Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Chapter 298 Descent into the Darkness

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[Skill, Manifestation of the Perfect Self 1-??? has been activated]

'Thankfully, I can still use this Skill…' Was what Dale thought for but a moment before his Reflection's 'personality' took over

/CRANK!!/

"HUFF!"

Using everything he had at his disposal, Dale pushed his body to the limits as he used everything in his power to try and break away from the chains.

And it wasn't just a random application of his power, Dale positioned his body in a way to reduce the load over his body parts as he focused solely on getting his right dominant arm out, pulling the Pillar towards him in an attempt to give himself more room to move.

/CLANG!/

"ARG!!"

But regardless of how much force he applied, the chains didn't even creak, the ground remained steady, and the Pillars remained motionless, intact with not even a small crack forming.

At least, he couldn't see any.

"... Huff..."

Even as he let go of the chains and pulled, the only thing that happened was the snapping sound of metal as it was tensioned, after that, silence.

But that was only the calm before the storm...

/ZAPPPP!/

"?!?!?!"

Immediately after, his body was bombarded with red electricity, causing him to spasm slightly as pain flooded his body, steam forming on his skin.

/Pfft.../

Red drops of blood fell from his nose and lips as he held in the pain, but eventually, it quickly went away, letting him breathe calmly once more.

Immediately understanding the reason why this had happened, within a moment, his breathing grew calm and almost to a standstill as he gathered and suppressed all of the energy within his body, seemingly ceasing to exist.

/Dim…/

Because of this, the light from the Seven Pillars completely vanished, throwing the entire room into darkness.

However, the looming feeling of suppression was still there, otherwise, he would've already freed himself.

With this, he had figured out one of the many mechanisms of the Pillars... Albeit not cleanly.

However, aside from that, right now, Dale knew one more thing, and that was the fact he was extremely vulnerable.

Due to the many Modifiers applied to the Pillars, his strong healing rate had been reduced to almost a standstill as compared to before.

His previous Mana Control and Sensibility had been dulled to the point he could barely feel his own Heart anymore.

The air itself was so thick Dale had difficulty breathing it, much less breathing slowly, as he always felt close to asphyxiating, although he knew that wouldn't happen.

He had to resist the urge to take a strong gulp of fresh air if he wished to progress, all the while keeping his head straight.

As such until he figured out a solution for his current predicament he couldn't waste even a single drop of his reserves as recklessly as he did before, because, in the situation something did appear, he needed the energy to deal with it and also the strength to move on after the Pillars' counterforce.

So he controlled himself and 'relaxed', letting himself be carried by the chains, and when he did so, they even felt somewhat comforting.

The otherwise cold metal of the chains exuded faint heat that traveled across his arms and into his body, however, that was everything but a good thing.

It was but a reminder of what he was right now, a prisoner, the Heat was but a side product of the strange energy of the Ritual as it was pumped into his body.

Magic beyond his comprehension.

/Inhale… Exhale…/

Breathing slowly, Dale's eyes darted around, and after a minute had passed, he started to act.

/Shine…/

He stimulated his Heart, moving energy around his body…

/RED/

/Grunt…/

But the moment he did so, the Pillars all shook as bolts of red energy traveled across the chains and into his body, completely and utterly breaking all of the wisps he had gathered and scattered them throughout his body.

This act of forcefully breaking away at his efforts was extremely brutal, causing minor internal injuries within his body, however, that was within his calculations as he quickly healed from that in no time.

/Inhale… Exhale…/

He quickly controlled his breath and the Pillars grew dim, something that didn't even take ten seconds.

So without holding anything back, Dale tried again, this time, being more careful, more precise, cautious… Invisible.

/RED/

"Ur…"

But soon enough, the Pillars shone brightly once more, and Dale grunted in a low tone as he held back in the pain.

/Shine.../

However, within the darkness, his eyes glistened momentarily.

Because this time, even if just for a fraction of a second, he had managed to last a bit longer, and the excruciating pain lasted a bit less.

And he had managed to move some of his energy somewhere around his body, a small wisp that wasn't dispersed by the Pillars.

Likewise, if he could move something, even if insignificant, like sand pilling up at the bottom of a hole, it would eventually fill up.

And when it did, like gunpowder, he would blast it all at once.

If even then he couldn't free himself... Then he would try another method.

But never give up.

And as the Pillars grew silent and cold, he inspected his surroundings with the small wisp of energy in his eyes, trying to illuminate things a little.

Yet, without any surprise, he still couldn't see anything.

About three meters away from him, the mist became so thick it was hard to even see the ground.

The only reason he could see the Pillar before was that they shone rather strongly, although it also looked like they somehow dispersed the mist around them, which was somewhat convenient.

"Huff..."

A bit disappointed from his first probe, Dale sharpened his mind again.

/Shine…/

And as soon as the Pillars dimmed again, he tried to move his Mana once more, being even more attentive than before.

It didn't matter how many times he had to repeat this, but eventually, he would succeed, one step at a time.

He had deemed this process to be, currently, the most effective and time-efficient one available if he wished to break free, and no matter what, he didn't have the time to play around.

Within a few minutes, if the notifications were to be believed, his Mind would likely be affected by the Ritual, and in this situation, the worst thing that could happen was for him to lose his rationale.

To prevent that, he needed to shatter his own restrictions, one chain at a time.

Even if his Stats increased by 1, that would already be a considerable boon in resisting whatever was about to happen.

And even if resistance was impossible, an increase of 1 may very well be the deciding factor between lunacy and insanity.

So he had to keep trying, changing his breathing, employing as many controlling and manipulating methods as he could until he arrived at a solution, a way to give himself the power to break free.

Maybe, amidst the hundred Skill Books and other Miscellaneous books he had, a solution to his problems was written within its pages…

But right now, he couldn't pull any of them out, and even if he could, he wouldn't be able to read it.

For a moment, he felt it was a bit unfair, but those thoughts immediately vanished away as his unwavering focus returned.

It was but a momentary fragment of Dale's original personality…

/RED/

Unfortunately, yet again, the Pillars detected his transgression and moved in to punish him.

But as his body was electrocuted, his eyes glistered in the dark... More strongly than before.

As such, his silent fight went on.

…

/Meanwhile…/

/Step step step.../

Several floors above Dale, a group of adventurers ventured deep into the ruins of this extensive mausoleum.

Their weapons shimmered in the darkness, being enough for them all to walk without needing torches.

Albeit the light coming from it was barely strong enough to compete with a weak candle...

/Step.../

They walked in groups of three with one person holding a large shield in front, to clear up anything on the way.

The shield was over two meters tall and it almost filled in the entire narrow hallway, if there were two of him they would've been easily able to act as a door.

In total, there were 10, Heroes of the highest degree chosen to partake in the most holy of tasks, to save the world from evils long forgotten.

They walked in complete silence, paying extreme attention to their surroundings, until they arrived in front of a pair of large metallic double doors.

"This must be it, the entrance to the first Boss' Chamber." The man in front said as he rested his tower shield on the ground

"How long has it been?" He asked as he looked behind

"... About Seven minutes." A girl replied from the center of the group

"Neither too slow nor too fast... If we assume it'll take the same amount of time to reach the next floor's Boss... Then we have about Eleven minutes to settle things." Someone else pointed out as he crossed his arms

"Then what are we waiting for? We've lost another minute just being here." Someone else said from the far back

"Is everyone ready? There is no guarantee we'll have the time to prepare once we're inside, enter with the intent of fighting right of the bet." The man in front said as he turned to the door, taking a deep breath as he took a step forward, pushing the door open

But just when he touched it...

/SHUAAAA/

/SCREEEECH!/

""?!""

A strong wave of air and energy blasted them all at the same time, pushing them back slightly as horrific screams resounded from behind the metal doors and beneath the cold stone, raising the hairs on the bodies to their ends.

"What just..."

[DING]

[The Fifth Floor's Dweller has broken free from its First restriction] 

[In order to keep it contained, part of the Ritual will be redirected to the remaining restrictions]

[The First Floor's Dweller grows stronger]

[The Second Floor's Dweller grows stronger]

[The Third Floor's Dweller grows stronger]

[The Fourth Floor's Dweller grows stronger]

"!! Shit, there's no time to wait." The Tank said as he pushed the doors open

"We need to kill them all before it's too late!"

With burning enthusiasm, the group of Heroes moved forth into the darkness.

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Notes