The cave beneath the cliffs was a cathedral of salt and silence. Crystalline pillars glowed faint blue, catching the single torch Serena had jammed into a fissure. She sat cross-legged on a slab of wet stone, scythe across her knees, Umbren a dark sentinel against the far wall. Time had slowed to the drip of seawater and the slow, deliberate rhythm of her pulse.
< Core Bloom 5 – Consolidation beginning >
Mana surged like a tide, hot and black, threading every meridian. Frost steamed off her skin; shadows licked the cave walls, tasting the salt. She felt the bottleneck crack, widen, then shatter—Core Bloom Stage 5 locking into place with an audible thud that shook stalactites.
< Core Bloom 5 – Consolidation complete >
< Mana pool +40 % >
< Zephyr-Dark fusion refined >
When she opened her eyes, the torch flame bent toward her as if bowing.
< Interface – Shade Valen >
< Core Bloom 5 / 9 >
< System Tier: High-3 (pending) >
< Mana: 100 % >
< Night-Sewn Path – Master >
< Moves unlocked: 3 / 9 >
< Next move: Whisper of the Hollow Moon (locked) >
Below the status bar, rewards unfolded:
< Reward: Mirror of the First Breath – one-time Insight >
< Reward: Tier-3 Perk Tree – choose 1 of 3 >
Three icons pulsed—each a promise of future ruin.
1. Veil of the Eclipse – 3-second absolute vanish, 1/day
2. Mandate Leech – absorb 10 % enemy mana per killing blow
3. Shadow Step Mastery – Dusk Step range doubled, no cooldown between blinks
Serena's fingertip hovered, then tapped Mandate Leech. The icon flared, sank into her chest like a second heartbeat.
< Choice: Mandate Leech selected >
A skeletal tree blossomed across her sight:
< Night-Sewn Path – Master >
< Branch 1 – Wind Demon Steps >
< ✓ Step of the Wind Demon >
< ✓ Tap of the Scythe of Death >
< ✓ Dance of the Ten Thousand Death >
< Branch 2 – Hollow Moon Whispers (locked) >
< Branch 3 – Eclipse Lament (locked) >
The remaining six moves sat behind gates of shadow, waiting for blood, time, or revelation.
< Inventory >
< Celestial Mandate essence (absorbed) >
< Aurora's shattered bells (artifact-grade) >
< Beast cores x6 >
< Blood-Pulse pills x3 >
< Swiftshadow pellets x2 >
Far to the north, in the Dawn-Song Sect's crystal hall, every bell tolled at once. High Priestess Lyralei stood before a shattered chalice, voice cold enough to freeze flame.
< 19 days remain >
Serena stood, scythe balanced across her shoulder. Salt crystals fell from her cloak like slow rain. She stepped into the rising wind, leaving the cave and its ghosts behind.