"Yaromech!" Ferris turned, then looked around.

That familiar voice.

No one was nearby, yet every fiber of his being told him someone was there.

...

I'm not going crazy, Ferris assured himself.

This wasn't some joke—not when it was someone so important.

Is this the work of a blessing user?

If that was the case, then it meant this person managed to look into his memories beyond his current life.

Someone with knowledge of his past... existing.

...whatever the case, they don't seem to want a face-to-face conversation. Are they just observing me?

That voice did say he was overthinking things. Maybe I really am going crazy.

Not affording himself the luxury of getting distracted by ghosts, Ferris was just about to turn his attention to where Tianqin should be.

Standing atop the cliff while he himself was under it. It was impossible to observe Tianqin physically, but their sheer pressure made it obvious where they were.

Dodge.

That faint voice came again.

That voice… it is real! I'm not crazy. Ferris tried focusing his senses to find the source of the sound.

Who dares to use my friend's voice—

Dodge you dumbass!

"!!!"

A chilling wave clawed at his skin like razor blades, enough to almost freeze him in place.

Looking back up at where the swordsman was, his entire field of vision was occupied by a red line.

One that was just about to tear him apart if he didn't act fast enough.

Thankfully, his instincts reacted first as he used his leg muscles to propel himself sideways, just before the massive essence blade struck the bedrock and tore open another new valley inside the valley.

But there was now a new problem.

How the hell am I flying? No...

I pushed myself so fast that I might as well be flying from the force alone.

This was impossible. Ferris quickly buried his fist on the ground to stop his momentum.

He found himself pretty far away from the capsule, which didn't even exist anymore because of Tianqin's attack.

Is it because of this suit? I still feel like a 9th layer, though.

But there was a significant increase in essence.

I feel like vomiting from the internal pressure.

The suit gave you 5 extra layers, technically you now have 14 layers, but it acts more like being in the 5th essence layer.

"Who are you?" Ferris cut straight to the point.

Did you already forget me? Just because you have a new life, it doesn't give you the right to forget those who raised you.The voice replied in a mocking tone.

It's Yaromech's voice, without a doubt.

But the real Yaromech isn't —

Snarky? I'm already inside you, the moment you wore…

The voice ceased momentarily; however, Ferris could feel that this "Yaromech" merely stumbled over his words.

This thing…

Ferris scoffed. You don't know this armor, then how did you know its properties?

As a matter of fact, you don't know why you're here, don't you?

All of this was too quick, even for Ferris to digest. But with his extensive knowledge of the nature of essence, he immediately concluded one thing with strong sureness.

The armor he was wearing was cursed by his teacher's soul.

The lower the layer—or rather, the higher the attunement with essence as one goes through the ranks, the body slowly gains a stronger influence on the surrounding essence to the point that it's no longer basic manipulation like sword essence or other techniques.

But rather, the influence is great enough to leave imprints, such as leaving an imprint of oneself onto an object.

But cases like these don't leave a full imprint, at least in most cases.

Cursed objects only exhibit the most basic thing. In Ferris' case, the most basic thing the armor had was Yaromech's desires, or his instinctive thoughts.

This was indeed Yaromech's but not the one he knew.

Can't I get a warm hug, you brat?

No thanks… Ferris smiled, before chuckling a bit.

What's so funny?

Cursed objects are always considered evil. It's because they leave only the most primal thoughts.

I've seen worse cases. Sometimes cursed objects caused by people can't even communicate, and if they do, they usually say disturbing stuff.

Am I saying weird things then?

No, quite the opposite…

This shows how pure your soul is. I'm glad to meet you like this, actually.

Yes. Ferris didn't want to meet someone so close to him in a ruined state like how Miss Evening described other people from his world.

So this encounter was one of the better options, even though…

The only way for a person to curse something is to die.

I'm sure you're glad to see me… I just realized now too.

I'm dead, aren't I?

You aren't to me. The fact that I'm talking to you like this so clearly is proof enough.

I didn't expect to leave a curse. I don't even remember how I died... It must've been an emotional experience if I left such a deep impression on the essence of this armor.

The more you talk, the quicker the essence reaffirms itself. This part of your soul will be sent to oblivion if I don't free you—

No more. It doesn't even matter what's happening anymore.

I can feel that you're currently fighting someone named Tianqin, right? From the looks of it you'll definitely still lose.

So shouldn't we be running instead of chatting like this?

Ferris nodded, but those attacks felt more like tests than actual attempts to kill.

Those devastating essence blades were strong enough to rip the very earth apart like butter, but they were meant to test Ferris' most important ability.

The ability to survive.

And knowing that Ferris did survive those attacks, Tianqin was now sure that this knight wouldn't die so easily.

That's what Ferris thought.

With a leap that left a crater under his feet, Ferris made his way back to the edge of the cliff he once stood at, landing gracefully as well.

"Marvelous! Truly marvelous! The new world definitely has more fun than the other ring worlds!" Tianqin was bewildered at the exotic armor Ferris wore.

"This calls for a proper duel, dear... please give me a hand."

Helping lift Tianqin from his wheelchair, Artemis turned her attention toward the faceless mask of the knight.

Ferris hid his emotions, even though his helmet was a flat slate at the front that hid his face.

He can barely stand up straight—

Don't underestimate that guy. And also... what is this strange place? Yaromech's fragment commented on the architecture.

Welcome to Henosis.

What's a Henosis?

Never mind... just help me with strategy or something. Ferris bit his lip.

. . .

"Yaromech?"

Tianqin steadied his breath in silence before speaking with an exaggerated tone."Since I'm the one that's challenging you, I'll be making the first move."

. . .

. . .

. . .

Artemis staggered backward in confusion. "Eh? Where did they go?"

***

Damn, I didn't expect this guy to be this tenacious! Ferris exclaimed inwardly.

For an old swordmaster like Tianqin, he was expecting a much more refined swordsmanship technique that suited his age and weakened body.

But instead of that, he was met with a ferocious beast that fought like a young-blooded predator.

But still, despite the aggressive combat tactic, Tianqin had the upper hand.

I keep going for his weak spots, but it feels like he's blocking them instinctively.

The two danced around the battlefield, causing even more destruction atop the destruction caused by the dragon egg.

He hasn't used his blessing yet. I need to be careful.

You should use that opportunity to fight back.

Yaromech?

I... fainted there. I can't last any longer, I'm sorry.

Not wanting his teacher to waste any more energy remaining conscious inside the armor, Ferris refused to make a direct reply.

The focus shouldn't be beating Tianqin. It was to destroy the egg. But—

Ferris had a good feeling as he exchanged blows with the Impaler.

If I turn around for even a split second, he'll rip me to shreds.

"Ferris, right? Tell me!

Why is someone so weak like yourself

so strong!" Tianqin announced as he delivered yet another massive blood-red essence blade.

Seriously, that attack is just made to look flashy. Ferris gawked, but he didn't dismiss the flawless execution.

Now that the fog wasn't in the way, he could truly see the scale of Tianqin's essence blade.

A crescent red moon was the only apt description he could compare it to.

There's no way I'll clash with that.

Their fight had now moved far away from the valley area, and they were much closer to the downtown district with a lot of high rises.

Using the glass windows as steps, Ferris zigzagged through the buildings like a pinball, allowing him to easily dodge such large attacks.

It sucks that this suit only amplifies my essence. It doesn't give me the unique abilities that come with each layer advancement.

But a knight wouldn't complain, right?

Ferris coasted along the rows of buildings, trying to drag the fight out as long as possible. He hoped that even if Tianqin was strong, his age would limit his stamina.

In the reflection of a building's window, he saw the sky growing redder as time passed.

I need to find the perfect time to destroy it—

"There you are."

Behind him in the reflection, Tianqin's pair of bloodshot eyes stared straight into his core.