[System Alert]
[Damage registered: 65%]
[Soul Energy (S.E): 45%]
Unlike Predator's Instinct, which granted him a sharp but stable boost for ten minutes, Rage Mode devoured his soul energy like wildfire, fifteen percent a minute.
And against the Warden, even that raging power felt like throwing stones at a fortress. The thing's swordsmanship wasn't just brutal; it was beautiful in its precision. Each swing carved through the air with ancient, merciless grace.
"Fuck!" Stephan barked, teeth gritted against pain and panic.
He ducked low, the Warden's soul‑flame blade hissing past, so close he felt its cold burn on his scalp.
Without missing a breath, he spun the dagger around his fingers in a reckless flourish, channeling raw fury into motion. Then, muscles screaming, he lunged and drove the blade toward the Warden's midsection.
The Warden's cloaked body twisted sideways, sword ready to cleave down in answer, but Stephan was already turning, pivoting on his heel, and slammed a vicious kick into its ribs.
The impact cracked like stone splitting. The Warden staggered, skidding across the black gravel before catching itself, cloak swirling around its feet. It landed silent and balanced, burning azure eyes never leaving him.
Chest heaving, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, Stephan spat onto the dust‑caked floor.
"That didn't help, did it?" he rasped, voice ragged with exhaustion and dark amusement.
"Tough motherfucker," he hissed, tasting iron on his tongue.
Stephan kept his stance low, dagger trembling faintly in his bruised grip.He waited.
The Warden didn't charge.
Instead, it raised its blade, slowly, until the azure soul‑flame hissed along the steel, swirling in liquid patterns of cold fire. The silent air seemed to draw inward, pulled by that gathering power.
Stephan's breath caught, sweat beading on his brow despite the cold.
"What the fuck does it plan to do…" he muttered, voice low and hoarse, the tension crawling like ice up his spine.
The flame along the blade coiled outward, twisting into a jagged whip of pale blue fire. The Warden's empty gaze locked onto him. Then it flicked its wrist, and the soul‑flame lashed forward, lengthening in an instant.
The whip of azure flame cracked through the air faster than sight.
Stephan tried to pivot away, but the burning tip raked across his chest. The pain was cold at first, then flared into searing agony, like frostbite turned to molten glass.
[System Alert]
[Damage Registered: 71%]
[Status: Deep Burn, Chest | Movement Impaired | Bleeding Intensified]
Teeth clenched, vision swimming, Stephan staggered back, smoke rising from the blackened cut across his ribs. His breath came ragged and shallow, each inhale scraping his throat raw.
The Warden lowered its blade again, soul‑flame still flickering along the edge, as if daring him to close the distance.
Stephan spat blood, crimson on black gravel. His glare sharpened, rage pulsing like a second heartbeat beneath scorched skin.
"What the hell was that move?" he rasped, voice rough as torn cloth.
"If it hits me again, then I'm a goner."
[System Alert: Skill Analysis]
[Identified Skill: Soul‑Flame Blade (Variant: Whip Lash)]
[Type: Mid‑range spectral attack
Properties:]
[•Soul‑flame extends blade reach unpredictably (approx. +2–3 meters)
•Causes lingering spectral burns that worsen over time
•Highly reactive to user's intent; can change arc mid‑strike
•Defensive function: can parry at unexpected angles]
[Tactical Note:]
[•Avoid direct frontal engagement when flame is active
• Attack during skill cooldown (estimated: 6-8 seconds)
• Disrupt concentration by forcing rapid close‑quarters pressure]
Stephan's vision flickered as the words traced across the inside of his mind.
"So it does have a cooldown… and it burns longer than it cuts," he rasped, wiping the blood from his chin. His grip on the dagger tightened, crimson cracks still pulsing along his arm.
"Then all I need," he muttered under his breath, "is to survive the next swing… and get in close before it recasts."
[System Alert: Aggressive Counter‑Strategy Recommended]
[Warning: High risk of critical injury. Soul Energy consumption may spike.]
[Suggested Tactics:]
•Close‑Quarter Overwhelm: Rush inside the soul‑flame's extended arc before it can finish materializing. Attack relentlessly to keep the Warden on defense.
•Feint & Disrupt: Force it to trigger Soul‑Flame Blade prematurely, then pivot and attack its blind side.
•Shadow Break: Use stored soul energy to momentarily blind the Warden's spectral sight; window: -0.8 seconds.
•Precision Strike: Target the flame‑bound joint at the Warden's wrist. Damage here may destabilize the soul‑flame channel.
[Estimated Soul Energy Cost:]
[•Additional -10% for shadow disruption
•Risk of injury: Severe]
[System Note:]
["Victory is possible only through absolute aggression. Defensive tactics will fail against a superior blade."]
Stephan's heart hammered in his chest, molten cracks of rage throbbing along his veins. "Absolute aggression, huh…?" he rasped, bloodied grin curling across his face.
"Alright then… let's see how you handle me at my worst."
The shadows at his back coiled tighter, black smoke rolling off his shoulders as he stepped forward, eyes blazing.
Stephan's chest heaved, breath scraping raw through blood and broken ribs.The Warden raised its burning sword higher, soul‑flame curling and twisting in hypnotic azure arcs, lengthening the blade's reach like a serpent ready to strike.
[System Alert: Engage Counter‑Strategy- High Risk Confirmed.]
Shadows coiled tight around Stephan's limbs, his molten veins flaring hotter, the red cracks on his skin pulsing with every furious heartbeat.
"Fuck it… absolute aggression, right?" he hissed, voice ragged, teeth bared in a grin that hurt to wear.
The Warden's spectral gaze narrowed. The soul‑flame rippled, an omen of the strike to come.
Stephan moved.
A blur of shadow and rage, he lunged low under the sweeping arc, cloak snapping back like torn wings. The burning edge seared the air a finger's breadth from his scalp, scorching hair and flesh, but he didn't flinch.
[Damage registered: 75% – Superficial burn, right shoulder.]
Pain bit deep, but rage drowned it to a distant roar. His dagger traced a vicious crescent toward the Warden's side. The Warden twisted, the flame‑lengthening blade curling to meet him.
Stephan dropped lower still, almost scraping stone, shadows swirling to hide his true angle. With a savage pivot, he launched upward, slamming his shoulder into the Warden's chest, off‑balancing it.
"Shadow Break!"
Black mist exploded from his palm, a flash of soul‑burning energy that blinded the Warden's spectral sight for a heartbeat.
[Soul Energy –10% | Remaining: 35%]
"Now!"
His dagger plunged forward, aimed for the flickering joint at the Warden's wrist where the soul‑flame curled thickest. The blade bit deep, sparks and burning mist spat outward as corrupted steel met bound spirit.
A cold hiss echoed from the Warden as the soul‑flame wavered, flickering wildly.
Stephan twisted the dagger hard, driving the point deeper, muscles screaming with effort.
"FALL, DAMN YOU!"
The Warden wrenched back, sword swinging in a wild, desperate arc. Stephan raised his free arm to block, the soul‑flame scored a burning gash across his forearm, the smell of charred flesh choking him.
[Damage registered: 79% | Severe burn, left forearm.]
Pain spiked sharp enough to blind him, but through the blur, he saw the soul‑flame stutter, dimming around the Warden's blade.
Its spectral eyes met his, no longer perfectly calm, a flicker of primal instinct: survival.
Stephan's red‑lit gaze blazed hotter, molten cracks crawling up his neck.
"I won't let you recover...!"
With a guttural roar, he pressed the attack: a savage, relentless chain of stabs and slashes, dagger howling through the air, each strike fueled by fury and darkness, each movement risking everything to keep the Warden on its heels.
Stone cracked underfoot. Shadows scattered in wild spirals. The ruined hall rang with the vicious dance of soul‑flame against dark steel, every heartbeat a gamble between life and death.
In that moment, pain meant nothing. Only the will to bring the Warden down, no matter the cost.
For a heartbeat, Stephan saw the flicker, the dimming flame sputtering around the Warden's blade, the shadows whispering that maybe victory was in reach.
His dagger pressed deeper, black veins pulsing brighter across his arm, molten cracks crawling toward his jaw.
But then…
The Warden's spectral eyes flared, a cold, merciless light that swallowed hesitation. The soul‑flame roared back to life, brighter than before, twisting around the blade in hungry coils of azure fire.
[System Alert: Soul‑Flame Blade fully regenerated.]
"What...."
The Warden stepped into him, not with panic, but with terrible, practiced precision. Its blade carved a brutal diagonal arc, impossibly fast.
Stephan's dagger met the strike, and shattered under the force. Black shards and sparks exploded across the chamber.
The burning edge slammed across Stephan's chest and shoulder, searing through cloth, flesh, and bone in a single, blinding flash.
White‑hot pain detonated behind his eyes.
He didn't even hear his own scream.
The force hurled him backward like a ragdoll, cloak burning, black mist ripped apart by the blow. He crashed into a broken pillar at the far end of the chamber, stone cracked and collapsed under the impact.
Dust and embers spiraled outward.
[Damage registered: 95%]
[Status: | Severe burns [Chest, shoulder] | Fractured ribs | Internal bleeding | Shock ]
Blood poured down his front, sizzling where it touched the scorched wound. His vision swam, red tunneling into black.
Stephan coughed, each breath tearing at raw, burnt lungs.
The Warden didn't rush. It advanced slowly, sword still burning bright, footsteps measured and inevitable.
Spectral eyes locked on Stephan's broken form, unwavering. It raised the soul‑flame blade, blue light reflecting in the blood pooling at his feet.
In that moment, the cavern seemed to shrink to silence. The only sound: his ragged, trembling breath, and the low hum of power rolling off the Warden's blade.
Then DING!
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[Soul Integrity Critical: 95% Damage Sustained]
[Analyzing Collected Souls…]
[New Skill Unlocked: Soulforged Will]
[Soulforged Will]
•Channel the latent power of consumed souls.
• Effect: Minor regeneration of wounds, +30% temporary increase in combat strength, partial restoration of Soul Energy.
• Cost: Permanently burn fragments of stored souls.
[Warning: Limited Resource]
[•Number of Souls currently stored: 23
• Each activation burns 5 souls.
• Once depleted, skill becomes unusable until more souls are harvested.]
"Well, seems like I'm not done yet,"Stephan smiled.