The fog didn't lift.
If anything—
It thickened.
Heavier.
Denser.
Like the Abyss was closing ranks around him.
Zael moved anyway.
Slow.
Measured.
Careful not to waste movement.
Careful not to make noise he didn't need to.
But after several minutes—
It became obvious.
"…I'm lost."
There were no landmarks.
No clear paths.
Only uneven terrain and shifting fog that made every direction feel the same.
Except—
One.
Zael's gaze lifted slightly.
Far in the distance—barely visible through the layers of fog—
A faint silhouette pierced upward.
A pillar.
No—
A peak.
Blood Peak.
Even from here, it felt… wrong.
Too tall.
Too still.
Like it didn't belong to the same space as everything else.
Zael exhaled slowly.
"…Better than nothing."
If he couldn't find Aurelia and Auralis—
Then he would move toward the only fixed point in this layer.
His direction settled.
Forward.
The journey wasn't quiet.
The Abyss didn't allow that.
A lone creature lunged from the fog—thin, elongated limbs, too many joints bending at unnatural angles.
Zael reacted instantly.
"Void Step."
He vanished—reappeared at its flank.
"Resonance Strike."
The impact shattered its core structure, sending cracks through its entire body before it collapsed.
[EXP GAINED: +400]
Total EXP: 1,600 / 28,000
He didn't stop moving.
Another.
This one slower—but heavier.
It burst from beneath the ground.
Zael pivoted.
"Blade Domain."
Pressure crushed downward, pinning it just long enough—
"Night Sever."
Clean execution.
[EXP GAINED: +450]
Total EXP: 2,050 / 28,000
Step by step—
Fight by fight—
He advanced.
Alone.
The pressure never left.
That feeling of being watched.
Measured.
Evaluated.
But nothing else like the earlier creature appeared.
Not yet.
Then—
Something changed.
The terrain shifted again.
Less jagged.
More… structured.
Zael slowed.
His eyes scanned ahead carefully.
"…This isn't natural."
The ground wasn't just broken stone anymore.
There were patterns.
Faint.
Worn down by time—
But deliberate.
Then he saw it.
A structure.
Half-collapsed.
Swallowed by the Abyss over what must have been countless years.
Zael approached cautiously.
It didn't look like anything modern.
Not a bunker.
Not a camp.
Something older.
The architecture was strange—pillars that curved slightly inward instead of straight up, edges worn but still carrying a faint sense of symmetry.
A tower?
A temple?
A pavilion?
It was hard to tell.
Too much of it had been destroyed.
The upper half had collapsed entirely.
One side caved in.
The rest barely holding together.
But something about it—
Felt intentional.
Like it had once held importance.
Zael stepped closer.
His gaze shifted to the front.
There—
Half-buried under debris—
Was a sign.
Old.
Withered.
Broken cleanly at one end.
He crouched slightly, brushing some of the dust and fragments aside.
Most of the inscription was gone.
The first half—
Completely missing.
Snapped off.
Lost.
But the second half remained.
Faint.
Barely legible.
Yet still there.
Zael narrowed his eyes slightly.
"…Sect."
The word lingered.
Out of place.
Ancient.
Not something he expected to find in a place like this.
Not in the Abyss.
His gaze lifted slowly back to the structure.
"…A sect… here?"
That didn't make sense.
Not unless—
This place wasn't always part of the Abyss.
Zael stood still for a moment.
Thinking.
Processing.
Then—
He stepped forward.
Toward the ruins.
Because in a place like this—
Something abandoned…
Usually meant something left behind.
And in the Abyss—
That could mean danger.
Or—
Opportunity.
Zael's eyes sharpened slightly.
"…Let's see what you're hiding."
Zael stepped into the ruins.
The moment he crossed the threshold—
The world shifted.
Not violently.
Not like the gates.
But subtly.
Like something ancient had just… noticed him.
The fog outside didn't follow.
The pressure of the Abyss dulled—just slightly.
And the broken structure—
Changed.
Not physically.
But perceptually.
The cracks in the walls seemed… less random.
The collapsed pillars—more deliberate.
As if what he saw before had only been a surface layer.
Zael stopped.
His instincts sharpened.
"…This isn't just ruins."
No response.
But something stirred.
Deep within the structure.
Then—
A faint ripple passed through the air.
Not energy.
Not mana.
Something… older.
A voice followed.
Not spoken.
Not heard.
But understood.
"Qualification detected."
Zael's pupils constricted slightly.
"…Who—"
The voice continued.
Cold.
Detached.
Ancient.
"Dao Signature… confirmed."
The air grew heavier.
But not oppressive.
Measured.
Evaluating.
"Classification…"
A pause.
Longer this time.
As if something deeper was being checked.
Then—
For the first time—
There was a shift.
Not in tone.
But in weight.
"Irregular classification detected."
Zael's heart slowed.
Not from calm—
From focus.
Irregular.
That wasn't a word used lightly in systems like this.
The space around him seemed to still completely.
Even the faint ambient movement of the structure stopped.
Everything—
Waited.
Then—
"Primary designation…"
A pause.
Deeper than before.
"…Child of Dao."
Silence.
Absolute.
Even Zael felt it.
That moment—
Was different.
Like the entire structure had just… acknowledged something beyond its expectations.
The voice returned.
But now—
It carried something new.
Not emotion.
But priority.
"Qualification elevated."
"Trial tier adjusted."
"Highest inheritance protocol… activated."
Zael didn't move.
Didn't speak.
But his mind was already racing.
Child of Dao.
His class.
Hadn't heard it anywhere else before even after extensive search through private and hidden archives but somehow this dungeon seemed to know about it and it all felt weird that this dungeon seemed to be waiting for him.
Yet—
It felt right.
Like something that had always been there—
Just waiting to be claimed.
The space shifted again.
This time—
Visibly.
The broken walls trembled slightly.
Fragments of the structure dissolved—reforming into something more complete.
Not fully restored.
But enough.
A pathway revealed itself ahead.
Dark.
Deep.
Leading further inside.
The voice spoke again.
Final.
Absolute.
"Proceed."
"Trial of Dao begins."
Zael exhaled slowly.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Whatever this place was—
It wasn't random.
It wasn't coincidence.
And it definitely wasn't something meant for everyone.
He stepped forward.
Into the path.
Because if the Abyss was danger—
Then this—
Was something else entirely.
Something older.
Something deeper.
And possibly—
Something that could change everything.
As he walked—
The last words of the voice echoed faintly behind him.
"Only one outcome permitted."
A pause.
Then—
"Ascend…"
Or—
"Perish."