"I'm sorry but you don't deserve to wield such a blade, at least not yet."

The copy wasn't pleased on how things turned out, with Arthur's body in an unstable state, the bloody injuries he suffered and Makaze breaking after it overworked itself and unleashed the fifth wave.

As he gazed at the dark blade that was missing its half and looking miserable, Arthur let out a long sigh and remained silent, unable to retort as he had no right justifications for his actions.

"Now, about your body. I think I found a suitable solution, it may take some time to properly put it into action but theoretically, it's doable and beneficial to you."

Arthur didn't expect his copy to find a solution already, from his tone back when he's fighting, it was apparent that overcoming this hurdle is impossible, how come a solution was found.

"Theoretically?"

"Indeed, I've never tried it on anyone, so I wouldn't know. Less words and more actions, follow my instructions and do not resist, also, disable the pain immunity, it's doing you more harm than good.

First, destroy your Dantian."

Arthur thought he heard wrong at first and only when his copy urged him two more times did he come back to his senses. Gritting his teeth, he reversed the circulation of his Nether Energy which led to heavy damages to his Meridians and his Dantian becoming very chaotic. After a few more seconds, he started spitting a large mouthful of blood as the dark talisman that was floating above his Dantian vanished and an agony that almost made him crazy assault him.

Arthur started yelling loudly but since he was in the water, no sound could be heard, he was alone this dark place with no one to aid him but himself.

With his cultivation entirely gone, a lot of his skills became unusable but none disappeared, the red tattoos withdrew and vanished in a matter of seconds, all that was left was Arthur, yelling and holding his head as his body convulsed and rolled on the sand.

"The first step for success is suffering, endless pain is not always a bad thing. You must know what true hell really is and experience the consequences YOU caused. The torture you suffered unjustly before is nothing compared to what's about to come.

Arthur Bilgart, or should I say, Arthur MoonStar, you do not value your life, you prioritize your goals over your life, sometimes a wise decision but usually a reckless mistake that could be forgiven if it was done once, but if it's purposely repeated then one can only blame his own undoing. Arthur, once bitten, twice shy, before you save your wife or your friends, learn how to save yourself first or else THEY will meet the same fate as your partner. You have what others yearn for yet you do not use it efficiently, your Race is one of a kind, your acquired talent is far above any living this in this multiverse yet here you are wasting it, in my eyes, you're nothing but trash. Here you are always focusing on possessing any strong enemy you manage to defeat, it's nothing but pathetic! Sure, you've done the impossible and killed the four Divine Beast but at what cost? Think carefully about how you are, what you've done and how you should proceed, there is no third chance for you, Arthur."

After saying that, the copy no longer paid attention to Arthur, he remained inside the ARK and kept his silence, totally ignoring the suffering Arthur, who could only whimper quietly as he lost even the will the fight against the pain or should loudly.

After a few days passed, Arthur no longer emitted any noise, he would roll on the sand and shake intensely the whole day, the pain had no ending and even after hours passed, it didn't diminish the least bit. Destroying his cultivation only made it worse as he could no longer control Nether Energy to decrease the agony.

No matter how many times he tried to activate a few skills to aid him in this never-ending torture, a needle-like pain that was even more terrifying than the one he was feeling would invade his mind causing him to fall unconscious and wake up a second after, this cycle would repeat for a few more times before it subdues.

Slowly yet surely, ten days passed, the wounds on his face and back no longer gushed massive amounts of blood, but they were still ugly to behold. Arthur no longer held his head and rolled on the ground, he would let his body shake on its own and convulse on the sand as he sat there, motionless and soundless.

A month passed, the convulsing stopped at last but the pain never ceased even for a split second. More than one time, Arthur thought of dying as it's many times better than experiencing this anguish. He understood the meaning behind his copy's words but his mind just couldn't handle the pain anymore, it almost became blank, devoid of thoughts, just like a soulless puppet.

If not for remembering his Wife and daughter that gave him a bit of willpower to resist, he would have become something that is no longer human, nothing but an empty shell on the bottom of the ocean.

The [Pain Immunity] could have helped a lot but ever since he disabled it, Arthur wasn't able to reactivate it again, probably due to the ARK's functions that his copy made proper use of it to stop him from relying on that skill.

After half a year passed, Arthur managed to move his hands albeit just a bit, like raising them a few centimeters or moving his fingers. The pain was still present but he no longer was immobilized.

Six more months passed and by this time, Arthur managed to overcome some of the pain and sit cross-legged. His body would shake every few seconds but he still managed to remain in that position without grabbing his head or rolling around from the needle-like pain that was hitting every inch of his body.

When sixteen months passed since the catastrophe, the copy finally talked after his long silence.

"It is time to proceed at last. Repeat this verse in your mind nonstop, until I'm satisfied, you must not stop or else I would let your rot here for a few more years.

Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires."

It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,

Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt,

It lies behind stars and under hills,

And empty holes it fills,

It comes first and follows after,

Ends life, kills laughter."

Arthur was in no position to think straight and repeat such a verse when his mind was hurting and his thinking was in total disarray. Nonetheless, he didn't dare ignore his copy, trying his best to repeat this verse.

It took him two months to fully repeat it without making any mistake, fortunately, the copy would repeat this verse every ten days thus helping him remember the missing parts and correct himself.

When the two-year mark was reached, Arthur was able to sit cross-legged without being bothered by the pain and repeat the verse that was given to him without any mistake. At first, he wasn't able to understand the meaning of the verse or its purpose but after repeating it countless times, he remembered that it was related to Zodiak, if his memory served him right, it was a note the old man wrote and it was said that it helped him strengthen himself and further stabilize his control over Dark Magic.

After three more months passed, black flames started enveloping Arthur without him noticing their presence. He had his eyes closed and was too focused on repeating the verse.

"Dark-Anguish technique, it really is an unparalleled technique. Zodiak was really one of a kind."

As he witnessed the change happening inside of Arthur's body, his copy sighed in amazement. Not only was the pain assaulting Arthur helping him strengthen his willpower, but it was also boosting the effects of the Dark-Anguish technique and with Arthur repeating the verse and unconsciously guiding Dark Mana in his body, this caused him to start building a solid foundation through accumulated pressure and pain.