[Phase score: Competition 1158/1158; Contribution 1158/1158; Surviving members 0/1158; Bonus objectives 1158/1158. Final score 3474/4632]

Irwyn acknowledged the message as he walked through the final gate, though he was not enveloped by darkness like in the previous stages.

[You have reached the Abyssal Ridge, concluding the group stage. The final result will be multiplied by a factor of 2]

[You have obtained over 95% of the contribution points in all phases. You will receive half of the surviving member bonus from all your teammates as an addition to your score]

[Overall scores: Completion: 9,880/9,880; Surviving members: 24,205/9,880; Bonus objectives 9,880/9,880; Contribution 9,880/9,880; Additional multiplier: 2; Final score: 107,690/39,520]

Looking at the number, Irwyn nodded in satisfaction. He had previously decided to go all out in what might be his final reincarnation and thanks to his team he had matched his highest ever previous scores.

He looked down as he heard the sound of shattered bones snapping back into place. Elizabeth’s body was slowly reconstructing in order to fit the imprint of when she had entered the realm. In fact, the dark transition between stages was not actually necessary for the healing, instead, it was there to prevent the participants from experiencing the excruciating agony that such direct and fast healing brought. Since stage 95 was designed as a roadblock to prevent anyone unintended from passing, there was little need to keep such measures in place. After all, the only 2 people who could reach this place through the trial could bear far worse even if they were injured. Elizabeth, on the other hand, wouldn’t feel anything until her soul and body were properly reconnected, a process that would take longer than the physical healing.

Looking around, Irwyn almost grimaced at the familiar scenery: An impenetrable greyish fog encompassed everything, only allowing the silhouettes of 5 distant spires to penetrate it. The air itself seemed magical as whirlwinds of mana swept past Irwyn, heading into the gate and then the area outside, making the place relatively less saturated with mana. Even then, Irwyn could feel the intense concentration of Truth all around him, especially powerful were the Realm, Time and Reality, though even the comforting smell of Flame and Light were present to a lesser degree. Irwyn did not step forward as he appreciated the rare atmosphere, waiting for Elizabeth to regain consciousness.

“Finally awake?” he asked with a smile as soon as he noticed the girl’s eyes open. Her pupil’s first darted in confusion before they locked onto Irwyn’s own, clearly hoping for an answer to what was going on.

“You would’ve indeed died during your fight with Blasphemy,” Irwyn kept up his reassuring smile, “however, as you might’ve already guessed, the group stage eventually converges in case there is more than one group reaching stage 90. I happened to arrive just in time to save you by bringing you body through the gate,” Irwyn finished, intentionally not telling Elizabeth that she had managed to accomplish mutual destruction with the dragon puppet.

“What even was he?” Elizabeth nodded and asked with clear doubt, “I have never even heard of a monster that could speak.”

“‘It’,” Irwyn corrected, “And I assume It had introduced itself as the arch dragon Blasphemy. One of the 5 permanent residents of this place.”

“Yes,” Elizabeth nodded, still held in Irwyn’s arms, “Though a lot of what It spoke of didn’t make much sense. Even the materials I had studied for the exam had only spoken of 7 arch dragons.”

“Of course,” Irwyn nodded as his feet started walking into the fog, “Some knowledge is unknown simply because it isn’t widespread while some is intentionally kept secret. The existence of the 8th arch dragon in itself is sinful and shameful, therefore it is for the best that few know of it.”

“What is It exactly then?” Elizabeth couldn’t rein in her own curiosity as she seemingly didn’t pay attention to the fact that Irwyn was carrying her deeper in, “He called this place a home or a prison for those like him, who couldn’t die but musn’t exist. Are the other 4 also similar monsters?”

“No,” Irwyn shook his head, “As far as monsters go, he is the only one to reach the state beyond redemption. Three of the other four were once upon a time humans, it was the temptation of forbidden power that brought them here. To the prison designed just for them.”

“What are they then?” Elizabeth glanced over at the distant and blurry visages of towers.

“Necromancers,” Irwyn solemnly stated, a flicker flying through his eyes, ”Those corrupted so deeply by the power of the traitorous aspect that they can no longer be destroyed. Instead, they had been locked away in the Abyssal ridge. The reason why is complex yet also simple. You might have read that sometimes the terms awakened and immortal are used interchangeably,” he waited for Elizabeth to nod, “In a way, that is correct. When a mortal achieves the fifth tier, they begin integrating Truth, stopping the ageing of their body besides other benefits. However, just because the body can withstand time doesn’t mean that the mind can too. Every few millennia, someone uncovers a mad awakened locked behind some sort of seal or locked pocket dimension, driven completely mad by centuries upon centuries of solitude. Or an ancient ‘immortal’ ruler gradually loses his mind and brings his domain and himself to ruin. Of course, there is a way to prevent such an ending in the battle against eons. In what can for simplification be called the sixth tier, one can stabilise their mind through the Truth they grasp, mostly ceasing the decay. And in the equivalent of the 7th tier, the level of the Primordial kings, one becomes an inseparable part of the Truth they grasp and therefore reality itself. The so-called ‘True immortality’. As long as reality itself exists, such a being could only be killed by the Aspects who had long ceased to exist.”

“That would mean that those 5 are…” Elizabeth gasped at the implications.

“Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, that is not the case,” Irwyn shook his head, “As with many other things, Necromancy fundamentally undermines the natural order. I am not sure why because I have never dared to study something so corrupting, however, necromancers who achieve the 6th tier can ingrain themselves into the Truths like tenacious pests, achieving a similar result as most in the 7th tier. All I know is that it is something even they cannot undo, as told by Blasphemy which is relatively the most amicable.”

“But why would such a prison be built at the end of the academy trial?” Elizabeth wondered as the scenery around them shifted in impossible ways. The distant towers seemingly teleported from one place to another with each step as Irwyn confidently walked the path through the spacial maze that the fog was.

“It’s the other way around,” Irwyn explained, “The Abyssal Ridge had been built some time before the academy itself, however, just it’s existence interfered with the entire region where it had been hidden. Eventually, the Primordial king Golem had used his significant authority over Logos to bring the Abyssal Ridge into this separate plane. Since the prisoners are being constantly deprived of the mana they regenerate by powerful syphons, this place is technically also a perpetual mana generator with massive output. Since the Academy of Ignis had also been founded around that time, that mana was eventually utilized as the source of power for the trial,” Irwyn said and Elizabeth nodded. If it were Minet or Alice, they would’ve felt some degree of misguided pity towards the prisoners. Even Desir would detest the idea of eternal imprisonment as someone who values his own freedom. However, Elizabeth showed no doubt about the justness of it all. Irwyn was once again satisfied with the attitude he had cultivated in her since youth.

“That dragon also recognised the regalia you had given me,” Elizabeth said, “I think he even mentioned he had seen it before the founding of the Academy, though he couldn’t remember who had worn it,” Elizabeth clearly remembered the conversation she had with the half-mad dragon not long ago.

“Indeed,” Irwyn raised an eyebrow, considering how much to reveal, “Few people had ever worn it. The creator, in order to empower it to the very limit, had placed many restrictions on it. Such as that it could only be worn by a woman who is a Herald of Ignis and Umbra,” and also the acknowledgement of a son of Ignis, Irwyn added silently, “Although I don’t know any who had worn it in the later years, I know that it was first forged for the mother of the Academy’s first headmaster.”

“I see,” Elizabeth nodded, and glanced at the regalia adorning her body. She did not question how Irwyn had obtained such an item, instead, she pondered when she would be able to release its full potential.

“We’ve almost arrived,” Irwyn eventually stated, prompting Elizabeth to look around, however, the towers were all still very far away. Then Irwyn took another step forward and the scenery changed. It took Elizabeth a few seconds to realize a strange detail: She could only see 4 of the towers no matter how hard she looked. Glancing at Irwyn in confusion, the response he gave a was a nod and an eye motion pointing beneath them. On the ground that was no longer monotonously grey but instead metallic ebony.

“What exactly is locked in here?” Elizabeth quickly realised that they were somehow on top of one of the towers.

“It’s better to not know,” Irwyn shook his head. Although he was happy to satisfy Elizabeth’s curiosity in most cases, there were things he really did not wish to be learned by any new beings, especially those who had the potential to last. Without other words, he released Elizabeth from his hands and as she gracefully landed he waved his hand and spoke, “Open.”

Then, the uniform black metal beneath their feet vanished without any warning. Elizabeth almost yelled as they entered the free fall. Although there was no wind, their accelerating speed still drowned out all other sounds with intense whistling. Elizabeth was a bit startled for a while, however, when the fall lasted for over a minute with no end in sight she calmed down. Unable to really speak with each other, the two quickly saw the grey sky above disappear as monotonous ebony metal surrounded them in all directions. The fall was far longer than what the height of the towers would suggest. Although it was hard to keep track of time in such an environment, Elizabeth had counted something over 10 minutes.

At some point in time, Elizabeth realised that she was no longer falling. Her feet were already firmly placed on the ground and the whistling she had already gotten used to ceased. It might have taken her a bit longer to realise, had she not seen Irwyn step forward. Looking in the same direction, Elizabeth found a chasm, separating them from a distant platform. And on that platform, chained to a throne from the same black metal, sat a skeleton. From what Elizabeth could see, it looked mostly human with only one exception: The skull had been greatly deformed, forming what appeared to be a strange infused bone crown full of empty sockets, seemingly for jewels or something of the sort. Irwyn stared at it in silence for a long time before he spoke.

“I have seen that He is still here. We can go,” he said, immediately catching Elizabeth’s curiosity. Before, Irwyn had corrected the way she had referred to Blasphemy, clearly insistent on calling the monster ‘It’. Yet despite that, he called the skeleton ‘He’.

“Then how do we leave?” she asked without skipping a beat. Despite her curiosity, Elizabeth knew better than to ask considering Irwyn had refused to even tell her what she was staring at.

“The same way everyone else in the trial did,” Irwyn smiled and extended his hand. On top of it appeared two blazing golden spheres. They were clearly burning with volatile power, “Pick your poison.”

Elizabeth hesitated for a moment, before taking one of the two balls into her palm. She looked at Irwyn and followed his lead to swallow it.

“See you soon,” Irwyn said with a smile before the spell took effect.

There was no surge of pain as everything instantly turned black.

[You have died]

[Proceeding to the solo stage of the trial]