After I teleported into the field, I felt the same sensation I had when I fought the hydra. I prepared myself for anything and raised my sword, waiting for the enemy to appear. But it seemed the opponent wasn't summoned yet. I focused, enchanted my body, and tried to sense anything approaching. Something was coming, but I couldn't see it.
Suddenly, I was struck. I closed my eyes and tried to feel its presence. It kept hitting me, but finally, I sensed it clearly. I gathered all my strength and used "Cut of Fate"—a move used to erase a specific ability from an enemy, though it consumes a large amount of mana from the user.
After using it, I finally saw the enemy: a hydra. Thankfully, this one had only two heads, but I could feel the overflowing mana leaking from it.
One head cast a fireball, and I cut it down, but the other attacked from behind. I was badly damaged, but I refused to die here. I stood back up and drank the potion Shin gave me before the battle. The healing spread through my body, and I resumed my assault.
I ran from one end to the other, confusing the hydra. When its focus wavered, I slipped behind it and slashed. I struck multiple times, landing a few solid hits, but it still had overwhelming strength. I used a straight cut and landed a critical blow, but it only scratched the creature.
Then its tail whipped toward me. I was hit hard and slammed into a wall. It was time to use that move—"Fate of Death."This technique activates when the user is on the brink of death. If the user dies, the enemy experiences the exact same pain and damage.
I attacked the hydra again, but its tail launched me into the air. Below me, its mouth opened wide, ready to swallow me whole. But this was a trap… a trap the hydra didn't know about.
I died.
Then I woke up again in the same spot where I had activated Fate of Death. I assumed the hydra had died, but nothing had happened. One of its heads had indeed been severed, yet it was still alive—its mana had actually increased.
I felt the pressure of its mana surging. Its skin thickened, its power grew, and the severed head disappeared. Now it had only one head, but it felt far more dangerous. I raised my sword, ready to attack, but something about the hydra had changed.
Swords floated around it. It looked like it was using the Death Warrior's Sword Arts—a technique said to belong to the many warriors it had slain. Legends say the hydra absorbs the skills of those it kills… and now it was using the very swords of those warriors.
Dozens of swords hovered in the air. One shot toward me. I blocked it with my shield, but the impact shattered the shield instantly. The rest of the swords attacked all at once. I used all my strength to defend myself, but I couldn't block them all. One pierced my body, blood pouring out. Another struck me. My vision blurred, my eyes closing.
This was my death. I died there.
"The man who wins, the man who dies…When the waves of time are stopped,The soul of heaven and hellcan no longer be bound to the world we live."
My eyes opened.
"Is this heaven… or hell?"
Before me stood a sword, embedded at the center of a black tree, locked down by thick chains. A voice echoed around me:
"So, you have finally awakened the soul within you… the soul that is connected to me.I am the sword of &*&%&n…"
I was in shock. I had never known that a sword could speak, let alone be connected to my soul. Why was it linked to me? The sword floated before me, glowing faintly, and spoke:
Sword: "So… you died, and by doing so, you activated the first level of our shared soul. Now I give you two choices:
You can return to life and continue your fight, but you must fulfill my wish.
Or you can go to heaven, and your soul will return to the Creation Tree."
I swallowed nervously and asked, "What is your wish?"
The sword replied,"You must accompany the Lord of Endless."
"Who is the Lord of Endless? And how do I find him?"
"The time will show him to you. By now, you have already met him. I will give you the power that your soul and I possess. Use it to defeat powerful monsters and discover your full potential. But since you died, I could not help you earlier… and I died along with you."
Before I could ask anything else, I was suddenly back on the battlefield.
The sword in my hand felt completely different. My speed and strength had increased dramatically. The flying swords that had overwhelmed me earlier were now easy to block and destroy. The sword spoke inside my mind, guiding me, telling me the Hydra's weak points.
I rushed toward the Hydra and slashed it again and again. It finally fell, and I thought it was over—but the Hydra's body began glowing.
Just then, I heard a voice from the fading light:
"You have finally killed Uhziz, the Hydra of Soul Collectors. We are the souls it devoured long ago. Thanks to you, we are finally free… and can ascend to heaven."
Their spirits floated upward, but before they vanished, they left a riddle about the sword I carried:
"The more I use, the more I devour.The more pain, the more power.But to win, to lose, the time he dies—He returns the soul who wields.The soul finds, and in the endAll paths lead to one…The Man of Night."
I didn't understand any of it.Who was the Man of Night?Who was the Lord they mentioned?And why was this sword speaking to me now?
The power I had used was fading. The sword spoke again:
Sword: "So you have finally awakened me. The power you felt only appears when danger comes. You can talk to me any time you want—I can give you information about any creature, because I like them more than you do. Our souls are linked, which makes us partners for a long time. I have known you even before you were born, through your past life, but I cannot tell you about that. Also, only you can hear me; no one else."
After fulfilling my mission and defeating the Hydra, the sword teleported me back to where the captain and Shin were waiting.
When I appeared, the captain rushed toward me and asked if I was alright. He handed me the Potion of Life, capable of healing any wound. After drinking it, I explained the battle—though I didn't tell him about the sword yet. I decided I would reveal it later.
I asked the captain what enemy he fought, and he explained it. Then I turned to Shin.
He simply said,"I fought Kailo… and defeated it."
Finally, I asked the question burning in my mind:
"Then why didn't we teleport inside the kingdom? We used the circle correctly… didn't we?"