Advanced Dra Name
Many… MANY more years pass in captivity, and Haalfrin has resisted the urge all this time to ask Freyya exactly how much time has really passed. He knows more than anyone that time only seems to be more unbearable if you're constantly paying attention to it.
During this long time, the ground in Haalfirn's Soul Realm has been completely covered in necrowater, which has now formed a large, black lake.
In order to still have a place for himself and his chosen generals to stand, Haalfrin had enchanted a large platform to float high above the lake. The platform itself is at least large enough for everyone to stand on.
Still, Haalfrin is concerned that with the necrowater constantly rising, his entire Soul Realm will be drowned out.
Once Freyya hears his concerns, she places a strong barrier over the lake to prevent the necrowater from rising any higher.
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One day, out of morbid curiosity, Haalfrin decides to experiment with the necrowater in his Soul Realm.
Well, it wasn't just his curiosity; he was also desperate to Advance his Dra Name, and after going for so many years while making such little progress, he knew he had to get a little creative.
Of course, Haalfrin makes sure that Freyya isn't anywhere near him before he messes with the black "water". Once he's sure that she's gone, he unseals the black lake for a brief moment.
In that brief instant, the necrowater boils with explosive intensity as it struggles desperately to get to a less dense state by expanding back into air.
Thick plumes of Death Aura surge out of the small hole in the seal, and Haalfrin immediately places the seal back on while waving his hands around his face – trying to get the black mist out of his eyes. He immediately begins coughing and wheezing.
He had never been exposed to this much death aura before, and he feels himself growing weak.
However, unlike the Arkin, he has an affinity with Death, so the most he's hurt is feeling a little light headed from the gaseous Death Energy.
Still, he's now on the other side of the barrier now.
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Freyya wasn't in his Death realm at the time, but she felt the seal be removed.
Within moments, she appeared at Haalfrin's side and screams, "What happened!? Why would you DO SUCH A THING!?" She tried pulling him out, but Haalfrin stopped her.
Between stuttered breathes, he replies, "I… need to do this."
As Haalfrin touches his foot into necrowater, Freyya feels the black energy attempt to drain his vitality.
The only reason she doesn't immediately move to pull him out is because she notices that he's not… dying, like she expected him to.
Instead, she senses that he's circulating his mana furiously through his body – desperately attempting to control the flow of Death Aura. It appears like it's working, too.
Freyya is then momentarily surprised to see that the necrowater is slowly seeping into his skin.
His body absorbing Death Energy isn't new to her; it happens all the time for him. However, she's just surprised that he could handle this much as once.
And so, Freyya watches as Haalfrin stands with his soul form's ankles in the necrowater without moving an inch. He's like this for several minutes.
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After about half an hour, Freyya starts to sense that Haalfrin's body is getting used to the necrowater, and he's not having to try so hard to protect his life from it.
Finally, once Haalfrin is free enough to stop concentrating on his protective spells, Freyya crosses her arms and looks down at him. "You want to tell me what that was about now?"
Haalfrin looks up with a sheepish guilt, "I don't know what else to do about advancing my Dra Name, but I've decided to just brute force my way through it. Since my Dra Name lets me absorb Death Aura into my body to strengthen it, I thought I'd just push it well past its limit and see what happens."
Freyya really wants to tell her husband to stop being so reckless with his life, but she actually feels that his reckless strategy should work, now that she thinks about it.
His training may be crude and painful, but it's not illogical.
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And so, Haalfrin spends almost all of his time every day in his Soul Realm, slowly inching further and further into the necrowater as his body gets used to it.
While Haalfrin is busy training, Freyya would sometimes dive into the lake and check for any "necro crystals" as she had already named solid Death Aura in advance.
After many long years, Freyya's head emerges from the black lake, and she has a bright grin on her face.
Haalfrin sees her waving at her from a distance, so he swims over to her. (By now, he's able to submerge in the lake, though he can't stay for too long.)
Once he gets closer, Freyya brightly announces, "I found some necro crystals at the bottom of the lake!"
"Oh? Did you bring any up? Can I see it?"
Freyya waves her hand, then she and he both are lifted out of the water.
Once they're both brought past the barrier again, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a napkin, and she holds it up in plain view.
There, wrapped in cloth, is a small bead the size of a fingernail. The second it's exposed to the air, the bead releases a baleful Aura so strong that all the Arkin and Rehkin Wills immediately flee back to the Death Realm.
Freyya gently wraps the necro crystal back up again and puts it in her pocket. "Dear husband, congratulations. Any god other than a death god would be killed upon coming in contact with this bead."
"Can I hold it?" he asks.
"Haalfrin… Oh Haalfrin… I know you've gotten better at handling huge amounts of Death Aura, but you can barely dive in the lake right now."
Haalfrin looks down with a slightly red face. "Yeah… You're right. Sorry. That was dumb."
She smiles, reaches up, and ruffles his hair. "I'm just glad to see you excited, dear."
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More years pass, and the necro crystals at the bottom of the lake steadily grow into giant, menacing black shards that glow an eerie grey.
All the while, Haalfrin diligently trains his body in the necrowater. All this time, Haalfrin feels his Dra Name loosening up and getting bigger.
As Haalfrin learns to stay longer in the necrowater, his body also becomes strong enough to dive deeper and deeper into the lake.
Eventually, he's finally able to dive to the bottom. There, he sees the giant necro crystal columns Freyya had been telling him about.
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One day, Haalfrin is sitting cross-legged at the bottom of the black lake, and he's looking carefully at a necro crystal pillar in front of him.
With some deep contemplation, he thinks to himself, "I've figured out long ago the deeper meaning of my Dra Name. I am supposed to have a body perfectly suited for Death Aura… Since I am a Warrior, Death aura is supposed to be my weapon."
What's weird is that every case where he's either learned a Name or Advanced one, all he had to do was gain some understanding of himself; Comprehending was always enough to complete his training.
However, Haalfrin knows deep down that he's already learned everything he needs to know about his Dra Name. Why, then, isn't it Advancing?
After some more careful thought, he suddenly bursts out laughing.
"Ha… haha… I never realized I was this much of a coward." He curls his fists and floats closer to the necro crystal. "I was actually afraid of going all the way through with my training…"
Without hesitation, the man grabs ahold of the necro crystal and bares the electrifying pain.
"A Warrior is supposed to take hold of death without flinching. A warrior is hardly given the luxury of inching their way through danger; they take a hold of death by the balls and never let go."
Even when he feels his skin rotting away, Haalfrin refuses to let go of the crystal.
For several desperate minutes, he fights with the powerful killing aura inside the crystal as it seeks to destroy him.
Quite literally, the ONLY reason he survives this is because Freyya shows up in a panic and starts supporting his body with her powerful magic…
The only reason why she doesn't pull Haalfrin away is because she can sense something through the shared Dra part of their Contract; she can feel his Dra Name opening up…