C168 — Shards of Eldritch “Oho, what was it again? The Kraken Slayer Sword?” Pardoth’s voice carried amusement as he looked upon the massive blade, the greatsword gleaming faintly with the remnants of battles long past, its edges nicked and worn like an ancient relic that had endured centuries of carnage and chaos, yet still remained formidable and alive with latent energy. Kael ignored the taunt entirely. The sword was sacred to him, a gift bestowed by Athena herself, infused with power and purpose, a tangible reminder of promises made and battles yet to come. He raised the greatsword and swung it downward with lethal intent, the air itself twisting and groaning in response to the movement, a prelude to a strike meant to end the fight in an instant. Pardoth, however, sidestepped with effortless boredom etched across his features, making it clear that victory would not come so easily. Before Kael could strike again, a pair of monstrous, sinewy tentacles erupted violently from the f

C170 Crimson Questions As Meph's words settled inside his mind like a quiet weight that carried more meaning than the casual tone suggested, the illusion that had wrapped itself around the space dissolved instantly, the carefully woven strands of mana dispersing into the air like invisible dust that had finally lost the will to remain together. Kael quietly acknowledged the shift while studying the fading mana residue with the calm attention of someone who had grown used to witnessing impossible phenomena. It looks like he has a serious side to him too, Kael thought to himself with a silent internal applause that carried equal parts amusement and cautious respect. From everything he had observed about Meph so far, he had originally assumed that the strange city lord was nothing more than an unpredictable trickster, the kind of individual who treated reality like a toy box while ignoring the existence of anyone unfortunate enough to share the same space with him. Yet the to

C172 — Chaos at the DoorMeph’s POV“I wonder what I should prepare for Lily today?” Meph asked himself while standing in the soft soil of his backyard, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he examined the rows of crops he had personally cultivated for her sake. The vegetables responded to his presence like obedient soldiers, stems straightening and leaves unfurling as faint threads of mana seeped into them under his guidance. For him, food had always been an afterthought, a trivial indulgence compared to the dense, intoxicating taste of mana itself, which filled him far more completely than any mortal dish ever could. Lily, however, did not share that preference, and he had long since accepted that nurturing her required attention to simpler, more human needs.The thought had barely formed in his mind when he sensed it, a minute fluctuation in mana, delicate yet distinct, rising from the direction of the wooden house he had constructed for her. The structure stood at the center of hi

C174White Cube“Lilith, you did not use mana again, did you,” Meph asked, and although his voice remained steady, exhaustion clung to it like dust that refused to settle.He had relived this confrontation so many times that the sequence had carved itself into his instincts. The intruder arrived. Meph intercepted him. The battle unfolded with minor variations in technique and timing. The world buckled. Then the cycle reset. Every repetition drained something from him, a thin layer of resilience stripped away, while the intruder seemed untouched by fatigue. If immortality had a scent, it would be this: the stench of endless stamina, of wounds that meant nothing, of time that refused to collect interest.Lilith, however, had changed.She had learned how to regulate her mana flow properly. At first she leaked energy the way cracked glass leaks light, uncontrolled and hazardous. Now her mana channels aligned with intention. She directed her c

C176: The Third Door‘What is this?’Kael stood before three translucent system prompts that hovered in the air like divine verdicts waiting to be acknowledged. Each panel radiated a distinct aura, not merely visual but metaphysical, pressing against his senses with subtle differences in temperature and density. The first glowed with a steady white luminance, the second pulsed with a dark crimson undertone that seemed to absorb surrounding light, and the third shimmered with a calm, silvery brilliance that felt neither warm nor cold, yet carried a pressure unlike the others.The words inscribed upon them were clear, yet the implications behind them were anything but simple.[Path of Light]Remain as you are, harnessing the mana of the first Light. No racial changes are made, and no power ups are granted. You can evolve into a higher being with this path.[Path of Darkness]Succumb to your emotions and transform