The Thrill of Battle

At this moment, he finally realized how serious the problem was. This was no ordinary cultist. It wasn't even an ordinary extraordinary being.

Anyone capable of completing the Soul-Stitching Ritual had to have a complete Lore, a complete ritual, and the backing of some cult. Normal people could never gain access to such knowledge.

Ryan suddenly thought of the disease in East Port, the rising number of missing persons lately, and that list that kept growing thicker. A thought flashed through his mind, but before he could voice it, the Edge-man moved again.

Boom! The stone paving beneath his feet completely shattered. This time, his speed far exceeded before.

Because the face on his back had opened its eyes, a massive amount of grayish-white scale-dust spewed from the wound, instantly blanketing the entire street in mist.

The scene before Ryan's eyes began to warp. The gas lamps doubled, the street split into three, and even Simon's position began to blur.

Moth aspect. Cognitive interference. Sensory distortion.

At the same time, the towering body ahead lunged forward. The bone blades sliced through the air, letting out a sharp screech.

The gray mist completely swallowed the street. The light of the gas lamps turned into blurry halos, and Ryan could no longer even make out anything ten yards away.

Everything before him warped. The ground seemed to tilt into a slope, and the buildings appeared to spin.

Footsteps echoed constantly in his ears—from the front, from the back, and it even sounded as if someone were running overhead.

Moth. Moth in its purest, most extreme form. Change. Delusion. Deception. Rendering perception utterly meaningless.

Right at that moment, Simon's voice suddenly rang out. “Close your left eye.”

Ryan was startled, but he immediately complied.

In the next second, he found the distortion weakening. While Lantern's glow could perceive extraordinary traces, it was also far more susceptible to Moth's interference. Normal vision was actually more stable.

Boom! A sudden explosion sounded from behind. A bone blade cleaved through the thick mist.

Ryan ducked sharply. The blade grazed past his scalp, shearing off several strands of hair.

Almost simultaneously, Simon closed in. His cane turned into a dark blur, slamming violently into the back of the Edge-man's head.

Bang! A dull thud rang out. The Edge-man stumbled forward two steps from the impact.

But the face on his back suddenly opened its mouth, sending a shrill laugh piercing into their minds. Ryan felt a wave of dizziness wash over his brain, and the scene before him blurred once more.

The Edge-man seized the opportunity, spinning around to slash. Splat! A massive wound was instantly torn open on Simon's shoulder.

Blood splattered as his entire arm went almost completely numb. Yet Simon seemed to feel nothing, refusing to take even a single step back.

His eyes grew brighter and brighter as his Heart aspect truly began to churn.

This was the first time Ryan had witnessed such power. There were no flames, no lightning, and no visual light effects of any kind.

Yet the wounds on Simon's body slowly squirmed. The flesh contracted continuously, stopping the bleeding and knitting together.

Though the healing speed was far slower than the rate of injury, he never collapsed.

Heart. Will. Life. Endurance. This was the most terrifying aspect of the Heart Principle. As long as one was not dead, they could keep fighting.

The Edge-man clearly noticed this as well. The face on his back let out a bizarre laugh. “How troublesome... The dogs of Heart are always so hard to kill...”

Boom! The two clashed once more. This time, the street transformed entirely into a battlefield.

Stone pavers exploded repeatedly, and gas lamps collapsed one after another. The entire street was battered into utter ruin.

Time ticked by. One in the morning. Two in the morning. Three in the morning.

Ryan could no longer remember how many fatal attacks he had dodged, nor how many times he had unleashed his Lantern's glow. Each burst drained a massive amount of his mental energy.

Eventually, his nose even began to bleed, and his vision darkened. Yet he still grit his teeth and held on.

Because Simon's condition was even worse. His shoulder, abdomen, and thighs were covered in wounds. Any ordinary person would have died long ago.

Yet Simon remained standing, his Heart aspect continuously sustaining his body like a nearly broken machine that still managed to run.

On the other side, the Edge-man's condition was also deteriorating. The puncture wound on the forehead of the face on his back showed no signs of recovery.

The grayish-white scale-dust grew scarcer, and his movements began to slow. Both sides were locked in a battle of attrition, waiting to see who would give out first.

Five in the morning. The sounds of the first batch of workers began to carry over from the direction of the port.

In the distance, carriages could vaguely be heard passing by, but no one dared approach. The thick mist seemed to isolate the entire street, turning it into another world.

Boom! After another clash, both sides retreated simultaneously. Blood dripped continuously, staining the ground a dark red.

The Edge-man panted, showing signs of fatigue for the first time. The face on his back glared fixedly at Ryan, its eyes growing increasingly cold and sinister.

It had realized. The truly dangerous one wasn't Simon, but Ryan.

From the start of the battle until now, the surrounding lights had been fading bit by bit. The gas lamps went out, and the street grew darker. Yet the Lantern's glow on Ryan only grew brighter.

He hadn't even noticed it himself. Every time a lamp went out, its residual light was slowly absorbed by his left eye, as if returning to the spark.

This was the first time he had experienced such a prolonged battle since becoming a Lantern. It was also the first time he had continuously channeled his aspect under extreme conditions.

Seven o'clock. A faint pale light finally appeared in the east. A dim brightness emerged on the distant horizon.

The face on his back suddenly stopped laughing. It looked toward the east, displaying unease for the first time.

And Ryan also sensed something. Deep within his left eye, the flame of the Lantern danced wildly, growing brighter and hotter.

Since midnight, he had been constantly consuming his Lantern's glow, burning his mental energy, and drawing power from the surrounding light sources.

The gas lamps. The lights in the windows. The searchlights of the distant docks. All the illumination was merging bit by bit into that left eye.

And now, the sky was brightening.

Ryan suddenly understood. He looked at the increasingly bright eastern horizon, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up. His face was covered in blood, yet he smiled for the first time.

“So that's how it is.”

Simon panted heavily, leaning on his cane to steady himself. “What?”

Ryan didn't answer. He simply raised his head and looked at the dawning sky.

Deep within his left eye, the Lantern's glow blazed more and more intensely, like a star about to ignite.

At this moment, he finally understood why the Lantern was called the Lantern. Because it was never a candle. It wasn't a gas lamp. It wasn't even a torch.

Those were mere imitations. The light that truly belonged to the Lantern had only ever been one thing.

The Sun.

Ryan shed his coat and tossed aside his broken glasses.

Ryan looked at the Edge-man. His voice was somewhat hoarse from exhaustion, yet exceptionally calm.

“You shouldn't have dragged this out for so long.”

The Edge-man's expression finally changed. The face on his back also stared fixedly at the east.

The gray mist began to thin, and the shadows began to recede. The domain belonging to Moth was being dispelled.

The first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, falling onto the street and onto Ryan. It was just like his first Ascension.

His soul was completely ignited. The Lantern's glow in his left eye instantly surged.

The once-faint light became nearly blinding at this moment. The entire world suddenly became clear.

The gray mist began to disperse, and the illusions began to crumble. All the traces hidden in the shadows were fully exposed.

For the first time, the Edge-man took a step back. Because he could feel that this young man, who had fought all night and could barely stand, was now becoming dangerous. Truly dangerous.

And Ryan slowly raised his head. Within his left eye, a golden flame was burning.

At this moment, the positions of hunter and prey began to swap.