Chapter 68: The Weeping Specters of the Ash

Ding!

[You have killed "Morven, the Hollow Vanguard (Level 85, Boss)"]

[Experience Multiplier: 35X Applied. 4,200,000 EXP gained.]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 67!]

Ding!

[Talent Devourer: Residual Talent Energy Detected: "Grave-Crusher" (Fragments Available: 10)]

[Talent Devourer: Residual Talent Energy Detected: "Hollow Bones" (Fragments Available: 10)]

Leon stood amidst the settling gray dust, his breathing steady despite the sheer force he had just exchanged with the Level 85 giant. He swiped his hand through the air, dismissing the massive wall of experience notifications to focus on the immediate tactical options the system had just presented.

The Glacial Sovereign let out a low, rumbling growl, his massive sapphire-plated head swiveling to scan the thick, low-hanging mist.

Leon analyzed the two options hovering in his interface. Hollow Bones was a localized mass-reduction talent. It had allowed Morven to move a twenty-foot skeletal frame with the agility of a rogue. But for Leon, whose base Agility was already sitting at 150 and who possessed Storm-Strider, shedding mass was redundant. He didn’t need to be lighter; he needed stopping power.

"System," Leon commanded, "Store the Hollow Bones fragments in inventory. Fuse the ten fragments of Grave-Crusher and form the new talent."

The ten glowing, dark-purple fragments of residual void energy collapsed into a single, dense singularity and shot directly into Leon’s chest. He didn’t flinch. The integration of high-tier talents was becoming second nature to his Perfect Body.

Ding!

[10 Fragments of "Grave-Crusher" have been fused.]

[New Talent Acquired: Grave-Crusher — Grade: A]

[Description: The user can actively manipulate the kinetic mass of their physical strikes at the exact moment of impact. This exponentially multiplies the crushing force of a blow without altering the weapon’s speed, trajectory, or the user’s center of gravity. Mana Cost: Low.]

"Excellent," Leon murmured, gripping the hilt of the Blade of the Dragon God. He gave the massive greatsword a single, horizontal practice swing. The blade moved through the air with its usual weightlessness, but as he mentally triggered the new talent at the apex of the swing, the air itself cracked with a sharp, concussive boom, unable to handle the sudden, artificial spike in localized mass. "That is going to drastically reduce the time it takes to break through heavily armored Elites. A flawless acquisition."

Leon barely had time to dismiss the talent notification before the ambient temperature on the plain plummeted.

It wasn’t the natural, biting cold of Sector 12’s higher altitudes, nor was it the localized frost radiating from his bonded dragon. This was a supernatural, absolute chill that bypassed his physical flesh entirely, attempting to directly freeze the mana circulating in his veins.

Auris snapped his wings open, his draconic instincts immediately identifying the threat. The dragon let out a sharp, warning hiss, his cyan eyes locking onto a patch of ground fifty yards to their right.

Then, the sound began.

A horrific, dual-toned wailing echoed across the graves. It was a sound of pure, concentrated agony that bypassed the ears and drilled directly into the soul.

Leon winced, his hand instinctively twitching toward his head before he forced his arm down. "That’s not an acoustic wavelength," he analyzed rapidly, speaking to Auris over the psychic link to avoid the verbal noise. "It’s a localized psychic broadcast. They’re transmitting the frequency directly into our mana cores."

Rising from two adjacent, unmarked graves were ethereal entities of pure, swirling white ash and void energy. They possessed the vague silhouettes of weeping women, their faces twisted in eternal, silent screams that perfectly matched the dual-toned agony echoing in Leon’s mind. They didn’t walk; they hovered inches above the dead earth, their forms continuously dissolving and reforming like smoke in a steady breeze.

[Boss Encounter 2: The Weeping Specters of the Ash (Level 88)]

[Innate Talent: Soul Rend, Ethereal Intangibility]

Leon read the glowing blue text and immediately altered his combat stance. "Two Level 88 bosses simultaneously. Both utilizing Ethereal Intangibility."

The dual wail intensified, escalating from a haunting background noise into a physical, crushing pressure. They were triggering their Soul Rend talent.

The physical world began to blur around Leon. The gray dirt, the towering obsidian headstones, and even the massive, reassuring bulk of Auris started to warp and stretch. The sonic attack was no longer just a sound; it was a pair of invisible, spectral hands sinking directly into his chest, attempting to violently separate his consciousness from his physical body.

Ding!

[Critical Warning: Severe Mental/Soul disruption detected! Immediate catastrophic damage imminent.]

"Not today," Leon growled, planting his boots into the dirt and refusing to yield an inch of ground.

His SSS-Rank Monarch’s Will flared, instantly recognizing the hostile invasion of his mental space. A fortress of pure, impenetrable golden energy erected itself around his consciousness. The terrifying psychological assault, which would have instantly lobotomized any standard Adept in Sector 12, shattered against his willpower like fragile glass hitting a steel vault.

Simultaneously, Aura of the Undying pulsed continuously, flooding his internal organs with overwhelming vitality, instantly healing the minor internal hemorrhaging and ruptured capillaries caused by the initial sonic frequency.

Leon let out a slow, controlled breath, his vision snapping perfectly back into focus. He looked at the two hovering specters, his golden and icy-blue eyes narrowing.

"I have to admit, that is an incredibly potent opening maneuver," Leon stated loudly, his voice cutting through their wailing. "You bypass physical armor, completely ignore mana shields, and attack the mind directly to paralyze the body before moving in for the kill. It is a flawless execution of assassin mechanics. If I didn’t possess the Willpower to match your output, this fight would be over before I could even swing my sword. I respect the lethality."

The specters didn’t respond with words, but their wailing hitched, as if shocked that their primary execution method had failed to drop him.

"But since the opening gambit failed, you’re on a timer," Leon continued, his tactical mind racing. "Auris, freeze the left one!" Leon commanded, darting forward and closing the distance toward the specter on the right. "Keep her locked down! Don’t let their auras overlap!"

The Glacial Sovereign didn’t hesitate. Auris reared back and unleashed a pinpoint, concentrated blast of Absolute Zero Breath. The beam of apocalyptic frost tore across the plain, striking the left banshee squarely in the chest.

The specter shrieked, attempting to use its intangibility to allow the ice to pass through it. But the S-Rank draconic talent didn’t just freeze physical water; it halted molecular movement entirely. The absolute zero temperature froze the ambient void energy comprising the specter’s body, anchoring its ethereal form to the physical plane. In three seconds, the banshee was completely encased in a block of indestructible ice, suspended in a state of molecular stasis, its wailing abruptly cut off.

"One down," Leon noted, his eyes tracking the remaining boss.