"FOR FUCKS SAKE!"

Jason put his hand up to his hair and pulled on it with an angry shout, and Gina took a step back when she heard the sheer anger in his voice! Jason realized in shock that he had screamed out loud, and he took in another breath as he shook his head and then spoke to the system.

'Can you sense what I'm hearing?'

[The system cannot sense anything from the user's mental space. The Attribute the user consumed does not use mana to function; therefore, the system is incapable of analyzing its actions or effects. Does the user want the system to carry out any functions?]

'A mental block. I need a skill that allows me to block out mental attacks.'

Jason grunted this out to the system, and the system came back with another prompt.

[The user already possesses a complete mental block that prevents all forms of external mental manipulation. This is a skill that was granted to the user as well as every single one of his subordinates in order to ensure proper system functions. The system believes that what the user is experiencing is an internal mental attack, and the system does not currently possess a skill to block this form of attack.]

'I need something! Give me something, for fucks sake! Anything!'

Complete! Complete! COMPLETE!

MAKE ME COMPLETE! MAKE ME COMPLETE!

THERE IS ONE LEFT! BRING IT TO ME!

MAKE US COMPLETE!

COMPLETE!

The voice began to screech even louder when it realized that Jason was ignoring it, and Jason grit his teeth and went down to one knee! There was blood leaking from Jason's nose as the sheer mental strain it took to try and keep something like this at bay, and the mere fact that Jason was able to remain this stable for so long even after being assaulted like this was a testament to his mental strength! Every other wielder that had gotten the [Land of Lost Shadows] had fallen to the screech of the voices in less than a minute, and they had lost their sanity only a few days later! There were even cases of some wielders committing suicide by falling on someone else's sword just so that they would be free from the madness!

It had already been more than ten minutes, and Jason was holding on with sheer will alone!

'Hey, hey, relax, Jason. Relax.'

A voice suddenly called out from Jason's mental scape, and Jason was shocked when he recognized it as Esdeath's voice. For the first time since they met, Jason could sense a seriousness to Esdeath's tone that had never been there before, and he wondered what the hell Esdeath was doing. Esdeath had a very serious look on his face as he stood inside Jason's Alternate Dimension and looked up. Esdeath wasn't out there in the real world, but he could still feel exactly what was going on, and Esdeath knew that this wasn't good. Jason's mental scape was breaking down at a rate that wasn't normal, and he was being eroded so quickly that it would drive him to insanity if it wasn't put to a stop right now!

Normally, Esdeath would never try to help Jason. Jason had been nothing but a bully to Esdeath, and he had sent Ragnar after him so many times that Esdeath could point out Ragnar's distinct roar even with his eyes closed! But Esdeath also knew that Jason had done a lot for him. Jason could have easily sent Esdeath back into the [River of the Afterlife] after he sunk into Jason's mind, but for some reason, Jason didn't do it. Jason not only tolerated him, but he also gave Esdeath the freedom to walk around his Alternate Dimension whenever he wanted. Esdeath knew that this was far more than he had any right to ask for from someone who owed him nothing, and in a fucked-up way, Esdeath had come to like Jason's harsh personality. But Esdeath isn't a masochist if that's what you're thinking! He isn't! Really!

But Jason's tough personality and the way he handled things with his cold logic made Esdeath respect him a lot, and even though Jason always sent Ragnar after Esdeath, it was always in playful fun rather than in anger. Ragnar had never once hurt Esdeath beyond superficial wounds, and he only sat on him or forced him to play around for a while before getting bored and leaving him alone again. Esdeath enjoyed those moments in their own way, and Esdeath was grateful to Jason for them. So why would Esdeath stand around and do nothing when his benefactor was going through something so serious?

Esdeath spoke in a calm, mature tone that he had not used in a very long time. At this moment, Esdeath sounded like a true Elder from the Eastern Mountain Sect.

'Jason, I need you to listen to me very carefully. What you are going through is a mental attack from a part of your inner psyche, and you will need to block it out. If you don't do this, then you will go mad. But you need to trust me and do exactly as I say. Do you understand?'

Jason grit his teeth when he heard everything Esdeath had to say, and for a moment, Jason wondered if he could really trust Esdeath at all, but Jason realized that he didn't have much of a choice at this moment. If he didn't trust Esdeath, then he wouldn't be able to get rid of this voice! Jason grit his teeth, and he grunted to Esdeath in confirmation, and Esdeath nodded before he started to talk.

'Good, now the first thing you need to do is sit down and cross your legs. Yes, do it. Now lock your hands together in front of you like this and relax them on your laps just below your belly button. Good, just like that. Now, I need you to take a deep breath. Jason, breathe.'

Jason had been following Esdeath's orders all this time under the worried gaze of Gina, and he tried his best to take in a breath, but the moment Jason did it, he felt the screech intensifying from the [Land of Lost Shadows], and Jason grit his teeth again as his breath turned shallow. Esdeath shook his head, and he spoke calmly.

'I know it's difficult. It probably feels like you'll lose control the moment you take that breath, but you need to do it. You must let go before you can begin to gain control. Jason, breathe.'

Jason felt Esdeath's sincerity bleeding through his voice, and Jason slowly began to loosen his clenched teeth before he took in a deep breath!

COMPLETE! COMPLETE! COMPLETE! COMPLETE! COMPLETE!

The voice began to screech even louder, and Jason let out a grunt in pain! The headache intensified and began to slam into Jason's head like a fucking hammer, and Jason felt like he was about to lose his fucking mind! But Esdeath's voice echoed through his mind again.

'Good, breathe just like that. Now, what we're about to do requires that you follow my instructions to the very letter. You will need to use your life force to find the channel this mental attack is taking through your brain, and you will need to shut it off completely, but before you can do that, you will need to gain control of your life force. You need to awaken your Qi. Do you understand?'

Jason grunted back to Esdeath, and he tried his best to ignore the intense screech that followed! Esdeath had already introduced Jason to the concept of Qi before, and Jason remembered Esdeath telling him that it would take a long time to activate this. Jason didn't know if he could withstand something like this for the time it would take to activate his Qi. It was already getting close to fifteen minutes now, and Jason was still blocking the screech by sheer force of will alone! Jason knew that if he tried to do this for too long, then his mind would definitely break!

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