Silence fell back into the room, almost suffocating.The orb still floated before him.
Kael watched it, motionless.
The weapon had not fallen.It was born there, in the air, between the vibrations of space.
A matte black chain had formed, link by link, shifting, elusive —at the end of which floated a curved blade.
Not a sickle.Not a scythe.
Something in-between.Undefined.
Almost... discordant.
It seemed to be waiting.
When he stretched out his hand,it wrapped around his arm.
Not violently.But with an almost organic precision.
A warm, pulsing contact.A reversed breath, as if the object was analyzing him.
Then a discreet click —imperceptible to others —like a cosmic signature.
The chain tightened around his wrist,and the blade descended, suspended.
Someone whispered, further away:— That's not normal.
Adam frowned.
Gravyor burst into a nervous laugh.— I don't want that kind of crap.
Even Veda — usually impassive — stepped back.— It looks... alive.
Kael said nothing.
But he felt something.A tremor on his skin.A response in his blood.
And the Guide's gaze fixed on him.Long.Too long.
One phrase escaped, cold, emotionless:— Congratulations. You are the first to awaken a spiritual weapon. To be more precise... your weapon is, in a way, alive.
Then... nothing more.
The Guide turned his eyes away.
Silence didn't fully return.It transformed.
A diffuse murmur, made of sighs, avoided glances, barely whispered words.
Kael had not moved.
His arm still chained,the blade hanging at the end of the kusarigama seemed to be watching him.
— Alive... seriously?Veda breathed, her gaze fleeing.
Her orb had split,projecting before her a composite bow of ash black,ornamented with small moving mechanical sculptures.
But it had neither visible string...nor apparent arrow.
Just an impulse.And a shiver when she stared too long.
— I don't know about you, but that's not normal, huh,Gravyor threw.
His weapon — or what could be called that —took the shape of two gnarled gloves,almost primitive,made of pale leather and bone shards.
As soon as he put them on,a network of dark lines ran along his arms to the shoulder.
He burst out a brief, tense laugh.— If it eats my arm, I swear...
Further away, Narcisse — the high-class girl —jumped back from the weapon that had chosen her.
A sphere of liquid glass,levitating at forehead height.
Fragments of alchemical symbols danced silently within.
— It's not a weapon,it's a puzzle!
I'm here to cast spells, not... interact with that thing.
Kiyoshi, the monk, remained silent.
At his feet: a finely sculpted daibo, lying horizontally,encircled by a ring of bells that did not chime.
He joined his palms, slightly bowed his head,but did not yet touch the weapon.
— What is this mess...muttered Adam through his teeth.
His hands held two twin daggers,thin, perfectly symmetrical.
But...he couldn't separate them.
A fine invisible chain seemed to hold them linked as long as he stared at them.And as soon as he looked away, they vibrated.
He looked at Kael.Then the Guide.Then Kael again.
His fingers clenched.
The Guide, standing at the center,let a silent answer hang.
He let silence settle,giving time for everyone to tame — or dread — their new tool.
Then he spoke.
In a neutral tone,as if dictating a mathematical rule:
— The use of a weapon does not guarantee mastery.
There was a brief shiver in the room.
— What you hold in your hands is the raw reflection of your potential.Nothing more.Nothing less.
He slowly raised his right hand.
Three gloved fingers rose.
A little reminder for those with major comprehension problems,or more commonly called "idiot" or "moron" in your language.
So:
— For each floor: three types of objectives.
Main objective: allows you to advance.Secondary objective: enriches you.Hidden objective: transcends... or destroys.
His arm dropped, sharply.
— If you complete a floor with all objectives completed on the first try,you will receive a special reward...
A very slight smile traced his voice,imperceptible beneath his mask.
— ...and a hint for the hidden objective of the next level.
He stepped towards the massive arch at the back of the room.
— This level is supposed to be a sanctuary.No enemy.No trap.
He turned his head slightly.
— Yet...
Silence.
— It also contains a hidden objective.
No one moved.
— Free for you to seek it.Or to ignore it.
His voice slowed.
— But...I advise you not to touch what you do not understand.
The silence stretched.Too long.Almost artificially.
Then...
— Uh... what is this thing?
A young man, a little too nervous,had approached a glowing orb,floating a few meters from the center.
It pulsed slowly,enclosed in a nearly invisible glass cage.
Its surface shone like contained ember,but without heat.
— It's weird, right?Looks like... a trophy?
He leaned over.The red light reflected in his eyes.
The Guide did not move.Not a word.Not a gesture.Just... absolute stillness.
— It's not marked on the map...
Another voice, farther away,this time a girl's.
She approached.Then retreated almost immediately.
— It gives me goosebumps.
But the young man,had no caution.No respect.
He reached out.Then struck.
A sharp hit.
The sphere cracked.
The Guide slowly turned his head towards him.
In a neutral tone,almost weary:
— Hidden objective activated.
The sphere exploded.
A black breath swept the immense room.
The ground vibrated.The reflective walls warped,then... changed color.
From white.To gray.Then dark red.
Cries burst out.Some stepped back.Others screamed without understanding.
The very air became heavier.Denser.
A black circle drew beneath each of them.
Kael tried to move — in vain.His legs refused to obey.A dull vertigo grew in his chest.
The Guide slowly raised his arms.
His cloak rippled,as if saluting an ancient forgotten ritual.
— Welcome to the tutorial...
A sigh.
— ...Hell mode.Also known as the Nine Circles.
He bowed.Slowly.Almost ceremonially.
— Good luck, my little fledglings.
The door of the first transformed floor began to pulse.
An invisible force began to pull them,one by one.
Even the strongest,even the most seasoned,could not resist.
They struggled.In vain.
One by one,they were sucked in.
As if swallowed by an infernal vortex.
And Hell,finally,swallowed them.
In the apartment,silence weighed.
The world seemed frozen.
A faint smell of sulfurslipped into the air.
Then,without warning,Thana staggered.
She raised her eyes.
Her gaze hardened.— He... just crossed the boundary.
An invisible crack ran through her body.
Her feet crumbled,then her legs.
Her body slowly disintegratedinto volcanic ashes,swept toward a fixed point.
A voice,barely audible,growled in the empty apartment:— Tch... that idiot went to Hell without me or what...?
She completely disappeared.
Absorbed.Called back.Summoned.
Toward him.
Preview: 42nd Echo – Awakening & Corruption
He opened his eyes.
A taste of iron in his mouth.
The air...dry, burning, saturated with distant screams.
Kael tried to stand.He barely managed.
— There you are again,muttered a voice behind him.
He turned around.
Thana slowly emerged from an ash vortex,as if rebuilt around a core of black light.
Her eyes shone.Her hair floated like underwater.And her fingers still smoked.
— You're really going to have to stop doing that without me.
It's annoying.