"ARGH!!!"

Wain screamed out in pain, but Felix that was standing next to him didn't hear it. Wain barely opened his eyes as he saw his Soul Temple up close.

"What's going on here...?" Wain muttered while in disbelief.

It seemed to him as if his consciousness had separated from his body that was being altered by the effects of the darkness.

Wain turned around as he tried to find some of the Forms, but there was no one here, nor Blind Sorcerer, nor Light Racer, nor Gladius. In the endless space remained, only he, Soul Temple, and the terrifying dark soul.

"Where is everyone? Damn, this is crazy... but I don't seem to have any other choice." Wain uttered, shook his head, and rose from the ground.

He walked slowly toward the Temple while streams of darkness surrounded him like a veil. Unlike the wild monsters Felix fought, this energy was calm and powerful as though everything superfluous had been removed.

"Ah... That's good... However, it's not enough. I still feel there are impurities here... I don't need it..." Wain said in a slow voice as his eyes grew much deeper like an abyss.

...

Felix stared intently at Wain while the petals hovering beside him killed the continually appearing monsters.

"Ah, looks like I can finally get some rest." Felix muttered when the petal cut the last monster.

For a while Wain's aura returned to normal, so Felix removed some of the barriers, but suddenly his pupils narrowed as a shiver ran through his body.

"What is this strange feeling...?" Felix uttered with a confused look, "Shit, I rushed it!"

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

A powerful torrent of darkness burst out of Wain that instantly destroyed the bud. Felix swung his arm as he created a protective barrier in front of him, but the impact threw him back several meters, to the edge of the soul lake.

"Well, well, I need to deal with the last boss first, right?" Felix muttered with a serious look while staring at the monster.

The last monster absorbed all the energy that emanated from Wain's body, so its aura was terrifying. The monster had three eerie eyes with vertical red pupils, a massive jaw on its head, and on its palms. From the monster's shoulders, elbows, and knees protruded long, curved blades that sliced through the air with a slight movement.

"Attack. Whatever you are, there's no way you can handle me. You're nothing but a byproduct of Wain's energy." Felix uttered in an arrogant manner as he stepped forward.

Roooooaaaaaarrrrr!

The monster roared furiously, swung its arms, and turned into a dark flash that spiraled along the cave's walls and headed toward Felix. In just a moment the two ghastly jaws were in front of Felix's face, but he was completely calm, while his eyes regarded the monster as a victim, with pity and condescension.

"There is a cage for every beast, even one as furious as you." Felix uttered as his palms lit up.historical

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The space trembled as tree roots with purple energy threads burst from the walls. The roots surrounded the monster as it was caged, while the threads covered its entire body. The monster tried to reach Felix as the distance between them was less than a palm length, but the threads prevented the monster from making even one step.

Argh!

Felix threw up a mouthful of blood, but his face remained unemotional.

"Even though you couldn't get to me, I still got hurt because of my actions. I guess for someone who specializes in creating barriers it's a shame..." Felix muttered while shaking his head as he approached the monster.

Felix took the monster's hand, looked him in the eye, and said, "Maybe it can't be seen, but I feel your inner fear as a Plant. I will put an end to it."

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

Threads pierced the monster and destroyed the monster. The roots absorbed all the dark energy as they gradually transformed into a small purple flower with three black petals.

"This will make a great decoration for this place." Felix muttered in a quiet voice as he touched the flower with his fingertip.

Wain's energy finally calmed down as this monster was the last outcome.

...

The darkness gradually absorbed into Wain's body as he sighed when the last bit of darkness disappeared.

"Yeah... Just what I needed..." Wain muttered with a satisfied look.

At the same time, his aura intensified several times as a wave of energy passed through his body that seemed even purer than Soul Pearls.

[Your body is trying to break through the barriers!]

[Error!]

[Error!]

[Error!]

[Your blood purity has increased!]

[Your blood purity is now 99.9% for unknown reasons!]

"Fine..." Wain uttered as he looked at the dark crown that floated in the center of Soul Temple.

As though at his will the crown headed towards him and landed on his head, then energy burst out of Wain, but not gray as before, but dark.

[Your Darkness Concept amplified!]

[Your Beyond has merged with your base element! The boundaries of your energy control have been greatly expanded!]

Wain nodded, looked at the Dark Soul, and muttered, "Now it's just us here, right?"

Wain walked over to the Soul Altar that was already completely covered in darkness and touched it. Wain wanted to absorb that energy, but suddenly the darkness ripped apart as well as his Soul Temple.

"What...? Is it supposed to be like this? Is my Soul Temple destroyed? No... it doesn't look like it..." Wain said while in confusion.

Whooooooosh.

The darkness with the debris from Soul Temple headed away as only a dark soul and a wide platform remained.

Then, the debris turned into a massive black gate with an image of a crown in the center. The darkness became powerful, thick chains that closed the gate as though it were the entrance to hell, and no one was ever supposed to go there.