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“Huh…”

Julian had been staring at the words currently floating in front of him. He didn’t quite know what to feel at the moment. Even though the information was being directly injected into his mind, as if carved into his thoughts, he still felt extremely overwhelmed.

He was so used to the [Guidance of Artemis] only providing him with the basic information about himself, and so he wasn’t quite used to being bombarded by information.

Despite his confusion, one thing became crystal clear—Erin’s overwhelming presence, her ability to vanish like a phantom and strike without warning, finally made sense. What she could do, what the Shadow Blacksmith could do, seemed almost an antithesis to Julian’s abnormal senses. Her abilities weren’t just impressive; it felt as if they were tailored to counter him.

“No wonder I didn’t stand a chance,” Julian muttered. His tone carried no lament, only admiration. Erin had wielded the shadows as her ally, molding them to her will with elegance and precision. And now…

…he could too, with practice, of course.

But Julian didn’t linger on the combat potential her skills promised. The idea of fighting rarely thrilled him. No, his thoughts were consumed by something else entirely—two things, in fact, that sent a jolt of excitement racing through his chest.

Shadow Vault and Shadow Forge. The possibilities these two abilities could do flooded his mind, almost in chaos.

The idea of accessing materials and tools seamlessly, storing his creations in the folds of reality itself? Well, even Julian, who lacked the skill to imagine anything else other than crafting and forging, thought of it once or twice before in his life.

How could he not? It should be the dream of all craftsmen.

And then—Shadow Forge.

The ability to step into a forge anytime, anywhere, unhindered by the constraints of space or time? What more could he possibly want?

And now, thinking about it—is it possible that Erin accessed this during their fight? Maybe even the first weapon she used against him was something she had created in the Shadow Forge?

The potential of this skill felt limitless. In theory, from an outsider’s perspective, Julian could forge a weapon or armor instantaneously, summoning it from the shadows as if by magic. Of course, he knew that the process wouldn’t actually be instant for him; he’d still have to craft it within the Shadow Forge—well, for him, that was the best part.

“Pft…” Julian, like an eager child barely able to contain his excitement, covered his mouth with his hand. The thought of suddenly forging something out of nowhere sent a thrill down his spine. It wasn’t just the utility of it—there was something undeniably fun about the sheer theatrics of it.

And of course, like a child, Julian knelt down, ready to test his newfound abilities immediately. But then, just as quickly, he paused. A realization struck him, cooling his excitement for a moment.

“Mana…” He whispered.

He had mana now.

From the information the [Guidance of Artemis] had injected into his mind, he understood he could spend about an hour and thirty minutes inside the Shadow Forge with his current…MP. But Julian knew himself. He knew how easily he could lose himself in the rhythm of creation, forget the passage of time, and push beyond his limits.

What exactly would happen to him if he consumed all of his mana?

Now wasn’t the best time or place to find out. Although he was itching to test every one of his new abilities, he forced himself to prioritize his immediate situation. He needed to get out of this place first.

But how?

Julian looked around, and his eyes quickly settled on the coffin he sliced in half. And with what he had witnessed in his visions, it now felt slightly ominous, stark against the vibrant blooms of the flowers that still danced their light around it.

The coffin seemed to call to him. It wasn’t a voice exactly, but there was something in the silence that urged him forward. He could almost imagine Erin herself whispering to him, beckoning him closer.

“Hm…” He let out a slow breath, standing and patting the dust from his hands. And then, he approached—each of his steps toward the coffin echoed faintly, as though the shadows themselves were talking to him. It felt… strange.

And as he now stood next to it, he felt a hum coming from the metal.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Erin…” He whispered as he brushed his hand on the cleaved coffin—a single coffin that had so many stories to tell.

Julian finally knew what was etched on the cover—it was the arrival of the invaders, Erin must have carved their likeness into the metal herself, ensuring she would never forget the beginning of her end.

This coffin was her prison, her sanctuary, and her last act of defiance against her fate.

Was it her wish that someone—anyone—who found it would know her story?

But if that were true, then who had scratched out the face of the humanoid daemon depicted on the lid? Who didn’t want her story to be told?

“The quality of this coffin reflects your crumbling mind,” Julian whispered, pulling his hand away as though the touch burned. “You were already falling apart when you made this—you truly are the best I have ever seen, Erin.”

The blood-forge sword, the coffin—these were creations born not from mastery but from depravity. They were the products of anguish, desperation, and a brilliance consumed by darkness.

“I would have loved to see something you forged when you were still at your prime. To see…” Julian’s voice trailed off, “...if you were better than me.”

There was no malice in his words, no arrogance, no gloating. It was an honest thought, unburdened by pride.

“Hm…” Julian hummed as he moved the coffin, examining what was left inside it—but it was as empty as the shadows surrounding him.

The Black Cube was gone.

“Did… someone take it?” He whispered. The vision was clear, Erin buried the Black Cube with her.

Had it been taken? Stolen by someone while she slept eternally?

If so, was the person who stole the Cube responsible for Erin being able to move even after her death? Perhaps responsible for all those corpse puppets? Orpuk?

Was the very same person who took the Cube be the one who scratched out the faces of the humanoid daemon?

Or perhaps… was it the Black Cube itself? Had its malevolent influence seeped into Erin’s dormant body and those of the other puppets? But from the visions he had seen, there was no malevolence at all.

Questions swirled in Julian’s mind like a storm, the possibilities endless yet none offering clarity. But one truth anchored his thoughts: even in death, Erin had held onto fragments of her memory and will.

A testament to how strong she truly was.

“I hope I’m worthy of your legacy, Erin,” Julian whispered, his voice carrying the weight of his thoughts. He stepped back, his gaze fixed on the broken coffin. “But I don’t know why you showed me all of that—it doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

He let out a quiet sigh, his words growing softer.

“I am truly sorry it had to be me, Erin. But the only legacy I really care about and will carry forward… is the fact that you were a blacksmith. So, thank you for showing me the extent of what I can do.”

He did witness Erin in her prime. She showed him what she could do... and what he could do.

She forged an entire copy of herself—without the use of technology like Humanity Engineering, she forged a copy of herself just using her skills and abilities.

If she could do something like that, then does that mean Julian could potentially do it too in the future?

If so, then… would it be possible to create a body for MEGAN? And then perhaps ask Humanity Engineering to transfer consciousness to it?

“Hm…”

And almost as if summoned by his thoughts, his vision was suddenly filled with messages by MEGAN.

“A few seconds?” Julian whispered. To him, it had felt like he was trapped inside his visions for a few hours, witnessing the birth of Artemia and Erin’s downfall. This confirmed it, then—MEGAN and the Chat did not witness the visions at all, and that’s a good thing.

“I… have a new class now.” Julian said, “Cut the stream for now so we can build suspense.”

“W—”

And before Julian could say anything else, MEGAN immediately bombarded him with more questions. Her curiosity was endless, and her endless messages began to blur in his mind and his vision.

The only thing Julian could really do was take a step back and sigh. “We’ll… talk once I’m back on Earth—I have a lot to tell you, MEGAN. But first… I need to find a way to get out of—Oh?”

His words caught in his throat as the cavern suddenly shifted. The roots beneath his feet coiled and writhed as the entire cavern started to move, to shrink; the coffin in front of him, also being swallowed into the depths of Artemia.

Julian was also engulfed, but he wasn’t being swallowed at all, no. He felt himself being pulled upward… at an insane speed.

He wasn’t disoriented at all, however. In fact, it was quite soothing to him, and for nearly a full minute, he was tossed and propelled in different directions.

MEGAN’s messages flashed relentlessly in front of him, asking if he was alright and if the dungeon was collapsing as it was hard to figure out what was happening from her perspective.

Julian didn’t respond—well, he couldn’t. He was completely focused on the direction where he was being thrown around in the darkness.

And soon, without warning, the journey stopped… and he was literally spat out into the open air by Artemia herself, literally.

Fortunately for him, his senses were too great and he just somersaulted in the air with finesse, landing on his feet.

“Hm…” And in front of him was the entrance of the dungeon—was. The entrance was now being swallowed back into the ground, slowly returning the vicinity to what it was before. Well, of course, it couldn’t really return to its previous condition, but Julian quickly recognized where he was.

He was back at the estate where the shadow swallowed him without any warning, where it all began.

He continued to watch the dungeon disappear, sinking into the ground. And like it had never been there, the air around the estate stilled, heavy… but calm.

This calm did not last long, however, as he heard footsteps and heavy breaths from behind him. He carefully turned around, only to see several city guards surrounding him, their weapons drawn and pointed at him. An entire army of them, dozens.

“What is this…?” Julian tilted his head to the side as he glanced at the soldiers.

“Take a step back!” One of the guards roared, his voice extremely commanding, “Take a step back, or we will kill you!”

“Kill me?” Julian hummed as he heard the words, he then tightened his grip on Searadyn’s Veil—well, or so he thought.

He glanced down at his hands… only to see he wasn’t holding anything at all.

“No…” He whispered.

Did he just… accidentally drop Searadyn’s Veil while he was being vomited by Artemia?

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