Eva reached the 175th stair shortly afterward, and she had noticed neither the faint rune illumination nor the strange fluctuation that Ace had felt.
However, she sensed a change in herself as the pressure no longer seemed to strike her soul as an entirely external force.
It was still imposed upon her from outside, but her bloodline had begun to respond in a way that made the pressure's influence easier to understand.
Each surge forced her soul to adjust, and each adjustment altered the bloodline's circulation while each change made the next surge slightly more manageable.
The process was neither painless nor effortless; several times, Eva had felt her soul approach the limits of its current endurance. Yet every time she adapted, the relationship between her bloodline and soul became more stable.
'So, this is what the Stairway is doing!'
She couldn't be certain that her interpretation was entirely correct; still, it fit what she was experiencing.
