The northern wind cut like a blade.
The farther north Cedric and Asta traveled, the more color drained from the land. Lush forests gave way to dead plains filled with withered trees, and the air itself felt heavy, carrying the stench of decay.
"Cedric, are you sure this is the right way?" Asta asked, pulling his collar up against the dust-filled wind.
"The scent is getting stronger," Cedric replied without slowing down, his eyes fixed on a distant black speck on the horizon. "It is just ahead."
As they moved closer, the speck grew into something massive.
A tower.
But it was not made of stone.
It was formed from twisted limbs, contorted faces, and layers of solidified black magic circles. The structure rose thousands of meters into the sky, its peak disappearing into thick storm clouds.
Massive chains extended from the tower, anchoring deep into the earth. Between them floated ghostly figures, shapeless and hollow, letting out silent screams.
"This is the Tower of Oblivion?" Asta muttered, a chill running down his spine. "This is not a tower. It is a graveyard."
"It is worse than that," Cedric said as he came to a stop. His Rinnegan revealed its true nature. "It is a cage. A prison for things the world has forgotten."
He pointed toward the faces embedded in the structure. "Those are not decorations. They are souls, stripped of their bodies and trapped here forever."
Asta tightened his grip on his swords. "Who would create something like this?"
"I do not know," Cedric answered. "But it was not someone ordinary. It could have been the first Wizard King, or something even older."
Suddenly, the tower trembled.
The ghostly figures began slamming against the chains, their silent screams growing more violent. The faces twisted as if in agony.
"They are reacting to us," Cedric said coldly.
Asta stepped forward, but Cedric raised a hand to stop him.
"Do not move."
Cedric crouched and placed his hand on the ground. Beneath the surface, he did not sense earth.
He sensed an ocean.
A vast, boiling sea of black chakra churned beneath them, violently reacting to the tower's presence.
"It is the same feeling as before," Cedric muttered. "But stronger."
"What is it?" Asta asked.
"A trap," Cedric replied. "This entire tower is a trap. It draws people in and consumes them."
"Consumes them?" Asta frowned. "How?"
"Through chakra," Cedric said as he stood. "This place is a massive chakra furnace. It drains the life force of anything nearby to sustain itself. Those souls are what remain after everything else was taken."
Asta looked at the tower, then back at Cedric. "And we are still going in?"
"We have no choice," Cedric said. "The notebook is at the top."
He paused, focusing his Rinnegan deeper into the structure.
At the highest point, he saw it.
A glowing golden light.
It was not chakra.
It was not magic.
It was something else entirely.
"There is something up there," Cedric said quietly. "Something that might reveal the truth of this world."
Asta's eyes widened. "You are not thinking of—"
"We go in, retrieve the notebook, and destroy this tower," Cedric said firmly.
Asta blinked, then grinned. "Destroy it? Now that sounds like fun."
He raised his swords, Anti-Magic erupting into black energy.
"Black Slash!"
A massive cross-shaped slash shot toward the tower's entrance.
The moment it made contact, it vanished.
Completely devoured.
"It is useless," Cedric said. "This structure is made from nothingness. Normal attacks will not work."
Asta scratched his head. "Then what do we do?"
"Use something it cannot erase," Cedric replied. "Reality itself."
He stepped forward.
"Asta, stay close."
The tower reacted violently as Cedric approached. The chains rattled, the ghosts screamed louder, and the ground trembled.
A deep roar echoed from within.
Something was waking up.
"It is coming," Cedric said as a Truth-Seeking Orb transformed into a black staff in his hand.
"Six Paths: Shakujo Strike!"
He thrust the staff forward into the shadows before the gate.
It struck something solid.
The darkness twisted, forming a massive creature made of black mist. It had no stable form, only writhing limbs and a gaping maw.
Asta grinned. "So this is the Gatekeeper."
"Be careful," Cedric warned. "It embodies nothingness. Your attacks will pass through it."
"Then how do I hit it?" Asta asked.
Cedric raised his hand, forming a golden Truth-Seeking Orb.
"With this."
He launched it forward.
The golden light struck the creature, and it let out a distorted scream as its body began to collapse, dissolving into mist.
Asta blinked. "That was fast."
Cedric did not relax.
"This was only the outer defense."
The massive gate slowly opened, revealing pure darkness beyond.
Inside, countless unseen eyes watched them.
Cedric stepped forward without hesitation.
Asta followed, gripping his swords tightly.
The real battle was waiting inside.
...
📢 Author's Note
The full completed version of Black Clover: I Awakened the Naruto System is now available on Patreon!
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✅ Complete — 149 Chapters
Join the journey of a boy from Hage Village who gains the mysterious Naruto System and rises beyond the limits of magic, changing the future of the Clover Kingdom.
🔥 I also have additional **18+ fanfics** available for readers who enjoy exclusive mature stories. 😉
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2. Elements of Lust – ATLA & Korra Mixed Smut
3. Doraemon: Filtering with Nobi Tamako
4. The Naive Me Who Became Someone's Everyday Secret
5. High School DxD: Rias Gremory, the Phenex Bride
6. Versatile Mage: Awakening the Succubus System
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