The tour of the Black Spire lasted for several hours.
The Mistress led me through vast, echoing halls and endless obsidian bridges. We saw rooms filled with dormant shadows and armories holding weapons that hummed with terrifying chaotic energy.
Throughout the entire trip, I made sure to keep her busy. I peppered her with a relentless stream of questions. Most were completely trivial inquiries regarding the architecture or the glowing void plants. However, hidden carefully among the mundane questions were crucial probes regarding the Spire’s layout and the nature of the wasteland outside.
She answered them all with surprising patience.
During this excursion, I managed to discover one absolutely vital piece of information.
It was completely impossible to teleport inside the Spire.
The ambient spatial pressure was overwhelmingly dense. My aura simply couldn’t penetrate the local reality to open a portal or even use Blink. I even attempted the Interception Step provided by the system, but it was ineffective. This indicated that even a high-grade teleportation relic would likely shatter under such crushing weight.
So, I had to permanently rule out that specific escape route.
And eventually, our footsteps brought us back to the heavy oak door of my luxurious prison.
The Mistress stopped, turning to face me with a soft, affectionate smile that still managed to send a chill down my spine.
"It is late," she murmured, gently stroking my cheek with her freezing fingers. "You need to rest your fragile body. Goodnight, dear."
"Goodnight," I replied, forcing a warm smile.
She stepped back, and the door clicked shut between us. The heavy lock turned with a resounding thud.
I let out a long breath, walking over to the massive four-poster bed and collapsing onto the black silk sheets.
I stared up at the dark canopy, letting my muscles relax completely.
Strangely, as the silence of the room settled over me, a very comfortable feeling washed through my chest.
I began to think that this place really wasn’t so bad to stay.
I had a roof over my head. I had food, although it could barely be called a proper meal. I had a surprisingly cozy place to sleep. I was completely safe from the horrors of the Nightmare Realm, and my health was recovering well.
More importantly, I had a very caring wife looking after me. She was definitely a yandere type, a personality I usually disliked a lot, yet she treated me with absolute devotion. I think she’s not that bad as I thought she was... Perhaps, if I try, I might fall in love with her...
...Wait.
I suddenly sat upright.
The relaxed grin instantly vanished from my face. My blood ran cold, turning to pure ice in my veins.
Why... Why am I thinking like this?
Could it be?
A terrifying thought slammed into my mind.
I was a prisoner held hostage by an unknown primordial entity, completely separated from my own world. I should be desperate, angry, and constantly plotting my escape.
Yet, here I was, justifying my captivity.
I was finding genuine comfort in this golden cage.
Then... a horrifying possibility crept into the back of my mind.
’Gulp.’
I swallowed hard, refusing to let the concept fully form. I didn’t dare to finish the thought. Acknowledging the exact nature of what was happening to my mind would make it far too real, far too terrifying.
However, the warning bells echoing in my head were impossible to ignore. This meant I had to be extra careful from now on. I needed to guard my own psyche just as heavily as I guarded my words.
But damn...
To think I was actually on the verge of falling right into the trap of this fabricated domestic bliss.
I quickly shook my head, forcibly scrubbing that terrifying complacency from my consciousness before it could take root again.
Yet, I couldn’t let her know I had noticed the change.
I immediately kept up the act outwardly. I lay back down on the soft pillows, forcing a contented, relaxed smile onto my face.
"I really like it here," I muttered softly to the empty room, making sure my voice carried a tone of pure happiness.
After all, who knows if she was watching me through the shadows right now.
I closed my eyes, regulating my breathing to mimic a deep, peaceful sleep.
While my physical body rested, my consciousness dove inward, retreating to the absolute safety of my mind.
’System.’
I called out silently.
A familiar blue window hummed to life in the darkness of my mind, displaying my Status Profile.
━━━◇◆◇━━━
[Personal Info]
Name: Amaniel Von Luthaire
Age: 17
Rank: Intermediate Hybrid Resonator (4th Tier)
Locus Types: Body, Energy, Mind
Affinities: Ice(Water), Fire, Darkness, Void
Resonance Gift: ???
Path: ? (*)
◈ Titles / Achievments
◈ Role / Affiliation(s)
◈ Abilities / Skills
◈ Blessing
━━━◇◆◇━━━
I paused, staring intently at the line displaying my rank.
A genuine, satisfied smile spread across my face.
Just four weeks after arriving in this world, I had successfully broken through to the fourth tier.
It was all thanks to that desperate battle against Bane and Velmort. Pushing myself to the absolute brink of death had granted me profound insights. I had drastically improved my control over my various affinities and combat techniques. Naturally, Master Virion’s Blessing and the Glacia Sinfonia had also played a massive role in that rapid growth.
I could have initiated the breakthrough immediately after surviving that ordeal. However, my body was simply too battered from the battle and the heavy backlash of my techniques. I had to wait patiently until my depleted aura fully recovered and naturally reached the required amount and density to shatter the bottleneck safely.
Furthermore, reaching the fourth rank unlocked the next crucial evolution of my foundation.
The Aura Well Genesis had only been the preliminary step to carve out the internal space and start the cycle.
Now, the second stage was completely active.
The Absolute Synthesis Well.
This advanced stage granted me a tremendously useful ability. My internal Infinite Loop could now actively draw in any kind of ambient energy, completely regardless of its chaotic nature or elemental alignment. The newly evolved well forcefully broke down those foreign energies, smoothly refining and converting them into my own pure power.
It had taken me an entire month of grueling effort to fully master this technique and acclimatize my internal pathways to this specific realm’s violent environment.
Thankfully, I managed to conquer it perfectly.
Now, I had absolutely zero need to waste the precious aura crystals I had previously collected from Master Virion.
I could simply lie here, cycle my core, and effortlessly absorb the incredibly pure, void-attuned energy overflowing within this very Spire.