CHAPTER 165: CHAPTER 165: THE WEIGHT OF DEATH

Chapter 165 – The Weight of Death

Days then weeks had passed inside the dungeon of Ruined Death.

It was during those days that Kaden and Asael showed a frightening advancement in their fighting abilities. It was nice to learn how to fight alone and eventually create your own style, but when you have someone you can look at—someone who can inspire and even guide you—then the progress became much, much faster.

Kaden had trained and learned the basics of sword and footwork techniques in his house, but he never went into depth because he wanted something for himself, and the techniques of the Warborn were far too rigid for him.

He had succeeded in his pursuit. He created Crimson Echo and Bloodflame Descent... two of his own sword techniques born amidst duels with worthy opponents.

But they were still in their newborn stage, and so, by fighting against the corrupted every night, by observing how Asael fought—how delicate his usage of mana was, how fine his shadow manipulation was—Kaden began to take note and adapt.

He started to be more efficient in how he fought.

Before, he had been fighting recklessly—because no matter what, in one corner of his mind, he knew he could revive after death, so he was never truly cautious or avoided injuries. It was something he wasn’t even aware of, but Asael was.

And once he became aware of it, he started to shift, to fight more effectively and avoid as many injuries as possible.

And the list goes on. It was only at that time that Kaden realized how much he had been missing and how sloppy his techniques were but all of them were refined under constant battle against the corrupted.

Asael, too, learned many interesting things from Kaden. But for him, it wasn’t about how Kaden was proficient with his skills, it was the nature of his skills.

Kaden had abilities that were too versatile and useful in nearly every situation, and Asael mimicked some of them—like a shadow—but he didn’t stop at that, he made those techniques his own.

The most striking example was his Flame of Shadow. It was an incredible technique.

Compared to Kaden’s Flame of Blood, which burned the blood and any liquid-type substance inside the opponent’s body—including their mana—Asael’s flame didn’t burn the shadow.

It devoured the shadow of his opponent. And by devouring it, he became stronger.

Yes, a cheat.

Kaden couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw that in action. Instantly, something clicked inside his mind...

If Asael could do that with shadow... then surely, he could do the same with blood.

He tried to create the same technique, but he was unsuccessful. After a while, he decided to put it on hold and focus on the most important matter at that moment...

To evolve his Intent of Death.

After combining multiple bodies of undead and synthesizing them with himself, Kaden had reached a state where the synthesis could no longer benefit him in any way.

His affinity to death at that point was just downright unfair. It was incredibly high.

And he had managed to evolve his intent from budding to awakened intent... but it was still insufficient to open the door. And that meant only one thing.

He needed to evolve his intent to True Intent.

Easier said than done. Barely anyone had ever reached this level of intent because it required a very specific comprehension of the concept.

It required you to deeply understand the intent—but the understanding had to be tied to you. It had to come from you, within you, and to you.

Kaden needed to achieve that comprehension, and that’s why—at that moment—he was sitting in the underground, his back resting against the black door marked with a white pulsing scythe sigil.

His expression was clouded with stress, and the light had become darkness in his sight.

It had been a week or so that he’d been sitting in the same place, barely moving all to understand but nothing came to his mind.

It was like something was blocking him from achieving that understanding. Something important. But...

"I don’t know what..." Kaden muttered, sighing heavily, his expression tense.

Asael, sitting on the black stairs in front of him, tilted his head.

"True intent isn’t easy to achieve. People can go years without even touching it don’t tell me you expected to reach that level in only a week?" Asael said, trying to make Kaden not worry too much.

But it didn’t work.

"We have to get out of here, Asael. I’ve been here for almost a month. And our only hope is this mysterious door," Kaden responded in a heavy tone.

"Why? Didn’t we agree that if you couldn’t open and evolve your intent, we’d find a way to win against the Grandmaster? What changed, my friend?" Asael asked, not understanding why his dear friend had suddenly changed his opinion.

But Kaden knew better.

When he failed to evolve his intent to True Intent two days ago and decided to attack the Grandmaster with Asael, his perception immediately screamed death.

It wasn’t related to himself, no... just like when Kaden sensed something was wrong with his family while he was in Fokay, he sensed something terrible would happen to Asael if they went forward.

He was perplexed. His perception didn’t warn him every time there was danger.

For example, it didn’t warn him about the spider or many others.

’It either warns me when something extremely bad is going to happen and there’s nothing to gain from it or when it feels like doing it.’ He didn’t know which was the case, but it didn’t matter at least for now.

What mattered was that he could no longer proceed without evolving his intent.

That’s exactly why he was stressing. Everything depended on him right now.

He sighed heavily again.

"Asael, if you can’t give me some ideas about how to go past this barrier, then shut up," he said before closing his eyes again, making Asael’s lips twitch.

"Kaden, my friend, you should respect your elders sometimes," he said, then added,

"As for an idea..." he started, expression pensive, beginning to think of Kaden’s nature because in general, that’s the key.

Humans have problems recognizing their own flaws and shortcomings, and so they progress slowly.

But if someone can tell you something true about yourself, and you’re intelligent enough you can gain insight from it.

For Kaden, the only thing Asael could think of—especially when it came to death—was...

"You... my friend, you took life lightly," Asael said, and suddenly Kaden paused.

He opened his eyes and tilted his head.

These words... they sounded familiar for some reason.

’Someone told me something similar...? Who was it again? Oh... yes, that beggar old man...’ Kaden’s thoughts swirled.

But why?

Why did they say that?

Asael noticed Kaden’s confusion and added with a smile, "If anyone knew you well, they would almost swear you had the power to be reborn again, because you’re too careless. You fight carelessly, you don’t mind death, you talk about it like it’s an old friend, you seem to be fighting hard for your life—but the moment things become hard, you’re ready to give up...just like when we first met."

He paused.

"You look like someone who’s seen so much death that life just... became a little less interesting and challenging?" He paused again, then suddenly laughed hard.

"But that’s me talking. I mean, all of this is far-fetched, right? The power to be reborn? What bullshit. Things like that don’t exist." He continued, then added lastly,

"But you do look... dull with life."

The moment Kaden heard all those remarks Asael had about him... his mind expanded. That missing piece finally fell into place, and the puzzle began to form.

He remembered the old beggar’s words about him not holding life dear. He remembered how he said life was worth living, even if the situation was nightmarish.

He’d been irritated by those words because they made him remember—even if briefly—how he had abandoned the life his parents gave him on Earth... out of cowardice.

He thought he had completely let go of that, but things didn’t just vanish. It seemed like it was at that moment... that Kaden started to not value life very much anymore.

And added to that the power to revive, he became even more nonchalant about it.

He was seeking death day and night, and that wasn’t bad in itself...it’s his power after all, but by focusing only on that, he forgot something truly important.

Death was nothing without life.

Death would have no meaning without life.

A soft glow suddenly started to envelop Kaden’s entire body. The light was pure black and reeking of death.

Asael suddenly stopped and looked at Kaden with wide surprised eyes.

’Ah... so that’s what it was...?’

’I have to respect life... to wield death...’

’I have to understand the weight of life... to understand the weight of death...’

’And...’

Slowly, Kaden opened his eyes. They were boundless black, and looked like a flowing river of death.

Serene, still and unpredictable.

The light intensified. The white rune on the black door began to glow at the same time, responding to Kaden’s enlightenment of death.

’And... only those who understand the weight of death... can wield Death.’

As these thoughts consolidated in his mind, a click echoed—both inside Kaden’s soul and from the door—as an intense black light enveloped the underground like a deathly embrace.

In that moment, Asael knew...

Kaden... had advanced to the True Intent of Death, and...

...the black door had opened.

—End of Chapter 165—