The space around Leox seemed to slow down as the knife travelled towards him. There was no doubt about it. The point would pierce his chest, and at the speed it was thrown, likely buffed by a swordsman skill, it would most likely penetrate his heart too.

  He had met his death many times before. Over six hundred times. What was another?

  That thought process was wrong. This time, Leox felt certain that if he allowed himself to die here, it would truly be the end for him. Of course, he would eventually come back to life, as he had the many times that Donn had taken his life. However, this time, it was not just Donn, and he was not in the sewers. The Hawkings family knew what he was capable of, and would never allow him to escape again.

  He would face torture again, perhaps for years this time. If Grave spoke the truth about the emperor, then he would eventually be brought to him, and only the Allfather knew what fate would await him then.

  So, in this panicked state, Leox's thoughts ran wild. He grasped at every straw he could, praying that something would come to him.

  Perfect Counterstance could work, but only if Grave Hawkings was below the Adept rank in his Swordsman class. Greater Tempest could work, but only if his winds were stronger than the skill Grave had buffed the knife with. Perfect Overheat might defend against the strike, but again, only if his Fire Mage class was strong enough. Everything was based on uncertainties. Leox could not afford to risk his life on uncertainties. Not this time.

  It was at that moment that Leox discovered something. Something in the air that seemed to be reaching out to him like it hadn't before. It had always been there, but now, it felt different.

  The Mana Waves.

  Did his answer lie in the blue swirls floating within his realm? If so, then how?

  From what he knew, the mana waves were simply a visual of the mana that naturally left one's body during basic movements and skill activation. According to the fundamentals of magic, when outside of the body, it didn't have much usage.

  Leox could see not only the mana leaving his body, but also the mana leaving Grave's, and the two dead siblings'. Hardly any mana left Grave's body. Leox assumed that at a higher awakening stage, a human became better at keeping their mana within their body.

  As for the two siblings, their mana left their bodies in rapid amounts. Leox guessed that it wasn't only due to their awakening stage, as they were both stage two, but rather that something about them being undead affected their mana control.

  Previously, when Leox had breathed in, he was able to draw the mana around him back into his own stream. Usually, mana outside of one's body was impossible to control without using a mana manipulation skill. However, those laws did not apply when using the Adept Monk skill, Realm Expansion.

  What would happen if I inhaled somebody else's mana?

  His body practically begged for him to try this out. To draw his mana back inside of himself, as well as the mana of the others who were in the room with him.

  Leox performed two manoeuvres at once.

  First, he used Greater Tempest to push against the approaching knife. He suspected that throwing the knife off course wouldn't be possible. However, he could do whatever he could to slow down its speed.

  Next, he activated Perfect Counterstance, testing his luck with the skill. The sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the room before the knife thudded into his chest.

  It didn't work. He felt the weapon pass through his Perfect Overheat, but not without facing resistance. It was enough to slow down the blade to the point where it only penetrated his pectoral muscle and did not reach his heart.

  Grave blinked, but wasn't bothered. In a swift movement, he drew another knife out of his pocket and threw it again.

  Leox felt that his mana was running low and that he would have to draw on some of his life force if he wished to continue using skills. He decided on a different option.

  Leox inhaled sharply. He watched as the mana waves flew towards him at various speeds. The mana once belonging to himself assimilated back into his body with ease, returning to where it once had belonged. Then came the mana belonging to the three humans around him. It entered his body with a great struggle, so Leox used an incredibly large amount of his life force to help the mana adapt to his body it

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  It worked, and then the effects of the mana kicked in. It was then that Leox had made the largest mistake of his entire life.

  The knife pierced his chest before he could think further, this time penetrating his heart. There was no stopping this one. Death had arrived, and Leox accepted it.

  Immediately afterwards, Grave roared at his dead children. "Use everything that you can to keep him still! Keep him there, even if it costs you your lives!"

  Donn coughed up blood as he poured all of his life force into his skeleton skill. More arms erupted from the ground, grabbing at Leox's dead body with all of their might. Morigann's grip was faltering. Taking the strike from Stormblade head-on had done severe damage to her body.

  Meanwhile, Grave Hawkings was preparing some sort of ritualistic magic. He had used a third knife to draw symbols onto his cheek before using the blood to cover his palms. Then, he placed his hands down on the ground and closed his eyes. The room took on a red tint, as a powerful skill began to develop around them all.

  "Father, brother... I don't think I can hold on much longer!" Morigann cried, suffering from her wounds.

  "That's fine," Grave spat. "You are not needed anymore anyway."

  Right after he said the words, Morigann's body began to disintegrate. Flesh and bones crumbled away like sand before joining the dust on the ground.

  Leox felt her arms loosen their grip from around him, and Donn's body soon did the same, crumbling to dust. At the same time, Grave's magic had become more powerful. It had nearly reached completion. Leox guessed that even once he had come back to life, his body would no longer belong to him. He would restrained by the man's power, and made a prisoner once again.

  No, it wasn't a guess. He was certain.

  He was certain of Grave's intentions, feelings, and motivations. He knew that the man would use this skill, Slave of Limbo, to bind Leox to a realm that even he didn't understand, where Leox would constantly balance between a state of life and death, unable to regain control of himself unless the man wanted him to.

  He knew that the skill would cost Grave a lot. He would sacrifice a large part of himself to keep a human bound to the realm. He knew that Grave was prepared to risk paralysis, as long as it meant that he could deliver Leox to Emperor Alom. He had already given himself a bad leg because of it.

  Leox knew this, and so much more.

  He knew that Grave was telling the truth about Ivy's safety. He knew that Grave had killed his own wife in the name of necromancy. He knew that Grave had set a trap for Astra that made him feel absolutely certain that the boy would never escape from it.

  He knew about...

  "Necrosis..."

  The croaked word left Leox's lips as he just came back to life.

  At the same time, Grave's magic that bound him in place faltered. It was only for a slight moment. A moment that allowed Leox to move. Yet he remained still. After all, no matter where he travelled, there was no way he could escape the man's skill radius. Whenever Grave wanted to, he could put Leox back under his control, simply by regaining his focus.

  But he couldn't focus. The man was too stunned.

  Grave looked at Leox. His hands were shaking and his lips quivered.

  "His name... You have spoken his name... Where did you hear it... What have you done?" the man roared, showing much fear.

  Yet Leox remained calm. He knew that there was reason behind all of Grave's decisions. Reasons that stretched even beyond what Emperor Alom had promised him. It was all connected to a name that, under any circumstances, he would never speak aloud.

  "What do you mean?" Leox asked in a hoarse voice. "I heard the name from you."

  "Impossible. I would never dare!" Grave replied immediately, but it was the truth.

  The moment that Leox had inhaled the mana of the three people within his realm, he was immediately overwhelmed with a sensation that could only be described as unnatural. Unnatural in every way.

  It felt like he had become the Hawkings. In a mere second, it felt like he had consumed their memories, their thoughts, and their motives. It wasn't supposed to be this way, but he had used so much of his life force when forcing the mana to assimilate into his body that he had discovered so much more than he had intended to.

  If the knife hadn't struck his chest, killing him and ending the skill, he would have met a fate much worse than death. He felt like he would have become lost living a life that was not his, but rather someone else's. This power shouldn't have existed, but Leox has forced it to.

  Leox clawed at his face. Too much to understand, too much to understand.

  He looked at the quivering Grave through the gaps in his fingers. Both of them had been completely stripped of their desire to fight.

  "That name... Why did you say his name? You have ruined everything... You have damned us both!" Grave Hawkings screamed manically.

  Leox watched as the man fell to his knees and wept. Tears streamed from his eyes and sobs left his throat.

  "Necrosis. Who is Necrosis?" Leox mumbled.

  Rather than receiving an answer, he watched as Grave Hawkings reached into his pocket and withdrew a fourth knife. This time, though, he had no intention of using it on Leox. Instead, he flipped it around, pointed the blade towards his neck, and thrust it into his jugular with all the force that he could. The blade entered with a crunch and a squelch before becoming lodged there. The wound poured blood shortly afterwards, and Grave's body fell limp to the ground.

  Directly afterwards, Leox found himself becoming dizzy. What was going on?

  Too much to understand... Too much to find out...

  He wanted to pass out. He wanted to question what he had seen. He couldn't.

  Have to find Ivy.

  He picked up his sword and held it beside him as he slowly dragged himself out of the room, travelling back down the corridor from where he had come. The Donn house had returned to nothing but a regular house, yet there was no sign of Astra anywhere.

  At that moment, he didn't care. He only wanted to be reunited with the only person he could trust. The only person who knew his secrets and could express his thoughts to. Could help make sense of the chaos taking place inside, and around him.

  Have to find Ivy.

  Unfortunately, he collapsed a few moments before reaching the door.