Ashen Ascension: The Divided Flame-Chapter 87: The Rise of the First Layer Predator

Ivor didn't mention the countless nights he'd spent watching, counting awakeners, and mapping hidden positions. He also didn't mention the internal changes.

As they walked, Ivor briefly checked his inner power. His mana circuit had nine glowing mana nodes, showing the progress in his attunement. His soul circuit was brighter, with fourteen glowing soul nodes. He had attuned 4 more soul nodes in the past weeks.

He was much stronger than when he had fought Ryker. When they saw the Scar entrance, Nara let out a breath. Ivor only relaxed once Nara was near the boundary.

Ivor then stopped, watched Nara go out, and moved back into the forest, where the Labyrinth of Nine waited.

He climbed the tree where he had hidden his bags. He took out his father's old dagger and put it deep inside one of the bags; he decided not to carry it anymore because Nara's new knife was better.

Then, he ate the food he had packed. The fruits, which had mana, made him feel warm and gave him a lot of energy. He ate all the food, finishing what was meant to last him two days in one meal, and felt much stronger and more balanced.

He used a black cloth to tie his hair back very tightly. He preferred his hair out of the way so it wouldn't bother him. He then dropped from the tree and started walking openly toward the Labyrinth, not hiding.

A thin white ring formed along the outer edge of his black iris. It was not whole, seven separate segments lit up in sequence before disappearing, unnoticed by him.

He ran through the first area quickly. When two boys saw him, they froze. Ivor slowed down, watching to see what they would do, as their shoulders tensed and their hands went toward their weapons.

Ivor put his hand on the handle of his sword, a deliberate, slow motion that spoke volumes without a single word being uttered.

The slight shift in the weight of the metal against the leather sent a jolt of panic through the two young boys. They flinched violently, scrambling backward in a hurried, awkward retreat, as if the mere potential of the weapon's unsheathing constituted a full-blown assault.

Their breath hitched and rattled in their throats, the sound exaggerated and frantic in the tense silence. Their eyes, wide and fixed on Ivor's hand, were pools of terror reflecting the immediate threat.

A hint of disappointment crossed Ivor's face. He recognized them immediately. He had run into these two before and had taken what little they carried on two different occasions. They remembered it clearly as well. The memory of those encounters and how easily he had dealt with them, was what now filled their faces with fear.

There was no need for further display of force. He did not complete the movement to draw his sword, nor did he issue any verbal threat.

Instead, he simply let the unspoken menace linger. He spoke just one thing, the words measured, calm, and utterly firm.

"Tell everyone I will come to the Blue Cave tomorrow."

He didn't wait. He ran on, leaving them embarrassed and scared.

The two boys stared at each other, shocked.

"I am not sure what he is planning," one of them said, voice low and strained, "but let's spread the news. It will be a big hunt then in the Blue Cave."

"I won't join in," the second one quickly answered. "He's a demon."

"I won't either," the first agreed. They both ran back, eager to warn others and get away from him.

Ivor went further into the quieter part of the woods. Soon, he saw five boys who were struggling to fight a skeleton. They looked worn out and dirty. When the boys noticed Ivor, they stopped fighting the skeleton and looked at him carefully.

Ivor didn't look at the boys. He walked past them and moved straight toward the skeleton. The boys instinctively stepped aside, clearing his path.

The skeleton reacted immediately, lifting its bone sword and bringing it down in a heavy swing toward Ivor's head and shoulder.

Ivor shifted half a step to the side, letting the blade pass through empty air. In the same motion, he stepped inside the skeleton's reach. Blue mana gathered around his fist, tightening into a small glow as his arm drove upward.

His strike landed cleanly against the skull.

Bone cracked sharply. The skeleton's head split apart, and the rest of the body collapsed a moment later, falling in a loose heap at his feet.

The boys were stunned, staring from the bones to Ivor, unsure if they were safe or ignored.

Ivor walked past the remains without looking, speaking as he went.

"I will be going to the Blue Cave tomorrow. You can keep the crystal."

He went deeper into the woods. The five boys stayed put, their shock turning to urgency.

One of them swallowed and lowered his weapon.

"Let's inform Ryker," he said.

They took the skeleton crystal quickly, not arguing.

Ivor kept running. The same thing happened: he met more awakened people, alone or in groups, but none attacked him. They moved away, watched him, and whispered after he passed. Ivor made sure they heard his message as he got close.

"I will go to the Blue Cave tomorrow."

He didn't shout his plan; he said it confidently, which made people believe him more. He eventually avoided the busy places and made his way to the mountain. The Labyrinth was located at the bottom of a stony hill, far from any noise. He changed his path and ran with a clear goal for about an hour until he spotted the sharp, uneven mountain. Ivor climbed a tree to observe the area.

Eight exhausted boys, some hurt, were resting near the entrance of the Labyrinth. They appeared as though they had just come out of the Labyrinth. Ivor quickly realized they weren't dangerous; they were just other competitors, not working together. He jumped down from the tree and walked straight towards the cave.

One of the boys saw him first, and his mouth moved as if the name slipped out before he could stop himself.

"Ivor Vladiric."

They all looked toward the trees, grabbing their weapons. Some stood up, tired but ready. Their eyes showed the same fear and anger Ivor had seen all month, they hated the danger but didn't want to be the first to fight it.

Ivor stood a few steps in front of them, close enough to be seen but far enough away that they couldn't easily attack him. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Do you want to fight?" he asked simply.

The question hung in the air. No one answered. One boy gripped his weapon tighter but didn't pull it out. Another started to step forward, then stopped, as if the stories about Ivor scared him.

Ivor waited a few seconds, then spoke again, his voice calm.

"I will go to the Blue Cave tomorrow."

He didn't pause to look at their reaction. Instead, he walked past them and headed straight toward the narrow fissure cut into the side of the hill. The boys moved aside without a word, clearing the way for him as if stepping away from something dangerous they did not want to provoke.

The entrance to the Labyrinth was hidden inside the hill itself. From the outside it looked like nothing more than a thin crack in the rock, barely wide enough for a single person to pass through. A casual traveler might have walked past it without ever noticing it.

Ivor stepped into the fissure and moved a few paces inside. The air grew cooler as the light behind him dimmed. The stone walls pressed close on both sides, forcing him to walk straight without turning. About ten steps ahead, the real entrance revealed itself.

A large stone door blocked the passage.

The surface of the door was rough and ancient, carved directly into the mountain. Worn murals covered it from edge to edge. Some showed humans battling beasts. Others showed warriors kneeling in prayer beneath towering figures whose shapes had long since eroded. In several scenes humans fought other humans, their banners carved in rigid lines that meant nothing to Ivor.

Between the images were strange patterns—spirals, circles, and intersecting lines that looked more like a system than decoration.

The floor before the door was marked by faint grooves, as if countless people had stood there over a very long time.

As Ivor approached, the air around the door shifted. Thin blue lines slowly appeared across the carvings, spreading through the stone like veins of light. The murals seemed to breathe for a moment as the symbols awakened.

Behind him, the boys froze.

The reaction made one thing clear even to them: the entrance had recognized him. The Labyrinth only opened for those who carried exactly nine attuned mana nodes.

Ivor didn't turn to see their stunned expressions. He stepped forward calmly as the glowing symbols spread across the door and the ancient stone began to move with a slow grinding sound, opening the path into the Labyrinth beyond.