Chapter 704: Devil’s Eye (1)

Third Person’s POV

[Hey, you idiot!

Pour more mana into that sphere thingy of yours, and remember to use the Aspect of Twisting while you are doing it!

If you continue with a halfhearted approach, that weapon won’t respond.

It’s not a simple weapon, so don’t underestimate it just because of its current appearance.

Put your heart and soul into it.

I am warning you.

If you try to fake your will, it won’t respond.]

Ethan heard the rebuke clearly.

Surprisingly, he did not grow angry at the spirit’s choice of words this time. Instead, he looked at the dark sphere in his palm and reconsidered his approach.

Perhaps he had been too cautious, focusing more on maintaining the sphere’s structure than on fully unleashing the potential of the Aspect of Twisting.

If the broken saber truly was a Life Devouring Saber, as the Eterna Nexus claimed, then merely producing a stable sphere of twisted dark mana might not be enough to provoke a reaction from it.

He needed to pour more mana into the sphere while deliberately applying his comprehension of the Aspect of Twisting, allowing the suppressed force field within it to grow increasingly powerful.

For a moment, Ethan hesitated, fully aware of how unstable the dark sphere had already become.

Although he had devised this spell during his recent state of enlightenment, putting his theoretical understanding into practice was an entirely different matter.

The sphere might appear stable on the outside, but the dark mana compressed within it was growing increasingly violent as the twisting currents collided and spiraled against one another.

Even the slightest mistake in controlling them could cause the entire structure to collapse.

Blindly pouring more power into it could easily backfire, potentially injuring him severely in the process.

However, as he recalled the Nexus spirit’s final words, Ethan realized that he would never make any meaningful progress if he continued to approach everything with such excessive caution.

More importantly, currently, he needed strength the most.

His family now needed his protection, and there were otherworldly enemies lurking within this realm who could threaten their lives at any moment.

He couldn’t afford to become incapacitated against two or three such enemies anymore.

Beyond them, the powerful figures in Ice Emperor City were also attempting to use him as a pawn in their schemes, and he could not afford to remain weak while others used him as a pawn in their game of chess.

He was no longer under the direct protection of his Master Nyx.

Whatever dangers lay ahead, he would have to face them himself and carve out his own path to power.

A fierce glint flashed through his crimson eyes as his hesitation finally gave way to determination.

Gritting his teeth, Ethan began pouring his dark mana into the sphere with renewed intensity, no longer holding back as he had before.

As the mana surged from his palm, faint grayish-blue runes flickered within the stream, appearing and disappearing in rapid succession as they guided the flow of energy according to the principles of the Aspect of Twisting.

Rather than allowing the incoming mana to scatter chaotically inside the sphere, Ethan used his comprehension of the aspect to force it into increasingly complex patterns, making the currents coil around one another while maintaining the delicate structure that kept the destructive energy contained.

The fundamental principle behind this spell was not simply to accumulate an enormous amount of mana, but to control it with absolute precision.

Every twisting current had to follow the principles of the aspect of twisting, preventing the turbulent power from deviating from its intended path in the law fabric of the world.

Even as the energy grew denser and more violent, its aura had to remain perfectly suppressed beneath the surface.

To an ordinary mage, the resulting spell might have appeared surprisingly unremarkable.

Powerful spells constructed upon the principles of Law were not necessarily accompanied by dazzling displays of light or overwhelming auras.

Their true might lay in the principles governing their structure, and their destructive potential often became apparent only when their power was finally unleashed.

Consequently, despite the fierce concentration of dark mana gathering in Ethan’s hand, none of the others nearby noticed anything unusual.

Although he was not particularly far from the group, the sphere gave off almost no discernible fluctuations, concealing the terrifying energy compressed within it as though it were nothing more than an ordinary ball of darkness.

Ethan continued feeding it with mana, using every bit of soul power he could spare to maintain control over the twisting currents.

His crimson eyes remained fixed on the sphere, while his consciousness followed the movement of each stream of dark mana, correcting the slightest deviation before it could destabilize the structure.

However, his comprehension of the Aspect of Twisting was still far from complete.

Although he had made tremendous progress during his enlightenment, he had yet to reach the point where he could manipulate its principles effortlessly.

Sustaining the spell while simultaneously increasing its power placed an enormous burden on his soul.

Before long, a faint ache spread through his consciousness, gradually intensifying until it felt as though something were pressing against the very limits of his soul power.

His breathing grew heavier, his fingers tightened around the hilt of the broken saber, and his hands began to tremble slightly.

Beads of sweat gathered across his forehead and slowly trickled down his temples, despite the freezing environment surrounding him.

Nevertheless, Ethan refused to give up.

He had already committed himself to this attempt, and losing control at such a critical moment would only make all his previous efforts meaningless.

Instead of allowing the growing strain to cloud his judgment, he steadied his breathing and continued to guide the twisting currents with unwavering concentration.

As more dark mana flowed into the sphere, its size gradually increased until it was roughly as large as a muskmelon.

From the outside, it still resembled an ordinary sphere of darkness, its smooth surface concealing the increasingly complicated movements occurring within.

Yet Ethan could feel the tremendous pressure building inside it, and his instincts began sounding an increasingly urgent warning.