CHAPTER 160: CHAPTER 160: TENSE

Chapter 160 – Tense

Both Kaden and Asael stared at the hundreds of runes inscribed across the blinding white floor, their expressions tense.

First of all, finding anything pure white in this dungeon was already suspicious — no matter if it was just the ground...

And second of all...

"Why are there so many runes scattered on the floor in such a... hazardous way?" Kaden asked, tilting his head as if the angle might help him make sense of it.

He would’ve loved to walk around, but with the entire floor covered in runes, he wasn’t about to risk triggering something that could blow them both to pieces.

Asael felt the same. Which is why they hadn’t moved from the one small spot where — oddly enough — there were no runes at all.

"Do you know anything about runes?" Asael asked.

Kaden shook his head. "My knowledge in this domain is nonexistent. I know nothing substantial, just the basic theory of how runes work." Outwardly calm, but inwardly, frustration burned.

Normally, he should already be well into learning both blacksmithing and runesmithing under Old Smith.

But because of all the constant interruptions that kept him from returning to Fokay... here he was instead, stuck in a dungeon.

Kaden sighed darkly.

’So annoying... but what did I expect? Life never goes as planned. You pour your mind and heart into something, and fate just comes along and shoves you somewhere else.’

It was disheartening.

As if fate itself was mocking him, whispering that he would never do what he planned... not unless it allowed him.

And that brought up the question of freedom.

’Does freedom really exist in this world — no, in either world?’

’Or are we all just walking down a path already decided for us?’

For a moment, Kaden’s thoughts wandered deep into the concept of freedom.

Were his choices ever truly his own? Or had they been pushed, nudged, shaped by something unseen?

He didn’t know. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn’t want to know.

Because if it was true... then everything he’d achieved up until now would mean nothing more than someone else’s design. He would just be walking toward milestones like a puppet.

Did he save Inara by coincidence? Or even Zaki and Eimi?

He couldn’t help but wonder.

’Ah... fate... fate...’

’Does it exist? Most likely. After all...’

He slowly turned his head toward Asael, who was still focused intently on the runes, trying to decode them.

’...after all, what were the odds I’d meet someone like him in this death-filled dungeon?’

Honestly? Close to zero.

But Kaden shook his head, forcing himself to focus back on the problem at hand.

’I’ll leave these questions for future me. And as I said, if fate can be controlled by someone, then it can also be destroyed.’

His eyes hardened like bloody steel.

’I just need a way.’

But for now...

Kaden pushed his intelligence stat to its limit, intent on figuring out why these runes were arranged in such a strange way.

He poured also perception into the effort, hunting for even the tiniest differences between them. And slowly, something started to emerge before his eyes.

The runes... they looked like a...

"...a puzzle?" Kaden murmured, the thought slipping out, making Asael snap his head toward him with sudden, sharp curiosity.

"A puzzle? How do you know?" Asael asked.

He had considered the possibility himself, but hadn’t been certain.

"With my perception, I noticed a lot of runes that seemed to fit together, like they were originally a single rune that had been broken apart," Kaden explained.

"I saw this same thing in other spots, so... my guess is, we have to put all the runes back together to form one complete piece." He looked back at the white floor.

"Maybe then... we will know what’s really going on here."

He was curious, but also hesitant.

Dying here wasn’t an option.

Death had given him the quest to survive and escape this dungeon alive.

Which was weird, considering Death normally just told him to die again and again.

’Do you want me to call you Life from now on?’ he asked silently.

[Don’t slander me, Host.] The response came instantly.

Kaden smirked.

"Why are you grinning like an idiot? Get to work and start putting these together," Asael said, staring at him like he was a fool.

"Why aren’t you doing it?" Kaden shot back.

"I tried. I used my mana but it didn’t work. I then tried with my shadow mana but still nothing."

Kaden gave him a long, slow look, his voice dripping with disdain.

"Why didn’t you use death mana? It’s obvious that’s the one. Are you a fool?"

Asael’s lips twitched.

"My shadow mana is too proud. It won’t allow another type of mana inside me if it’s not neutral. If I force it, it will destroy it and hurt me in the process. A damn bastard, honestly," Asael sighed, irritated by his own mana.

Kaden studied him for a moment, finding it hard to believe. He’d never faced that kind of limitation himself.

’Is that true?’

[Yes.]

[People with extraordinary lineage and origin have special mana.]

Kaden went quiet, unsure whether to feel satisfied that Asael hadn’t lied... or irritated that his own lineage wasn’t considered "extraordinary" enough.

’Never mind... I’ll make it so. I just need to synthesize everything worthy inside me.’

But This only confirmed his suspicion...Asael was far from ordinary.

’Extraordinary lineage? If even the Warborn’s lineage isn’t considered extraordinary... then where the hell did this bastard come from?’

He was tempted to ask outright but he decided to save it for later.

Raising his hand, Kaden began gathering death mana with ease — all thanks to his now-high death alignment.

Once it swirled thickly around him, he used it to start moving the runes, fitting them together where they belonged.

Each time one clicked into place, a sharp sound echoed around them, confirming success.

Smirking, he continued — one doing the heavy work, the other occasionally giving his opinion.

Soon enough, Asael’s instincts told him to throw up a barrier.

He did by weaving a dome of shadow around the cave to keep their work hidden from prying senses.

And that’s when Kaden finished. His face was damp with sweat from the task, but he didn’t care.

Both he and Asael were frozen, staring at what they had revealed.

On the stark white floor, a black void-etched scythe pulsed with faint red light, inscribed directly into the ground.

Its aura reeked of death so strongly that for an instant, both of them could feel a gargantuan black scythe slicing their heads off in a single swing.

They staggered back, breath ragged, dread sinking deep into their bones.

But they didn’t even have time to recover before a blinding black light burst from the scythe — and the white floor split open as if torn apart by unseen hands, revealing black stairs spiraling down into the earth.

Once again, Kaden and Asael looked at each other. But this time there were no smirks... only tense expressions.

"This is getting out of hand, right?"

"Definitely, my friend."

—End of Chapter 160—