Born In Ashes: The Enigma

As Azrael made his way toward New Moon City, he went over the notifications he had received when he had tried to bring his intent into reality earlier.

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(You have comprehended an Intent)

(Your unique intent is resonating with the World)

(The World itself is bestowing a name upon your Intent)

(Your Intent shall be called... The Tyrant's Intent)

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In Genesis, names are very important. Once a person reaches the planetary level, there is a chance they might receive a True Name.

True Names are different from normal names and act as representations of the true self of the person who receives them.

ATrue Name brings many benefits, such as an increase in potential— making it easier for a person to reach higher levels, an increase in power, and many others.

Not all people receive a True Name. In fact, only about 3 or 4% of people in Genesis possess a True Name, while the rest do not.

In very rare cases, similar to people, there is also a small chance that a skill, technique, or something similar created by a person might receive a name from the world itself.

The conditions for the world to bestow a name upon a skill or technique are unknown, and it happens so rarely that many people don't even know about it.

Azrael had heard about this from Ashara when she had explained the concept of True Names to him, and it had left a deep impression on him.

Looking at the notifications, he was truly surprised that the intent he had tried to create actually received a name from the world itself.

Unlike skills and Essentia Arts, which have five levels of mastery—namely Entry Level, Mid Level, High Level, Peak Level, and Perfection—Intent has four levels of mastery. These are: Beginner, Familiar, Experienced, and Perfection.

Currently, Azrael's intent wasn't even at the Beginner level. Intent grows along with the power and desire of its user, which allow it to manifest in reality.

Right now, Azrael couldn't even use his Tyrant's Intent for more than two seconds before running out of spiritual energy, so his mastery over it was extremely low. He could barely manifest it into reality for even a second before exhausting himself completely.

However, Azrael wasn't worried about not being able to use his intent properly. Now that he had successfully manifested it into reality, all he needed to do was increase his own power, and he would eventually be able to use it normally—just like any other skill.

Soon, the tall walls of New Moon City came into Azrael's sight, and even from a distance, he could tell that the city was far from peaceful.

The number of guards standing at the entrance exceeded ten, and more guards were patrolling within the city.

Azrael didn't enter the city through the main entrance. Instead, he found a deserted area and climbed the wall, entering without catching anyone's attention.

Once inside the city, Azrael discovered that a curfew had been imposed, and aside from the patrolling guards, not a single civilian could be seen on the streets.

Lia had taught Azrael some basic assassination techniques—such as walking silently and avoiding drawing attention to himself.

Carefully navigating through the city, he avoided the guards and continued toward his destination.

Due to the heavy guard presence and his current physical condition still being far from ideal, it took Azrael nearly an hour to reach his target.

Upon seeing a group of four guards, Azrael waited for them to pass by before quickly moving forward and stopping in front of a small house.

The door was locked, and without any intention of knocking, Azrael pulled out a wire from his inventory.

Like a professional lockpicker—another skill taught to him by Lia—he easily unlocked the door.

As the faint sound of the knob turning echoed through the silent night, the closed door slowly creaked open.

Even before entering, Azrael sensed something, but his expression didn't change.

Staring at the completely dark house from the outside, he stepped inside without hesitation... And the moment he stepped inside—

Swish!

The sound of wind being sliced by a sharp object reached his ears.

Calmly stepping to the side, Azrael dodged the tip of a spear and flicked his right hand, launching a small needle.

The needle shot forward like a bullet and—

"Arg—"

A painful scream rang out, but before it could escape the house and alert anyone—

Swish!

The blade of Fallen Star swung, and a head flew into the air, silencing everything.

Azrael felt a few drops of blood splash across his face, but his expression remained impassive as he walked to the side and turned on the lights.

As the lights illuminated the room, the bloodied scene was revealed before Azrael's eyes.

On the floor lay a headless body, with blood still pouring out from its severed neck, staining the floor crimson red.

Azrael slightly turned his head to glance at the severed head lying beside the corpse— the eyes were still wide open in terror.

The head belonged to a man who appeared to be around forty years old, with unkempt, shoulder length hair.

Azrael looked at the dead Rudheer for a few seconds before turning his gaze toward a closed room.

It was the same room from which he had heard muffled groans the last time he stayed at Rudheer's house.

"I hope my guess is correct; otherwise, completing this trial in my current condition where I can't even use half of powers will be a hassle," He muttered under his breath as he walked toward the closed door.

Upon reaching it, he discovered that it was locked. He returned to Rudheer's body, searched his pockets, and eventually found a key.

Returning to the door, Azrael unlocked it with the key.

As soon as the door opened, a sinister aura rushed out, sending a chill down Azrael's spine.

But he didn't back down and stepped inside, finally seeing what was hidden within the room.