Steel clashed again and again, sparks spilling like dying stars across the shattered ruins. Rin's arms trembled with every swing, his lungs screaming for air, but his grip on the hilt never faltered.
The Codex—masked, regal, inhumanly calm—moved like the embodiment of inevitability. Each strike from him was not merely an attack, but a verdict. Where Rin's blade sought to cut, Codex's blade answered, smothering every attempt in perfect, flowing arcs.
Rin lunged, twisted, slashed high—only for his throat to be opened in one motion, the world fading in crimson before darkness swallowed him.
And then—he stood again. Alive, blade in hand, his chest heaving.
The cycle repeated.
Death.
Resurrection.
Steel.
Death again.
By the two-hundredth death, Rin felt the weight of futility press down on him like a coffin lid. His muscles remembered nothing but defeat. His mind echoed with failure. Yet—something inside him hardened.
---
The masked man finally stopped mid-swing, lowering his blade. His voice rolled through the ruins like thunder behind a veil:
> "You thought the Elder Vampire pushed you to your limits. That when your blade screamed with you, when you tasted your so-called full power—you had surpassed yourself."
Rin's chest rose and fell violently, his eyes burning as he stared into that black mask.
> "…That wasn't… my limit?"
The Codex chuckled, quiet but sharp, the sound like ancient iron grinding against itself.
> "Limit? Boy, you have not even brushed against it. What you called power was the faintest whisper of your storm. The sigh of your true blade."
He took one step, and the ground beneath Rin's feet fractured into dust. The red fissures in the sky flared brighter, shadows surging like tides.
> "I represent what you are meant to become. Limitless. Boundless. Eternal. Now… let us dance."
---
Rin roared, charging again. The city of ruins shuddered as their swords clashed, shockwaves rattling broken towers to ash.
This time, he didn't swing wildly. Every death, every failure was etched into his bones. He weaved, ducked, parried. He learned. And though he still fell, still bled, still collapsed under the weight of perfection—each rebirth brought sharper instinct, deeper understanding.
A hundred more deaths passed. His arms felt carved from stone. His mind screamed with pain. But then—his blade slipped through.
Steel hissed across the masked man's chest, carving a thin line of blood.
For the first time, the Codex stilled. His aura rippled—not with anger, but with quiet approval.
---
The ruins dissolved into shadows, collapsing like sand in the wind. Rin blinked and found himself once more before the black throne, the figure seated regally upon it, a single drop of blood trailing down his robe.
> "It seems," the Codex murmured, voice heavy with a finality that shook the palace, "you are ready."
The throne, the mask, the palace itself—all faded into void.
---
[ Quest Completed: Slaying of Scripted Elder Vampire]
[ Reward: ??? Blade ]
Rin staggered as the notification unfurled before his eyes. The sword he had fought with in the ruins shimmered into his hands. Its sheath was obsidian, etched with ancient engravings that pulsed faintly with light, as though alive.
For a moment, Rin swore he heard it breathe.
[ Ego Weapon Acquired: ??? Blade ]
[ Loyalty: 100% ]
[ Human Form: Locked ]
Rin's lips parted in disbelief, but before he could think further, his body sagged. His vision blurred, the system window fading into afterglow.
When his eyes opened again—he was back. The palace was gone. The battle was gone. He lay on a bed in the real world, moonlight spilling faintly across the room.
He blinked, He turned his head—and his chest clenched.
All of his friends were there, slumped in chairs, asleep, exhaustion plain on their faces. They had waited. They had guarded him.
Rin exhaled slowly, the weight of what he gained—and what he could one day lose—pressing against his heart.
"…Thanks, everyone," he whispered.
The blade hummed faintly at his side, like it had heard him.
---
Codex Record — ??? Blade (Refined)
Classification: Ego Weapon (Transcendent Tier)
Affinity: Ice / Absolute Cold
Loyalty: 100% Bound
---
Awakening Form (sword base form)— "Frozen Edge"
Every swing of the blade releases cold mist and shards of razor ice.
Strikes freeze targets from the inside out, bypassing normal defenses.
Can manifest Ice Constructs: spears, spikes, and barriers formed instantly from condensed aura.
Creativity is limitless — the wielder can forge shields, traps, or jagged terrain to control the battlefield.
Signature Technique — "Frozen Fang Dragon"
Summons a dragon of crystallized ice that lunges at the enemy.
Unlike ordinary summons, it cannot be dispelled until shattered completely.
Each dragon carries the ferocity of Rin's aura and explodes on impact, creating frozen shockwaves.
---
Transcendent Release — "Eternal Winter Sovereign"
The battlefield is instantly engulfed in an Absolute Zero Domain.
Within this domain:
Space slows — enemies move sluggishly, as if weighed by frost.
All water, blood, and mana in the air crystallizes into ice, which Rin can weaponize at will.
His blade becomes a conduit of the storm, summoning ice dragons in packs or unleashing blizzards that shred the land.
Ultimate Skill — "Chrono-Frost Severance"
Instead of cliché time-stop, the blade freezes the flow of phenomena for a few seconds.
Attacks, spells, domains — everything halts mid-motion, not because time is stopped, but because their causes are frozen.
In that instant, Rin's blade decides what continues… and what shatters.
Final Accord — Frost Monarch
"When the bearer becomes one with the blade, frost itself obeys his will. Every movement births an echo, phantom slashes that strike a second time from mirrored frost. Defenses rise to cover cities, dragons roar to erase armies, and ice is no longer element, but law. The blade's spirit walks beside him, veiled in frost, a guardian and executioner alike, loyal until the end of time."
---
Ego Sentience
In human form, the sword's spirit is a regal, frost-haired warrior cloaked in silver mist, calm but ruthless.
It will call Rin "Bearer" until synchronization deepens.
Hidden line:
> "When frost crowns the blade, eternity kneels."