How the period between her first refinement and second were so dramatically different mystified Sol. Her mind could only assume the excessive magic in the environment was soaked up by her Unchained Queen Beast method. It would help explain the rapid deterioration of the cognitive model if it were overloaded.

Although she couldn’t prove it, Sol felt her thoughts were moving in the right direction. The quantity of magic was the only variable out of the norm. “Small unit of 3 nearing our position! Take position, we’re going to rush them!” Sol issued orders to end the engagement as quickly as possible.

The 4 Knights following Sol readied their gear and pressed forward despite their exhaustion. Even though Sol could see their limbs shake while running, she forced herself to press on. Their situation was deteriorating every second and relaxing was a luxury they could ill afford.

Sol tore a few branches from the trees she ran past. Magic flowed from her body into the branch as if it were second nature and the limbs glowed a bluish hue with traces of magic etching itself into the bark.

Using her spiritual awareness, Sol adjusted her movements to circle around the enemy team. Magic flushed through her system and into the branches as the surrounding magic continued to flow into her. Though temporarily, the mana discharge eased some of the internal pressure. Though not for long, Sol felt she could delay the start of the refinement.

The team soon arrived within sight of the enemy. The moment Sol caught their figure’s through the trees, her arm flickered and the branched shot from her hand. Of the dozen branches thrown, nearly half reached their target without alerting them.

The rapid explosions covered Sol’s approach and with the Knights behind her, the team managed to cut down the 3 member team without issue. Surprised by the ease of the attack, Sol examined the bodies after and discovered multiple debilitating wounds.

Though powerful, she knew her strikes weren’t powerful enough to cause the damage. After glancing at the direction the team came from, Sol felt she understood. The team left the area with the heaviest aftershocks of An’s battle.

Sol couldn’t help but sigh in relief at her luck. Regardless, she was running low on time. The pressure within felt as if it were about to ignite the refinement process by itself. The last time Sol underwent refinement, she initiated it herself.

However, at that point, Sol still retained full control over the cognitive model and was able to control it. She was concerned about the model’s current state and the repercussions of putting off the refinement for too long.

Maintaining her team’s trajectory, Sol continued to retreat from the explosive battlefield. Her spiritual awareness remained at high alert, yet there was no longer any feedback within the few hundred meter range.

Gusts of air shook Sol’s clothing as it raced by. The distant blasts no longer tossed her body about and the environment finally restored itself to normal health. Sol took a deep breath and relaxed her senses for a moment allowing the built tension to ease for a moment.

The familiar pain she had been pushing down creeped back to the front of her senses. After taking another deep breath, Sol pushed her limits and expanded her spiritual awareness beyond its normal scope reaching nearly a kilometer radius.

Information flooded her mind and nearly caused Sol to black out. Despite the painful backlash, Sol considered herself lucky. Though only for a moment, the glance at her surroundings eased her worries. Her hand landed on the ground and magic raced through her system and into the ground.

The magic infused ground burned with trace marks and a moment later, swelled up. Sol managed to clear the immediate area just before the swollen land exploded leaving a deep hole in its place. The setting was crude, but her Sol was nearly shattering from the pain.

She left behind a few brief words before jumping into the hole. The moment her legs touched ground, Sol collapsed into a heap and withdrew into herself. Her remaining strength resisting the refinement was depleting at an accelerated rate, yet Sol took the time to observe the state of her cognitive model.

Though hazy, Sol could still recall her first refinement to some extent. The cognitive model had recovered somewhat, however it still appeared bashed and battered with hardly a smooth surface left. IF she was forced to describe how it looked ‘better’, she could only say the dangling material and chunks had fallen off or disintegrated. What was left was questionable at best, however she had little choice but to continue.

With a thought, Sol felt her mind collapse inside herself and the shape of her soul came into view. Unlike the previously semi transparent outline, she found her soul appeared more clear with a defined visage. Her thoughts spun quickly on the situation even as she observed sparks of silver flames spreading across her soul.

“Is my soul more clear because I’m moving into the liquid stage? Would allowing the flames to spread increase the quality of my refinement? Are there even different qualities of refinement?” Her mind worked idly while her main focus was on quenching silver flames.

Though she wanted to experiment, Sol was terrified of crippling herself by accident. If she could ask An prior to the refinement, she would have been more prepared. Even considering the lack of answers though, Sol feared the state of her cognitive model the most.

The Unchained Queen Beast method churned as Sol patched her soul up. Every so often, the magic flow would stutter and hints of bright silver would leak into the magic used to mend herself. Sol became increasingly worried as the refinement process continued on for far longer than expected.

Areas mended with the contaminated magic ignited for a second time and the magic required to restore that area was nearly a magnitude greater than other areas. The final result of the patch job was a discolored section of her soul.

While Sol was undergoing refinement, she was blissfully unaware of the dangerous situation outside her hole. Her 4 Knights had already diminished to 3 with one dying from an ambush. The remaining 3 members struggled to hold their ground against the 16 Assemblers surrounding them.

Under normal circumstances, the Knights would never have been able to hold out against a team of Assemblers, much less two. However the situation was too queer. Behind the Knights was a hole in the ground that drew in the magic residing within the region.

Strips of metallic silver ejected from the hole occasionally only to be torn apart mid air and sucked back into its depths. The magic spiraling into the hole was dense enough to be visible even to the Knights.

Another blast of metallic silver ejected from the hole and splashed across the surrounding ground, barely missing one of the Knights. Though uneasy, the men held their position and remained alert against their enemies.

Strangely, the Assemblers remained frozen in place ever since their first ambush. Beads of sweat trickled from their forehead. The ignorant Knights without an ounce of magic in their system were unaware of the pressure crushing the Assemblers at that moment.

The leader of one of the teams struggled to take a step forward. Her step only increased the forced pressing on her and her foot sank halfway into the ground. “Damn it! What’s going on?!” The other leader screamed out to no one in particular.

Though pressured, the Assembler’s weren’t entirely helpless. The members started operating their cognitive models to help repulse the pressure. Though it helped, their movements remained hindered. Each team leader knew their current state would likely force sacrifices on their team if they were to attack.

Although the Knights were only human, they were trained and unhindered. The result was a momentary standoff. The pressure fluctuated between overwhelming and comfortable. There was a certain degree of confidence it wouldn’t last for long.

Just as that thought crossed their minds, a bolt of lightning fell into the pit. Splashes of silver ejected from the hole and covered the surrounding land. To the team’s dismay, the pull of magic increased once more. The spiraling magic started to damage the surrounding environment and as if acting in kind, the sky started hazing over as well with swirling clouds.

Sol was panicking. The silver flames wouldn’t go out no matter how hard she tried. The stuttering magic only worsened the situation and she could tell over half her soul was tainted at this stage. The new flames sprouting from those areas seemed to consume the magic itself to grow stronger.

Despite her best efforts, there simply wasn’t enough magic to put out the flames. Bit by bit, sections of her soul appeared to turn brittle and fracture. Every crack that shot across her soul dragged her mind through a sea of pain and agony.

Her consciousness gradually faded as the flames consumed her soul and her exhausted mind fell asleep. The visage of her soul reignited the moment her awareness faded and the cognitive model ground to a halt. Within the empty darkness containing only a blazing soul, a flash of silver sparked into existence. From that flame grew a misshapen deer with crystal blue eyes.