Embracing Madness

Levi closed his eyes, clutching the demonic crystal tightly in his palm. He took a deep breath, centering himself as he prepared to activate Lunacy. The forest around him seemed to hold its breath, sensing the impending chaos.

"Here goes nothing," Levi muttered, reaching deep within himself.

The familiar sensation of Lunacy surged through him, but this time, instead of directing it outward, Levi turned it inward. A green aura, which had begun to spread out from him, suddenly reversed course, flowing back into his body.

Immediately, his mind erupted into a cacophony of whispers and fractured images. The world behind his closed eyelids twisted and warped, reality bending to the whims of his ability.

Gritting his teeth against the onslaught, Levi focused on the demonic essence within him. Under the influence of Lunacy, it no longer felt like smoke slipping through his fingers. Instead, it writhed and pulsed, alive with potential.

With a mental push, Levi commanded the essence to move. To his surprise and elation, it obeyed, coiling around the demonic crystal in his hand. The crystal began to heat up, its glow intensifying as it resonated with Levi's essence.

But it wasn't enough. Levi pushed harder, diving deeper into the madness of Lunacy. The whispers in his mind grew louder, threatening to overwhelm him. Fragments of impossible geometries flashed before his eyes, and for a moment, Levi felt himself teetering on the edge of sanity.

"No," he growled, forcing himself to focus. "I control this. It doesn't control me."

With a herculean effort of will, Levi channeled the chaotic energy of Lunacy into a singular purpose. His essence surged, enveloping the crystal completely. The gem cracked, then shattered, releasing a torrent of raw demonic power.

An enormous amount of energy burst out of the crystal. Although surprised, Levi didn't let the energy scatter—instead, he concentrated on it and took control. Slowly, he directed that energy into his body.

Levi gasped as the energy flooded into him. It was like being struck by lightning and plunged into icy water simultaneously. Every nerve in his body screamed in protest as the foreign essence invaded him.

For a terrifying moment, Levi thought he had made a grave mistake. The power threatened to tear him apart from the inside. But then, guided by Lunacy, his own essence rose to meet it. The two forces clashed, twisted, and finally merged.

He still didn't have a core, so he didn't know where to store the energy. But to his surprise, once the energy entered his body, all of it was sucked towards the middle of his chest and disappeared.

All the energy was drawn into his soul sea. Involuntarily, Levi peeked into it.

It was as desolate as ever—no sign of life anywhere, just the wasteland and the empty core hanging in space. But there was a change.

His core, which had barely contained a drop of black essence before, was now filled by almost one-fourth!

Levi stared at his core, unsure if what he was seeing was real. He withdrew from his soul sea, and as he did, a wave of dizziness washed over him. He swayed, barely managing to stay upright. When he opened his eyes, the world seemed sharper, more vivid. He could feel the new power coursing through him, wild and untamed but undeniably his.

A notification blinked before his eyes:

[Demonic Essence absorbed: 51/200]

Levi blinked at the message, a grin spreading across his face. "Fifty? Not bad at all."

What Levi didn't realize was just how remarkable this feat truly was. He had absorbed every last ounce of essence from the crystal, leaving nothing behind—a fact he had yet to appreciate. Typically, when humans absorbed demonic essence, the crystals had to be purified first, a process that resulted in losing nearly half of the essence within. Even after purification, they could only absorb about 30-40% of the remaining essence, as the raw energy often burst uncontrollably from the crystal.

In other words, Levi should have gained only 10-12 essence from the crystal. But thanks to his Lunacy, which allowed him to control the essence, and his Trait—Demonic Soul, which let him absorb demonic crystals without purification—he had managed to gain 50 essence.

And the fact he was still in follower rank and the demonic crystal came from a Inpect-Vile rank monster also boosted the amount of essence inside the crystal.

Unfortunately, Levi was completely oblivious to this.

Unaware of the significance of his achievement, he stood up, brushing off the remnants of the mucus-filled ground. His body felt different—stronger, more alive. The lingering whispers of Lunacy faded to a manageable hum in the back of his mind, soon to disappear altogether.

"I feel like my strength has improved," he mused, flexing his fingers. It wasn't as though he had transformed into some unstoppable force, but he could certainly feel the difference. He also sensed that he wouldn't be as easily exhausted as he had been when battling the Lunacy Incarnate.

But he knew he was still not strong enough to use his demonic transformation, at least not yet.

Taking a deep breath, Levi squared his shoulders. He had taken a risk, and it had paid off. Now, it was time to face whatever challenges awaited him on the next floor.

There were still some larvae left, latched onto the trees, but Levi decided it wasn't worth the time to crush them. It didn't seem like he would get another artifact or anything else of value from them.

With determination in his eyes, Levi focused on the notification that had been patiently waiting for his response.

[Would you like to move on to the next floor?]

[Yes/No]

Without hesitation, Levi selected 'Yes'.

In the next second, his surroundings began to shift. As the world around him shimmered and faded, Levi steeled himself for what was to come. Whatever horrors or trials the next floor held, he would face them head-on. After all, he had already embraced the madness—what was one more step into the unknown?

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