Born In Ashes: The Enigma

Elyara and the others gazed at the puddle of black liquid inside the casket as it slowly began to take shape.

Unlike before, this time, the wish casket took a full five minutes to form the item for Azrael.

When the process was finally complete, all three of them watched as the puddle transformed into a flowing black cloak that gleamed like starlight on one side and shifted into a deep crimson twilight on the other.

What made their breaths hitch was the aura radiating from the cloak.

Unlike Elyara and Luo Bingqing's artifacts, this one emanated the unmistakable presence of an epic-level artifact.

"Damn, I expected you to get something better since you had a lot more wish stones than us, but to think you would actually get an epic-level artifact…" Elyara said, unable to hide her astonishment at how easily he had acquired such a treasure.

She thought about the pain she had endured to obtain her Epic-level Radiant Bow, and her eyes couldn't help but twitch.

Luo Bingqing remained silent, but the shock on his face was unmistakable.

Azrael ignored Elyara's grumbling and reached into the casket to pick up the black cloak.

The moment his fingers touched it, information about the cloak flowed into his mind, and at the same time, his status window also displayed its details.

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---) Eclipse Mantle (Epic-Level Artifact): A flowing black cloak woven from the silk of the shadow spider and night ore.

---) Level Requirement: Level 15 and above

---) Passive Effects:

1. Grants the user the ability to phase through energy-based attacks once every five minutes (damage negated).

2. Boosts the user's agility by 20% while equipped.

---) Active Skill – Umbral Rift: Once per day, the user can step into shadow and reappear anywhere within 300 meters instantly, ignoring barriers.

====

Azrael studied the details of the Eclipse Mantle and his eyes gleamed with a trace of excitement, especially when he noted the two passive effects of the artifact.

Being able to completely negate an energy-based attack every five minutes was akin to having a life-saving card he could use repeatedly.

He wasn't sure if this ability would work against the energy-based attacks of a planetary-level warrior, but he was certain that he could at least negate the attacks of a Legend-level warrior without sustaining any injuries.

And it wasn't limited to a single use, he could use it once every five minutes.

The second effect, which increased his agility by 20% was another tremendous boost to his already extraordinary speed.

Because of the Wings of Wind, it was already difficult even for a level-40 epic-level warrior to keep up with his movements.

Now, with his agility increased by another 20%, even Azrael himself wasn't sure how fast he could move.

The active skill of the cloak was also an exceptional escape technique.

If he ever found himself in danger, he would only need to step into a shadow and he could instantly relocate anywhere within three hundred meters, ignoring any barriers in his path.

"What is wrong? Don't you like it?" Elyara asked when she noticed that Azrael's expression remained as calm and unreadable as ever, even after examining the artifact's details.

Azrael lifted his gaze from the cloak at her words.

"No, it's very good," He replied, draping the cloak over his shoulders.

"If it's good, then show some excitement. It's not like you would lose money if you smiled a little," Elyara said, rolling her eyes.

Azrael, however, ignored her remark.

Crack!

Suddenly, the sharp sound of something breaking echoed through the chamber.

Their eyes turned toward the source and saw that the wish casket was now laced with cracks, its surface fracturing rapidly.

Within seconds, the cracks spread across the entire casket, and it crumbled into dust, no longer resembling a planetary-level prop.

Azrael had already informed them that the casket could only be used three times, so none of them were surprised when it disintegrated.

Although they were curious about how Azrael knew they could only use it for three times, they refrained from asking, knowing he would not give them an answer.

"Let's rest here for a few hours and then continue toward the core area," Azrael suggested.

Even though their time was limited before the effect of the Rule Stone ended, all three of them had just fought a fierce battle and were completely exhausted.

If they continued in their current condition and happened to encounter a powerful monster, it would be extremely dangerous, especially for Luo Bingqing, who was the most seriously injured.

Elyara and Luo Bingqing nodded at Azrael's words as they truly needed to recover their strength.

Azrael walked to the side of the chamber and sat down, leaning against the cold stone wall of the chamber.

He opened his status window to take a look at it and a small smile appeared on his face as he examined his current stat points.

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---) Strength: 73→ 88

---) Agility: 69→ 82 (+16.4)

---) Stamina: 80→ 98

---) Cosmic Energy: 230→ 246

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'Because of the Unyielding Body skill and the high-level monsters I've been killing, my current stat points are even better than some ordinary elite monsters of the same level…' Azrael thought to himself, taking a deep breath.

At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder what the Transcendent Organization and Boris were planning.

So far, they had not encountered anything related to the organization or the people it had kidnapped.

Azrael had even searched Boris and Melissa's storage rings, which he had obtained earlier.

Although he discovered some useful items, there was nothing particularly noteworthy inside.

He also couldn't stop thinking about what they intended to do with No. 4.

His eyes drifted back to the status window, landing on the inventory section where he had stored the heart like mass of flesh he had found in Boris's chamber.

As he focused on it, the status window revealed its details.

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---) Heart of a Half-Dragon: The heart of a young half-dragon who died due to an illness.