Ashen Ascension: The Divided Flame-Chapter 93: Labyrinth Of The 9 Realms: 6th And 7th Realm
He drew a slow breath and gathered mana once more, but this time he resisted the instinct to spread it across the entire blade. Instead he stepped closer to the slab and closed his eyes, allowing his focus to narrow entirely onto the edge of the sword.
The mana flowed outward from his core and settled along the steel in a thin layer, familiar and easy to maintain. He held it there for a moment, feeling its shape and balance, before pushing more mana into the same space.
The second layer did not spread outward as before. Instead he forced it inward, pressing the energy tighter against the first layer until the coating grew denser rather than wider. The structure trembled slightly as he held the pressure. Mana did not like being compressed in such a crude way. It resisted him, trying to slip along the blade as it always had.
Ivor tightened his grip and pushed again.
A third surge of mana flowed from his core and he forced it into the same narrow band along the edge, pressing it deeper into the structure already there. The coating thickened, not in size but in density, the energy packed tightly against itself in a narrow strip of concentrated force.
Sweat began forming across his forehead.
The strain of holding the structure steady caused a dull ache to spread through his temples. Maintaining the compressed mana demanded far more focus than the loose coating he normally used. The pressure inside the blade felt unstable, as if the structure might unravel the moment his concentration slipped.
He opened his eyes slowly and raised the sword high above his head.
For a brief moment he held the weapon there, feeling the dense mana locked along the edge. Then he stepped forward and brought the blade down in a clean vertical slash.
The sword struck the slab with a sharp cracking sound.
The blade carved far deeper into the stone than any of his previous strikes. The mark it left behind was narrow and clean, cutting sharply into the rock instead of spreading across its surface.
The slab erupted with a brilliant crimson glow that filled the chamber.
At the same moment the falling sand stopped.
A soft blue light appeared along the far wall as the stone shifted and revealed another door. Ivor exhaled slowly and sheathed his sword. For a few moments he remained where he stood, replaying the strike in his mind and trying to fully grasp what he had just done. Using mana in that manner, compressing it layer upon layer instead of spreading it across the blade was something entirely new to him.
When he finally moved toward the opening, he was fully aware of the cost of that attempt.
The effort had drained a noticeable portion of the mana from his core, and the dull ache behind his eyes still lingered from the concentration it had demanded. Even so, the lesson remained clear in his mind as he stepped toward the next chamber.
The narrow passage from the chamber led to a tricky, uneven stairwell. The stone felt rougher, and the steps looked broken and rebuilt. Ivor stayed low, remembering his training: stability first.
The next room was split-level, designed to make every step difficult. It had ledges, broken stairs, shallow pits, and sharp slopes.
Ivor focused his Soul Sense to detect movement. He immediately sensed two empty presences: one fast and low, moving toward him; the other high on a ledge, shifting but not approaching.
A piece of bone just missed Ivor’s foot. He quickly moved to avoid a second piece that landed where he had been standing. The enemy, a tall, unarmed skeleton, was throwing sharp bone pieces to force him to move.
At the same time, a fast skeleton reached him, its bone sword swinging low towards the pits.
Ivor didn’t panic. He stepped closer to lessen the swing’s force and raised his armored forearm to block the hit. The armor rang but held, spreading the impact over his chest. He tried a quick cut at the skeleton’s knee, but it was too fast and pulled back, so his blade only chipped the surface bone.
Another shard came from above. He didn’t need to look up. He moved his weight just enough for the sharp object to miss him, then quickly cut at the fast skeleton’s ankle to slow it down. The joint cracked, making the skeleton’s next step slower.
This room made it hard to do one thing at a time. The thrower kept firing sharp objects in unpredictable bursts, and the fast skeleton attacked whenever Ivor looked up. Ivor couldn’t run around much. But if he ignored the thrower, he’d be slowly chipped away while the melee skeleton kept him trapped in a bad spot.
He chose a third option.
He reduced unnecessary movement until every step had purpose.
Instead of running from the quick skeleton, Ivor used the broken stairs and holes as shields. He kept the fast skeleton between himself and the one throwing bones, making the thrower risk hitting their ally. When a bone hit the fast skeleton, Ivor knew he could use the environment.
He stopped reinforcing his whole sword with mana, as it was too costly. Instead, he put a short, dense band of mana at the tip before each strike. His glove helped with the transfer. His arm brace caught most hits, saving mana on defense.
The fast skeleton lunged, trying to push him toward a drop. Ivor stepped on a broken stair, changing the angle so the skeleton hit stone. As it recovered, Ivor drove the mana-charged sword tip into its knee, cracking the joint. The leg buckled, slowing the skeleton down.
The thrower increased the pressure, sending faster, tighter shards. Ivor had to keep moving. A shard cut his shoulder slightly; another hit his forearm brace and broke.
Ivor didn’t chase the thrower yet. Instead, he finished off the fast skeleton.
He moved in close to stop its swing, caught its blade on his brace, and used that to find the elbow joint. A quick, strong thrust broke the joint, making the bone sword drop. Ivor kicked its knee, making it collapse awkwardly, and killed it with a precise thrust to the skull base. The skeleton vanished, leaving only the thrower.
The thrower did not pause. Ivor moved carefully, climbing broken stairs to stay out of sight. He used the wall to block the sharp objects, and his Soul Sense let him track the enemy’s movements.
Reaching the top, he quickly closed the gap. When the skeleton tried to throw a shard up close, Ivor hit its elbow to stop the throw, then plunged his sword through its ribs, breaking its spine. The enemy instantly died.
Ivor waited, listening. A blue light showed an exit. Ivor stepped through, his breathing controlled.
Realm VII was different. The air was dim, as the stone seemed to absorb light. The small room felt subtly draining. Ivor immediately noticed his recovery slowed; the chamber muted his natural energy recovery and was also draining it. He suddenly felt like he should just take a nap then and there.
He entered fully, and the door sealed behind him.
