Every time the monster’s face or limb changed, the Mana path also changed.
Its hand turned into a blade, then a claw, and then into an arm belonging to an unknown creature.
Seris positioned herself between it and Seraphina.
The Nameless Fifth brought out several glass blades from its body.
Each blade reflected a face.
Lian, dozens of versions of his face appeared around Seris.
Some were wounded, some were screaming, and a few images were asking for help from behind Seris. But her Sword Intent did not waver even for a moment.
[Unclouded Edge]
Seris’s sword moved. The first memory blade shattered from the middle.
Then the second and third. She cut all the fake faces without pausing.
Not because she could distinguish the original among them, but because she saw the real Lian a few steps away.
The Nameless Fifth made another arm.
From the shadows on the Archive floor, creatures emerged.
Black wolves, faceless birds, and Summons whose bodies were made of pieces of memories.
Liana raised her hand. A summoning circle formed beneath her feet.
"Shadow Wolf."
The black wolf came out of her shadow. Its red eyes moved over the fake creatures.
The reflections attacked it with shapes similar to the real summon.
[Familiar Soul Anchor]
The bond between Liana and Shadow Wolf lit up. There was a real strand of emotion between them.
The fake versions had similar appearances, but there was no spiritual connection inside them.
"They’re not real."
Shadow Wolf entered the ground, came out of the first fake Summon’s shadow, and split its body with dark claws.
Then it sank into the next shadow. The creatures collapsed one after another.
However, The Nameless Fifth was still approaching Seraphina.
Seris was blocking its path, Liana was holding the Summons.
But every time a part of the creature’s body was split, another face would take its place.
Lian did not focus on its appearance. He kept Mirror Anchor active. In the previous Trials, this Boon had allowed him to maintain his real identity among fake memories.
Now it revealed another change. Every face of The Nameless Fifth belonged to a different time.
Some of the Reflections had been created centuries ago.
Some were newer, but all of them returned to one fixed point, a core that existed in the current moment.
Lian gave an annoyed look at it. This monster, like the Doppelgängers, was a headache, and more importantly, its source of creation was also annoying.
It was formed from will and obsession, and as long as its source was not found, it could not be destroyed, the source that gives life to this thing.
’So these bastards were so full of spite and jealousy that they turned into a living grudge?’
He activated Predator’s Instincts, and the flows appeared before his eyes.
Very thin strands came out from behind each Reflection.
They passed through the space and connected to a black crystal behind Seraphina, on the left side of the Magic Circle.
"Its body doesn’t matter." Lian said.
Seris deflected a strike. Liana pulled Shadow Wolf out from among three Summons.
Lian pointed his finger behind Seraphina.
"The source is behind Seraphina, on the left."
Seris, without looking at the point, increased the pressure of her attacks. King’s Edge formed on her blade.
A horizontal strike opened the path in front of Lian.
Liana closed her hand. Shadow Wolf came out from the shadow of one of the crystals and placed its claw on the core’s shadow.
The crystal’s body remained still for a moment.
Lian activated Thunder Step. Blue lightning exploded in the space. He appeared next to the black crystal.
He prepared Glacial Reaper Claw, but stopped before the strike.
Night Eyes showed that white strands were also connected from that same crystal to Seraphina’s Magic Circle.
The source was part of the main Archive structure. If he destroyed it, the inheritance transfer might stop.
Or worse, all the memories that had entered Seraphina’s soul would remain without structure.
Direct destruction was not the solution.
The Nameless Fifth sensed the danger. It moved its body through Seris’s strikes and sent several long arms toward Lian.
Lian placed his hand on the crystal, prepared Cataclysm Pulse, but minimized its force.
[Cataclysm Pulse]
A very small wave entered the crystal, not to break the structure, but to create disorder in its rhythm.
He guided the Pulse’s path, and the wave avoided the white strands and only moved in the black channels that connected the Reflections to the source.
The Nameless Fifth stopped in the middle of its attack.
Its faces trembled at the same time. Hundreds of different voices came out of its mouths, and the black strands were revealed for a moment.
"Now!"
Seris sent a vertical strike. The memory blades moved aside, and Liana issued a short command.
Shadow Wolf turned its entire body into a large shadow and locked around the core.
And at that same moment, finally, the inheritance transfer was completed.
[Succession Process Completed.]
Seraphina’s eyes opened. White and multi-colored light moved in her pupils, and the suspended sword landed directly in her hand.
The blade no longer had its previous appearance. A transparent layer had formed on the metal, changing color with every change in angle.
[Prismatic Spellblade]
Seraphina did not leave the Magic Circle. She only gently moved her sword to one side.
Compressed Mana was stored inside the blade. The two elements of fire and ice, instead of being released, turned into a white prismatic light.
Then she sent the strike. A sword line came out of the blade but did not go directly toward the source.
It hit one of the floating glass pieces, and its path changed.
Then to the second surface.
Third.
Fourth.
In less than a second, dozens of reflections of that same strike formed around the source, each approaching from a different angle.
The Nameless Fifth tried to place its body among the strikes.
But the attack came from all directions. The connecting strands were cut one after another. First, Lian’s face separated from the creature’s body.
Then Seris, Liana, Seraphina, and then hundreds of unknown faces appeared on its surface.
All of them opened their mouths at the same time, but before they could make a sound, the final strike reached the source’s center.
The white light exploded.
The Nameless Fifth cracked like a glass statue.
The cracks spread from the chest to the head and limbs. For a moment, thousands of faces were seen in different pieces.
Then they all collapsed, of course, only pieces of black glass that turned into particles of light before reaching the ground.
The source crystal did not remain black. Its color changed from darkness to white, and the Archive flow stabilized again.
Seraphina lowered her sword. Her breathing had become heavy.
The first use of the new Skill had been done with the temporary power of the Mirror Vault, and it was clear that in normal circumstances, she could not repeat that same power without cost.
But the result was clear. She had landed the final strike. However, without Seris, the path to the source would not have opened.
Without Liana and Shadow Wolf, the core would not have remained still.
And without Lian’s analysis, they would have only fought a body that never truly existed for an unknown amount of time.
The Mirror Curator appeared in the Archive’s center.
White light returned to it from the surrounding crystals.
"The Archive contamination has been cleansed."
"The heir has been accepted."
"The heir’s companions have been registered as Archive witnesses."
Panels appeared before the other three.
First, Lian’s panel.
[Mirror Anchor has evolved.]
[True Sequence Anchor]
[Effects:
[Artificially created, removed, or displaced memories may be identified.]
[You can see through all illusions and control them in any way you wish.]
[The power of all mental attacks below the third evolution is reduced by 40%.]
The change in Lian’s mind was felt immediately. Of course, this was a new innate skill.
Mirror Anchor had only maintained his identity before.
But True Sequence Anchor was something more.
This Skill was not offensive.
It did not increase his Stats.
The second panel appeared.
[You have obtained an A-rank Artifact.]
[World Memory Acquired.]
He looked at the crystal that had appeared in his hand. According to its information, by combining it with the map he already had, he could create a living map.
Not in the sense of a truly living map, but practically, the map would become more advanced and would update locations in real-time like satellite maps.
The interesting thing about this artifact was that it was not a one-time use. He could combine it with any map he wanted, and that map would practically act like a living map.
’I remembered the Celestial Book of Treasure. Because of the circumstances, I had completely forgotten to use it. I guess I should take a look at it.’
But this also made him somewhat curious. What would happen if he combined this thing with the Celestial Book of Treasure? Because that book already acts like a satellite treasure map.
If this artifact is combined with it, what ability will be added to it?
He then looked at the three other girls. He could tell that each of them had also received their own rewards.
And finally, their work here was done...