Before I realised it, I was happy.
Happy about finding a gate.
And before I even processed that strange emotion—I had already stepped in.
The air was dry and heavy.
Dust clung to my lungs.
As I took a step onto the first floor, torches lit up one by one along the wall—burning in eerie silence. The place didn't welcome me, it just accepted me. Like I belonged here.
I poured aen into the cleaver. A pulse followed.
The hex echoed.
[Conditions have been met for an elixir to be made]
[You have received a Chronicle]
Just like the hex said. The cleaver had condition to be met before the blood fruit could be made. I hadn't fully understood until now. The fruit was an elixir , something that never rarely shows up .The conditions were:
Three blood types from demon-ranked spawns.
The essence of a devil-ranked spawn's blood.
And... my own blood.
I wouldn't have known this if not for Divine Light. That trait had done more for me than I could say.
I hadn't realised it until now, but there was something else i needed.Authority— during the fight with ren , when the divine light trait blossomed. I felt it , authority. That was the real reason I came. I really needed it if i would leave this place alive . Even before I saw the monsters, i could see them.
[Divine Light]
My body began to glow—but I didn't let the light explode outward. I forced it back, cut off the flow from my soul, and replaced it with my own aen. Twisting the activation into something internal. A control I hadn't mastered until now.
The light burned quietly beneath my skin. Then they came.
Shadows crept across the stone.
I grabbed the cleaver properly and shifted my stance.
A spider raced forward, its body dark and stony like a chunk of hardened void. Its eyes glowed, but there was no soul in them—just instinct.
I ran forward.
It fired webs—night black, fast.
I swung the cleaver to cut them, but the moment the blade hit—
I was thrown back.
My arm twisted painfully, nearly ripped off by the force of impact. I tumbled, coughed, and nearly dropped the dagger. The webs were strong. Too strong.
I didn't have time to think—I summoned the elixir. It felt like a waste to use it here, but I couldn't afford to die. Not yet.
The vial appeared in my palm. Small. Blood-red.
The spider was still coming. I poured the liquid into my mouth.
It was sweet…
But what followed wasn't.
It was like being crushed from the inside out.
My skin pulsed—my nerves lit on fire.
My body twisted, cracked, then reset itself.
The hex spoke again.
[You have consumed blood fruit ]
[Your physique is being enhanced]
[Abilities are being enhanced]
[Your aen becomes purer]
[Your mind becomes sharper]
[You have gained Temporary Trait: Frenzy]
[Emotions are heightened]
[Effects last for: One Hour]
Excitement.
That was what I felt first. Not happiness. Not relief.
Just raw, pulsing excitement.
Adrenaline burned in my chest.
The spider launched another attack. I dodged.
Barely.
The webs fell like blades from above.
My skin felt tight, stretched. I held it together.
No… I forced it together.
I raised both daggers—webs closed in—
Slash.
One cut, clean and sharp.
Then another.
Web after web shattered like thread in my path.
The cleaver was vibrating in my grip.
I lunged forward.
The spider screeched and raised one massive leg to defend.
I smirked.
[Divine Light]
The daggers glowed—not bright, but sharp. Focused.
The energy surged. It felt natural now.
The cleaver drank. Blood surged up the blade, crimson and alive.
I jumped—above the spider's reach—daggers raised—
I struck.
The blades sunk into its hide—but the damage was shallow.
Didn't matter. I pulled back and struck again.
Thrust. Slash. Cut. Again. Again.
I didn't stop.
My arms moved on their own. Not wild, not blind—just faster.
Each strike was sharper than the last.
The spider's stone armor cracked—
Its legs trembled—
Then it collapsed.
Dead.
I stood over it. Panting. My face wet with sweat and blood.
But I smiled anyway.
The hex echoed again.
[You have slain: Twilight Demon, Obsidian web]
[Your flame grows stronger]
The blood drained from its body into the cleaver, and I didn't stop it.
But something else was coming. I could feel it.
The ground trembled slightly. Dust shifted.
No footsteps. Just movement. Too much of it.
They were coming.
Spawns.
A swarm.
I didn't move. I just stared into the dark corridor, gripping the cleaver.
Let them come.
I wasn't afraid.
[Synchronization has risen]
[5%]