The battle that followed with the wraiths was more intense than the ones with the wolves and so much more straining.

Kaden and Sora's teamwork was absolutely garbage. All because of Sora, who was stubborn and refused to admit that she couldn't kill wraiths.

So triggered by Kaden's words, she decided to do exactly that… surpass her limit and burn them.

Needless to say, she didn't succeed, and instead caused issues for Kaden, making it difficult for him to kill them efficiently.

The ability to burn intangible things was not something an Intermediate rank being could have, and that even if she was an Asterion.

She was still too weak.

Kaden was the abnormal one. In his case, he had obtained the power to burn mana by taking the power of the Grandmaster Steelbeast Laye to enhance his flame, and the power to burn lifespan by taking the power of death from Grandmaster Nasari.

Yes… he obtained these powers from Grandmasters. That already showed that this was not something for a mere Intermediate.

This realization hurt Sora deeply, and for the first time, she truly looked at Kaden. Not as the filth who dared to touch her body, not as the insufferable man who couldn't stop angering her, not even as the Warborn's barbarian spawn…

She started to look at him as… him.

She finally noticed the difference between what she had heard about the Warborn and his actual attitude, but also how abnormally strong he was for an Intermediate.

Her pride was wounded as an Asterion, but more than that, there was a scorching fire burning inside her chest as she saw Kaden burning the wraiths into oblivion.

And she believed… if he could do it, then certainly she could too.

But it was not the time to tempt fate, so she put aside her pride — with great difficulty — and decided instead to simply stall for time until Kaden came and killed the wraiths.

It was only then that Kaden's burden lessened, and he was able to breathe more easily, even having the time to take some mana potions to restore himself.

They continued like this, fighting together in a seamless manner without even noticing it.

They might not have realized, but their combination was striking. Each of them didn't need to say anything to the other — maybe because of pride, or simply because neither thought it necessary — and still…

They moved in perfect rhythm.

Kaden danced inside the darkness like a battle god, his steps steady, his breathing rhythmic, his every strike with his burning black sword turning the surrounding wraiths into wailing mist before they disappeared.

Sora was at his side, stalling for time with her burning molten fists. Every punch exploded the air into fireworks, helping Kaden in a simple and efficient way.

The two of them eerily looked like a dancer and singer. With Kaden and his blade performing swordsmanship dance, and Sora's fists striking like the pounding drums of fire.

They continued in that way and soon, the darkness melted as the half moon above turned into a glacial hue.

This time, neither of them was dumb enough to try to fight it. They immediately bolted toward their resting cave with great speed. Kaden arrived first, and without any gallantry, entered the cave, followed by Sora.

This time Sora would be able to do more than simply support.

They combined their powers — instinctively — and created a wall of fire at the cave's mouth. The fire was the combination of searing golden flame and tenebrous black fire mixed together.

They obtained both a flame that burned and one that devoured mana and lifespan.

They didn't stop at the mouth only, but spread these flames across the whole cave. Each of them controlled their power in a way that the other was not harmed.

Their mana started to deplete faster. But they took out their mana potions and piled them on the ground between them, forming a small mountain of bottles.

Each one of them grabbing one and gulping it down in one go whenever their reserves ran dry.

The storm this time was more vicious, and the howling of wind outside coupled with the roar of some unknown beast caused their hearts to rattle in deep fear.

Their cave quivered, with shards of ice falling all over them, slicing their skin, drawing blood. It looked like it was about to collapse under the hunger of the storm.

The duo gritted their teeth until it looked like they would soon become dust, but they held on, their hands on the wall of fire as they supplied it with all their mana.

Sweat covered their faces, their arms trembling, shaking like a vibrator, their eyes hazy and cloudy from so much mana lost and such a huge amount of mana potion ingested in so short a time.

They were two, but they looked so overwhelmed by this situation that they couldn't help but feel a fire of anger erupt inside them.

But hélas! If anger alone could move the mountain and the river, the heavens and the earth, then this wretched world would have been more lamentable.

Still, they succeeded in holding on until the storm stopped as the full moon once again graced their lives.

They immediately fell onto the rocky ice, on their backs, with a crunching sound, chests heaving sporadically as they tried to regulate their breathing.

No one said anything for a couple of minutes, trying to stop their bodies from shivering with exhaustion.

After a moment, Sora opened her mouth, "We have two hours before the next…" she breathed.

"…you measured the time…?" Kaden managed to utter between heavy breaths.

"…of course." Sora said matter-of-factly.

Kaden raised his shaky right hand, forming a thumb, then…

"Good work… golden voice."

Sora huffed but said nothing.

They had two hours until the next nightmare, and by how things were today… the difficulty of each phase would only increase.

At this rate, their deaths were guaranteed the longer they stayed here.

Kaden was quite calm with that realization… he had enough death coins to revive numerous times.

But Sora… well, Sora's heart was beating loudly, fear coursing through every fiber of her body.

The fear of death.

A normal fear, one could say, but Sora refused with all her being to show fear in front of Kaden. So she bit her lip, trying her best to calm her nerves. Then slowly she stood up and went to sit at her usual spot with her back leaned on the wall, leaving Kaden, who was staring absentmindedly at the air in front of him.

Well, he was looking at the quest he had been waiting for since entering this dungeon.

DING!

[You have received a quest.]

[Quest: Asterion's Trial.]

[Difficulty: Extremely Hard.]

[Description: You were daring enough to step into the trial of the Asterion, the ones blessed by the sun, the moon and the constellations.

Succeed in the trial and survive the encounters of Mahina Asterion, The Moon.]

[Rewards: Depends on performance.]

[Penalties: None.]

Kaden examined the quest carefully, especially the part where he had to survive the encounter of a certain Mahina…

He didn't need to think much. He could guess she was Sora's mother.

He sighed tiredly.

'The path of power is truly hard…' he mused, feeling an extreme sense of fatigue deep inside his bones.

He was honestly spent.

But he would move on, and would continue to do so even if he had to die multiple times.

These two worlds were merciless to the weak.

So…

He would not be weak.

He would be strong, stronger than the very cruelty that drove him to seek power, stronger than any being, and he would drink their blood, seize their souls, and devour them to fuel his eternal growth.

Until no one could even graze his shadow, until the very concept of death itself held no meaning before him.

Until…

…he became the heavens themselves — the sky stretching boundless across the horizon, gazing upon all things in scorn…

The earth bearing the woe, the sin, the sorrow, and the joy of the world…

The sun burning and giving warmth…

The moon watching and shining in harrowing moonlight…

The constellations guiding and granting hope to the worthy — all of it, all of them, bound within him, beneath him.

Yes.

All of them.

And he would…

…transcend them all.

—End of chapter 213—

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