The wheel of time spun ceaselessly.
Night shifted to morning, painting the sky orange. Yet the battlefield remained stagnant.
Demonmir and Eliza were still battling against each other. They had both emptied their mana reserves long back. It was only their Elemental Attainments and intent-based magic that allowed them to keep the battle going.
However, they both were mentally and spiritually fatigued at this point. They did not have time to deal with anything else.
Demonmir had been fighting Eliza longer, even before he was forcefully summoned by Eren to appear on the battlefield. He had been fighting Eliza's illusory form for so long that it blurred the line between what was real and what was imaginary for him.
He still thought that he was trapped in an illusion, fighting a fight that seemed to have no end.
Demonmir's poor mental and physical condition should have allowed Eliza a clear advantage. However, Eliza had her own problems to deal with.
First, her A-Rank mana core was still not completely stable because of the instant Ranking Status ascension she had performed on herself. Second, she was still getting used to her new body. And lastly, her Soul Space had been damaged by the stunt Eren had pulled on her.
Eren had basically forced both Eliza and Demonmir to fight in their weakened form, now allowing either of them to achieve definite victory against the other with overwhelming strength. So, they fought a never-ending battle that wasn't going to benefit either of them.
Some Rankers began streaming the battlefield scenes illegally, even though the Anfang Alliance had banned such broadcasts to prevent panic. They knew wealthy and powerful individuals would pay to secretly watch the stream, despite its blurry and compromised footage.
The unusual scene inside the Birdcage Barrier attracted many viewers in the shadows who were eager to witness this unprecedented event in Anfang's history.
Meanwhile, within the space confined by the primary and secondary Birdcage Barriers, Eren and Alephee continued their work. They were adding more runes to a mana sphere containing Reen's lifeless form.
Reen's body, which would have naturally changed back to its original state, was prevented from doing so due to the ongoing artifact-creation process. Rings of runes encircled the third Array Eye where Reen's body was confined inside a cocoon-like layer. Eren and Alephee steadily increased the number of runic rings using their respective Array Eyes.
Eren and Alephee both looked stressed as they concentrated and kept on operating on the Soul Seed Insertion Array Formation. Both had stress lines on their foreheads and beads of sweat kept trickling down their faces, indicating how physically and mentally stressful the whole process was.
'Steady hands. Steady mind. I can do this. Now for the final round.'
Eren mumbled to himself as he observed the process. He nodded at Alephee before operating on the Arry Formation with newfound intensity. He changed the pattern of the runes and asked Alephee to follow up on his rhythm. He raised his hands and took control of the third Array Eye manually, guiding the runes to fuse with the cocoon-like layer surrounding Reen.
The runes eventually started fusing, indicating the final phase of the artifact creation was about to take place. Eren and Alephee both focused as they knew this was the most crucial step in the process.
Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.
A series of intense mana pulses started originating from the third Array Eye, generating mild shockwaves in response that gradually grew more frequent and stronger. Since Eren hadn't bound this artifact creation to a particular element, all sorts of Elemental Attainments started manifesting around the surroundings.
"Eren, you should.." Alephee was about to warn Eren.
"I know…" he responded to her before she could finish her words.
Utilizing the powers of Shallot's Mirror, Eren extracted Reen's Soul Seed from its secure enclosure. Guiding the Soul Seed towards the third Array Eye, he used tendrils sprouted from the mirror's surface.
'It... It's going to succeed,' said Alephee to herself, smiling as she observed Eren's adept handling of the process. Their work had been flawless thus far. She harbored no doubts that, as long as Eren maintained the same steady flow, he would successfully transform Reen's body into an artifact and her soul into an artifact spirit.
The cocoon-like mana layer, tethered with numerous runic strings, began to contract. Enveloping Reen's body like a form-fitting sheath, it allowed her Soul Seed to penetrate her lifeless form.
Zoooooom.
A powerful surge of mana permeated the surroundings. Elemental manifestations intensified as Reen's Soul Seed began to germinate within her newly enhanced body.
Crack, Crack. Crack.
The earth surrounding the third Array Eye trembled, creating deep fissures. The entire Array Eye was veiled in otherworldly mana, as something or someone within Reen awakened from its slumber for the first time.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
The Elemental Manifestations encircling the Runic Formation took a perilous turn. They began to harm Eren's allies who stood nearby as witnesses.
"Aaaaaargh... My arm!" cried a half-blood as his arm suddenly transformed into a monstrous limb. It enlarged and altered unexpectedly before rupturing, splattering flesh and blood in every direction, and sending shards of bone scattering.
"My legs... FUCK!"
"Heeeeeeeelp!"
"Where? Where's the healer? Aaaaaargh my ey… aaaaargh!"
"Get... Get the fuck away from here. Quickly!"
"Run!"
"Aaaaaargh…. Help me… my head… it's about to explo…"
Witnesses standing near the Runic Formation experienced rapid mutations. Unaffected survivors and those affected but agile enough to flee decided to distance themselves from the Runic Formation.
Half-bloods and fiends both were affected by the sudden mana fluctuations that seemed to have otherworldly origins. No artifact or spell was able to stop or mitigate the effects of the mutation.
As such, these witnesses ran away from the Runic Formation, keeping a safe distance from it. Despite bracing themselves for the possibility of death, they wished to avoid agonizing final moments in a hellish state.
It seemed that something had gone wrong in the Hex artifact creation, making the final product way too unstable to keep its form intact for longer.
