Apocalypse Online: I Awaken the Ultimate Bloodline

Chapter 79: Array Mastery Trial II

Lothe stared down at the glowing array covering the floor. Though he didn’t know its official name, the suffocating pressure and the tearing sensation inside his mind gave him a clear answer.

It was a Curse Array—specifically, one designed to target and dismantle the human soul.

With his [Qi Sight] active, Lothe searched for a weakness, but the searing pain flaring inside his consciousness made his thoughts stumble. Dark purple veins bulged along his neck as the agonizing pressure multiplied.

"Such... such a sinister array," Lothe stammered through gritted teeth, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "I wonder who created this..."

Guiding his soul energy, Lothe attempted to channel a thread of Void Qi directly into the nearest glowing rune to test its reaction.

"ARGHHH!"

The backlash was instantaneous. Agony flared through his consciousness as the Qi he had channeled was instantly swallowed and dissolved into nothingness.

Lothe narrowed his [Qi Sight], forcing his focus to sharpen.

The enormous runic formation beneath his boots came into crisp view. Thousands of glowing symbols covered the chamber floor, interconnected by millions of hair-thin spiritual threads.

At first glance, it appeared chaotic. But Lothe knew better.

An Array could never be truly chaotic—every rune had a designated purpose, every connection carried a mathematical reason, and every energy pathway led somewhere. He had learned that much from deciphering the Ancient Qi-Lock Mechanism.

He locked his gaze onto the nearest rune—a strange, triangular symbol.

Let’s start with you.

Guiding a thin thread of soul energy wrapped in Void Qi, he channeled it directly into the triangular glyph.

The instant the energy entered—

BOOM!

"ARGHHHHH!!"

Pain exploded inside his soul like a dying star. Lothe stumbled backward, his knees buckling as a chunk of his spiritual foundation was violently torn away!

PING!

[WARNING: CRITICAL SOUL DAMAGE DETECTED!]

[Spiritual Foundation destabilizing!]

[Current Soul Essence: 82% ... 74% ...]

System notifications flashed repeatedly across his vision, sending an icy chill down his spine. If he didn’t unravel this array quickly, his soul would be completely wiped out.

Lothe forced himself to stare at the triangular rune.

The Array wasn’t simply rejecting his energy—it was actively absorbing it, converting the interaction into additional soul-tearing backlash.

He glanced inward. His Soul Energy was already noticeably depleted.

How much time do I have left...?

He didn’t know, and that was the most terrifying part.

Lothe couldn’t afford any more blind trial and error. He stared at the rune again, but this time, he didn’t touch it. He observed.

Through [Qi Sight], he saw that the triangular rune absorbed energy from three distinct pathways: one coming from the outer ring, another from a smaller adjacent glyph, and a third originating from the center of the formation.

The three streams converged inside the triangular rune, processed for a microsecond, and emerged from the opposite side as a single, unified stream.

Lothe’s eyes narrowed. "Three inputs... one output."

He followed the outgoing stream. It connected to a secondary rune that didn’t absorb the energy, but rather altered its flow—compressing the smooth stream into a far denser, more violent current.

"Compression..." Lothe muttered, his pupils contracting.

He looked back at the triangular rune. Three different energy streams entered it, but only one emerged.

"Convergence."

A spark of understanding lit up his dark eyes. "This rune combines multiple energy flows into one."

The instant the realization settled in his mind—

PING!

[ARRAY RUNE ANALYZED!]

[Understanding Confirmed!]

[Recording in Runic Grimoire... Complete]

[RUNIC GRIMOIRE]

[SECOND PAGE: ???]

• Rune #001: [Convergence Rune]

• Function: Combines multiple compatible energy flows into a single unified stream.

Lothe froze, his eyes widening. "The System...?"

The hovering [Runic Grimoire] in his Soul Manor opened its second page, recording the newly deciphered rune in glowing gold script.

"Good," Lothe breathed, feeling a surge of hope.

Then—

"ARGHHH!"

Another violent wave of pain tore through his consciousness, shattering his brief moment of relief. His Soul Energy was still bleeding out.

The Array didn’t care that he had understood one of its components—it continued its ruthless execution.

Lothe immediately returned his focus to the floor. "One down... thousands to go."

He almost laughed at the absurdity. But then, his analytical mind caught a pattern.

The Convergence Rune he had just deciphered wasn’t operating in isolation. It received energy from three separate sub-sections, which were themselves connected to dozens of other glyphs.

Lothe followed one primary pathway. Then another. His eyes moved at hyper-speed.

"Convergence... then compression..."

He tracked the next connection.

"...then amplification."

PING!

[ARRAY RUNE ANALYZED!]

• Rune #002: [Compression Rune]

• Function: Compresses spiritual energy into a denser state, increasing its intensity while reducing its volume.

Lothe’s eyes flashed. Another piece of the puzzle!

He immediately studied a circular rune positioned directly beneath the compression node. It continuously absorbed the compressed energy, rotating it in a violent, circular loop.

"Circulation?" Lothe observed closely.

Once. Twice. Three times. Each cycle increased the energy’s purity and density.

"No... not just circulation. Refinement!"

PING!

[ARRAY RUNE ANALYZED!]

• Rune #003: [Refinement Rune]

• Function: Repeatedly circulates energy through a controlled pathway, gradually purifying and strengthening its properties.

Lothe’s heart pounded against his ribs. He was deciphering the array, but the agonizing soul-drain was accelerating. His knees trembled as his spiritual reserves dropped past sixty percent.

At this rate, I’ll fade away before I can analyze even ten percent of this place...

Then, a brilliant idea struck him.

I don’t need to analyze every single rune! I only need to find the runes that CONTROL the others!

"An Array is a hierarchy," Lothe whispered, his mind working like an algorithmic computer. "The outermost runes gather energy. The inner runes process it. The central nodes command the whole structure!"

He stopped looking at minor symbols and swept his [Qi Sight] across the major energy arteries of the chamber.

One pathway. Two. Three.

Then—he found it.

A tiny, obsidian-black rune hidden quietly between two massive formations. It was almost invisible, neither generating nor absorbing large amounts of energy. Yet, every single major pathway in the chamber passed through its immediate vicinity!

"Why are you sitting there?" Lothe focused his perception entirely on the black rune.

Energy entered it, passed through, and exited without changing its volume or density.

"A connector? No..." Lothe watched closer.

Whenever the Array’s internal energy flow experienced a minor fluctuation or turbulence, the black rune pulsed softly. The instant it pulsed, the surrounding turbulent pathways smoothed out, returning to perfect equilibrium.

Lothe’s dark eyes lit up. "Stabilization!"

PING!

[ARRAY RUNE ANALYZED!]

• Rune #004: [Stabilization Rune]

• Function: Regulates energy fluctuations between connected pathways, maintaining structural balance and preventing Array collapse.

Four fundamental runes! Four primary pillars of the structure!

And now, Lothe understood the true, terrifying truth of this chamber. The Array wasn’t randomly tearing his soul apart. It was operating like an industrial refinement factory!

Gather. Combine. Compress. Refine. Stabilize.

Lothe followed the final, massive energy artery. Every single refined stream of soul energy eventually surged toward the very center of the chamber!

VRMMMMMM!

The central formation pulsed with blinding purple light.

"ARGH!!" Lothe clutched his head in agony as another chunk of his soul was extracted.

His face twisted in pain, but his eyes burned with terrifying clarity.

"It wasn’t dissolving my soul energy when I touched it..." Lothe realized, a cold smirk breaking across his pale lips. "It was processing it!"

The central node pulsed once more.

Lothe stared directly into the blinding light at the heart of the array, his mind racing.

"If the outer runes extract, combine, compress, and refine my soul... then what is the center preparing to do with it?"​

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