divine Fla, waking up when it sensed the change. Then...
"!"
A chilling, murderous intent filled the place. Imdiately, a frantic soul-energy flooded Niara.
Caught off guard, the two felt the crazed force surge. Niara took a step back, but planted her feet and pushed forward, forcing herself to keep the connection. However, she started coughing up a lot of blood at once.
"You sick or what?!" Darian shouted, furious; his eyes and body were swallowed by a black aura.
"You bastard, you can kill , but I will never bow to anyone! You think tornting will make obedient? You can lock my body and my power, but you can't imprison my will!" a harsh, hateful voice echoed from inside the seal.
"Idiot, I ca to save you... but fine, I don't need you alive. Since you dared hurt Niara in front of , don't bla for being cruel," Darian cursed.
"You pathetic Spiritual Guardians! You've tried this on countless tis. I won't fall for it. Just because you have Heaven's Will's blessing, you think I'm naive enough to trust you? Since she dared to connect to now...!"
Suddenly, the voice cut off, swallowed in a dry gulp.
*Buzz*
The place turned dark. The small fla began to tremble. The seal's chains jingled.
Darian sent a little black power through Niara, who still held the connection with the opening. She funneled the power inward, attacking that entity.
It was like tiny black worms appeared inside the fla, latching onto it and eating away at it easily.
The figure was absolutely stunned. That black power... it could kill the entity! It was even destroying primordial power coming from an immortal!
When attention turned to Darian, the figure's aura changed completely.
"You... you're the Missionary I've heard about?! You ca to save ?" the voice murmured, sounding like soone in a delirious dream.
"Screw that! I'm not saving you anymore! Your death is none of my concern!" Darian swore angrily. That figure had actually dared attack and wound Niara? A rage inside him that he didn't even know existed flared up to the fullest.
The figure looked at Darian in astonishnt, as if wanting to apologize, but nothing ca out — only deep fear took over.
Darian pulled the dagger, ready to destroy everything without hesitation. He planned to smash it all, run back to the entrance, and escape. He still had many plays to use, and was sure he could break the enemy's siege and reach the opening they'd co through.
"Wait! You don't understand: this small place is connected to the other five on Enfield's Sacred Tree. I feel the entries and exits are already closed; the maximum power from all the other places is focused here now. Even if you destroy this seal, you'll need a hundred thousand tis more power to open the exit and flee," the figure spoke hurriedly.
"I was hasty earlier. To make up for it, I'll give you everything I have left of power. Just listen to ," it added quickly.
Darian shot back coldly: "I don't need it. I can leave without you."
"Wait, I can help you get out!" the figure said, almost desperate.
Darian snorted, exhaling a lot of anger, "Fuck it, you can..."
He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed Niara's look on him.
'Dan, I feel we should trust those words,' she said ntally, staring into his eyes and smiling faintly. 'Hehe... I'm seeing a different side of you; never saw you lose control like that.'
Darian took a deep breath, surprised. He cald down quickly. Indeed, he realized he'd been irrational and emotional — not like him. Seeing her attacked and spitting blood after suffering a cowardly strike from soone who was supposed to help had made him lose control.
Looking back at the sealed figure before him, he activated his curse and examined the karma. It was gray — sothing rare.
With a snort, he said, "Alright. What do you intend?"
Hearing that, the figure felt as if it had left hell and risen to heaven.
"Lend all the primordial power she has. I sense this Mannaz has a primordial heart inside her. It's the sa as what the Celestial Shadow created and turned into my body. I'll fuse it all into her. Then, I'll unleash all my fury!"
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