The darkness unraveled modestly before the Valiant Subject’s Ward. It peeled from the Incarnate like a layer of dirt, leaving him feeling as though the world was basted with hope again.The Demonling had underestimated just how suffocating the darkness was. He had thought that perhaps it was simply the absence of light fitted through the uncanny power known as Sorcery, disallowing Alabas and his people from leaving Ainfidd, but it was a lot more than that.If one was drowned in it, all their senses would be voided.They would be crippled of their ability to perceive the world around them, and such a thing, which most people relied on for the majority of their lives wasn’t essential to keeping their sanity.The darkness was designed to inspire despair and terror, and the Incarnate was ashamed to even think about what would have happened if his shield hadn’t mysteriously warded away the sinister effect of the all-encompassing black.Speaking of this mystery, after Incarnate ^8001 recall
A great fissure stood before the Incarnate.It traced along the ground in a stunningly smooth fashion with minor chips visible on the edge before the Incarnate.However, rather than looking like it was caused by a natural phenomenon, it gave off an ominous feel.It was deep. Very deep.The Incarnate didn’t even dare to get too lost in its depth. The chips at the fissure’s edge which looked as though they were carved by a chisel after it had formed, made his skin crawl. After taking another step forward and feeling chunks of dirt falling into the fissure, the Incarnate was befuddled to see that he couldn’t identify its width.The allowance of the Valiant Subject’s Ward’s Enchantment couldn’t mark just how wide this gap in the ground was.‘Goodness…’The Incarnate backed away and moved to the left along the fissure.However, his hearts nearly stopped when he saw another fissure cutting across the first one and moving towards the way he had come!What in the world was this?To make matt
The first thing the Incarnate had thought about when he felt the raging waves of power exploding from the figure on the throne, was what his experiences back in his old life had taught him to do when dealing with offended important officials. Whether it be a King, a Prince, or a nobleman, a foot soldier of no renown like him would have to bow and express an unreal degree of humility and make himself not look like anything worth punishing. This lesson from a past life was indispensable right now. The Incarnate had realized that the man seated on the throne was without a doubt King Alabas. Flying Reaper Sword. It had been an error on his part to not show a King the respect he deserved from the start, and thus why he begged to be forgiven. Unbeknownst to him, however, the simple gesture he did – planting himself low so meaningfully – eased the King’s fierce emotion, and he decided against doing him any harm. “Tell me. Who are you?” Alabas asked. “What manner of bravery or foolishne
The Incarnate was smitten silly by all that Alabas said, but also all the pieces that seemed to come together. It wasn’t really a surprise to him that once he entered the darkness, he couldn’t leave. He doubted that the Valiant Subject’s Ward’s enchantment was capable of defying the sorcerous darkness to that extent. What stunned him, however, was the fact that he might have been able to change this. According to Alabas, Marar’bel cast the curse that allowed her sons to persist for many years on Alabas and told him that if he should escape this darkness someday, his children would be waiting for him, but she would long be dead. This meant… ‘If I had destroyed the remaining source of Spirit Essence fuelling the Sorcery keeping this darkness up, things would have been different right now…’ he thought in dread. That was why he wasn’t given more Incarnation Points in the last stage! However, this was the least of the Incarnate’s worries. Possibly because of that blunder on his part
The Demonling felt an intense, pulsing sting as blood poured from his face, neck and chest, but at the same time, a fiercely hot sensation ran through his body, empowering it tremendously even as he gasped in agony.The Incarnate, no, Arlosse had been blessed with 10 additional points to each of his physical attributes – which didn’t include his Spirit Essence – and his body, which had already been anomalous, took especially kindly to the overwhelming burst of power that surged in him.His bleeding slowed until it stopped, and then the wounds he had sustained, the torn skin from the first slash that had reached him, inched inward, attempting to mend themselves in real-time.Arlosse shook.He took long, deep breaths, attempting to relax himself, but his body refused to calm down. His instincts and nerves were rattled. Before the bliss that was the abundant strength in the form of attribute points, there had been the crippling fear brought on by sure and absolute death.The Incarnate ha
Arlosse felt himself fall through a familiar pool of darkness that was so vast and so tranquil that it would most definitely drive a weaker soul to madness with enough time. Suddenly, the throne where Alabas sat – split – had vanished from sight as did the remains of his royal residence.This experience was quite like how it was when the Incarnate was first dragged into this afterlife establishment known as ‘Prospect For Reincarnation’; right before his Incarnation.Because Arlosse recalled that experience vividly, he wasn’t startled. He knew there was a destination, and soon enough, he reached it.He landed safely within a perfectly cubical space with a twilight fog hue to it.This was the Isolated Foyer of New Beginnings, the cramped space within which he had been given a crash course on everything to do with ‘Prospect For Reincarnation’.Thankfully, unlike before, when Arlosse was merely a floating consciousness, he had his full Demonling body this time.He retained his odd body, f
Arlosse immediately set out to test if he could use Reform to heal himself. He had several questions about its mechanics that he needed to confirm, but he figured a practical test would answer most of them in one go.As he thought, it did.Upon choosing to use Reform with a mere trigger of his will, Arlosse instinctively placed his hand on his chest where the damage was most severe. To his surprise, a faint globe of solid orange light appeared around his hand and highlighted his tattered tunic as well as the skin on his chest which rose and fell as he breathed.The way the Far Ji expressed itself was just like how its power manifested from the candle beside Alabas’ throne. It was astonishing, mesmerising even.However, a minute passed. Then ten.Nothing happened.Arlosse quickly convinced himself that this wasn’t too surprising. The Limit on Reform was that each successful usage of it would cost him half an hour’s worth of time.Indeed, it was quite frustrating, but a Unique Quality’s
[You have arrived on the SECOND FLOOR, the Crucible of Twin-faced Hope]As the Host Guide announced the strange name of the new Floor, Arlosse hardly registered it in his head. His mind was a bit preoccupied trying to reconcile that he was back in a place like this, the home of death, its emissaries and victims, all of whom raged senselessly – recklessly – as though possessed by devils.Blood spilled every which way the Incarnate looked.Bones crunched under the feet of whinnying horses and tamed, canine beasts he didn’t recognise.Flesh squelched, torn open for all to see the unsightly beauty it hid.The scorching orange sun above, merciless and uncompromising, seemed determined to make all the thousands of corpses lying about look as insignificant, shameful and irrelevant as possible by arousing the stink within them, summoning flies and starved critters in the dry, rocky desert.Human men and women with assortments of armour roared, their steel clashing against that of enemies whil