Arthur opened his eyes after an unknown amount of time. It took him more than a moment to realize he was back to reality. As he looked around, it took him another moment to understand what was going on.
The chamber was the same, but not the same too. The metal that made up the walls, as if shying away, bent forward. The runes were shining brighter than ever despite the emptiness of the chamber of mana.
He felt a chill, suddenly aware that his clothes have disappeared in his breakthrough. He was naked, sitting in the same position he had assumed before he started practicing his art.
"…What the hell is going on?" Arthur's head tilted in confusion. He pulled a set of sportswear before throwing it over his body.
As he dressed, he noticed another thing. The clarity of his mind and responsivity of his body. As if he was drowning all this time and only now that he managed to surface, his body felt light and weightless. And full of power.
He felt invincible. He had an itch to run amok, but he knew better. He looked at the metals that had protruded from the walls and bent forward with a face of confusion before he opened the chamber's door to leave.
Another bizarre sight. He looked around the training hall and found that the ground had deep marks running along with it. He even thought a giant monster used its talons to attack the training hall, but he knew that was impossible.
Luckily, the runes were still shining and gears shifted to fix the damage done. As his eyes looked around, he found Li in an instant.
It was a wonder what had happened as he broke through, but Li's robes were ragged. Arthur walked over hurriedly in concern but he stopped when Li flinched in response to his appearance.
"…What happened?" Arthur asked in another fit of confusion.
'Did my breakthrough do this?' His cleared mind failed to understand how this would happen. 'That's right, I saw Jizo…' He suddenly remembered how Jizo stopped him from going beyond the wall.
The longing to return suddenly overtook him as a heavy feeling overtook his heart. Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted as everything around him started trembling. Li was the same. Arthur broke free from his trance as he felt his head aching. There was something far and distant that he hadn't felt before, but he now did. It was something he had lost but wasn't aware that he did.
Arthur shook his head as he looked at Li more carefully. The mask Li wore was slightly cracked and a black miasma was seeping through. When the world trembled earlier, the mask cracked again as a piece of it fell to the ground.
For the shortest moment, Arthur saw the skin that lied underneath. An unblemished and clear white skin as if illuminated by the moonlight. However, the moment it came in contact with the air, it started rotting visibly as Li grunted and fell to the ground. Li tried to close the hole that has appeared in the mask.
Another grunt took place and Arthur realized how serious it was. He walked as he held the piece from Li's mask and handed it over. Li snatched it and placed it in its place. As Li poured mana into the mask, it started to fuse again into one piece.
The process lasted for a while before the mask was whole again. There was only silence in the hall interrupted by Li's laborious breathing.
Arthur watched as Li stood up, looked at him from beyond the mask, and noticed how Li's hands were trembling under the ragged robes.
Before Arthur could react, Li's body lowered and fell on one knee. He looked blankly as the masked man held out an arm in front of their chest. Then, the most beautiful voice Arthur had heard came out.
"Allow me to serve you,"
It was the first time Arthur had heard this person speak. It was a deep and magnetic voice, radiating coldness as it traveled toward Arthur.
"What are you talking about, Li?" Arthur looked at him calmly. "There's no reason for you to serve me."
Li shook his head in response, his arm faintly trembling in front of him.
"It is fate that I witnessed your mightiness." The way Li spoke was ancient. "Please, allow me to serve you."
"No," Arthur responded after a minute. "I don't know what you saw, but that's not a reason for you to serve me." Arthur felt uncomfortable as he heard the worship in Li's tone. "Please stand up."
Li nodded and stood up. It seems he was back to normal, but Arthur wanted to confirm what happened.
"Tell me what happened earlier."
Before Arthur could stop himself, it came out as a command rather than a request. He didn't know who was talking, but he sounded calm and distant even to himself.
"After you went into the chamber, a heavenly presence radiated from inside. The fortress shook to the core as the metal started bending, the runes started shining, and space started twisting. Everything seemed to be united in their desire to show their obedience, and so was I, My Lord."
"Okay, stop." Arthur almost threw up blood at his words. He was grateful that someone was there to tell him what happened, but he wished it was someone who wouldn't say such things. "Li, please don't tell anyone about this."
"Yes, My Lord."
"And please don't call me that."
"I will try, My Lord."
Arthur felt like punching this guy in the face. He sighed as he looked at the training hall. Even though it was a bit ruined and still mending itself, his itch was unbearable.
"Can we do some sparring?" Arthur asked Li and the man nodded. They both took their position and Arthur decided to refrain from using his dagger.
He knew he was still a lot weaker than Li, but he wanted to use his full power against someone. The manablood inside of him was like an endless river as it provided him with the energy he needed.
The metal underneath his barefoot started denting downward as the mana gathered at his soles. His body leaned forward before he bolted like lightning in the darkest storm across the training room.
The scenery blurred around him, but his perception allowed him to see every nook and cranny in the training hall as well as Li's unmovable body.
He flexed his arms as the air made a wheezing sound as it tore through it. With a straight punch toward Li, Arthur used his manablood to amplify its strength.
Li blocked the punch with his sword and the two stopped midair for a second. With a loud explosive sound, the two sides were pushed back but they held they held their ground.
Arthur grinned at the exhilaration of releasing this unprecedented amount of strength. Every punch he made would create booms and explosions as it tore through the air. His mana felt endless, supplying him with the strength he wanted.
Arthur threw the next punch, Li blocked. Arthur lowered his body as he kicked from underneath but Li used his foot to stop it. The two exchanged a dozen blows in a few seconds until their afterimages blurred into one.
"I'm going serious," Arthur warned as he couldn't hold himself back any longer. He wanted to know how much strength he could wield. How destructive he could become.
Li nodded and Arthur activated his legacy rune. New limits of his body were released his manablood was burned as fuel to amplify his every stat.
Golden light surrounded his body as his hair fluttered in the whirling air. He felt the power course through him as his body cracked and roared, restless to release the power it held within. He bolted again, destroying the ground he stood on.
His body was like a released arrow, the wind buzzed in his ears as he approached Li in an instant. The masked man used his ability as a pressure descending on Arthur, but he didn't slow down his sprint.
With a powerful stomp on the ground, Arthur punched again. His mana burned as he reached a level of exhilaration from the adrenaline rush. His breath was ragged with excitement as he felt his fist connect against Li's sword.
This time, mana exploded everywhere as the ground started breaking apart underneath them. Neither side backed down and Arthur felt like he was trying to take down a mountain.
'So, this is the difference in stats.' Arthur realized that Li wasn't giving it his all. He wanted more strength, but he knew this was his limit. His manablood was already showing signs of decreasing rapidly despite how endless it felt a few moments ago.
However, Arthur wanted to push past that limit. With a roar, he used every strength in his body and burned every bit of mana at once. His fist pushed Li back for the briefest moment before Arthur felt Li counterattack. The next moment, he was sent flying across the training hall like a broken kite.
