The moment the final word left the phantom’s mouth, it rushed forward, not giving Leo a chance to protest. Their extended blades met with a loud clang, but unlike during the fight against Payne, the clash of strength didn’t last longer than a second.
The ancient Akirian struck again and again, raining blows upon him faster than even Geron did. It was relentless, even more so than the Voidlings in the real world. Add to that, it attacked with more skill than any other enemy he ever faced.
Even with Reinforcement active, Leo could find no opening in the phantom’s defense—or rather, its endless offense. No matter how much force he put into his strikes, how much Essence he pushed into skills, or how many Blinks he used, he still couldn’t put the creature on the back foot.
He winced as a blade cut into his side and quickly blocked another one coming for his head. His knees buckled under the pressure, but with a roar, he pushed back, refusing to go down just like that.
For someone smaller and slimmer than I, it sure is strong. Leo grumbled, rolling his shoulders and preparing for another clash. Got to kick it up a notch.
Just as the phantom pounced at him again, bloodlust ignited in his veins, activating Relentless Hunger. He slid out of the way of the attack in the last second and struck back, finally forcing his enemy to defend.
It didn’t last long, though.
“Still too slow, still too weak,” the ancient Akirian growled, speeding up. It deflected the first few incoming strikes, parried the last one, and used the opening it created to get back on offense.
“Stop holding back, child! Use what I’ve shown you, or perish!”
Leo groaned as the phantom overpowered him. It struck him with the flat of its blade, followed by a barrage of tendrils slamming into his chest. The combined assault sent him flying across the battlefield, crashing into one of the scattered boulders.
Shit! He hissed as the rock cut through his armor and a few scales. He really hated how well this place imitated reality.
Focus up. It’s coming again.
He rolled to the side, avoiding getting skewered alive, and this time focused more on the bloodlust traveling through his every pillar. As the ancient Akirian said, there should be more to it than just hate and hunger.
Come on!
Despite still being on defense, Leo deactivated Relentless Hunger but didn’t push his bloodlust back. He let it flow through him without providing its usual boost. Add to that, he started channeling it into Kiss of Death, Phantom Erasure, and even Reinforcement—though the last one didn’t go too well.
Work with me! He screamed in his mind. Hunter might be gone, but we can still fight together. Work with me, and I will give you freedom as long as you don’t use it against me.
Maybe he was mad for pretty much talking to himself, but somehow it worked. The bloodlust inside him became even wilder, more erratic. It felt like it was still asleep before and only now regained consciousness.
Relentless Hunger activated once more on its own, but along with it came the whispers. Every time Leo attacked or had to defend, they offered a short piece of advice that he listened to almost instinctively.
‘Duck. Bend your wrist. Fix your stance! One step back and then go for a grab. Free your tail!’
Not every tip worked, but the odds of the battle had changed in the few seconds since the whispers arrived. Leo still spent most of the time on defense, but now he could strike back more often. Almost no movement was wasted as his entire body worked together to defeat the enemy.
It had been a while since he felt like this—not since the day he had lost Hunter if he had to be honest. He remembered how well they fought together against the Apex Shadow Claw despite the odds being stacked against them. His Apex aspect was always there to help, to push him forward.
And now, with bloodlust whispering into his ear and helping him on its own, it brought those memories back. Oh, it wasn’t the same, far from that—nothing could replace Hunter, after all. However, it was still a change for the better.
“Well done,” the phantom said when they locked blades again. “It looks like our resynchronization helped, and you are back on the right path. I’m glad to see that.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Leo frowned. “You planned this. Was this the real purpose of this trial?”
“No.” The Akirian chuckled. “Just an addition. You still haven’t shown me everything. Fight!”
Their stalemate broke again as the phantom attacked him with doubled ferocity—if that was even possible. An average human would be able to see only blurs as their arms moved, cutting and slashing at each other.
The phantom still led the fight, but with unchained bloodlust at his back, Leo never gave in. He fought back harder with each second, allowing the rage and hunger to grow inside him. However, those emotions didn’t try to overwhelm him—at least not yet—instead, the whispers in his head only intensified.
It wants me to show more… There is only one thing left… chaining.
Now the question remained: How?
He had already infused bloodlust into Kiss of Death and Phantom Erasure, but that didn’t help with mastering the elusive technique. It felt like something was missing—some sort of a catalyst. Those two skills wanted to connect but just couldn’t without something to control them, to fill in the blanks.
He attempted throwing Reinforcement into the mix, but it didn’t mesh well with the other two. Not even his strengthened partnership with bloodlust could help there. And so, Leo continued to defend, trying to come up with a solution.
Blink and Decoy are out. They don’t even function the same… Relentless Hunger just cancels Kiss of Death when I try to connect those two with more bloodlust… Shit… How do I d—wait!
There was one more skill he had never considered for chaining. After all, its effects were always passive, and if not for the phantom, he wouldn’t have even thought of it. Well, that and the reappearance of bloodlust’s helpful whispers.
Night Hunter’s Blade Mastery.
Beforehand, Leo didn’t even have any idea how to reach the skill and connect it to others, but thanks to the phantom, that also changed.
Almost every skill is imprinted into your soul.
With those words in mind, he dived into his soul while letting his bloodlust take partial control over his body. He searched and searched, going from his Install items to the normal ones before finally diving into his core. There, he found them, the records of almost every skill he possessed.
I really should have inspected the core earlier. After my talk with Nikra, I pretty much ignored it…
Nonetheless, that was a problem for the future him. For now, he had to focus on somehow linking a passive skill with the two active ones. Surprisingly, his reactivated instincts answered his call for help.
Together, they reached for the records of his passive skill and flooded it with bloodlust. Instantly, the whispers in his head intensified, but that wasn’t enough.
Without leaving the soul, Leo grasped at the records of two more skills that were already active in the real world. Again, he linked it all with the power of bloodlust. The stream of energy changed, and he pulled on it, flinging it right toward his Kiss of Death and Phantom Erasure-infused blades.
Just like that, something clicked in his mind. The whispers quietened down a bit, but, at the same time, they became clearer and easier to understand.
On the outside, his every movement became more fluid and precise. Leo struck at the phantom, and it staggered back as the combined power of his skills exploded in its face. His eyes widened a bit, but instead of wasting this chance, he attacked again and again.
The ancient Akirian could barely defend. Each blocked or deflected strike chipped away at its blade while forcing it to slowly retreat. Leo didn’t stop there and continued his assault, guided by the quiet whispers.
His next slash cut right through the Akirian’s blade, leaving it completely open. He went for the kill, and just as he was about to thrust his weapon into the creature’s chest, it stopped him with a single word.
“Enough.” It smiled as its entire body regenerated. “The Trial of Blood is finished. You pass, young one. Well done.”
Leo blinked, breathing heavily as the adrenaline in his body slowly faded. Without his command, bloodlust also retreated, but not as far as it usually did. No, now it waited just below the surface, ready to surge out whenever it wanted.
“Just like that?” he asked in disbelief.
The phantom nodded. “Just like that. In the end, this trial was never about you beating me—even though you still did—but about you figuring out a way to work with your bloodlust without an Apex aspect acting as a proxy. You succeeded, thus completing the trial.”
Leo chuckled tiredly as he slid to the ground. “So what? I have mastered the use of bloodlust now?”
“Far from it.” The phantom answered with its own laugh. “There is still much you have left to learn. But that’s for another day. Today, you should celebrate. You and the remnants of your Apex aspect are finally working together toward a brighter future. What we started during your evolution, you brought it to finish here.”
So that’s how it is, he mused, looking back at the phantom. “You were there.”
“I was. It was a pleasure to meet and teach you, young one. May we meet again one day. Farewell.”
Before Leo could even open his mouth, the ancient Akirian disappeared. A moment later, the world around him shook, plunging it into darkness.
----------------------------------------
He opened his eyes again to the sight of Nyx sleeping next to him. Just like with the last trail, no time passed while he was gone. He sighed and leaned against the wall behind him.
Well, maybe I didn’t get to ask my questions, but I definitely didn’t leave empty-handed.
Congratulations! You have completed the Trial of the Blood. As a result of hard work, the following skills, Kiss of Death, Phantom Erasure, and Night Hunter’s Blade Mastery, have combined into Spectral Fury.