His gaze fixed intently on the purple stone, his thoughts focused on the potential benefits it might bring. "These runes contain a plethora of aura that augment the natural speed of Aura rings, don't they?" he mused inwardly, his voice a silent whisper in his mind.
"Affirmative," Orion's voice resonated in his head, "In addition, it depends on the age and potency of the monster. Not all creatures possess such a valuable resource." Cyan's gaze drifted towards the cracks on the wall, his eyes gleaming with a cold, calculating intensity. "How powerful is a dragon rune?" he thought, his voice low and detached, his eyes flashing with a golden glow like embers igniting.
"That too depends on the age and antiquity of the dragon," Orion replied, its voice unwavering. Cyan's thoughts turned to the ancient dragon lord, Tyranimite, and a dark, murderous intent seemed to seep from his very pores like a palpable aura. "Someday... For now, I need to get stronger, stronger than anyone, and then I will kill her," he muttered to himself, the golden glow fading from his eyes as they returned to their usual crimson hue.
With a swift motion, Cyan shattered the stone into hundreds of pieces, the small, purple fragments falling to the ground like a scattering of gemstones, releasing gentle, muted thuds that echoed through the cavern. He took a few steps back, uncertain of the outcome, the moment of silence stretching out like an eternity.
The walls, bearing fissures and cracks, stood as a testament to the preceding intense battle. The stone pieces began to emit a faint, violet glow, and powerful magical vibrations potent enough to impart a sense of heaviness to Cyan's very being.
"It's just like before," Cyan mused inwardly. "That's a very powerful amount of Aura, it's almost terrifying."
Suddenly, the energy burst into a powerful gust of purple tempest winds that engulfed Cyan with swift precision, his body burning with a purple, ethereal flame that seemed to consume him whole. The flame vanished as swiftly as it appeared, leaving Cyan feeling invigorated and powerful.
As he opened his eyes, he glanced at Aris's sword, firmly stabbed in the wall like a nail, the cracks surrounding it palpable. The sword began to shake, freeing itself from the wall with a sudden jolt, and hovered in the air like a small plane dancing on the wind.
Cyan's gaze followed the hovering blade as it drifted through the air in complete silence. A faint purple glow surfaced within his eyes, and the second sword in his grip reacted immediately, rising beside the first as though pulled by invisible strings.
The two weapons moved in perfect synchronization.
"Congratulations. You've awakened Reaper's Grip," Orion's voice echoed calmly within his mind.
Cyan caught both swords effortlessly as they returned to his hands.
"Explain."
"Reaper's Grip is a passive ability tied to Ord Ring progression. Once unlocked, any weapon bound to you can be recalled regardless of distance. More importantly, the weapon becomes an extension of your senses. Sight. Sound. Spatial awareness. Through the weapon, you may perceive your surroundings remotely."
Cyan remained silent for a moment.
Then he closed his eyes.
The swords rose from his hands again and drifted into opposite corners of the ruined chamber.
Instantly, his awareness split apart.
The sensation was disorienting.
His own vision remained dark behind closed eyelids, yet another perspective opened within his mind. Then another. The cavern appeared from multiple angles simultaneously—fractured stone, hanging webs, scattered debris from the collapsed battle.
He could hear dust sliding across broken rock.
The faint crackling of unstable Luminite veins.
Water dripping somewhere far below the cavern floor.
The perception felt unnaturally sharp, as though his senses had been stretched beyond the limits of the human body.
A dull pain formed behind his eyes.
Cyan exhaled slowly and reopened them.
One of the swords dropped slightly in the air before stabilizing again.
"The headaches are normal," Orion explained. "Your consciousness is splitting across multiple sensory points for the first time."
Cyan lowered one blade back into his grip.
"Annoying."
The floating sword continued drifting deeper into the shadows while Cyan observed the cavern through its perspective. Sections of the chamber hidden from his direct line of sight became visible instantly.
Useful.
Very useful.
The sword eventually returned to him with a metallic hum before settling into his hand once more.
Cyan glanced around the ruined chamber.
Collapsed pillars. Burning webs. The corpse of the Spider Queen sprawled across fractured stone like a mountain of dead flesh.
Silence.
Then he frowned slightly.
"This should've ended already."
The moment the words left him, a translucent
screen materialized in front of him.
CONGRATULATIONS FOR CLEARING THE KHRAGIXX ARBOR DUNGEON.
TOWER WILL NOW SELF-DESTRUCT.
The message vanished immediately.
Cyan stared at the empty air.
"…Of course it will."
Another screen appeared.
SURVIVE
00:01:59
The cavern shook violently.
A deep rumble spread upward through the tower as cracks tore across the walls and ceiling. Stone broke apart overhead, raining debris across the battlefield while entire sections of the floor collapsed inward.
Cyan's instincts sharpened instantly.
The countdown continued.
SURVIVE
00:01:54
The swords snapped back into his hands as crimson aura erupted around his body. Thin discharges of energy flickered across his skin while Arcane Edge reignited along the shorter blade.
Then he ran.
The corridor ahead collapsed in sections as Cyan accelerated through the crumbling dungeon.
Falling debris smashed against the ground behind him while ancient traps hidden within the walls activated one after another due to the instability.
Blades shot from the walls.
Stone spikes erupted beneath the floor.
Sections of the pathway collapsed into darkness.
Cyan never slowed.
His movements became increasingly fluid as Reaper's Grip synchronized with his instincts. One sword remained in his hand while the second floated ahead of him through the corridor, scouting pathways beyond collapsed sections before they came into view.
The tower was dying around him.
SURVIVE
00:01:21
A massive section of ceiling collapsed ahead.
Cyan launched the floating blade forward.
The sword embedded itself into the wall beyond the destruction.
Reaper's Grip activated instantly.
The weapon pulled toward him violently, dragging Cyan through the collapsing gap with explosive speed just before thousands of tons of rock sealed the corridor behind him.
Dust exploded outward.
The force nearly threw him off balance.
Still he continued forward.
The air pressure inside the tower shifted violently now. Deep fractures spread through the structure itself while entire stairways collapsed floor by floor somewhere beneath him.
Then Cyan stopped.
The corridor ahead had ended.
A massive crack split across the outer wall of the tower, revealing open sky far beyond the structure.
Wind roared through the opening.
Cyan approached carefully and looked downward.
Far below, the forest stretched endlessly beneath the collapsing tower.
A fatal drop.
Behind him, another explosion shook the corridor.
SURVIVE
00:00:47
Cyan narrowed his eyes.
Arcane Edge intensified.
The crimson flames coating his blade condensed violently before he swung downward in a single motion.
The outer wall exploded apart.
Stone disintegrated beneath the force of the strike as a massive opening tore through the tower itself. Wind burst inward instantly, nearly dragging him into open air.
Cyan stepped backward once.
Then sprinted forward.
And jumped.
The tower vanished above him as gravity seized his body.
Wind screamed past his ears while chunks of collapsing stone plummeted alongside him. Massive sections of the tower continued imploding overhead, sending debris crashing downward like falling meteors.
Cyan twisted midair.
A boulder the size of a carriage spun toward him through the collapse.
He kicked off it instantly.
Another piece of debris fell beside him.
He stepped on it.
Then another.
Using Reaper's Grip, Cyan launched one sword downward through the storm of rubble. The blade embedded itself into a falling structure several meters below.
The weapon pulled him toward it immediately.
His body shot downward through the air with unnatural speed.
Another sword launched.
Another pull.
Again and again.
Cyan descended through the collapsing tower like a phantom moving between falling ruins.
SURVIVE
00:00:18
A massive chunk of the tower wall rotated toward him midair.
Too close.
Cyan twisted sharply and drove his blade into the stone surface while sparks exploded around him.
The momentum hurled him sideways through open air before he released the sword and sent it flying downward once more.
The ground approached rapidly now.
Forest.
Rock.
Certain death if mistimed.
SURVIVE
00:00:07
Cyan's eyes sharpened.
Both swords shot downward simultaneously and embedded themselves into the earth below.
Reaper's Grip activated.
The pull yanked him downward violently before he flipped midair and landed in a crouched position between both blades.
The impact shattered the ground beneath him.
Stone cracked outward in every direction while a shockwave of dust erupted across the forest floor.
A second later—
The tower collapsed completely behind him.
The explosion echoed across the entire forest.
Wind blasted outward through the trees while massive clouds of dust swallowed the horizon.
Cyan remained crouched for several seconds, breathing steadily as debris rained from the sky around him.
Then he stood.
The remains of the tower burned in the distance like the corpse of something ancient finally laid to rest.
A translucent screen appeared once more before him.
BY VIRTUE OF YOUR PROWESS, YOU WHO HAVE SURVIVED THE LABYRINTH'S TERRORS, OVERCOME ITS CREATURES, AND ENDURED ITS TRIALS SHALL RECEIVE A GIFT.
Cyan stared at the message without expression.
"It was weaker than expected."
The screen flickered away.
A small light remained floating in the air before him.
It drifted downward slowly before settling into his palm.
The light faded.
A black circlet rested in his hand.
At its center sat a crimson jewel shaped like a skull. Thin silver chains connected the circlet to two smaller rings designed to wrap around adjacent fingers.
The object radiated something unnatural.
Not aura.
Something older.
Cyan frowned slightly the moment he touched it.
A cold sensation crawled across his skin.
The artifact felt wrong.
Before he could inspect it further, the circlet suddenly spun within his palm and snapped onto his right hand.
The chains wrapped tightly around his fingers.
Cyan's expression darkened instantly.
He tried to remove it.
The artifact refused to move.
Aura surged violently through his body as his Ord Rings accelerated around him, generating enough pressure to distort the air itself. Crimson energy erupted outward while cracks spread beneath his feet.
Still—
The circlet remained perfectly still.
Bound to him completely.