Boom! 

Link felt great power burst within him . It swept through him like a wild flood, quickly healing his injuries . The wound on his heart started mending at a speed visible to the naked eye .  

At the same time, a hymn-like voice rang out in his mind .  

Darkness, our lord, is boundless . With shadows as his flag, murder as his sword, he destroys the weak and rules the Void! 

This sound was as ancient and magnificent as before . It was as if millions of people were chanting at once . Under this prayer, Link saw the sky darken . The golden sunlight turned dark yellow, then red and dark red, until it finally extinguished .  

After the sun extinguished, countless stars appeared in the sky . But it didn't end . The stars faded and disappeared too . Finally, the entire world was pitch black, devoid of any light . Only the hymn from before remained . As time pa.s.sed, the voice grew stronger and stronger . It felt like the hymn was getting closer to Link .  

He felt instinctively that something was about to happen . Pus.h.i.+ng down his shock, he waited patiently .  

After who knew how long, when the hymn was booming around him, the pure darkness before his eyes suddenly formed an image .  

Thy sky had already been dark before . But after this black image appeared, the sky seemed to have a shred of light in comparison .  

Link felt that there was nothing blacker than this in the world . It devoured all light, almost devouring even Link's mind and soul . Thankfully, Link's soul was now strong enough . He felt the lure, but he could still anchor himself down . He wouldn't get sucked in .  

Then the figure spoke . "Mortal, I shall crown you!" 

Link wasn't sure what was happening . He didn't get fl.u.s.tered by that sentence either . He remembered Morpheus' words: the Shadow Divine Fragment wasn't a blessing . It was a curse—a curse of misfortune .  

He was still guarded against the Divine Fragment .  

"Who are you? Tell me your background!" 

"Ha, do you have any choice now?" the black shadow asked in reply . At the same time, a few shreds of light shone from behind him, illuminating the area around Link .  

In that area, Link saw himself . He was still half-kneeling on the ground, supported by his sword . But he was surrounded by thick darkness . The s.p.a.ce around it was highly distorted . Because of the chaos, rapid air currents kept appearing . It looked like a web of dense silver-black lightning .  

Not too far from Link, Saroviny had sat up on the ground . She was badly hurt and couldn't move . At the moment, she was screaming at Frost Knight Therodeau who had hidden away . He was now thousands of feet away and was flying towards Link .  

With his speed, he could cross that distance in less than a second .  

Under these circ.u.mstances, Link would get killed by Therodeau if he didn't agree . He had no choice .  

Link was very practical; he quickly calculated the costs and benefits . He would either get killed or choose this mysterious road . The former was a dead end . The latter had risks but also a sliver of hope .  

It was obvious .  

"I accept," Link agreed .  

As soon as he spoke, the black shadow laughed heartily . Then it quickly transformed, solidifying into a circular thing . Looking closely, Link saw a crown .  

It floated towards Link's head . That moment, the game system actually reacted and showed the specific stats of this crown .  

Crown of Eternal Night 

Level-19 (Can be upgraded to Level-29) 

Effect 1: Boundless Darkness . The wearer's max power will be increased by 200%, magic resistance increased by 80%, and physical resistance increased by 30% .  

Effect 2: Dark Thoughts . The wearer's mind will speed up, and their spiritual energy will increase . They can easily sink the enemy into panic and chaos .  

Effect 3: Eternal Night Divine Authority . With the ancient dark contract as a witness, the wearer can easily control all dark creatures below their level .  

Effect 4: Ultimate Incarnation of Darkness . After activating the power contained in the crown, the wearer will transform into the sovereign of Eternal Night for a short period (less than five seconds) . In this state, the user will be immune to any spell and spirit attacks . Their power recovery rate will be increased by 300% and physical defense by 90% . This effect can be used once per day .  

Side effect: Dark power will flow through the body, corroding the user's mind . Finally, the user will become the representative of the Sea of Void's origin of darkness and be ruled by darkness .  

(Note: Ash to ash, dust to dust . All originate from darkness and will return to darkness . ) 

Seeing the dark attributes, Link sighed inwardly . He knew this was the Crown of Eternal Night's use, but he still had no other choice .  

Bowing his head, the crown—seemingly made of black gla.s.s and with an ancient yet majestic style—lowered slowly on Link's head . In that instant, he felt something icy and cool settle in his soul .  

This power's invasion was unstoppable . After it entered his soul, Link instantly felt his thoughts turn indifferent . Everything that he'd treasured and loved seemed unimportant now . He could sacrifice them at any time .  

This was the cost of choosing darkness .  

Strangely enough, Link didn't feel fear . His soul seemed to have split into two now . One of the souls became the bystander . He floated in the air, watching calmly as darkness invaded his soul . He could even see the process clearly .  

The watching soul was the Link from before . Everything he cared for was preserved well . They weren't affected at all .  

The situation was strange, but it happened naturally . Link didn't know how he did it either .  

But the system gave him the answer .  

This is Soul Dominator Th.o.r.eau's blessing .  

"Blessing? What blessing?" Link froze .  

Thus, the game system displayed the blessing's specific uses .  

Soul Dominator's Blessing 

Unrated Soul Spell (Souls can be small or big, powerful or weak . It depends on a thought . ) 

Effect: This spell is for the one who received the Soul Dominator's gift . With this blessing, the blessed soul will not be affected by any outer force .  

(Note: Ask your original heart . ) 

For some reason, when Link saw this blessing, the dark hymn suddenly rang out in his mind .  

Darkness, our lord, is boundless . With shadows as his flag, murder as his sword, he destroys the weak and rules the Void! 

In this hymn, darkness was above all existences . It was the source of all, and it ruled the Void . But Link suddenly discovered that the ancient Soul Dominator seemed to have found a special soul cultivation method that could make the soul rule all .  

In other words, Link, who had studied the Book of Revelations before, had somehow inherited the Soul Dominator's truth . Whether a soul was strong or weak depended on a single thought . This was the special thing about a soul .  

The hymn should change its first sentence for Link: I rule darkness .  

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but be impressed by the Soul Dominator's boundless wisdom . He thought of the sovereign he'd seen in the ice cave . There had been endless wars . Even undefeatable strength had been useless . Only the soul could rule all and find refuge in the chaos, leaving quietly . That was true wisdom .  

By then, Therodeau was close to Link, but he didn't dare approach . Three hundred feet away, he raised his sword . Ice and frost gathered on the blade, and it instantly turned hundreds of feet long . Then he brought it down towards Link's head .  

Crack . The sword came down hard, but it couldn't hack Link into pieces .  

Under the frost sword, Link raised the Ode of a Full Moon horizontally . Silver-dark light flowed through the sword . It was subtle, but it easily blocked the shockingly powerful frost sword .  

Crack, crack, crack . It was the sound of ice cracking . Threads of dark power whizzed through Therodeau's sword, quickly undoing it .  

Pieces of ice fell down . Therodeau maintained it with all his might, but it was useless . He felt irresistible strength come from his sword . He couldn't block it at all .  

On the other hand, Link rose from his kneeling posture . He easily lifted the huge frost sword as if it was a feather . When he'd stood up straight, his sword shook and there was a huge explosion . Therodeau's frost sword instantly shattered . The pieces evaporated and disappeared in the air .  

The unstoppable power forced Therodeau back . He also had very rich battle experience . While retreating, he immediately activated his frost territory .  

Crackle, crackle, crackle . Instantly, everything inside the territory froze and crumbled into white powder . White mist rose up in the air . This was the strange phenomenon of s.p.a.ce being frozen . Absolute Zero was quite powerful .  

This power would be troublesome for someone at Level-16, but Link was way stronger than him .  

When the cold swept past Link, he just ignored it . What was the coldest in the world? It was darkness, rather than ice . With the Crown of Eternal Night, Link had become the candidate for the ruler of darkness . He didn't care about the cold at all .  

He grabbed towards Therodeau and cast the dark spell, Flame of the Soul .  

Therodeau screamed . White flames burst from his eye sockets, nose, and ears . After the flames reached the air, they turned into strands of white current that flew into Link's body, transforming into dark Mana .  

Therodeau's soul was instantly gone whereas Link's power increased again . He was only a sliver away from Level-17 . Here, Link suddenly heard something . Turning around, he saw that the injured Saroviny was disappearing into the air .  

Seeing that things were going wrong, she ran again .  

Link frowned . He suddenly felt strong danger . His instincts told him that he must leave the Aragu Realm, or else something bad would happen .  

He immediately prepared a portal, but then he discovered something wrong . It wouldn't open .  

He tried again and realized some force was obstructing him . This force seemed to smell of fire .  

Thinking, Link immediately understood .  

The Inferno Archmage locked the Aragu Realm, but he didn't come personally . The Snow Mountain Archmage must be delaying him, but I can't leave . I'm sure many will come to kill me soon .  

Since he couldn't escape, he could only get surrounded . This was dangerous .  

Thinking more, Link realized he only had one choice—find the Snow Mountain Archmage . That was his only ally and the only force that could save him in Aragu .  

With this in mind, he rushed towards the Isle of Eternal Winter in the northeast where the Snow Mountain Archmage lived .  

While Link was looking for his ally, the Fire Sect also entered full battle mode . This time, they received the G.o.d's oracle . They only had one target—the Legendary Magician, the lord of Ferde from the Firuman Realm .  

The oracle said that the Ferde lord was close to Level-17 and had incredible combat ability . Thus, practically the entire Fire Sect was sent out .  

Within five minutes, the five powerful fighters with territories (Saint Milda, Saroviny who'd just run back and finished recovering, the three remaining Lava Knights of the Fire Sect) set off . With the help of the Inferno Archmage, they opened a portal and entered the Verdant Plains .  

When Saroviny didn't see anyone, she sniffed the air and smelled Link's aura . Deducing, she immediately said, "He's gone to the Isle of Eternal Winter! Go!"

Boom!  Link felt great power burst within him . It swept through him like a wild flood, quickly healing his injuries . The wound on his heart started mending at a speed visible to the naked eye .   At the same time, a hymn-like voice rang out in his mind .   Darkness, our lord, is boundless . With shadows as his flag, murder as his sword, he destroys the weak and rules the Void!  This sound was as ancient and magnificent as before . It was as if millions of people were chanting at once . Under this prayer, Link saw the sky darken . The golden sunlight turned dark yellow, then red and dark red, until it finally extinguished .   After the sun extinguished, countless stars appeared in the sky . But it didn't end . The stars faded and disappeared too . Finally, the entire world was pitch black, devoid of any light . Only the hymn from before remained . As time pa.s.sed, the voice grew stronger and stronger . It felt like the hymn was getting closer to Link .   He felt instinctively that something was about to happen . Pus.h.i.+ng down his shock, he waited patiently .   After who knew how long, when the hymn was booming around him, the pure darkness before his eyes suddenly formed an image .   Thy sky had already been dark before . But after this black image appeared, the sky seemed to have a shred of light in comparison .   Link felt that there was nothing blacker than this in the world . It devoured all light, almost devouring even Link's mind and soul . Thankfully, Link's soul was now strong enough . He felt the lure, but he could still anchor himself down . He wouldn't get sucked in .   Then the figure spoke . "Mortal, I shall crown you!"  Link wasn't sure what was happening . He didn't get fl.u.s.tered by that sentence either . He remembered Morpheus' words: the Shadow Divine Fragment wasn't a blessing . It was a curse—a curse of misfortune .   He was still guarded against the Divine Fragment .   "Who are you? Tell me your background!"  "Ha, do you have any choice now?" the black shadow asked in reply . At the same time, a few shreds of light shone from behind him, illuminating the area around Link .   . . In that area, Link saw himself . He was still half-kneeling on the ground, supported by his sword . But he was surrounded by thick darkness . The s.p.a.ce around it was highly distorted . Because of the chaos, rapid air currents kept appearing . It looked like a web of dense silver-black lightning .   Not too far from Link, Saroviny had sat up on the ground . She was badly hurt and couldn't move . At the moment, she was screaming at Frost Knight Therodeau who had hidden away . He was now thousands of feet away and was flying towards Link .   With his speed, he could cross that distance in less than a second .   Under these circ.u.mstances, Link would get killed by Therodeau if he didn't agree . He had no choice .   Link was very practical; he quickly calculated the costs and benefits . He would either get killed or choose this mysterious road . The former was a dead end . The latter had risks but also a sliver of hope .   It was obvious .   "I accept," Link agreed .   As soon as he spoke, the black shadow laughed heartily . Then it quickly transformed, solidifying into a circular thing . Looking closely, Link saw a crown .   It floated towards Link's head . That moment, the game system actually reacted and showed the specific stats of this crown .   Crown of Eternal Night  Level-19 (Can be upgraded to Level-29)  Effect 1: Boundless Darkness . The wearer's max power will be increased by 200%, magic resistance increased by 80%, and physical resistance increased by 30% .   Effect 2: Dark Thoughts . The wearer's mind will speed up, and their spiritual energy will increase . They can easily sink the enemy into panic and chaos .   Effect 3: Eternal Night Divine Authority . With the ancient dark contract as a witness, the wearer can easily control all dark creatures below their level .   Effect 4: Ultimate Incarnation of Darkness . After activating the power contained in the crown, the wearer will transform into the sovereign of Eternal Night for a short period (less than five seconds) . In this state, the user will be immune to any spell and spirit attacks . Their power recovery rate will be increased by 300% and physical defense by 90% . This effect can be used once per day .   Side effect: Dark power will flow through the body, corroding the user's mind . Finally, the user will become the representative of the Sea of Void's origin of darkness and be ruled by darkness .   . . . (Note: Ash to ash, dust to dust . All originate from darkness and will return to darkness . )  Seeing the dark attributes, Link sighed inwardly . He knew this was the Crown of Eternal Night's use, but he still had no other choice .   Bowing his head, the crown—seemingly made of black gla.s.s and with an ancient yet majestic style—lowered slowly on Link's head . In that instant, he felt something icy and cool settle in his soul .   This power's invasion was unstoppable . After it entered his soul, Link instantly felt his thoughts turn indifferent . Everything that he'd treasured and loved seemed unimportant now . He could sacrifice them at any time .   This was the cost of choosing darkness .   Strangely enough, Link didn't feel fear . His soul seemed to have split into two now . One of the souls became the bystander . He floated in the air, watching calmly as darkness invaded his soul . He could even see the process clearly .   The watching soul was the Link from before . Everything he cared for was preserved well . They weren't affected at all .   The situation was strange, but it happened naturally . Link didn't know how he did it either .   But the system gave him the answer .   This is Soul Dominator Th.o.r.eau's blessing .   "Blessing? What blessing?" Link froze .   Thus, the game system displayed the blessing's specific uses .   Soul Dominator's Blessing  Unrated Soul Spell (Souls can be small or big, powerful or weak . It depends on a thought . )  Effect: This spell is for the one who received the Soul Dominator's gift . With this blessing, the blessed soul will not be affected by any outer force .   (Note: Ask your original heart . )  For some reason, when Link saw this blessing, the dark hymn suddenly rang out in his mind .   Darkness, our lord, is boundless . With shadows as his flag, murder as his sword, he destroys the weak and rules the Void!  In this hymn, darkness was above all existences . It was the source of all, and it ruled the Void . But Link suddenly discovered that the ancient Soul Dominator seemed to have found a special soul cultivation method that could make the soul rule all .   In other words, Link, who had studied the Book of Revelations before, had somehow inherited the Soul Dominator's truth . Whether a soul was strong or weak depended on a single thought . This was the special thing about a soul .   The hymn should change its first sentence for Link: I rule darkness .   Thinking of this, he couldn't help but be impressed by the Soul Dominator's boundless wisdom . He thought of the sovereign he'd seen in the ice cave . There had been endless wars . Even undefeatable strength had been useless . Only the soul could rule all and find refuge in the chaos, leaving quietly . That was true wisdom .   By then, Therodeau was close to Link, but he didn't dare approach . Three hundred feet away, he raised his sword . Ice and frost gathered on the blade, and it instantly turned hundreds of feet long . Then he brought it down towards Link's head .   Crack . The sword came down hard, but it couldn't hack Link into pieces .   Under the frost sword, Link raised the Ode of a Full Moon horizontally . Silver-dark light flowed through the sword . It was subtle, but it easily blocked the shockingly powerful frost sword .   Crack, crack, crack . It was the sound of ice cracking . Threads of dark power whizzed through Therodeau's sword, quickly undoing it .   Pieces of ice fell down . Therodeau maintained it with all his might, but it was useless . He felt irresistible strength come from his sword . He couldn't block it at all .   On the other hand, Link rose from his kneeling posture . He easily lifted the huge frost sword as if it was a feather . When he'd stood up straight, his sword shook and there was a huge explosion . Therodeau's frost sword instantly shattered . The pieces evaporated and disappeared in the air .   The unstoppable power forced Therodeau back . He also had very rich battle experience . While retreating, he immediately activated his frost territory .   Crackle, crackle, crackle . Instantly, everything inside the territory froze and crumbled into white powder . White mist rose up in the air . This was the strange phenomenon of s.p.a.ce being frozen . Absolute Zero was quite powerful .   This power would be troublesome for someone at Level-16, but Link was way stronger than him .   When the cold swept past Link, he just ignored it . What was the coldest in the world? It was darkness, rather than ice . With the Crown of Eternal Night, Link had become the candidate for the ruler of darkness . He didn't care about the cold at all .   He grabbed towards Therodeau and cast the dark spell, Flame of the Soul .   Therodeau screamed . White flames burst from his eye sockets, nose, and ears . After the flames reached the air, they turned into strands of white current that flew into Link's body, transforming into dark Mana .   Therodeau's soul was instantly gone whereas Link's power increased again . He was only a sliver away from Level-17 . Here, Link suddenly heard something . Turning around, he saw that the injured Saroviny was disappearing into the air .   Seeing that things were going wrong, she ran again .   Link frowned . He suddenly felt strong danger . His instincts told him that he must leave the Aragu Realm, or else something bad would happen .   He immediately prepared a portal, but then he discovered something wrong . It wouldn't open .   He tried again and realized some force was obstructing him . This force seemed to smell of fire .   Thinking, Link immediately understood .   The Inferno Archmage locked the Aragu Realm, but he didn't come personally . The Snow Mountain Archmage must be delaying him, but I can't leave . I'm sure many will come to kill me soon .   Since he couldn't escape, he could only get surrounded . This was dangerous .   Thinking more, Link realized he only had one choice—find the Snow Mountain Archmage . That was his only ally and the only force that could save him in Aragu .   With this in mind, he rushed towards the Isle of Eternal Winter in the northeast where the Snow Mountain Archmage lived .   While Link was looking for his ally, the Fire Sect also entered full battle mode . This time, they received the G.o.d's oracle . They only had one target—the Legendary Magician, the lord of Ferde from the Firuman Realm .   The oracle said that the Ferde lord was close to Level-17 and had incredible combat ability . Thus, practically the entire Fire Sect was sent out .   Within five minutes, the five powerful fighters with territories (Saint Milda, Saroviny who'd just run back and finished recovering, the three remaining Lava Knights of the Fire Sect) set off . With the help of the Inferno Archmage, they opened a portal and entered the Verdant Plains .   When Saroviny didn't see anyone, she sniffed the air and smelled Link's aura . Deducing, she immediately said, "He's gone to the Isle of Eternal Winter! Go!".