"So..." Yuki spoke. "Ready for your reward?"

Damon, who was still breathing raggedly from the battle, raised a brow. "Reward?"

She stepped toward him and placed a soft hand against his cheek, turning his face toward the rift core, or rather, to the left of it.

There sat a small chest crafted from a silver-lined wood.

"Treasure chest," he murmured, realising immediately what it was.

"If you’re not interested, I suppose I could take it for myself—"

Before she could even finish her offer, Damon was already moving toward it.

He opened the chest the second he reached it, wasting no time to look inside, only to frown as he saw only a small orb hidden inside.

’An orb?’

The moment his fingers brushed the surface, a loud notification cut through his head.

[You have received a relic: Void Edge]

The name didn’t offer much explanation, only more questions as he picked the item up.

He twisted the orb a couple of times in his hand, before feeling a sudden sensation coming from it and following that very feeling—

The orb shifted.

It stretched into a long, thin line made of dark liquid before taking on a hard shape which he recognised instantly.

’A Katana?’

He admired the shape for a little while before realising there was more to it. Its shape, it felt as though it was connected to his consciousness.

As his mind trailed back toward his old weapon, the shape shifted again. The curved blade turned straight, and the single sharp edge turned into two. The katana transformed into a jian with a single flicker of intent before he sent another command, and it stretched once more.

The hilt extended, turning into a long pole, while the blade shortened, turning into a sharp spearhead.

Just like that, the jian turned into a spear.

He spun it around a couple of times before transforming it into a pair of daggers. He flicked them around in his hands, testing the weight and the fit, which both felt perfect, before sending a final command and turning them into a pair of gloves.

The moment the shape changed for the last time, he checked the item description.

[Relic: Void Edge]

[Description: A weapon forged from the fragments of void. It can take any shape or form, according to the user’s intent.]

[Stats: +105 Strength]

[Passive Ability Mana Absorption: Each strike drains a small percentage of the target’s mana and adds it to the wielder’s reserves.]

Damon’s eyes widened as he read the description.

The stat increase was enormous, over a hundred strength from a single item, but what truly shocked him was the passive ability.

Unlike his life steal ability, which simply healed him for the percentage of the damage, this one stole a small amount of the target’s mana reserves and gave it to him.

"Interesting..." Yuki murmured, more to herself than to him, as she approached with her eyes glued to his relic.

Damon turned and, seeing her approach, an idea flashed across his mind, a perfect way to test this new passive ability.

The second she got close enough, he moved his hand covered by the glove made of new relic and placed it on her shoulder.

For a split second, nothing happened before a sudden tug pulled at his abdomen.

[Mana Absorption Activated.]

[...]

[You have absorbed 1 Mana]

Yuki took a sudden step backwards, her eyes widening. "You..." she trailed off, as if lost for words or unwilling to believe what just happened. "You just stole my mana."

Yuki took a sudden step backwards, her eyes widening.

For a moment, her expression cycled through several things simultaneously. Surprise, indignation, the particular offence of someone whose mana had never been touched by anything without permission, and underneath all of it, the faintest trace of being impressed.

’You...’ she trailed off, as if lost for words or unwilling to believe what just happened. ’You stole my mana.’

Damon shrugged. "I’d give it back if I could... Let’s go, we’ve been here for long enough."

She watched him walk toward the rift core with a perplexed expression.

He reached the core with an unhurried walk before stretching his arm, ready to imbue mana and destroy the core.

But before he could do the second part—

[Mana Absorption Activated.]

Damon’s eyes widened.

[...]

[...]

’It... activated on a core?’

The notification had no right to be there, at least not according to everything he knew so far.

But before he could dwell on any of that, a sharp tug pulled at his core, and he focused on keeping his gloved arm on the rift core.

Yuki, who trailed behind, realised what was happening a second later.

"You’re... Wait, no—"

[You have absorbed 847 Mana]

The moment the notification rang in his head, and before Yuki could reach and stop him, the rift core shattered. But not the way it normally did, breaking into countless pieces, this time, it was as if it dissolved, like a piece of tissue in water. It simply vanished, and with it, their surroundings changed.

But instead of the woods they left behind, the world Ayame summoned him to, they appeared in some dark place.

There was no sound or smell, just a faint vibration that rang constantly across the world, followed by a faint chill that felt as though it came from that very vibration rather than the actual cold.

The sky was black, with small cracks that broke it with pale blue light that cast just enough light to illuminate the grey stone beneath.

Damon frowned as he looked around.

Beside him, Yuki didn’t look. She went completely still for a couple of moments before turning toward Damon.

"You absorbed the rift core."

Damon ignored the comment and focused on the matter at hand.

"Do you have any idea where we are?"

"The rifts connect two worlds together. Normally, when you break the core, you return to your world... But I guess since you absorbed the core instead of shattering it, we’ve been sent to the wrong place."

"...You mean?"

"Yeah. We’re in the wrong world."