"Maksudmu?"
Lian menatap inti formasi segel itu selama beberapa detik. Formasi tersebut sangat masif, bahkan energi manusia biasa tidak akan mampu memenuhi sebagian kecil kebutuhannya. Dulu, ratusan Tanda Naga menjaga koneksi ini secara bersamaan. Sekarang, jika semua jalur itu akan digantikan oleh satu jangkar tunggal, orang tersebut harus memiliki kapasitas untuk menahan dan mentransfer kekuatan yang setara dengan ratusan pembawa.
Ini bukan berarti ia harus memiliki mana ratusan kali lipat lebih banyak dari manusia biasa. Sebaliknya, ia harus mampu menjaga tekanan ratusan jalur di dalam satu struktur tanpa membiarkan tubuhnya sendiri atau formasi itu runtuh. Setelah Awakened mencapai evolusi ketiga, mana dan energi mereka mengalami perubahan tertentu dan tidak lagi bekerja dengan cara biasa, itulah sebabnya mereka tidak bisa menjadi sumber energi bagi formasi tersebut. Di sisi lain, formasi itu hanya butuh seseorang untuk menjaga aliran energi, sementara struktur segel itu sendiri masih bisa memproduksi dan menghasilkan energi dalam jumlah besar.
Lian menunduk. Eclipse Core di dalam tubuhnya masih berputar perlahan. Setelah evolusi tubuhnya, kualitas fisiknya sudah jauh berbeda dari manusia biasa. Namun, meski begitu, tidak ada jaminan ia bisa menahan tekanan formasi sebesar ini. Di sisi lain, pilihan apa lagi yang mereka punya? Demon of End masih hidup. Dan setiap detik segel itu dibiarkan tanpa jangkar, risiko kehilangan semua kemajuan yang telah mereka buat akan meningkat. Bahkan jika ia tidak bisa menutupi perbedaan antara ratusan hingga ribuan orang selamanya, ia harus menstabilkan formasi itu untuk saat ini.
Ia menarik napas tenang lalu berkata, "Seris, jaga jalur-jalurnya tetap stabil."
Gadis itu menatapnya tajam. "Kau mau ke mana?"
"Aku akan menjadi sumber energi keduanya."
Seris mengaktifkan Tanda Leluhur lebih penuh dan menjaga aliran emas di sekitar inti formasi tetap stabil, memungkinkan Lian mencapai bagian kedua. Lian melewati cincin pertama. Di sisi lain inti segel, terdapat platform sempit yang selama ini tersembunyi di bawah cahaya intens formasi. Beberapa jalur emas memanjang dari pusat ke platform ini, dan semuanya kini tidak aktif. Saat ia menginjak platform itu, tekanan berat menghantam tubuhnya. Itu bukan tekanan dari kehadiran Demon, melainkan tekanan dari formasi itu sendiri. Struktur kuno tersebut sedang memeriksa apa pun yang mencoba masuk ke intinya.
Lian mengepalkan tangan kanannya. Ia mengalirkan mana ke sepanjang lengannya, dan sebuah dinding emas segera terbentuk di depannya. Lian mengerutkan kening. Masalah yang sama seperti saat ia ingin memasuki penjara; ia bukan anggota keluarga Pendragon, dan formasi itu dirancang hanya untuk melayani kaum Pendragon. Namun, saat itu, Tanda milik Seris bersinar dari sisi lain segel. Salah satu cincin emas berputar, dan dinding di depan Lian menyingkir selama beberapa detik. Seris mengangguk dari kejauhan. Lian pun bergerak maju tanpa membuang waktu.
Di pusat platform kedua, terdapat permukaan hitam halus tempat ratusan untaian emas yang tidak aktif berkumpul. Lian berlutut dengan satu kaki dan meletakkan tangan kanannya di permukaan itu, membiarkan mananya masuk ke jalur utama. Begitu ia melakukan kontak, inti formasi bereaksi, dan ratusan untaian emas bergerak menuju tangannya. Alirannya begitu kuat hingga otot-otot di lengannya menegang sesaat. Aliran kedua masuk. Lalu ketiga. Lalu keempat.
Ia mengertakkan gigi. Tekanan itu tidak hanya memengaruhi mananya; formasi itu juga menguji kapasitas tubuh dan jiwanya. Jika ia tidak bisa menahan aliran ini, koneksi akan terputus, dan jika ia terlalu memaksakan diri, jiwa serta tubuhnya bisa mengalami kerusakan serius. Namun, bertentangan dengan dugaannya, aliran itu tidak berhenti setelah beberapa saat. Eclipse Core mulai bereaksi, dan Ruined Heart juga berdenyut lemah jauh di dalam dirinya.
*Deg!*
Lian menahan napas sejenak saat gelombang tekanan baru menyebar ke seluruh tubuhnya. Formasi itu tampaknya mendeteksi sesuatu yang tidak biasa dalam strukturnya. Mana biasa miliknya saja tidak bisa dibandingkan dengan ribuan pemegang Tanda Naga, tetapi kehadiran Demon Core dan struktur khusus tubuhnya memungkinkannya melewatkan kekuatan yang jauh lebih padat daripada yang bisa ditahan manusia biasa. Dan Ruined Heart, tanpa sifat aslinya diketahui oleh Sistem maupun Lian sendiri, mencegah koneksi ini runtuh dan membantunya.
Alih-alih menyebar di antara ratusan jalur kosong, untaian emas itu terhubung ke satu titik satu demi satu. Lian. Saat ini, ia tidak sekadar memberikan sebagian mananya ke formasi. Ia menjadi jangkar hidup, titik tetap yang bisa menjaga koneksi antara Root dan cadangan energi masif penjara, sekaligus membantu menstabilkannya seiring waktu dengan mananya sendiri. Pekerjaan utama masih menjadi tanggung jawab cadangan energi formasi, tetapi semua aliran itu kini diatur melalui dua sumber: dia dan Seris. Dan ini adalah beban yang dulunya dibagi di antara ribuan Tanda, tetapi sekarang hanya dua orang yang harus menanggungnya.
Vorhelm muda itu merasakan lengan kanannya terbakar. Formasi segel telah menerimanya, dan kini ia sedang menciptakan Tanda Naga untuknya. Garis-garis emas menyebar dari pergelangan tangan hingga ke sikunya. Penglihatannya bahkan sempat kabur sesaat, tetapi ia tidak melepaskan tangannya, sementara di sisi lain segel, Seris menjaga semua aliran utama tetap stabil. Gadis itu bisa melihat perubahannya. Ratusan jalur kosong menjadi gelap satu demi satu, dan energi mereka dialihkan ke koneksi baru. Jangkar pusat tidak lagi mencoba membuat Tanda baru yang tersebar di jalur berbeda. Semua kekuatan yang sebelumnya dimaksudkan untuk dibagi di antara ribuan pembawa kini dipusatkan ke satu jalur: Lian.
Ketika aliran terakhir mencapai tangannya, cahaya emas itu bersinar jauh lebih terang. Pendragon muda itu harus memalingkan wajahnya sedikit. Ia merasakan sesuatu yang panas terukir di punggung tangannya. Pertama, dua sayap, lalu kepala naga, tanduk panjangnya, dan akhirnya, tubuh yang dikelilingi garis-garis meliuk. Tanda itu lengkap.
[ Tanda Naga diperoleh ]
[ Peringkat: Leluhur ]
[ Tingkat: 6 ]
Lian menatap pesan itu selama beberapa saat. Tanda Leluhur? Tingkat yang sama dengan milik Seris? Namun sebelum ia sempat memikirkannya, jendela lain muncul.
[ Berkat Eksklusif Tanda Leluhur telah terbentuk ]
[ Sayap Dewa ]
Pada saat itu, inti formasi mulai beroperasi dengan suara dalam, dan semua cincin emas yang bergetar beberapa detik lalu kembali ke kecepatan putaran sebelumnya. Energi terakumulasi dari Tanda yang dikorbankan tetap berada di dalam jaringan utama segel alih-alih didistribusikan kembali. Untaian emas membentang dari tangan Lian ke inti formasi, dan setelah Tanda itu stabil, untaian tersebut tenggelam ke dalam struktur segel. Tekanan luar biasa pada tubuhnya berkurang, tetapi tidak hilang sepenuhnya.
Lian masih bisa merasakan koneksi baru itu. Ia tahu bahwa mulai saat ini, sebagian stabilitas penjara akan bergantung pada Tanda barunya, serta milik Seris, tetapi ini hanya sementara. Mereka tidak bisa menyediakan cukup energi untuk struktur masif seperti ini sendirian, dan cepat atau lambat—tepatnya, ketika semuanya berakhir dan naga itu kembali tidur—mereka harus menemukan cara untuk memasok energi ke formasi tersebut. Untungnya, itu bukan lagi masalah mereka; keluarga Pendragon bisa menemukan cara untuk menanganinya. Namun, ia juga penasaran bagaimana reaksi kaum Pendragon terhadap fakta bahwa alih-alih ribuan Pendragon, seorang Vorhelm kini memiliki Tanda Naga Leluhur? Mereka pasti tidak akan senang...
Bagaimanapun, ia perlahan melepaskan tangannya dari permukaan hitam itu, dan garis-garis emas di lengannya memudar. Hanya Tanda Naga di punggung tangan kanannya yang tersisa. Seris menatapnya dari sisi lain inti formasi. Lian menekuk jari-jarinya sekali lalu berkata dengan senyum tipis, "Sepertinya ia menerimaku."
Pendragon muda itu menatap Tanda barunya sejenak lalu mengangguk. "Ya, selamat."
Informasi tentang Berkat baru muncul di benaknya.
[ Berkat: Sayap Dewa ]
[ Kemampuan terbang dengan kecepatan hingga 3333% dari kecepatan dasar tubuh pada kecepatan maksimum ]
[ Konsumsi mana berkelanjutan berdasarkan kecepatan dan durasi terbang ]
[ Kemampuan melipat sayap di sekitar tubuh dan membentuk zirah yang meningkatkan kekuatan pertahanan hingga 3333% ]
[ Terhadap serangan yang sangat kuat, hingga 80% mana dapat dikonsumsi untuk pertahanan ]
[ Kemampuan menciptakan tornado masif dengan kekuatan setara 3333% dari kekuatan serangan dan kekuatan fisik ]
[ Biaya: 70% mana per aktivasi ]
[ Penyeberangan Batas Dunia: Terkunci ]
[ Syarat Terbuka: Stat Spirit 100.000 ]
[ Kemampuan untuk melakukan perjalanan antar dunia yang keberadaannya kau ketahui ]
Lian mengangkat alis. Perjalanan antar dunia? Ini bukan lagi sekadar Berkat tempur. Jika stat Spirit-nya mencapai seratus ribu, ia bisa menggunakan sayap ini untuk melintasi batas antar dunia. Dan kemampuan lain dari Berkat ini juga gila; ia tidak menyangka Berkat dari Tanda Naga akan sehebat ini. Ia melirik Seris; gadis itu juga memiliki Tanda Leluhur, jadi seperti apa Berkat miliknya? Seharusnya tidak lebih lemah dari miliknya, kan?
"Kurasa kaum Pendragon akan jauh lebih marah daripada yang kubayangkan." Setelah melihat betapa luar biasanya Berkat ini, ia semakin yakin bahwa reaksi kaum Pendragon mungkin lebih buruk dari yang ia bayangkan. Bagaimanapun, sekarang bukan waktunya memikirkan itu, karena peristiwa yang sebenarnya baru saja dimulai.
Dua garis hitam muncul dari balik bahu Lian. Awalnya, mereka tampak seperti aliran mana yang padat, tetapi bentuknya segera mulai berubah. Struktur tulang gelap menyebar di sepanjang garis tersebut. Lapisan sisik kecil yang rapat menutupi permukaannya, dan selaput besar terbentuk di antara tulang-tulang sayap. Saat terbuka sepenuhnya, dua sayap hitam berdiri di belakangnya.
"Excuse me?"
Lian stared at the core of the seal formation for several seconds.
The formation was so massive that the energy of an ordinary person could not even meet a small part of its needs.
In the past, hundreds of Dragon Marks had maintained this connection together.
Now, if all those paths were going to be replaced by a single anchor, that person needed to have the capacity to withstand and transfer power comparable to what hundreds of carriers could handle.
This did not necessarily mean having hundreds of times more mana than an ordinary human.
Instead, they needed to be able to maintain the pressure of hundreds of paths within a single structure, without allowing either their own body or the formation to collapse.
After Awakened reached their third evolution, their mana and energy underwent certain changes and no longer worked in the usual way, which was why they could not serve as energy sources for the formation.
On the other hand, the formation only needed someone to keep the energy flowing, while the seal structure itself could still produce and generate a large amount of energy, covering most of its needs.
Lian lowered his gaze.
The Eclipse Core inside his body was still rotating slowly.
After his body evolution, his body had become completely different in quality from that of an ordinary human.
However, even with all of this, there was no guarantee that he could withstand the pressure of such a formation.
On the other hand, what better option did they have?
The End Demon was still alive.
And every second the seal remained without an anchor, the risk of losing all the progress they had made increased, even if he could not make up for the difference between hundreds and thousands of people forever, he had to stabilize the formation for now.
He took a calm breath and then said,
"Seris, keep the paths stable."
The girl fixed her gaze on him.
"Where are you going?"
"I’ll become its second energy source."
She activated the Ancestral Mark more fully and kept the golden flows around the formation’s core stable, allowing Lian to reach the second section.
Lian passed by the first ring.
On the other side of the seal’s core, there was a narrow platform that had remained hidden beneath the formation’s intense light until now, several golden paths extended from the center to this platform, and all of them were now inactive.
The moment he stepped onto the platform, a heavy pressure fell upon his body.
It was not the pressure of the Demon’s presence, but the pressure of the formation itself.
The ancient structure was examining whatever was trying to enter its core.
Lian opened his right fist.
He sent his mana flowing along his arm, and a golden wall immediately formed in front of him.
Lian frowned.
The same problem again that he faced when he wanted to enter the prison, he was not a member of the Pendragon Family, and the formation had been designed to serve only the Pendragons.
But at that moment, Seris’s Mark shone from the other side of the seal.
One of the golden rings rotated, and the wall in front of Lian moved aside for a few seconds.
She nodded at him from a distance.
He also moved forward without wasting any time.
At the center of the second platform, there was a smooth black surface where hundreds of inactive golden strands gathered.
Lian knelt on one knee and placed his right hand on the surface, allowing his mana to enter the main path.
The moment he made contact, the formation’s core reacted, and hundreds of golden strands moved toward his hand.
The flow was so powerful that the muscles in his arm tightened for a moment.
The second flow entered.
Then the third.
Then the fourth.
He gritted his teeth, the pressure was not only affecting his mana, the formation was also testing the capacity of his body and soul.
If he could not withstand these flows, the connection would be cut off, and if he insisted too much, his soul and body might suffer serious damage.
However, contrary to his expectations, the flows did not stop after a few moments.
The Eclipse Core began to react, and the Ruined Heart also gave a weak beat deep inside him.
Thump!
Lian held his breath for a moment, as a new wave of pressure spread throughout his body.
The formation seemed to have detected something unusual in his structure.
His ordinary mana alone could not compare to that of thousands of Dragon Mark holders, but the presence of a Demon’s Core and the special structure of his body allowed him to pass much denser power through himself than an ordinary human could withstand.
And the Ruined Heart, without its nature being clear to either the System or Lian himself, was preventing this connection from collapsing and was helping him.
Instead of spreading out among hundreds of empty paths, the golden strands connected to a single point one after another.
Lian.
At this moment, he was not simply providing part of his own mana to the formation.
He was becoming a living anchor, a fixed point that could maintain the connection between the Root and the prison’s massive energy reserves, while also helping stabilize it over time with his own mana.
The main work still belonged to the formation’s energy reserves, but all those flows were now being organized through two sources, him and Seris.
And this was a burden that had once been divided among thousands of Marks, but now only two people had to bear it.
The young Vorhelm felt his right arm burning, the seal formation had accepted him, and now it was creating a Dragon Mark for him.
Golden lines spread from his wrist to his elbow.
His vision even blurred for a moment, but he did not remove his hand, while on the other side of the seal, Seris was keeping all the main flows stable.
She could see the change.
Hundreds of empty paths went dark one after another, and their energy was transferred to the new connection.
The central anchor was no longer trying to create new Marks scattered across different paths.
All the power that had previously been meant to be divided among thousands of carriers was now being concentrated into a single path.
Lian.
When the final flow reached his hand, the golden light grew much brighter.
The young Pendragon had to turn her face slightly away.
He felt something hot being engraved on the back of his hand.
First, two wings, then the head of a dragon, its long horns, and finally, a body surrounded by twisting lines.
The Mark was complete.
[ Dragon Mark acquired ]
[ Rank: Ancestral ]
[ Grade: 6 ]
Lian looked at the message for a few moments.
An Ancestral Mark?
The same grade Seris had?
But before he could think about it, another window appeared.
[ Exclusive Blessing of the Ancestral Mark has been formed ]
[ Wings of God ]
At that moment, the formation’s core began to operate with a deep sound, and all the golden rings that had been shaking just seconds ago returned to their previous rotation speed.
The accumulated energy from the sacrificed Marks remained within the seal’s main network instead of being redistributed.
Golden strands stretched from Lian’s hand to the formation’s core, and after the Mark was stabilized, they sank into the seal structure.
The immense pressure on his body decreased, but it did not disappear completely.
Lian could still feel the new connection.
He knew that from this moment on, part of the prison’s stability would depend on his new Mark, as well as Seris’s, but this was only temporary.
They could not provide enough energy for such a massive structure on their own, and sooner or later, more precisely, when everything was over and the dragon returned to its sleep, they would have to find a way to supply energy to the formation.
Fortunately, that would no longer be their problem, the Pendragon Family could find a way to handle it.
However, he was also curious about how the Pendragons would react to the fact that instead of thousands of Pendragons, a single Vorhelm now possessed an Ancestral Dragon Mark?
They certainly would not be happy ...
In any case, he slowly removed his hand from the black surface, and the golden lines on his arm faded away.
Only the Dragon Mark on the back of his right hand remained.
Seris was looking at him from the other side of the formation’s core, Lian curled his fingers once and then said with a faint smile,
"Looks like it accepted me."
The young Pendragon looked at his new Mark for a moment and then nodded.
"Yeah, congratulations."
The information about the new Blessing appeared in his mind.
[ Blessing: Wings of God ]
[ Ability to fly at a speed that can reach up to 3333% of the body’s base speed at its maximum ]
[ Continuous mana consumption based on flight speed and duration ]
[ Ability to fold the wings around the body and form armor that increases defensive power by up to 3333% ]
[ Against extremely powerful attacks, up to 80% of mana can be consumed for defense ]
[ Ability to create a massive tornado with power equal to 3333% of offensive power and physical strength ]
[ Cost: 70% of mana per activation ]
[ World Boundary Crossing: Locked ]
[ Unlock Requirement: Spirit stat of 100,000 ]
[ Ability to travel between worlds whose existence you are aware of ]
Lian raised his eyebrows.
Traveling between worlds? This was no longer just a combat Blessing.
If his Spirit stat ever reached one hundred thousand, he could use these wings to cross the boundaries between worlds,
And the other abilities of this Blessing were also insane, he had not expected the Blessing of a Dragon Mark to be this amazing.
He glanced at Seris, that girl also had an Ancestral Mark, so what was her Blessing like? It should not be weaker than his, right?
"I guess the Pendragons are going to be even angrier than I expected." After seeing just how amazing this Blessing could be, he became even more certain that the Pendragons’ reaction might be worse than he imagined.
In any case, now was not the time to think about that, because the real event was only just beginning.
Two black lines emerged from behind Lian’s shoulders.
At first, they looked like streams of dense mana, but their shape soon began to change.
Dark bone structures spread along them. Layers of small, tightly packed scales covered their surfaces, and huge membranes formed between the bones of the wings.
When they fully opened, two black wings stood behind him.
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