RING!
As Ji Wuye stood pondering, the entire fortress trembled violently, the ground beneath his feet quaking with such ferocious intensity that loose stones cttered and dust billowed into the air.
The vast obsidian ptform he stood upon—already riddled with spiderweb cracks from his previous attack—groaned like an awakening leviathan and widened further as searing white-hot magma seeped into the jagged fissures with an angry hiss of steam.
Tiny droplets of molten rock spattered upward, their searing heat evaporating them into wisps of vapor before they could even graze the hem of his charred ash-colored martial robes. The air grew thick and stifling, carrying the acrid scent of brimstone that stung Ji Wuye's nostrils with each breath.
At the far end of the cavernous forge, an imposing portcullis forged of bckened steel began to groan upwards, its rusted gears protesting with a thunderous rumble that reverberated through the chamber like the roar of an awakening beast.
Ancient chains thick as a man's arm strained and clinked as they pulled the massive barrier, sending fkes of rust spiraling down like burnt snowfkes caught in unseen currents of superheated air.
As the portcullis rose higher, it revealed a shadowed path that delved deeper into the bowels of the fortress, a corridor where even the dancing light of the magma seemed reluctant to penetrate, as if the darkness itself possessed a palpable weight that resisted illumination.
At the same time, a ghostly transparent screen fshed before Ji Wuye, its ethereal light casting his chiseled features in an eerie blue glow:
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[>>[QUEST]<<]
You have completed nearly all the challenges and proven your worth, much to the satisfaction of the Titan Lord, Varkos, the Fme-Warden!
[>] Objective: Defeat the Titan Guardians within 1 day to complete the final challenge!
[!] Consequence: DEATH!
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It was the same notification he had seen upon arriving at the 7th floor, but Ji Wuye's expression remained eternally calm, his crimson pupils betraying not even a flicker of emotion as they briefly flicked towards the newly revealed path before shifting back to the anvil before him.
'Back then, I didn't know you could enhance the weapon further,' he thought, pcing the greatsword he had just forged onto the anvil with a dull thunk of metal on stone.
Blub...
Blub...
Blub...
The colossal forge loomed behind the anvil like a slumbering beast, molten white magma continuously flowing through the spiderweb fractures in the obsidian floor with a relentless bubbling hiss, as if the very earth were breathing incandescent vapors.
SWOOSH!
The oppressive heat rose in shimmering waves, distorting the very air around Ji Wuye and lightly pricking at his hands and face with an intense, searing warmth as he gripped an object radiating a blinding, almost sacred light.
With a flourish of his wrist, like a calligrapher completing a masterpiece stroke, the brilliant radiance began to fade, and Ji Wuye's hand unfurled to reveal...parchment.
It was a pristine, newly crafted piece of tanned animal skin, strange glowing characters shimmering across its surface in an otherworldly luminescence.
The arcane symbols seemed to writhe and dance, occasionally arranging themselves into recognizable shapes that hinted at unfathomable power before dissolving back into indecipherable patterns.
"Hooh? You know my power?" The same disembodied voice that had guided him during the forging process echoed through the chamber once more, but this time the disembodied voice was no longer the monotonous guide from before.
Each sylble vibrated the pools of magma, sending ripples across their molten surfaces that caught and refracted the light in scintilting waves.
The smallest stactites hanging from the distant ceiling trembled and occasionally snapped free, plummeting into the fiery depths below with tiny explosive hisses of vaporized stone.
As Ji Wuye id the parchment—etched with strange, glowing characters or perhaps indecipherable symbols—over the greatsword he had just forged, he straightened his back and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, slightly inclining his head.
His long white hair billowed gently as though stirred by an otherworldly breeze, the silken strands catching the white glow of magma and the ethereal blue light of the magical inscription in an almost holy radiance.
His crimson pupils focused intently, reflecting tiny dancing fmes within their crimson depths as he addressed the presence with polite reverence. "I pay my respects to the Great Titan Lord, Varkos the Fme-Warden."
A heavy silence hung in the air for a heartbeat, the only sound the low bubbling of magma...until a thunderous ugh that seemed to emanate from every surface of the cavernous obsidian ptform shook the very foundations.
"Interesting! Interesting! Then I shall give my blessing!" The voice, unmistakably belonging to Varkos himself, boomed with an almost gleeful exuberance that set the magma pools churning.
The heat intensified as if stoked by an unseen bellows. "Let this bde taste the fires of the forge eternal!"
Upon hearing this, a faint smirk tugged at the corner of Ji Wuye's lips in response.
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[!] The item: Inscription Soul is currently being used by the Challenger, Titan Lord Varkos, the Fme-Warden!
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A ghostly transparent screen flickered into existence before Ji Wuye, simultaneously, the strange glowing symbols etched upon the parchment seemed to awaken. The characters twisted and unduted in an almost sentient manner, pulsing with increasing intensity until they lifted from the parchment's surface entirely.
Then, the detached symbols or characters transformed into a blinding torrent of light—that surged downwards without hesitation, piercing into the greatsword lying upon the anvil beneath the parchment.
The contact between magical energy and forged metal created a harmonic resonance that sang through the chamber, a single perfect note that seemed to exist at the boundary between pain and pleasure.
However...Ji Wuye's faint smirk froze, his calm facade cracking as his crimson pupils dited in shock. A visible shiver ran through his body, goosebumps prickling across his skin like a wave as he read the transparent screen's ominous words.
Yet there was no time to dwell on this unsettling development, as almost immediately another ghostly screen materialized, overpping and repcing the first into his vision.
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[>>[The Great Sword of Varkos]<<]
Type: Weapon
"A bde not crafted, but beaten into submission. A weapon not refined, but born from raw chaos."
Forged within the legendary Anvil of Varkos using Celestial Ore—a material revered among ancient cultivators as the "Tears of the Fallen Stars"—this exceptional weapon is unmatched in strength.
Celestial Ore, an ultra-rare metal believed to descend from the void between worlds, is said to be the fractured remnants of dead stars. These celestial bodies, once bzing brilliantly in the heavens, fell to the mortal realm after losing their divine purpose.
The forging process imbues the weapon with extraordinary durability, rendering it nearly indestructible. The greatsword's raw power allows it to shatter weaker weapons effortlessly in battle, standing as a testament both to its ethereal origins and to the skill of its maker.
Blessed by one of the legendary challengers, Varkos the Fme-Warden, it has the ability to reflect one of the Titan Guardian’s most powerful attacks!
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