Rhen needed to stop Zena from fading.
'Zena is fading because she's shielding me with her body. I need to stop the breakdown and to do that, my body needs to be strong.'
Rhen abandoned all else, locking his focus on the black fluid still pulsing inside him.
Determined to outpace his own destruction, he poured all his focus into repairing his body—until he perceived something hidden.
Hidden amongst his blood and the ancient being's blood—which had absorbed the monster's blood—was golden blood.
It was a faint glimmer in the tide of darkness—small, but brimming with divine power.
Rhen controlled that blood specifically, but it proved difficult.
"Fuck it!" he said.
He forcefully created a single hand out of his disintegrating translucent body, further shrinking his size.
He dipped the hand into his body, creating a hole in him as he sank it into the black fluid.
"Die? It's too early for that!"
He could feel his body breaking down faster, but he willed himself to stay alive.
"Live! I'll fucking live! That's why I'm a damned fox!"
At this moment, a crack in the void appeared.
Two eyes made of black holes stared at Rhen for a few seconds, before the black holes greatly reduced in size and pressure.
Suddenly, the golden blood within Rhen was completely in his control.
He swiftly pulled it out and merged it with his body, which was on the verge of crumbling.
The golden blood turned his blue body bright, its light almost dwarfing the star's.
His body grew in size, his mind growing wider while his soul grew stronger.
At the same time, he saw the link to his body as its presence grew more evident and his perception range expanded.
Looking back at the star, he easily absorbed a large amount of the star into his big translucent body.
Then he descended back into his body.
Back in the underground cavern, the environment shook.
A surge of remnant divine energy slammed into the cavern as Rhen's consciousness returned to his body, trailing light and power.
Rhen's body glowed as the young man descended, dragging along a compressed amount of energy.
He knew what to do next.
Part three of the Ritual: Upgrade his talent.
He concentrated deep within him where a solidified energy was – the representation of his E-rank Talent.
He invested all that compressed energy into the solidified energy that merged with the original.
It all took a moment.
[Your Talent has been upgraded to "Cryo Genesis - S+ Rank"]
[You have made an accomplishment!]
[You have obtained Titles!]
[You have been linked to the Authority…]
[You have been linked to an Almighty Talent, "??? - ???"]
[You have bonded with a Spirit!]
Rhen opened his eyes with a heave of breath.
He took in his surroundings.
The ritual circle had disappeared and the items on the circles had broken down.
Most of all, the floor around Rhen was frozen.
He didn't need to check further to know. He had become stronger.
As his mind registered everything that happened, he recalled his companion.
"Zena!"
He said as he was about to turn to look around.
But he felt something leave his body, taking the form of a girl with short blonde hair and green eyes with a young face.
Landing in an incorporeal form, Zena replied with a slight smile, "Yes?"
With his gaze falling on her, Rhen momentarily looked satisfied before his expression tightened in confusion.
"You are… human now?"
"No," Zena said with a slight smile. "I can take on three forms now. Corporeal, Semi-corporeal, and Incorporeal."
Rhen was about to ask Zena more when his improved senses caught something at the entrance of his man cave.
A lean man with purple hair and black eyes jumped in, panic written all over his face.
As the man's eyes landed on Rhen, he said, "Oh, please, save my people!"
Cold air still spiraling from his skin, Rhen wore a confused look.
The stranger's eyes locked with his—desperate, pleading.
Rhen took a moment to scrutinize the unfamiliar man.
The man had a long, somber face framed by curly purple hair and a patchy black beard.
He wore light armor made of odd materials like straps made of vines, making Rhen question where he came from.
'There's no town near here aside from Grayland, so maybe a lost adventurer?'
As Rhen considered, the man spoke, eyes sunken with fear and sadness:
"Please… you're our only hope."
At this moment, a slight quake was felt, debris lightly falling from the ceiling of the cavern.
Rhen turned to Zena and they exchanged a nod.
They had both detected a presence not so far from here.
"Lead the way," Rhen said, putting on his shirt and armor as he moved closer to the entrance.
Without hesitation, the man crawled back out and led them.
The ground quaked under each distant impact, the air thick with the metallic tang of blood and the acrid stench of poison.
'Why… are there so many beasts?' Rhen wondered.
Despite this place being a dangerous territory, this region wasn't usually this active with beasts, even at night.
Based on what he knew, even the beasts were affected by the region's misdirection, which caused them to stray away from the city's borders.
[I think… your surge of mana caused a moment where the misdirection effects are null.]
Running beside him, Zena transmitted into his head.
"That makes sense." Rhen replied before gritting his teeth.
This… was going to have a lot of side effects–especially for his town.
Rhen's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of explosions and clangs of steel in the distance.
His senses also covered quite the range, making him identify the presences as humans.
In his hands, the dagger he held began freezing as he used the abilities of his previous E-rank talent that was now more skill with potential.
Cold Touch.
'Damn, this feels good.'
The dagger in his hand was frozen solid as it extended slightly, its edge sharper than ever.
In the distance, moonlight bathed a clearing in a pale glow, revealing torn trees and scorched earth.
He saw a large snake-like creature under the moonlight.
It had two heads, its scales looking like armor and its mouth dripping with poison.
Each head was larger than Rhen himself.
Arrows, swords, and spears jutted from its body, the dark blood blending with its eerie scales.
Surrounding it were a couple of human corpses and people who were still fighting or out of battle due to injury.
[Rhen, its poison won't work on you easily.] said Zena telepathically, who kept her distance.
[I can feel it!]
Mana surged through Rhen's limbs as he darted into the clearing and landed on the spine of the snake.
He crawled along its spine as he yelled to the people nearby, "Go for one head, I'll handle the other!"
They didn't hesitate and immediately concentrated their attacks.
Reaching the right head, Rhen stabbed his two daggers into its head.
He couldn't fight directly–especially not a Beast of this caliber.
But with his new strength and other resources, he was certain he was going to make it.
Pushing all his mana into his ability, Rhen spread ice all over the snake head.
As cold air began to spread, the snake shook its head heavily, trying to shake Rhen off.
He swayed violently, the snake's thrashing body jerking him side to side.
"Stay in one place, you damned snake!" Rhen snarled.
The world seemed to listen to his desire.
The two-headed snake felt pressed, its weight crushing the ground beneath.
Gravity Control.