Appearance-wise, I was nothing like my former self after losing more than forty times to the guardian of the proving grounds. I was battered to hell.

Sitting in the sand listlessly, I was without an arm and a leg, scars riddled my body and a few of my ribs needed to be broken and reset. However, the pain served to benefit me in the long run. Each time I breathed I felt my ribs poking my lungs, it was sobering, it kept my mind alert. I could easily repair my bones and block out the pain, but I needed it. If I didn't have it as a reminder I feared I would lose my mind.

The sky was always blue and minutes began to feel like hours and hours like days. I had no idea how much time was going by the very thought inspired panic that pushed me to the brink. So, the pain gave me something else to focus on.

Occasionally, I used the healing pond to look at my own reflection. With the lack of food, I became lean, but I the water doubled as sustenance so I wouldn’t starve to death but I would never feel full. In spite of that, I never lost any muscle mass. It wasn’t physically weakening me, but the gnawing sense of hunger was abrasive toward my mental state.

I sent a glance at the guardian who never moved and hadn’t spoken of anything since the first day. Or maybe, this was all one day? I couldn't track time when I was unconscious. My attempts to fly over the walls just lead me in circles. As for trying to break the sand wall sealing me in? The moment I attack it the guardian would attack me. Discovering his reaction toward any type of escape was a very painful experience.

Feeling anxious, I summoned the grimoire and began reading it.

Current value of souls in your possession: 3500

What greeted me was a number that bothered me followed by another source of annoyance.

The penumbra is beginning to grow hungry.

The Path of The Dread Sorcerer:

The Endless Penumbra: The penumbra is growing hungry. It remains immature and requires time to develop as well as the proper offerings.

Art of Sanguina: Take control of your lifeblood and you will find the only restriction in the use of blood arts lay within your imagination.

You have successfully gained control of your lifeblood and the force within it. Explore its limits.

Art of Mortality: To think that raising the dead is the peak of necromancy is pure ignorance. Only once you explore your own death and gain enlightenment will you gain an idea of the power you could wield.

You’ve looked upon the structure of your own soul and altered it. You have started to understand the concept of mortality.

Form of Bones: For a Dread Sorcerer, your body is your greatest defense. To be bent, broken, and crushed is a small price in that regard, wouldn’t you agree?

Form of Flesh: To use this form requires you to act as a medium between worlds. If you use your flesh as a gateway, you may summon spirits to fight for you… for as long as you can withstand the pain, that is. Or perhaps you wish you carve runes upon your skin and make use of their effect for a time?

Song of The Crow: Because you possess an artifact with a small affinity toward death, you can enhance its powers further and permanently bind it to your soul.

Song of Silence: This will summon a death fog in the area around you. The longer your enemies stand within it, the more you can will it to weaken them. You cannot move or speak while using this power as any sound you make will cause the death fog to target your soul.

Penelope’s Song: A unique skill that is the result of walking the Path of the Death Bringer and Dread Sorcerer. Once a month, when the moon is at its brightest, you may meet with Penelope should she be willing.

Breathless Walk: Move as the spirits of the dead do, silent and unseen. Pass through any solid object that is not affected by magic or living. While in this state, you may not attack others. Beings with strengthened perception and eyesight may discover you if you are not careful. If discovered by the living, you will be removed from this state. In addition, the moment you breathe is when this technique will end.

The Broken Scale: A pound of flesh is the greatest collateral of all. Offer a vital part of your body up and your sorceries will become more powerful. Any part that is exchanged will be rendered unusable for a year.

Stampede of Pale Horses: The ones atop pale horses feel curiosity as they look upon you.

Touch of Azrael: You cannot accept this in your current state as it would tear your soul asunder.

Inheritor of Thanatos: You are absolutely worthless and will continue to be seen as such until deemed otherwise, Casper Clay.

Form of Bones was bound to be useful since I could use the added protection. As it stood now, my bones were strengthened, but couldn’t hold up to the blade of the Guardian. If there was a way to make even stronger it would be worth checking out.

“I need bones,” I spoke.

The Guardian was silent, but the sand began to shift and a very human skeleton appeared. I examined it closely, even running my fingers across the smooth surface of each bone.

I spent hours going over every centimeter in hopes of understanding more. Closing my eyes, I tried to imagine my own skeletal structure, including my missing arm and missing leg as well as my broken ribs. The latter I prevented from healing completely, but my limbs were taken from me by the guardian.

‘Okay,’ I controlled my blood and pushed it toward the areas where my limbs had been sliced off.

I felt a burning sensation as my blood boiled and my skin stretched unnaturally. My level of regeneration moved a step further, but it seemed my own blood wasn’t enough as new limbs failed to appear.

“More bones!” I yelled at the stationary guardian.

His reply came in the form of a dozen or so skeletons rising up around me. I gathered them around and began snapping them open, scraping out whatever trace of marrow I could find. With it, my missing limbs began to take shape.

I steeled myself through the pain and continued repairing my body. The horrid scars began to vanish and I began feeling energized.

After what felt like an hour– maybe longer– my body was whole once more, but rather than celebrate, I had to get ready to fight again.

Should I purchase new weapons? They carried hefty penalties, but I needed to consider if they could assist me.

‘No, relying on those weapons won’t get me anywhere,’ or so I told myself.

Instead of investing in new weaponry, I pushed out threads of blood and pulled the shattered bones toward me. My blood acted as a bonding agent as I began to form the fragments into something like armor. The beauty of it was that each ‘piece’ was not a single object. So, unlike the war scythe, I could inscribe more than three runes in total.

Protection. Durability. Weight.

The makeshift chest plate, a series of ribs and scapula arranged to cover my torso.

Protection. Durability. Absorption.

For my arms, fragments of fingers and forearms were contorted into gauntlets.

Protection. Durability. Quickness.

Covering my legs, tibia and other fragments.

Protection. Durability. Absorption.

And to protect my face, pieces of several skulls made to fit like a mask that encapsulated my entire head.

Underneath the bones I wore, there was a layer of blood linking everything together while acting as a sort of chainmail.

I didn’t rush in now that I had more protection, no, I continued concentrating.

First, I needed to bind the crow artifact with my soul. It was long past due, but there was no need to put it off any further. I felt the penumbra stir as I focused on the artifact embedded within me.

I experienced the sensation of a symbol being seared into my skin right above my black ring circling my navel. Along with it, there was a sense of relief that flowed into me.

I tried to test it out and with a thought, dozens of crows appeared with traces of red staining their feathers. They silently circled around me, but rather than having to control them all, it appeared as if I could tap into my connection with them at will. If someone destroyed them, I don’t think I’d suffer much recoil unless they were all killed simultaneously.

Another thought caused my body to burst into a flock of crows but I could send my consciousness through them freely. I quickly returned to my previous form and sat down. I couldn’t lose focus among all the excitement so I turned to another task.

I also wanted to make use of the Breathless Walk, but the guardian was a living being and he could see the changes that had taken place with my soul. Wasting time to learn the technique only to have it fail wasn’t appealing.

“Are you ready?” The Guardian asked.

I grabbed a leftover bone and formed a war scythe. The clattering of bone unfolding into a weapon filled my ears. Then, I began circulating my blood. Pushing through my veins and arteries with as much force as I could stand. Next, I conjured several orbs of blood and let them orbit around me. Finally, I sent out the crows who began to circle the air above.

“If you don't start saying something else, I'm going to seriously lose my mind,” I retorted.

“If you are ready, we shall start,” The guardian raised his sword.

I rushed in immediately, feeling faster than I had before. I brought my war scythe down and clashed with the great sword for a brief moment.

Just like all of my previous failures, he moved his hands again and I awaited the feeling of something being cut, but–

His greatsword had come to a stop, barely cleaving through a quarter of my arm.

“Ha!” There was immense joy pouring in, but I carefully retreated, effortlessly shifting into a flock of crows before landing a few meters away.

“Did you see that?!” I asked, attempting to suppress my smile.

The guardian quietly reset his stance as if goading me, but I couldn’t be flustered by that. It had finally happened, he had finally failed to instantly beat me.

I took a breath and calmed down. The growing despair that had slowly whittled away at me began to fade.

I advanced ahead once more and managed to exchange several strikes before my loss greeted in the form of a terrible wound.

Even still, I was confident that I wouldn't die here.