Chapter 269: Node 2 Activation
As the sealed space unraveled, the Deathmist spilled out like smoke escaping a shattered jar. A deep roar echoed through the air, low and guttural, and the mist churned violently.
It began reforming.
But this time, it didn’t take the shape of the serpent. No twisting heads. No long coils. Instead, it began to rise, piece by piece, until a tall humanoid figure stood before us—twenty feet high, cloaked in thick armor made from the mist itself.
I could tell right away: it was injured. Not just weakened—damaged at the core. The earlier battle had drained it, leaving it almost as fragile as the first Phantom fragment I had fought.
But it still wasn’t done.
Before it could take a single step, a flash of crimson tore through the air.
A focused beam slammed into the Phantom’s chest, forcing it to stagger. A sharp screech echoed from above as Silver swooped in low, circling above us.
The Phantom reeled back, arms spreading slightly, its body crackling with unstable energy.
I didn’t give it a chance to recover.
With a single flap of my wings, I shot forward like a fired arrow. In a blink, I was behind the Phantom. My fist tightened as I whispered the command.
“Node 2, activate.”
The moment the words left my lips, power bloomed inside me. A crushing weight pressed outward as my stats surged upward. My muscles compressed, every fiber of my body tightening with strength. Violet Essence surged through my veins and condensed over my fist like a glowing second skin.
Then I struck.
My fist slammed into the Phantom’s back.
[Seismic Burst]
BOOM!!!!
Essence exploded on contact.
The Phantom’s body jerked forward as if hit by a collapsing mountain. Its back armor shattered instantly, mist scattering from the point of impact. The force hurled it through the air like a cannonball.
With another powerful flap, I gave chase.
Mid-flight, I spun my staff and brought it down hard.
The blow connected again—right in the same spot.
The Phantom hit the ground with a deafening crash. Dirt and rubble flew in all directions as its body smashed into the surface, carving out a wide crater.
“Deactivate.” I whispered allowing my stats to revert back.
Azalea hovered beside me, watching the destruction unfold. Her expression was unreadable, but I caught the faintest smile.
“That was brutal, kid,” she said softly.
She extended her palm toward the crater and whispered something under her breath.
“Black Thorn.”
The ground trembled.
A thick black root—nearly ten feet wide—burst from the earth like a drill. As it rose, the tip sharpened into a deadly point, gleaming with twisted life Essence. Without pause, it plunged down into the crater.
The Phantom let out a high-pitched scream. Its form began to unravel again, scattering into mist to avoid the root’s impalement.
I groaned under my breath.
“Not this again.”
Raising my staff, I pointed it toward the swirling mist and focused.
“Freeze.”
A wave of cold exploded from the tip, forming into a whirling cyclone of condensed frost. The mist got caught inside, spun, and then sealed. Ice spiraled upward, layering over itself like a frozen prison.
The Phantom’s thrashing grew more desperate inside the icy tornado. Cracks began to form along the surface, glowing faintly with purple energy as it struggled to escape.
I flew closer.
I landed beside the frozen vortex, my feet crunching against the ice-covered ground. Cold mist drifted around me, rising like smoke from a dying fire. I placed my hand on the icy shell, feeling the vibrations of the Phantom thrashing within.
Then I closed my eyes—and let the Essence flow.
All the Essence I had been generating during the fight, every drop of it, I funneled into the frozen prison. It surged through my arm like a flood, entering the vortex in glowing streams. The ice pulsed with violet light, brighter and brighter, until it became hard to look at.
I whispered the word.
“Explode.”
BOOM.
The entire vortex shattered with a deafening blast.
Chunks of ice shot outward like shrapnel. Deathmist was thrown into the air, torn apart and scattered in wild spirals. The explosion lit up the pocket space, bathing everything in flashes of violet and white.
As the smoke and mist began to clear, I felt the presence of the Phantom’s core trying to hide again—trying to dissolve and vanish.
But I was already ready.
I reached inside myself and called to it.
The Null Heart.
It pulsed once in response.
A tremor ran through my body as a glowing chain shot out from my chest, snaking through the air like a whip. It latched onto the densest part of the swirling black mist—the core. The mist shrieked and spun wildly, trying to escape, but it was too weak now, too damaged to resist.
The chain tightened.
The mist buckled, coiled in on itself, and began to compress. I watched as the Phantom’s core was pulled forward, dragged through the air in violent jerks.
The black cluster of swirling energy was sucked into the chain, merging directly into the previous fragment I had already sealed.
A pulse of pressure ran through my chest as the two pieces became one.
I let out a long breath, finally letting my body relax.
It was over.
Azalea raised her hand and swept it through the air. A wave of rich, concentrated life force swept across the pocket space like a breeze after a storm. Wherever it passed, the lingering Deathmist evaporated instantly, burned away by pure vitality. The space felt lighter, cleaner—restored.
She floated closer, her expression calm but her eyes sharp. They locked on to my chest where the chain had disappeared.
Her voice was soft. Curious.
“That was… fascinating to watch. What even was that? A talent? A skill? Or something tied to your class?”
I gave her a tired smile and chuckled.
“Secret.”
She tilted her head and let out a faint laugh of her own.
“Fair enough.”
Silver descended in slow, wide circles, his wings spread wide as he glided down toward us.
The air rippled faintly with each flap—soft, but powerful. When he landed beside me, the ground gave a quiet thud beneath his talons. Crimson mist curled gently around his feathers, like smoke drawn to heat.
Azalea turned, eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at him.
“…A Silversteel Hawk,” she murmured, almost to herself. “I haven’t seen one since ages.”
Her gaze sharpened with interest as she took a step closer, studying every detail of his form. The faint glow across his wings. The runes glowing on his feathers. And more than anything, the swirling crimson mist that clung to his body like a second skin.
She circled him slowly, eyes bright with fascination. Silver remained still, his gaze fixed calmly on her, unbothered by the attention.
“I can feel it,” she said softly. “A corrupted soul… bound to essence. This mist, it’s not just clinging to him—it’s part of him. A creation born from decay and death, reforged into something beautiful.”
I watched her pause in front of Silver, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
“This is remarkable,” she whispered. “You’ve done something extraordinary, Billion. Turning what should have been destruction into a companion.”
Silver gave a soft, low screech as if acknowledging her words.
Azalea smiled, almost wistful. “Fascinating. Truly. The world you’ve stepped into… it’s beyond anything I expected.”
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