Chapter 465: System's Maiden - 2

Her twentieth attempt reached the sixth ring. The barrier crossing left her mentally reeling, her connection to Gorgita flickering dangerously. But they made it through, only to face monsters that seemed to bend space itself with their movements.

That death was particularly spectacular, but Lila barely paused before beginning attempt twenty-one.

'I wonder,' she thought as Gorgita's consciousness merged with hers once again, 'is this how you felt, Elio? When you kept trying impossible things until they became possible?'

The thought gave her renewed determination. Somewhere ahead, beyond these rings of escalating danger, he was waiting. And she would reach him, no matter how many attempts it took.

'After all,' she mused as they launched skyward once again, 'what's a few thousand deaths between us?'

Soon, she'd need to report to Lucien about her progress. But not yet. Not until she'd pushed the boundaries just a little further.