Journey to the North

No one who traveled north had ever returned, just like those who ventured into the desert at the center. The only known fact was the North's freezing, unimaginable cold. Yuel's purpose in heading north was this:

A mountain range lay at the border between the western region, Inksworn Depths, and the northern region, Frozen Hollows. These mountains were filled with tier-4 titans. Don't ask how he knew; during his early days, he had chosen water over ink and ventured north in search of it. He had barely survived and vowed never to return. But now, he had no other choice. It would take about three months to reach his destination, and although he wouldn't face tier-5 titans there, he knew plenty of tier-4 titans resided in that range. It was the only way to fight a tier-4 titan without running into a tier-5 one.

For this reason, Yuel set out toward the mountain range that intersected the northern and western regions. It was going to be a three-month journey, so he needed to prepare well… Yet his only preparation was the shining crystal he held in his palm.

Yuel walked slowly. Ever since Luo died, he had been quiet and gloomy—even Null could sense it but couldn't cheer him up. Null wasn't the one to do that. On the bright side, Null at least prevented Yuel from giving up and dying. He reminded Yuel that Luo shouldn't have died for nothing and that revenge would be taken.

Throughout his journey, Yuel learned how to use his Bloodscript effectively. He could now communicate with the mana crystal. By talking to Null, he learned the crystal's mana limit was numerically 634. He could fill it completely in 6 hours, meaning his mana regeneration rate was about 1.7 per second. Of course, Null had done all the calculations. Based on this regeneration, Yuel created a passive spell that consumed 0.7 mana per second and directed maddening whispers to every living creature within 60 meters. As the number and level of living beings increased, the mana cost also rose. In other words, he could roughly estimate the number and level of nearby creatures—and usually, they couldn't even notice him due to the maddening whispers they heard.

In large-scale battles, this was mana-inefficient. But in dangerous areas requiring vigilance, being able to detect every creature within 60 meters and disorient them with whispers was a valuable blessing.

His offensive abilities also consisted of powerful and unbearable whispers. His enemies couldn't fight back due to the overwhelming voices and were easily killed with his tier-2 sword. His tier-3 dagger had broken during the owl fight, and among dozens of tier-1 and tier-2 weapons found in his home, this sword was his favorite. It had once been made from the spine of a kind of lizard, possibly a fire lizard, and had even gained an enchantment that made it ignite during combat.

He felt he was using his Bloodscript to its fullest. In Runic, his Bloodscript meant either "whispers that drive to madness" or "divine whispers of salvation," and currently, he used it in both ways.

He walked north for three full months, never stopping. He never forgot the reason behind it all: that day, that Titan that killed Luo. He would get his revenge, even at the cost of his life. But first, he needed to reach his strongest form at this stage before returning to humanity.

Along the way, he saw countless corpses and hundreds of dhune. He took out his pain on them and killed them all, which helped soothe his mind. Null helped him stay human. Without Null's voice, Yuel might've met a far darker end. On the bright side, now he had someone to talk to. Was it human? He didn't know—but it was someone.

Three months passed quickly. Maybe it was because Yuel was so sad, or maybe because every day felt the same. Time flew by.

The path was all forest, and he hadn't encountered a single lake. When he returned, it might be a good idea to name the lake where he once fished.

When Yuel reached the great mountain range, there were no tier-5 titans to interrupt him anymore, and he could defeat tier-4 titans… Technically. Other tier-6 humans couldn't even kill tier-3 dhune. But it wasn't that hard for Yuel—he had experience. Despite not living well for the past four years, he was certain he had killed around 300 dhune during his time in Inksworn Depths. If he added the 200 he killed during the last three months, that brought the total to over 500. There was also the owl, but he didn't want to take pride in that since it was mostly luck. That fight had been a perfect matchup. He needed another like that. And he had to make sure his battles weren't interrupted.

Once at the northern mountains, he first had to choose a mountain. The border between Inksworn Depths and Frozen Hollows was entirely a mountain range—each side opened to a different region. He had to pick one of the mountains and defeat the titan within—maybe?

"There are dozens of them inside the mountains. Trust me, I'll handle it for you. But we'll need to spend about 0.60% of the crystal. And then I'll need half the mana stored in the crystal. Is that okay with you?"

"Sounds fine, but what are you going to do?"

"I'll whisper to the titans in the mountain and lure out the one most affected by the whispers to you."

"How will you lure it out? Is that even possible?"

"Of course. But once it reaches you, it'll be slightly mad—could be overly aggressive, so be careful."

Yuel accepted the offer and waited a few minutes while Null did the job. In the meantime, he rested atop a fallen tree. It was daytime, so he could see his reflection on the pools of ink on the ground.

His hair had grown long over the past four years and needed tying. At Null's suggestion, Yuel tied it up. His eyes and hair were pitch black. His skin was frighteningly pale—probably due to the ink. Still, he didn't think he looked terrible. Being different was good.

His clothes were made from the skin of a tier-3 dhune—a kind of saber-toothed black panther. He had a fine cloak made from its hide. Having worn a robe before, he was pleased to own something cloak-like. Beneath it were simpler, primitive garments. Although he had added various engravings and bone decorations to the cloak, the clothing underneath was very plain. He planned to replace everything except the cloak once he returned to humanity.

Soon after, he noticed a titan emerging from a large round cave in the mountain. The creature was a massive humanoid made entirely of bone. Its upper body was far bulkier than its lower, causing it to move on all fours. A large shell-like structure covered its back, studded with spikes. It had two horns on its head, and although there were two eye sockets in its skull, its actual eye sat in the space between them. The sockets were empty.

It had no nose, a massive mouth with a drooping tongue, and a long tail ending in a sharp bone tip. Yuel could turn that tail into a weapon—a spear-staff hybrid. Since Null had lured it, it was probably sensitive to whispers. It would be tough to hurt from the outside, but he was confident.

At last, the tier-4 dhune "Bone" spotted Yuel. Then it charged, its tongue flailing as it sprinted on all fours.

Yuel raised the crystal and cast a spell with all its mana. The spell caused Bone to hear void-born voices, preventing him from detecting his enemy unless he could see them, leading to wrong decisions and eventual agony.

As the spell hit, Bone stopped and howled to the sky—a sign it was working. When he lowered his head, his once-yellow eye had turned slightly red.

Bone was charging, but so was Yuel. At some point, Bone stopped to cast a spell of his own.

Suddenly, giant bones erupted from the ground, trying to trap Yuel. But they missed. Bone couldn't think clearly due to Yuel's ability—his bone attacks misfired and missed their target. Yuel ran straight toward Bone and tried to stab his eye with his flaming sword.

But Bone was still a tier-4 titan—not easy prey. It raised its head just in time, causing the sword to land in its mouth instead of its eye. It bit the sword and devoured half of it. But this was a mistake—its mouth caught fire. The flames, blessed by Luo, were white and spread instead of extinguishing. They burned Bone's soul, creating holes. The whispers would enter these holes and drive it mad.

Yuel retreated due to the broken sword but understood the path the fight would take. It would be a race against time. The more time passed, the more Bone would lose his mind. Eventually, Yuel could trick and kill it.

From then on, Yuel focused on dodging. Even when Bone tried to crush him with rising bone pillars, he only dodged. But after ten minutes of dodging, he grew tired and decided to finish it.

He circled Bone, exited its line of sight, and slashed its tail with his broken sword. Then he quickly retreated, repeating the tactic until the tail was severed. Once he had the tail, he didn't need to kill it. Without such a vital part, it wouldn't survive long in the cave system.

He fled the battlefield and found a quiet cave near a cliff. There, he began crafting the weapon he had long desired.

The tail was about 1.6 meters long. He would use the sharp end as a spear tip and attach the mana crystal to the blunt end. He began with fire.

Holding the long bone tail, he wished for it to burn. A white flame ignited in his hand, engulfing the spear. The fire smoothed it, cleaned it, and gave it a perfect polish.

Once it overheated, he dipped it into an ink pool in the cave. As it cooled, he waited. Then, when it had cooled enough, he pulled it out and began burning the blunt side. Once soft enough, he pressed the mana crystal in to fix it in place. Then he submerged it in the ink pool again for a longer cooldown. He used primitive methods—but they were worth it.

He sat in the cave for a while. It was peaceful.