Burning a seal required an absolute sense of relief, a clear mind, and a desire to watch it burn. Yet despite his increasing experience points, the seal failed to burn completely—it stopped not long after the edges caught fire.
This gave Raiden some insight into what Leo was really getting at. "Play around with different ways of using your mana alongside your familiar"—that's exactly what Leo had said.
He didn't take him seriously since he despised his demeanor. He only saw him as someone passionate about magic who, if given the opportunity, could learn more and provide him access to whatever magic he might need.
But after getting sufficient proof that he was right after all, he decided to take things a step further and experiment with mana and Ash—and Ash seemed keen on the idea too, since she'd been pushing for something like this.
After all, he only had to make use of his mana. It seemed simple enough.
Since the seal hadn't burned thoroughly, it was clear he needed more mana. This prompted him to take a gamble—200 out of 5000 from his mana pool. It was a rough guess, but he would have needed it regardless.
For the past several days, he'd only concentrated on building his mana and storing it up, and by the time he achieved his goal, just two days were left before their duel.
It was afternoon, and he had to know precisely where he stood before the final day, since he'd reserved that entirely for training.
Raiden remained seated at the center of the room, Ash standing beside him and gently observing as he closed his eyes and controlled his breath.
He gripped the seal at both edges, pushing away every desire related to the seal and filling his mind with thoughts of warmth and peace—thinking of Ash.
He then slowly began to visualize his mana flowing through his hands into the seal, like gas being released from a cylinder.
He repeated his approach again and again, and before he realized it, the seal had started burning from the edges. Ash began dancing around in excitement while Raiden's eyes stayed closed, his focus solely on burning it through completely.
Suddenly, an insistent nudge from Ash brought him back to reality, and he opened his eyes to see the seal completely reduced to ashes. He smirked and patted Ash.
His assumption had proven correct after all. However, his expression darkened as he picked up Ash and placed her on his lap.
"Let's try this, Ash, just like you wanted … we might get somewhere with it.'' He offered her a warm smile as Ash smiled back and settled comfortably on his lap.
Just like he had done with the seal, he wanted to see what would happen if he managed to channel his mana into Ash. Without any further ado, he began the process.
In the first few seconds, his body flinched with goosebumps surging under his skin, but he paid no heed. Ash, however, began to give small yelps, but Raiden was far beyond hearing, so she started giving him light scratches.
He continued channeling the mana with all his strength and inner senses, but this time everything was vivid—like white powder scattered through the air. He saw it all clearly, though his mana core seemed to be diminishing in size.
By then, he was too absorbed to think rationally, and even Ash's scratches on his hand couldn't break his trance. The guilt and fear were written across her face as she blamed herself.
[ALERT]
[WARNING: MANA DEPLETION]
[MANA POOL: 118/5000]
Suddenly, another sensation flooded his body, draining the color from his face and leaving him increasingly cold. He started sweating heavily even though his skin felt dry.
He desperately wanted to break free, but he couldn't—trembling with every attempt as fear took hold and his heart pounded wildly.
Ash whimpered guiltily beside him, unable to move while trapped in Raiden's grasp.
[MANA POOL: 90/5000]
Raiden was trapped, and his mana started flowing out like escaping air at an alarming rate. He struggled to break free or open his eyes, but his mana kept draining away by itself, as though Ash's body was somehow drawing it out.
Before he realized it, everything had vanished, just like when he'd first encountered Ash.
[MANA POOL: 0/5000]
It wasn't his body collapsing on the floor that followed—cold, with labored breathing and a weakening heartbeat.
Instead, he remained trapped in that deep trance while his body became filled with something entirely new, something relaxing and calming that pulled him gently into sleep. The last sound he registered was a message from his system.
[ALERT]
[SOUL RENDERING COMPLETED]
[+20 XP]
[FAMILIAR TRUST: +10%
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: SOUL OF DRAGON- 0%
—You now possess the spiritual power, will, and legacy of Ash. This enhances instinct, danger detection, mana, and aura.]
[DRAGON MANA POOL: 200/5000]
[CURRENT STATUS: NUMBER 8: LEVEL- 5/100 XP.
MANA CONTROL: 0
DRAGON MANA POOL: 200/ 5000
PHYSICAL STRENGTH: 160
STAMINA: 140
DRAGON AURA: 20
SKILL PROFICIENCY: ACTIVE 1
—Swordsmanship: 60%
FAMILIAR TRUST: 102%
—Linked Familiar: WHITE DRAGON
CONTRACTS: ACTIVE 1.
—Name: [ASH]
—Bond Type: Sealed Pact.
NEW ABILITIES:
—Soul of Dragon: 0%
—Others Locked.]
And with that, he finally fell into sleep. Ash scurried around and nudged him persistently, but Raiden remained unresponsive. She continued whimpering as she curled up beside him.
They both stayed on the floor for roughly six hours, awakening at 8:27 pm. Raiden instinctively sat up to find Ash still resting on his left side. A wave of relief, calmness, and warmth flowed through his chest, as though all his burdens were suddenly lifting away.
But he needed to reach the library, so he quickly got to his feet and carefully positioned Ash on his shoulder. As he walked, he stopped to instruct some guards to bring his meal to him.
He hesitated for a moment as he could see something radiating from their body, corresponding to their mana crests. It took him a little while to actually realize it was their aura—he could see them now. With a gentle smirk, he instructed them nevertheless.
The instant he stepped into the library, Ash woke up, sprang down from his shoulder, and darted to the desk where she positioned herself. Raiden took his seat with a smile, watching her.
"Did you do this?"
Ash smiled faintly, jumped onto Raiden's leg, and started nudging him affectionately. [Yes, I did.] Her voice carried that same warm, childish tone.
Raiden's grin broadened as he gently patted her. "I would have appreciated a heads-up… but I suppose you just didn't have the words to explain it."
Ash made herself comfortable on Raiden's leg while he briefly examined himself before touching his crest with satisfaction. He was now at level 8.
Suddenly, something caught his attention as he looked to his right, toward the wall where the Book of Ashes lay hidden. He could sense it now—that immense dark energy emanating from it, even through the barriers.
He could actually hear the energy striking the wall, producing a grating, unsettling scraping sound that made chills race down his spine as he swallowed hard.
"So this is why Ash didn't want me going in there… I would have been dead."
This made him realize that even those pursuing the book had no clue what it actually was. What he sensed was something threatening that went far beyond human understanding.
He touched his crest again. "Since they confirmed that Raiden's mother has finally abandoned the Night name as we expected, I think I should deepen my involvement with the request."
He looked toward the walls once more. "I can't allow this feeling to hang over me any longer… I might lose my humanity."
He paused and squeezed his fist into a tight ball. All the nervousness and anxiety he had been holding back finally began to show as tremors ran through his body. "I must defeat Levi."