The hidden door groaned as it slid open behind a massive, heavy bookshelf, revealing a flight of dark stone steps leading downward.
Cold, ghostly blue flames flickered along the walls, casting long, eerie shadows that gave the passage a sinister, mysterious atmosphere.
The Elder led the way, his pace steady. He cast a sideways glance at Elena, his eyes still shimmering with a mix of lingering shock and admiration. "Your aura is far more stable and refined than before you entered seclusion. 58.6% progress... impressive. Truly impressive. Your Strength has reached its peak, and your Combat Power has firmly crossed the 1350 mark. You finally meet the hard requirements to cast the Shade Mirage."
Elena straightened her back. The ring on her left ring finger caught the blue firelight, reflecting a cold, metallic glint as she gave a curt nod. "I couldn't have done it without your guidance and the secret arts you provided."
"Follow me." The Elder flicked his sleeve and led her down the stone steps.
They entered a massive underground chamber. The stone walls were carved with dense, ancient runes that pulsed with a strange, dark light. In the center of the floor lay a vast, complex double hexagram array. Faint ripples of Shadow Energy flowed through the grooves like water.
[System Notification]
[Area Information]
Name: The Umbral Sigil
Effect: Success rate of Umbral Discipline techniques +50%
History: Over 300 years old
The Elder came to a halt at the edge of the array, stroking his beard as he looked around. "I poured my heart and soul into building this chamber when I was young, specifically for high-level Umbral Discipline. With the boost from this secret array, the success rate of The Art of Severance increases by a full 50%. Given your damaged foundation, the risk of failure would be far too high without it."
Elena stared at the runes, sensing the high concentration of Umbral elements saturating the air. A flicker of heat flashed in her eyes. "As long as I can condense the clone, any risk is worth it."
"Spoken with true spirit!" the Elder praised, his face suddenly turning solemn. "The Art of Severance is an ancient secret art at the Forbidden level. It doesn't just consume a massive amount of Shadow Energy; it’s a devastating trial for the caster’s Spirit. Are you ready?"
"I am." Without a moment's hesitation, Elena stepped into the center of the array.
The Elder pulled twelve pitch-black candles from his robes. With a wave of his hand, they flew into precise positions at the twelve points of the array. A spark of Umbral fire danced on his fingertips, and the candles ignited instantly, sending up thin trails of dark smoke.
Next, he handed a yellowed, tattered piece of parchment to Elena. "This is the complete incantation for the Shade Mirage. Read it carefully. Commit every word to memory."
Elena took the parchment, her eyes scanning the text quickly.
[Shade Mirage - Complete Incantation]
═════════════════════════════
By my shadow, take a thousand forms.
By my power, manifest a physical shell.
Let Shadow be the bone, and the Void be the flesh.
Carry my will, and walk an independent path.
The Art of Severance—Activate!
═════════════════════════════
With a single glance, Elena burned those obscure, domineering lines into her mind.
She handed the parchment back, closed her eyes, and let out a long, slow breath.
In the space where her Mana Core had been destroyed, pure Shadow Energy now swirled. With a single thought, that latent energy erupted like a bursting dam, hurtling through her limbs and meridians before screaming out through every pore of her body.
[System Notification]
[Casting Status]
Consuming: Shadow Energy 200/300
Consuming: Spirit 80%
Status: Extreme Focus
Boom!
Sensing the surge of Shadow Energy, the double hexagram array reacted. Every ancient rune exploded with a blinding, dark radiance. The flames of the twelve candles roared upward, transforming from tiny flickers into half-meter-tall pillars of black fire.
The entire chamber was swallowed by a boundless Umbral Force. A cold, murderous chill blanketed everything.
Elena stood at the heart of the storm, her reddish-brown hair whipping wildly in the energy gale. Her hands moved into a complex seal, and her lips parted. A low, commanding voice echoed through the room:
"By my shadow, take a thousand forms..."
The moment the words left her lips, the mundane shadow beneath her feet twisted violently. It lunged upward from the smooth stone floor as if granted life, dancing in the air like black liquid.
Shadow Energy flooded into the writhing darkness. The blurry silhouette began to shrink and condense, stretching into a lean, humanoid outline.
The shape shifted from translucent to solid, the color deepening from a pale gray to a void-like pitch black.
[System Notification]
[Clone Condensation Progress]
10%... 20%... 30%...
Shadow Energy consuming...
Spirit consuming...
Beads of sweat rolled down Elena's forehead. Her face paled under the immense Spirit drain, but her eyes remained as sharp as a hawk's, unyielding.
"By my power, manifest a physical shell!"
As the second line of the incantation rang out, the black mass of the silhouette underwent a radical transformation. Defined facial features, long fingers, broad shoulders, and a tight waist emerged from the darkness.
"Let Shadow be the bone, and the Void be the flesh!"
The third line shattered the air.
Surging Shadow Energy hardened into resilient bone and corded muscle. The mysterious Strength of the void, guided by the array, acted as skin and tissue, layering over the frame.
The clone’s face became clearer by the second; even individual strands of hair began to manifest.
The progress bar skyrocketed. 50%... 70%... 85%!
However, the moment it hit 85%, the Shadow Energy in Elena’s body hit a sudden bottleneck. The rapid drain on her Spirit sent waves of stabbing, agonizing pain through her mind.
[System Notification]
[Critical Moment]
Progress: 85%
Remaining Shadow Energy: 50/300
Spirit: 20%
Status: Limit Reached
The Elder watched the center of the array, his fists clenched tight. "It's the final stretch! Hold on, girl!"
Elena gritted her teeth, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of her mouth.
Crippled? A waste? Betrayed? The humiliation of her family? Vincent’s disgusting face?
Flashbacks of her past tore through her mind like lightning. She carried too much shame, too much blood-debt, to fall now, right at the threshold.
"Condense... FOR ME!"
Elena let out a low growl from the depths of her soul, forcibly squeezing every remaining drop of Shadow Energy and Spirit from her body. She unleashed the final two lines in one breath:
"Carry my will, and walk an independent path..."
"The Art of Severance... ACTIVATE!"
Rumble!
A terrifying Umbral storm detonated within the chamber. A massive wave of energy swept outward, making the stone walls hum and vibrate. All twelve candles flared with a blinding black light before shattering into dust simultaneously.
The darkness swallowed the room, cutting off all sight.
A few moments later, the energy storm subsided. The black light receded toward the center of the array like a ebbing tide.
[System Notification]
[Success!]
Shade Mirage successfully cast!
Success Rate: 95% (Chamber Bonus +50%)
Clone Status: Stable
As the last of the light faded, a new, tall figure stood in the center of the array.
It was a young man, nearly 185 centimeters tall. He was lean and muscular, dressed in a well-tailored suit of pitch-black combat gear. Long black hair fell to his shoulders, and his sharp, chiseled features looked like a masterpiece carved by a god.
He stood perfectly still, eyes closed, radiating a chilling Umbral aura that made the heart race.
The Elder’s eyes widened, and he sucked in a sharp breath. His voice trembled with sheer shock. "It... it actually worked? This level of stability... this flawless physical manifestation... it’s perfect!"
The clone was born. But he was not yet bound by the laws and classes of this world.
Pushing back his shock, the Elder stepped forward and spoke in a deep tone, "Elena, now! This is the most critical step—the Class Awakening!"
"Before the clone fully awakens, the body will naturally resonate with the laws of the world to randomly draw a matching class. The grade of the class depends entirely on the Shadow Affinity you gave him, his physical cultivation progress, and your own luck!"
As he spoke, a phantom light of immense power erupted from within the clone’s body.
[System Notification]
[Class Selection Mechanism]
Base Probabilities:
- D-Rank: 40%
- C-Rank: 30%
- B-Rank: 20%
- A-Rank: 8%
- S-Rank: 2%
Elena's Bonuses:
- Shadow Affinity Lv.2: +15% High-Tier Chance
- Shadow Breathing (58.6%): +20% High-Tier Chance
- Heart of Chronos Blessing: +10% High-Tier Chance
Final Probabilities:
- S-Rank: 47%
- SS-Rank: 28%
- SSS-Rank: 5%
Hum—!
A massive, illusory roulette wheel descended from the void above the clone. It was constructed of pure law-runes, divided into countless sections etched with the names of powerful and rare classes: Shadowblade, Arcanist, Berserker, Paladin... and in the smallest, central core, a brilliant light representing the rarest vocations shimmered.
[System Notification]
[Class Awakening Commencing]
Roulette spinning...
Speed: Extreme
The massive wheel began to spin at a speed the eye could barely follow.
Colors blurred, and light splattered across the room.
Elena looked up, her gaze locked onto the spinning wheel, her breath held tight. Beside her, the Elder rubbed his hands together, refusing to blink.
The wheel began to slow.
The pointer swept past the massive C-Rank and B-Rank sections without stopping, gliding directly into the A-Rank zone.
It slowed further, but continued its steady march. It crossed the A-Rank border and rolled into the golden glow of the S-Rank zone!
The Elder’s heart leaped into his throat. "S-Rank! Is it going to stop at S-Rank?!"
But the pointer didn't stop. With agonizing slowness, it crested the boundary of the S-Rank section and, with a soft click, locked firmly into a mysterious area radiating a noble, void-black light.
The SS-Rank zone.
Boom!
A brilliant purple light exploded throughout the underground chamber.
[System Notification]
[Congratulations!]
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Draw Result: SS-Rank Class!
Class Name: [Shadow Spellblade]
Grade: SS-Rank (Legendary)
Type: Spellblade Archetype (Dual Magic & Sword Mastery)
Rarity: Fewer than 100 people on the continent possess this class!
Your Luck: Excellent!
The massive wheel shattered into billions of radiant, void-black shards of light that rained down, pouring into the clone’s body.
Boom!
The clone’s presence surged exponentially. What was once a deathly silence transformed into a towering wave of killing intent and pressure.
The clone’s eyes snapped open.
They were deep, like the stars in the cosmos, flashing with a cold purple light. There was no confusion in his gaze, only absolute calm, logic, and a razor-sharp edge.
He turned slowly, his deep purple eyes reflecting Elena’s beautiful, pale face.
A second later, the clone dropped to one knee, arm across his chest in a perfect knightly salute, and lowered his head.
His voice was deep and resonant, possessing the cold texture of a dark lord.
"Master."
Elena blinked, caught off guard. "You... you actually have independent speech?"
The clone looked up, his gaze loyal and unwavering. "I possess full cognitive functions and independent consciousness, Master. However, every ounce of will and instinct in my soul exists only to obey you. Your command is the highest law of my life."
The Elder stroked his beard and laughed loudly, his eyes full of wonder. "Miraculous! Simply miraculous! A perfect autonomous consciousness with absolute soul loyalty. Elena, though you are two people, you share the same soul origin. Your consciousnesses can link seamlessly at any time!"
Elena looked at the perfect body she had created with her own hands, a surge of pride and ambition rising within her.
"Rise," Elena said, her eyes fixed on him. "From this day forward, your name is... Zephyr."
The clone stood tall, his back as straight as a sword. "Zephyr awaits your orders!"
The Elder stepped forward eagerly, his eyes glowing with intense mana as he scanned Zephyr. "Quickly! Let me see what kind of world-shaking initial stats this SS-Rank 'Shadow Spellblade' possesses!"
As the Elder’s mana poured in, a massive, holographic purple panel expanded in the center of the room.
[System Notification]
[Zephyr - Full Status]
═════════════════════════════
Basic Info:
Name: Zephyr
Gender: Male
Class: Shadow Spellblade (SS-Rank)
Level: 3 (Newborn avatar automatically gains Level 3)
Experience: 0 / 350
═════════════════════════════
Attributes: (SSS-Rank Growth Rate!)
STR: 45
AGI: 82 ★★★ (Primary)
VIT: 40
INT: 55
SPR: 48
LUK: 24
═════════════════════════════
Combat Stats:
HP: 400 / 400
MP: 550 / 550
Physical Attack: 135
Magic Attack: 95
Critical Rate: 41%
Evasion Rate: 48%
Movement Speed: 172%
Combat Power: 2050
═════════════════════════════
Class Traits:
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
✦ [Spellblade Fusion] (Passive)
Physical Damage +30%, Magic Damage +30%
Allows simultaneous use of Sword Arts and Magic.
✦ [Shadowweave Control] (Passive)
Umbral Discipline Damage +50%
Ignores 20% of enemy Magic Defense.
✦ [Arcane Edge] (Passive)
Basic attacks deal bonus magic damage.
Restores 1% MP per hit.
✦ [Duskborn Ascendancy] (Passive)
In Night/Darkness: All Stats +50%
No penalties during the day (Unique).
═════════════════════════════
Skill List:
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Active Skills:
[Shadowstrike] Lv.1 (Epic)
Cost: 100 MP
Effect: Blink behind target, dealing 300% damage.
Bonus: Stuns target for 1s.
Cooldown: 15s.
[Spellsteel Tempest] Lv.1 (Epic)
Cost: 180 MP
Effect: 7 consecutive slashes, 180% damage each.
Final Hit: 300% damage + Knockup.
Cooldown: 25s.
[Shadowrealm Dominion] Lv.1 (Legendary)
Cost: 350 MP
Effect: Creates 40m Umbral Dominion for 12s.
Within Field:
- Enemies: Vision -90%, Speed -40%, Magic Def -30%.
- Allies: Damage +60%, Evasion +30%.
Cooldown: 60s.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Passive Skills:
[Bladework Mastery] Lv.MAX
Attack Speed +40%, Sword Damage +50%.
[Arcane Affinity] Lv.3
Casting Speed +30%, MP Cost -15%.
[Combat Instinct] (Class Exclusive)
Automatically predicts enemy attack trajectories.
Evasion Rate +20%.
═════════════════════════════
Equipment: All Slots Empty.
Title: [Shadow Spellblade] (Class Default)
Effect: Intimidation +150% in Umbral environments.
When the magnificent status panel finished displaying, even the Elder, with all his vast experience, couldn't help but twitch his cheek in disbelief.
"This... this is impossible!"
The Elder pointed at the numbers, his voice cracking slightly. "He's only Level 3! A Level 3 clone, just awakened, and his Combat Power is 2050?!"
"Do you know what 2050 means? Even among the senior elites of the Academy, many veteran A-Rank adventurers barely reach that! And he is just a newborn clone!"
"And these traits... 'Spellblade Fusion,' 'Duskborn Ascendancy'... they’re all top-tier combat passives! His active skills are Epic and Legendary right out of the gate! With an SSS-Rank growth rate... he is a natural-born killing machine!"
The Elder’s gaze toward Elena was filled with shock and fervor.
Elena was equally exhilarated as she looked at the tall, cold figure of Zephyr. 2050 Combat Power! Not only did it far exceed her own 1350, it utterly crushed that bastard Vincent, who had just barely crossed 1500!
This was the true horror of The Art of Severance.
"Elena," the Elder said, regaining his composure. "Try the Spirit link. It’s the core ability of this technique."
Elena took a deep breath and slowly closed her eyes.
She sent a sliver of her consciousness down the unbreakable soul bond.
Hum—!
In the next moment, something wonderful happened.
Elena’s vision suddenly expanded. She "saw" a different perspective—a view from a higher vantage point.
In that field of vision, she saw a young girl with reddish-brown hair standing in a tight combat suit. The girl’s eyes were closed, her face slightly pale.
It was herself.
She was looking at herself through Zephyr’s eyes!
More than that, Zephyr’s hyper-acute hearing, the sensation of air moving against his skin, and the vast, ocean-like magic and martial power within him all fed back into Elena’s mind without reservation.
Two perspectives, two sets of senses, overlapping perfectly and seamlessly.
Elena opened her eyes, and Zephyr opened his at the exact same moment.
The two looked at each other and smiled, their movements and expressions perfectly synchronized.
"It’s incredible..." Elena whispered in awe. "No delay at all. It feels like I just gained a much stronger body!"
The Elder smiled warmly. "You are one, yet two independent individuals. Even if you are thousands of miles apart, you can attach your consciousness to him for battle, or let him walk the world in your stead!"
Elena clenched her fist, feeling the terrifying support her clone provided. The shadows in her heart vanished.
Vincent? House Nocturne? Celestia Arcane Academy?
You thought you could cripple me, grind me into the mud, and keep me there forever?
You have no idea what kind of heaven-defying power I now possess.
Elena’s thoughts flickered, and the latest status of both characters appeared clearly in her mind:
[System Notification]
[Status Update - Dual Character Panel]
[Elena Nocturne (Main Body)]
- Status: Abandoned Eldest Daughter of House Nocturne
- Class: Shadowdancer (S-Rank · Crippled)
- Level: 1
- HP: 60 / 60
- MP: 0 / 0
- Shadow Energy: 68 / 300
- Combat Power: 1350
- Skills: Shadow Breathing (58.6%)
- Equipment: [Shadowfang Dagger] (Blue)
- Status: [Dual Identity Preparation]
[Zephyr (Clone)]
- Status: Independent Physical Avatar
- Class: Shadow Spellblade (SS-Rank)
- Level: 3
- HP: 400 / 400
- MP: 550 / 550
- Combat Power: 2050
- Skills: 3 Actives (Epic/Legendary) + 3 Passives
- Status: [Fully Awakened · Standing By]
Looking at the number 2050, the corner of Elena’s mouth curled into a cold, sharp arc.
The curtain was about to rise on The Centennial Gauntlet.
All you high-and-mighty hunters and abusers... are you ready for the Reaper's arrival?