[Stage 2 Advancement – Severance]
Description:
All other elements are distractions, remnants of a world you don't belong to. The Eternal Night does not share. The deeper you walk, the more exclusive your bond must become.
Requirement:
Permanently abandon all affinity and access to elements other than [Shadow] and [Darkness].
Cleanse all elemental powers except [Shadow] and [Darkness] from your body, and stored energies.
Rewards:
Mastery over [Shadow] is greatly enhanced.
Shade shared the description with Triple-Seven before focusing on his body.
'All my affinities are C-Tier, and getting this class lowered my affinity with [Light] to F-Tier.'
He looked around, watching the elements fly and move in the air around him. There were dozens of elements, including fire, wind, lightning, earth, but an overabundance of [Shadow] dominated them now.
'I also passively stored energy in my body... Time to get rid of everything.'
His Stage 2 Advancement panel still open, Shade took a deep breath and selected the option to advance his class.
The world around him seemed to stop. The elements that had always danced at the edge of his perception slowly lost their glow. One by one, they dimmed and drifted away. Their connection to him snapped, like bridges collapsing behind him.
The world darkened. The colors disappeared. And with them, something inside him went silent.
He felt a sense of loss, the sudden absence of what he had long grown used to sensing.
'All of my affinities are gone. This is the worst feeling…'
Then, without warning, came the pain. The elements stored in his body revolted.
[Fire], which he had used to temper his body, burned its way out of his bloodstream, scorching his veins before leaving through his pores.
One after another, every element he had absorbed, wind, water, earth, lightning, space was rejected, forcibly ejected.
His body twisted and trembled under the pressure of the 'cleansing'. He fell to one knee, groaning.
When it came to [Light], the rejection was even worse. His entire body shook as the final strands of [Light] were filtered out like poison.
A few minutes later, only two elements remained: [Shadow] and [Darkness].
A series of notifications appeared in his vision.
[Elemental Purge Complete.]
[All elemental affinities, excluding Shadow and Darkness, have been erased.]
[You have reached A-tier affinity with the [Darkness] element.]
[You have reached SSS-tier affinity with the [Shadow] element.]
[Stage 2 Advancement Requirements Fulfilled.]
Shade opened his eyes slowly.
The world felt quieter now. Heavier and colder but also clearer. [Shadow] clung to him like a second skin, dancing excitedly around his body. [Darkness] pulsed gently through his blood, no longer drowned in a sea of other elements.
He turned toward Triple-Seven and immediately grimaced. The sunlight breaking through the trees behind his brother hurt his eyes.
'Just staring at it is painful… Won't I become a burden in battles during the day from now on? I wonder if this class is worth it.'
He raised his hand, and a wave of [Darkness] extended outward, replacing the light in the area with darkness.
Triple-Seven looked his way and smiled. "You look so cool. I'm almost jealous. Did you advance to Stage 2?"
Shade's frown faded. "I did. Want to see the new skills?"
Triple-Seven shook his head. "That's not what we're here for. Push for Stage 3, 4, and beyond. Sacrifice everything. We need to find out the limits of mythic classes."
Shade snorted, remembering the purpose behind this painful path.
'Right. He doesn't care about this specific class, he cares about the class system. About whether classes should be pushed to the limit, and merged with other growth paths.'
He sighed and reopened the Class Panel.
A new entry had appeared beneath Stage 2.
[Stage 3 Advancement – Identity]
He scanned the requirements.
'It wants me to abandon all classless skills and abilities not directly tied to [Shadow] or [Darkness]... Expected, but still unpleasant.'
A long list unfolded before him. Thousands of skills. Classless skills earned over several lives and trials, and many inherited through his brothers' memories. Some were obscure passives he'd never used in combat; others were vital in all his lives. Body forging skills, energy manipulation skills, skills related to mental power. There was everything. All were part of what made him strong.
He had gone through a similar purge once before, when training with another mythic class, but he had chosen to keep most of what he needed in combat.
'Every skill I delete will deepen my connection with [Shadow] and [Darkness], and raise my power further…'
Turning toward Triple-Seven, he asked, "The class wants everything. What do you want me to keep?"
Triple-Seven was unusually quiet. After a few seconds, he gave a shrug. "You'll get them all back when you reset. Give it everything."
Shade raised an eyebrow. "Even the ultimate-rated ones?"
"It doesn't matter," Triple-Seven said without hesitation. "Delete everything."
Shade exhaled, staring at the list one last time. Then, with a thought, he selected all skills for deletion, everything except [Soulcraft].
The moment he confirmed the purge, something pressed down on him.
His chest tightened. His limbs refused to move. It felt like suffocating in silence.
Opening his Profile, he watched helplessly as the skill list emptied itself, line by line. Dozens gone. Hundreds. Then thousands.
Active and passive alike were wiped clean, until only a short list of class-related skills remained.
And yet… he still remembered them.
'I can still remember how to use them. Every skill. Every ability.'
But the moment he tried to recreate one, something slammed shut inside him.
It wasn't painful, but a restriction had appeared. Like metal bars falling into place. The knowledge was there, vivid and complete… but sealed. Inaccessible.
'The system can do whatever it wants with us…' He thought.
As he thought of the things he lost, a wave of power surged from deep within him. His affinity with [Darkness] soared. [Shadow] responded in turn, coming alive.
[You have reached SS-tier affinity with the [Darkness] element.]
[You have reached EX-tier affinity with the [Shadow] element.]
Raising his hand, Shade swung it slowly to the side.
A blade formed from solid shadow, sharpened by his intent.
He turned toward a pile of metal blocks that Triple-Seven had created for testing.
With a flick of the blade, he sliced through them cleanly.
There was no impact or any recoil. The dark blade passed through them effortlessly.
'This feels amazing…' he thought, watching metal fall apart in perfect halves.
A short distance away, Triple-Seven narrowed his eyes, then grinned.
"… That's not bad," he said. "This feels like Omega 20 power."
Shade nodded slowly, still focused on the shadow at the tip of his hand. "And I'm still level 10."
The temptation to explore his new abilities tugged at him, and he opened the interface to check what had unlocked.
But Triple-Seven cut in again. "Keep pushing. Stage Three isn't enough."
Shade frowned slightly, but didn't complain. He closed the list and scrolled further down.
Another entry had appeared.
[Stage 4 Advancement – Formless]
Description: Flesh is a cage, a burden that ties you. The Eternal Night Harbinger needs no physical body.
Requirement: Abandon your physical form. You can no longer wear armor, wield weapons, or use equipment that relies on physical contact. Your body power will fade away.
Shade clenched his jaw as he read the requirement.
'So that's what it wants next… My body. Am I supposed to give up on body forging and lose all of my physical power?'
He looked down at his hands, at the armor wrapping his frame, the accessories, the boots. All of it would become useless from here on out.
With a thought, he unequipped everything, sending it into his [Soul Palace]. He was left in a simple white shirt and jeans.
Taking a slow breath, he opened the advancement panel again and selected [Confirm].
A beam of pale light descended from the sky and passed through his body. His clothes disintegrated into ash.
Then the transformation began.
His bones evaporated, his muscles collapsed and were reshaped as shadow. His body darkened, then turned translucent.
He dropped to one knee, gasping, as his heart stopped.
After a few moments, a new heart ignited in his chest. A heart without flesh, blood or mana. It was made from something darker and it pulsed with shadows.
[Stage 4 Advancement Requirements Fulfilled.]
[Your body is no longer bound by flesh.]
[You can no longer wear gear, armor, or wield weapons.]
[Your species has changed to: Shadow Vessel.]
Shade opened his eyes and looked down. His form remained vaguely humanoid, but nothing about it felt real anymore.
Opening his Profile Status, he wasn't surprised to see that his body no longer had any stats related physical power.
Still floating above the ground, he stared at his hands. His fingers blurred at the edges, closer to a gas than a solid.
Triple-Seven, caught off guard, blinked. "Maybe use your elements to make some clothes. I can see your little monsieur."
Shade glanced down—and sighed. A small amount of [Shadow] and [Darkness] wrapped around himself, forming a long cloak that covered his new body.
He didn't answer Triple-Seven's teasing, nor did he pause. He immediately advanced again.
By the time he finished his Stage 5 advancement, he spoke in a flat tone:
"This one required me to abandon all allies. I've lost access to the friend list. I can't join parties, raid groups, or receive buffs… or give any." His voice stayed calm, but a hint of frustration could be noticed. "In exchange, the shadows and darkness now assist me passively. It's similar to Sora's [Mana Evolution]. My energy reserves are endless, and are always regenerating."