I Can Copy And Evolve Talents

Chapter 1207: Greater Might

[You are using Oblivion’s Mark - Absolute Lock]

Northern’s hand moved.

The air itself seemed to freeze.

Jiang appeared from a shadow mid-thrust—and stopped. His body locked in place, dagger inches from Northern’s chest. His eyes were wide with shock, mouth open in a scream that wouldn’t emerge.

[Locked]

Mei’s sickles stopped mid-flight. All of them. Every crystallized blood weapon hung suspended in the air like grotesque ornaments.

[Locked]

Ayame’s scythe halted mid-swing, the death energy dissipating like smoke. She tried to melt into shadow—couldn’t. Her talent simply... stopped working.

[Locked]

Kai’s swords froze, the cutting lines he’d created fading as if they’d never existed. He struggled to move, but his body refused to obey.

[Locked]

[Absolute Lock - Seal any ability, power, or function completely. Locked targets cannot use the sealed aspect until the lock is removed.]

Northern walked forward.

He passed Jiang’s frozen form, his hand brushing the young man’s shoulder.

”Your shadow domain is impressive. The territory control, the omnidirectional awareness—it’s exactly what an assassin needs.”

He continued to Mei, observing the blood weapons suspended around her.

”And using your own blood as ammunition while marking the battlefield for weapon teleportation... efficient, brutal and effective.”

He stopped before Ayame, looking at her through the veil.

”Your requiem weakens the boundary between life and death. That’s... actually terrifying. Against anyone with less essence than me, they’d simply expire from accumulated minor wounds.”

He inspected her even more, checking all her abilities. There was only two talents that caught his fancy and hers was one of them.

NAME: Kageyama Ayame

TRUE NAME: The Nightbloom

SOUL RANK: Transient (Sage)

SOUL SATURATION: Mid

TALENT: Eclipse of the Dying Moon

TALENT CLASS: [S]

TALENT ABILITIES: [Moonless Night], [Death Mark], [Soul Reaper], [Shadow Step], [Requiem].

’Aoi, can I see the details of the abilities?’

[Shingan has analyzed every core of it, so this is possible]

[Here are the details:

[Moonless Night (Drifter) - Create absolute darkness in an area. Even those with darkvision see nothing

[Death Mark (Nomad) - Mark a target. You always know where they are and can sense their vitality

[Soul Reaper (Vagrant/Master) - Your attacks drain life force. Wounds you inflict don’t heal naturally

[Shadow Step (Maverick/Savant) - During darkness, teleport unlimited times between shadows. In moonlight, teleport less

[Requiem (Transient/Sage) - Sing a soundless song that weakens the boundary between life and death. Those near death slip away faster. The dying feel peace]

’Certainly interesting.’

Northern thought deeply for a second but instead decided to check the abilities of the other talent that interested him.

Finally, he stood before Kai.

”And you. The coordinator. You don’t fight for yourself—you fight to create openings for your siblings. That takes incredible discipline.”

NAME: Kageyama Kaizen

TRUE NAME: The Cutter of Darkness

SOUL RANK: Ephemeral (Ascendant)

SOUL SATURATION: Mid

TALENT: Umbral Severance

TALENT CLASS: [A]

TALENT ABILITIES: [Shadow Blade], [Phantom Edge], [Crow’s Talons], [Severance], [Void Slash], [Assassination Certainty]

’These abilities are looking quite delicious. Aoi.’

[Here are the details:

[Shadow Blade [Drifter] - Manifest weapons from shadows that cut through physical matter

[Phantom Edge [Nomad] - Your blade exists in two states: physical and shadow. Can phase through defenses

[Crow’s Talons [Vagrant/Master] - Split your shadow blade into multiple cutting edges that attack independently

[Severance [Maverick/Savant] - Any cut you make ”severs” not just flesh but connections—can cut someone’s link to their talent temporarily

[Void Slash [Transient/Sage] - A cut that exists in the space between shadows. Invisible, untraceable, impossible to block

[Assassination Certainty [Ephemeral/Ascendant] - Once you’ve marked a target, your next killing strike WILL land, bending probability itself]

Northern’s mouth almost fell.

’Was this guy holding back throughout the battle or was he being held back because he had to coordinate attacks with them?’

Either way, Northern quickly made his decision.

He certainly didn’t have 16,000 talent fragments to copy all two.

’Can’t be too sure about that, let’s check first.’

[PROFILE]

[USER: Rian Artemis Reimgard]

[TRUE NAME: Unwritten]

[SOUL RANK: Evanescent (Paragon)]

[ESSENCE: 100%]

[TALENT FRAGMENTS: 11,635/800,000]

Northern clicked bitterly.

’Dang, almost close. Copy Umbral Severance.’

[You have lost 6,000 talent fragments]

Northern stepped back, looking at all four of them.

”Your Swordsmanship of the Crow is beautiful. The way you move together, anticipate each other, create compound attacks with no wasted motion... I can see why your clan is feared.”

His expression hardened.

”But I don’t have time for this.”

[You are using Phantom Strike - Phase Strike]

[Phase Strike - Your attacks can ”phase” through defenses (armor, shields, barriers) and strike the target directly. Ignores all physical protection.]

Northern’s hand moved through the air.

Nothing seemed to happen.

Then Jiang’s dagger shattered. The blade burst into fragments that clattered to the ground.

Mei’s sickles cracked, spider-web fractures spreading across the metal before they broke apart.

Ayame’s scythe split in half, the shaft severed so cleanly it looked like it had been cut by a concept rather than a blade.

Kai’s twin swords exploded into shrapnel.

Northern released the lock.

All four Kageyama collapsed to their knees, gasping. Their weapons were destroyed. Their talents were still there, but the shock of having them completely nullified—then having their weapons destroyed without even seeing the attack—left them reeling.

Jiang tried to stand. His legs wouldn’t support him. ”What... what are you?”

Northern looked down at him. For a moment, his azure eyes glowed coldly. .

”Someone who destroyed an entire canyon of monsters that your clan couldn’t kill for all their generations.”

He turned toward the far end of the chamber where light filtered through a doorway.

”Now. Where are my parents?”

Ayame’s voice trembled from behind her veil. ”The... the depths. Father found Shin and took him to the depths. As for the elf lady, we couldn’t find her. They were elven men that came after her, father let them... but they were all dead. Slain by some monster.”

Northern paused.

”If I find so much as a scratch of a wound...” He didn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t need to.

The temperature in the room had dropped. Shadows writhed at the edges of the chamber—not from the Kageyama’s talents, but from something else entirely.

From something that made even assassins who’d lived their entire lives in darkness feel afraid of it.

Northern looked at them all.

”Take me to this... depths.”