Sovereign of the Ashes

After Sein and Leena split up, things went noticeably smoother for both of them.

The Flame Python clearly intended to stop Leena, but Sein held it back.

With his powerful demon form unleashed, Sein grew more energized the longer the fight went on—and with it, his movements became more fluid, more effortless.

By the time Leena finally reached the vortex node, Sein was able to spar with the Flame Python on even ground.

The moment she activated the special node in the lava pool, the python froze for just an instant.

Sein seized the opening, thrusting his magic rod upward and driving it through the Flame Python's lower jaw.

A blinding pillar of light and fire erupted, blasting straight through the creature's skull.

The Penetrating Eye's beam tore through everything in its path, not only slaying the python but also causing the space around Sein to warp.

In a flash, Sein was whisked away to another place entirely.

As expected, there was some sort of mechanism in this legacy secret realm.

That Flame Python was not something most people could take on directly. But for a spellcaster, figuring out the location of the energy node in its throat was not too difficult.

Then again, Sein had not exactly relied on brains this time—he had simply brute-forced his way through by jamming his magic rod straight through the python's jaw with sheer strength.

The once-violent, oppressive molten space vanished in an instant. In its place was the same endless white passageway he had seen before.

Sein glanced around, but Leena was nowhere in sight.

She must have been transported somewhere else, just like him, after triggering the other mechanism of this secret realm.

Since this was an artificially designed legacy secret realm, Sein was not too worried about her safety.

Realistically, few spellcasters could ever activate the energy node inside the python's throat.

Most mages who entered this secret realm probably escaped by triggering the vortex at the bottom of the lava pool instead.

Maybe that was part of the trial's selection process.

For now, Sein knew the only thing he could do was keep moving forward.

"Besides the lumen element... is the creator of this secret realm also a pyro elemental expert? That Flame Python seemed to be conjured by some special magic array," Sein mused aloud, rolling the crimson crystal between his fingers.

He had plucked the crystal from the Flame Python's eye socket earlier.

In a way, it felt like his reward for clearing the trial.

This particular crimson crystal was no less valuable than Master Gregory's verdant flame essence that Lorianne had gifted him before.

It was easily the most precious material Sein had obtained from any of the special legacy secret realms since entering the Knight Continent.

From the looks of it, this legacy secret realm was far from over.

Tucking the crimson crystal away, Sein continued deeper into the passageway.

He had no idea how far he had walked when the space around him flickered. In an instant, he found himself inside the next secret realm.

What filled Sein's vision now was a blinding field of white light.

Countless scorching lumen energy beams shot toward him from every direction.

Even the weakest of these beams carried enough power to threaten a Rank Two creature.

The strongest among them were almost on par with Sein's own Penetrating Eye beam.

The sheer density of the incoming energy beams sent a chilling sense of danger down Sein's spine.

Without hesitation, he activated his lumen elemental body.

With its properties, he could minimize the damage from the beams as much as possible.

Even so, as he darted between the incoming attacks, he searched desperately for a way to break through or escape the deadly space around him.

Just like the molten realm earlier, this lumen elemental space held both danger and a sliver of hope for survival.

As the beams continued firing from all sides, Sein gradually realized there was a pattern—a rhythm to it.

After deliberately enduring several beams to gather more data, Sein immediately began modeling and mapping the space's structure in his mind.

"It should be... there," he murmured, his body glowing as he glanced toward the northeast corner of the trial space.

Bracing himself against the incoming elemental rays, Sein carefully adjusted his path and moved toward the point he had determined.

Spellcasters had always placed their faith in research and logic. If even truth could be false, then what else in this world could be trusted?

Facing three massive beams—each one as powerful as his forbidden-level Penetrating Eye spell—Sein simply smiled and strode forward with confidence.

As the powerful beams reached him, they melted away like snow under the sun.

They were just an illusion.

Passing through the intricate web of light woven by the three powerful beams, Sein finally stepped into a new space.

This time, a long lumen-attribute crystal materialized in his hand.

"Why does this look a bit like the Radiant Jade condensed by the angels of the Radiant Celestials, as recorded in Sky City's archives?" Sein muttered, frowning slightly.

"The creator of this secret realm must have been a powerful, ancient scholar," he added with a quiet sigh.

Having returned to the white passageway after clearing another trial, Sein paused in thought.

After a moment, he pulled out his Demon Eye Mask and slipped it onto his face.

Ever since leaving Faeloria, Sein had not been able to fully complete the Demon Eye Mask. The Goddess of Music's divine relic still had not been properly set into it.

Though Sein had dabbled in sonido elemental laws over the years, his understanding of them was still nowhere near the depth he had with lumen or pyro elemental magic.

On top of that, the drop of blood essence gifted by the Succubus Queen, infused with her divine power of bewitchment, was also not something he could integrate so easily.

Originally, Sein had planned to wait until he returned to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring before completing the artifact.

He had hoped his mentor could offer some advice on how to handle its more complicated aspects.

But now, this secret realm left him no choice but to pull out the half-finished mask.

The Demon Eye Mask, crafted with his own effort and knowledge, granted him a significant advantage. It allowed him to detect abnormal energy fluctuations and see through illusions.

From the two trials Sein had already cleared, it was clear this legacy secret realm tested more than just strength and judgment—it also tested a spellcaster's observational skills.

There was no artifact more suited to the task than the Demon Eye Mask.

The moment Sein put it on and stepped forward, the space around him flickered once again. And just like that, he was pulled into another unfamiliar space.

This time, Sein found himself in a dark, oppressive cavern.

Ear-splitting noises and oppressive infrasonic waves bombarded him from all directions, shaking his senses and threatening to destabilize his elemental body.

It was an extremely rare sonido elemental trial space.

Whether it was luck or fate, Sein had just put on the Demon Eye Mask.

Thanks to the Bat Demon's innate sensitivity to sound, which had been incorporated into the mask's design, Sein could drastically reduce the impact of the sonic attacks and detect special power nodes hidden within the space through methods that felt almost like cheating.

As he explored the dark cavern, it did not take long for him to discover seven such nodes.

It seemed the creator of this secret realm had not left just one path forward for the trialists.

The other trial spaces Sein had passed through likely had multiple routes as well, just like wherever Leena had been transported.

With a curious, slightly defiant mindset, Sein deliberately avoided the node with the strongest energy fluctuations. Instead, he aimed for the node emitting the weakest, most subtle feedback.

This hidden node was tucked deep inside a stalactite hanging from the highest point of the cavern.

To be honest, without the Demon Eye Mask's aid, Sein would not have sensed the faint soundwave pulses coming from it, not even if he had doubled his perception.

After breaking the stalactite, Sein was once again pulled into the next trial space.

This legacy secret realm was really something else. There was no telling how many layers of trials still awaited him.

This time, Sein obtained a thin needle, no longer than a finger.

The needle had been hidden inside the stalactite he had broken. It had been the source of the strange soundwave vibrations earlier.

Judging by its properties, it must be a rare sonido-attribute material—one that Sein had never encountered before.

It would make an excellent material for enhancing the Demon Eye Mask in the future.

Much like the Octave Box he had acquired back in Faeloria, figuring out how to incorporate these rare sonido-attribute materials would be Sein's next big challenge.