Treasure Box Without A Key

Duncan's mind slowly concentrated on the lone petal in his hand. 

The sword aura hidden in the edges was very sharp. Earlier, he had tried to probe them with his spirit consciousness and had ended up getting his consciousness shredded within moments.

So, Duncan didn't try to probe the sword aura in the petal directly.

What he tried to do was to perceive the mysteries behind it by establishing a symbiotic connection with it. So, Duncan enveloped his consciousness with his own understanding of the sword and tried to make it resonate with the sword aura in the petal.

It didn't work immediately. 

But, Duncan wasn't deterred at all. Rather, he became more adamant in figuring out the sword aura in the petal. Moreover, it wasn't as if he didn't gain anything while trying to make initial contact with the sword aura.