Nightshade

Riveria panted heavily as she tried standing up, healers accompanying Doryarus immediately tend to their Hero.

Skill: Greater Cure!

Skill: Wind Light!

Skill: Spirit Totem!

Skill: Aid of the Forest!

Healing skills one after another rained down on Riveria, some of the council members even released some of their own mana to turn the atmosphere soothing.

A mist slowly formed due to the ambience of atmospheric mana, Riveria then soon spoke as she seemingly recovered from exhaustion.

"Thank you everyone. I am finally back…" Riveria breathed heavily.

"I am glad, Riveria, but the human who saved you… She is nowhere to be found after breaking your cage." Doryarus said in a grave tone.

"Someone else broke the cage?!"

"Hmm, she is a human Hero from the Kingdom of Duran. She only arrived and immediately found you when no one among us could." The elder explained in grave tone.

Riveria was visibly moved and also greatly worried for the human, she knew how dangerous the Dark Clown who sealed her is.

"But how did she break the Ethereal Cage?" Riveria asked.

"This is an Ethereal Cage?!" Doryarus showed an even greater shock, he slowly added: "She used a Divine Technique…"

"…" Riveria could not even start to process the information she has been getting anymore.

First, a human, of all races, was the one who broke her free from an Ethereal Cage with infinite layers of mana reinforcing it.

Second, the said human wielded a Divine Technique that enabled her to transcend the infinity.

The only problem now is that the human suddenly disappeared.

"Did she receive the backlash for breaking the cage?" Riveria pondered with anxiety.

After about a week, Riveria personally reported that the one missing now is her savior, humanity's Hero, Veil.

A solemn atmosphere instantly washed on the throne room of Krieg.

"She will not stumble from this mere obstacle!" Lauron declared with reddened eyes.

It is clear that she is the most affected by the news, just as she now have someone to call her sister such sudden development happened.

Riveria silently agreed by the Adventurer's words, she then informed everyone of Veil's ability to wield a Divine Technique, which then answered everyone's question of how did Lauron, their strongest Adventurer, lose to an upstart.

Silence filled the throne room once again, even Krieg powerlessly sat down on his throne.

Plop!

[…]

Veil floated around an unknown space of darkness with seemingly no end.

She herself does not have an answer on why she suddenly got warped in after breaking the cage.

However, she does have a conclusion: that she suffered some form of retaliation from overlapping hers with an infinite mana.

After trying to gain control with her remaining mana, she spotted a stone platform floating above her.

She then made this platform as her footing and resting place.

As all the exhaustion descended on her mind, she slowly closed her eyes and began drifting to sleep.

Hours turn into days, days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months and months turn into years.

With no sense of time whatsoever, Veil drifted in this Abyssal space endlessly.

She does not even have the slightest will to move and searched for an exit.

Just as she was about to fall asleep again, she suddenly heard a faint voice.

"S…"

She lifted her body up to sit down and tried listening more.

"S…"

The voice is barely audible for her, she focused her senses even more.

"Sis…"

"Sister…"

"Sister!"

The voice became increasingly louder and more desperate.

Veil stood up on her feet, she shouted back.

"I am here!"

Lauron, on the forest where Veil broke Riveria free, kept on shouting and suddenly heard a reply.

"She is here! Father she is here!" Lauron showed an excitement.

However, Krieg is slightly shaking his head, he knew what an Ethereal Cage is and no mortal in the history was able to break one.

Now, time has changed, a human broke an Ethereal Cage, which is something of a bigger question for themselves.

During his time as an Adventurer, he wielded the Holy Sword Durandal and was able to establish the Kingdom of Duran with his strength and great judgement alone.

He faced fierce enemies who are capable of plunging their enemies' willpower into the Abyss.

Such skills are tapping onto the Ethereal realm, which are the spiritual structures of the worlds.

They are labelled as a taboo in Terra, because the World Tree is said to respect the spirits of every single entity residing in Terra.

Ethereal skills directly affect spirits, which go against the rules of the World Tree.

Now that someone destroyed an Ethereal skill, no one knows what it entails, may it be death, permanent damage in their spiritual bodies or permanently losing control of mana.

Lauron received looks of pity but she does not stop shouting.

"Sister!"

"Sister!!"

"Sister!!!"

As Lauron became more desperate, she angrily used her strongest skills.

Bloodline Expansion: Radiance Inundation!

Sure-kill Skill: Empyrean Awakening!

3 pairs of steel wings appear on her back as it slightly trembled before flying upwards.

She then made a slash where the ground erupted and a beam burst out from the sky, when the eruption from the ground and the beam overlapped with each other, Lauron stabbed her sword on the converging point.

Shinggg!

A new combination technique and mana application taught to her by Veil!

The 3 combined attacks cracked the sky itself, however, the moment she did so, she was warped in as well.

"Noooooooo! Lauron!!!" Krieg watched her only daughter get absorbed into nothingness as he shouted with depression.

[…]

Inside the unknown space, Lauron suddenly fell down while still thrusting her sword in front of her.

Veil then understood that the infinite mana from the cage created a whole new space in the forest.

Lauron's combination technique broke past the infinite layers as well, so she similarly got warped in.

Lauron immediately flew towards Veil and hugged her.

As the two is celebrating their reunion, the Dark Clown appeared and suddenly spoke in a ridiculing tone.

"I shall praise you humans from reaching this space. I am truly amazed that ants like you broke past the infinite layers of mana." The Dark Clown clapped their hands.

"It is you!" Veil angrily snapped.

The Dark Clown flashed an evil grin before sending an attack towards Lauron's back.

Skill: Centurion Flash!

Veil then hugged Lauron tightly as she twisted their bodies and pushed Lauron away, now, her back is going to be hit by the Dark Clown.

Ahk! Splatter!

The Dark Clown's entire hand pierced Veil's stomach and blood sprayed towards the stunned Lauron.

After watching the Dark Clown kill her sister, Lauron lost consciousness from shock.

"Now my job gets easier." The Dark Clown muttered as they banish Lauron back to the world.

Vuommm. Plop.

Lauron plopped on the ground in front of Krieg.

Krieg wiped his tears as he asked the healers to heal Lauron, however, they informed him that Lauron has no wounds or damage whatsoever, even the mana is intact.

Meanwhile, the Dark Clown immediately cancelled the illusion of them killing Veil.

Thuk!

Veil reappeared on the stone platform as she recovers from shock.

The scene replayed on her mind as if it is real, the Dark Clown then appeared in front of her.

"Who are you, really? Why are you doing all this?" Veil wanted to negotiate.

The Dark Clown removed their mask and hat.

"???!!!"

The Dark Clown is the personification of the blade spirit within the Noir and Veil's visions whenever she learns skills.

"I was protecting you all this time. I am the blade of the Noctuas, namely Nightshade. I existed since the beginning of time." The Dark Clown, now introducing themselves as a Noctua.

"But… how?" Veil sat down and asked.

"The entities labeled as Dark Clowns have always been Noctuas, the Gods have twisted the peoples' minds to perceive us as evil entities."

"…" Veil could not believe what she was hearing, different thoughts flooding her mind.

"I will make everyone in the world who have heard of you and your name that you have perished."

"This is so that we could regain the powers we once owned, only the Gods' deaths will bring our entire power back."

"With you, capable of endless growth, we can revive our race and get our deserved happiness." Nightshade declared.

However, as soon as Nightshade finished speaking, Veil stabbed them in the chest.

Shurururuk~

The hole created by Veil on Nightshade's chest just immediately mended back as if it was not damaged at all.

Stab stab stab stab stab stab stab!!!

Veil tirelessly stabbed Nightshade until she kneeled from exhaustion.

"…" Nightshade just watched.

"I won't buy your bullshit." Veil coldly muttered.

"Hwaaaahahahaha! To think that you are this instinctive, human!" The Dark Clown reverting back to their true appearance laughed maniacally.

Veil knew that the Noctuas are no more and the name Nightshade is the blade spirits' true form.

Nightshade was the one who lead Noctua to flourishment, but when she lost in the Ancient War, she was cursed by the Dark Clowns' faction so that she will never revert to her true personified form even through reincarnation.

That is why she recorded herself in a book and through that book will someone inherit her will to destroy the evil.

Somehow, this Dark Clown in front of Veil knew Nightshade's story and used it as an exploit.

However, the blunder the Dark Clown made is that they wanted to target the Gods to bring back Noctuas powers, but that was not recorded in the Noir.

The Dark Clown could not kill Veil because they wanted to absorb Veil in her fullest potential.

So the only thing the Dark Clown could resort to now is seal Veil here until all of the people that knew about her would perish through time.

And only then will they release Veil back to the world.

Just as the Dark Clown is destroying the flow of time in this space, Veil was already charging her mana through her sword.

'This is the will of the Noctua' Veil steeled her mind as she perceives the few mana floating around from when Lauron forced herself inside.

Third Divine Technique: Transcendental Severance!

Break!

Various spatial tears formed within the mana space created in the aftermath of the Ethereal Cage.

The Dark Clown then blocked Veil's slash that is about to hit them with their claws.

Clang! Boom!!!

The Dark Clown was sent flying while Veil also similarly got pushed back by the massive shockwave from their weapons' contact.

Soon after, the spatial tears that have formed grew larger and larger until light penetrated.

The chaotic difference between time from within the mana space collided with the outside world's time flow.

The dark balloon-like mana space soon dissipated as Veil fell down on a nearby tree.

Meanwhile, the Dark Clown's frustration soon reached an unimaginable level.

And as such, the Dark Clown's last resort was to forcefully wipe Veil's existence in everyone's memories.

Underworld Skill: Soulfire Flicker!

Like a massive mirror cracking, a ripple from the Dark Clown's finger reverberated through the whole land of Terra.

[…]

Lauron, who was painting a picture of Veil, her sister, suddenly felt confused on who she was painting.

She just suddenly forgot why and who was she painting.

Every single person Veil made interaction with has now forgotten her very existence.

Veil did not know of this fact, while she rests under a tree, she felt an excruciating pain from her heart.

She then hurried to meet with Lauron who thought she died on the Dark Clown's hands, to inform the girl that she is safe and sound.

After jumping from the gate, she arrived in front of the castle, she was suddenly pointed at with various weapons from the members of the guild, King's Guard.

Lauron, standing among the members, asked a question before unsheathing her sword.

"Who are you?"