Garran finally loosened his grip around Darius's throat, though his eyes never left the High Master's face. He remained coiled, alert, ready for even the slightest hint of foolishness.
Sensing the warning in Garran's gaze, Darius spoke carefully, his tone controlled.
"Relax. I understand the gap between us. I won't do anything to harm Young Master Drakebane."
"That's good to hear," Garran replied, giving a short, firm nod.
Darius extended the horn toward Lucas.
"You can only enter the Abyss," he said flatly, "if demonic blood runs through your veins."
Lucas nodded, "I know."
"Good," Darius said. "Follow me."
He turned and strode toward the exit of the palace.
Lucas, Rowan, and Garran followed closely behind, while Sullen and Leon were left standing in silence.
Leon's fists clenched.
Again.
Again it was Lucas.
Every single time, Lucas appeared and took something that should have been his. Leon could only watch as Lucas and the High Master disappeared from view, powerless to stop it.
Then a voice whispered into his mind.
'Leon… it's me.'
His breath caught.
'Don't worry. Lucas will return the relic to you soon. We've made an agreement. I'm bound to guide him for one month. After that, I'll return to you.'
It was Athena's voice, the mysterious woman bound to the jade relic.
Relief washed over Leon.
Today wasn't his day, but at least he hadn't lost everything.
Sullen broke the silence, her voice heavy with worry.
"What do we do now, Leon? I don't think Darius will ever let you enter the Abyss Gate, even if I offered him the Sevenfold Relic Tower."
Leon shook his head slowly.
"It's alright. You've already done more than enough, Ms Sullen. I don't even know how to repay you."
"Don't say that," Sullen replied warmly. "I'm helping because I want to."
Leon smiled faintly, gratitude tightening his chest. He silently vowed to repay her kindness one day.
"But still," Sullen continued, troubled. "If your mana core is left alone, it might recover after a year with a lot of medicine. You can't afford to wait that long, can you?"
Leon fell silent.
Then his eyes lit up.
"There might be another way," he said slowly. "Elder Hanrick might be able to help me."
"The one from the Creed Mountain Order?" Sullen nodded. "That's a good idea."
"Let's go," Leon said, hope returning to his voice.
They turned and left the palace together, heading toward the Creed Highlands.
---
Meanwhile, Lucas and the others arrived at a massive waterfall deep within the Dominion's territory.
It was already six in the morning. Sunlight spilled across the mountain peaks, casting gold over the rushing water.
"So this is where the Abyss Gate is?" Rowan said skeptically. "Doesn't look much like an abyss."
"You'll understand once you step inside," Darius replied, his tone unreadable.
Rowan shrugged. "Fair enough."
The four of them walked directly into the waterfall. Cold water drenched them instantly, clinging to their clothes.
Then they passed through.
What awaited them was not a cavern, but a vast chasm. Far below, molten crimson light pulsed like a living heart, radiating unbearable heat.
Rowan stared.
"Alright. That definitely qualifies as an abyss."
"This place isn't meant for ordinary magus," Darius said. "Try it."
Rowan smirked.
"You sure?"
"Do I look like I'm lying?"
Rowan turned to Lucas.
"Your call."
"Go ahead," Lucas said calmly.
Rowan jumped.
He descended rapidly, then suddenly—
BAM!
An unseen force hurled him upward. He slammed into the cavern ceiling, cracking stone before crashing back down beside them.
"What the hell was that?" Rowan growled.
His soul had felt like it was being ripped out of his body. If his rank were any lower, it would've killed him.
"This Abyss predates the Dominion itself," Darius said solemnly. "Countless have tried to enter. None succeeded. Many died."
Garran frowned.
"Young master… are you certain?"
Lucas raised the horn.
"I'll be fine."
He looked to Darius.
"You'll assist me to absorb the essence."
Darius nodded. "As agreed."
Lucas handed him the horn. This process couldn't be done without Darius's forbidden techniques.
"Sit," Darius instructed. "Close your eyes. This will hurt. And remove your shirt."
Lucas complied.
Dark energy seeped from the horn. Cracks spread across its surface before it shattered completely.
A black-red liquid floated into the air.
Pure demonic essence.
Darius activated his art, guiding the blood toward Lucas.
It seeped into his skin through every pore.
Pain exploded through his body.
His blood fought back violently.
But when the demonic essence reached his mana core, it merged with the astral formation within, forming a new constellation entirely.
From the inside, it was breathtaking.
From the outside, Lucas was suffering hell.
-----
Thirty minutes passed before the last trace of demonic blood was fully absorbed into Lucas's body. A dark aura slowly seeped out from him, thick and oppressive, unmistakably demonic in nature.
Garran watched in silence, a strange feeling settling in his chest. The Drakebane family had never forbidden demonic techniques, but no one had ever truly walked that path either. A handful of elders had studied such arts, yet only to counter them, not to embrace them.
And now, Lucas was doing exactly that.
"Shouldn't he have woken up by now?" Garran asked quietly, unease creeping into his voice. "Why hasn't he opened his eyes?"
"I can't say for sure," Darius replied. Then, without warning, he flicked his hand.
An unseen force struck Lucas.
His body slid forward, and vanished over the edge of the abyss.
Garran's expression snapped from concern to shock. "What did you just do?!" he barked.
"Relax," Darius said calmly. "That was the entire point of coming here in the first place. The blood has already been fully absorbed. He'll survive."
He glanced toward the chasm, interest flashing briefly in his eyes.
"He might even awaken something new. I'm… curious to see what becomes of him."
Garran stared into the abyss for a long moment, jaw tight.
Then he exhaled slowly, forcing himself to steady his breathing.
---
Lucas fell.
The abyss swallowed him whole, heat rushing up to meet him from below. Far beneath, molten magma churned like a living sea.
He kept falling.
There was no invisible force to stop him this time. No rejection. No resistance.
Then—
Flames erupted.
Fire surged upward and wrapped around his body, dragging him straight into the molten core. Lava swallowed him completely.
His clothes burned away in an instant, reduced to ash.
Yet his body did not scream.
The magma didn't scorch his flesh.
Instead, it flowed over him like liquid light, seeping into every pore. The heat was overwhelming, but not destructive. It felt cleansing, as though something old and impure was being stripped away layer by layer.
His skin glowed faintly.
Cracks of darkness peeled off him, dissolved by the fire.
Time lost meaning.
Ten minutes passed.
Lucas remained submerged, suspended in the sea of molten flame, unmoving, enduring.
Garran, Rowan, and Darius watched from above, all sharing the same thing, quiet curiosity.
But for Darius, it was something more.
This was the first time he had ever seen someone truly fall into the molten depths and not be rejected. No one had ever reached that far before.
His eyes narrowed, fixed on the abyss below.
He wanted to know what would happen next.
The magma suddenly stirred.
A shadow rose from beneath Lucas.
A tall, humanoid figure emerged from the molten depths, its body forged of darkness and ember. Two curved horns rose from its head, eyes burning like dying stars.
Without a word, it reached down.
And lifted Lucas from the magma.