A few hours later, the group finally stopped moving.
The dungeon would remain open for three full days, so there was no point exhausting themselves nonstop on the first one. Around them, the outer layer was gradually becoming quieter as more groups either settled down temporarily or moved toward safer zones to rest.
Lily used her spatial ability to clear out a stable section between a cluster of broken ruins while Auralis handled setting up basic defenses around the area. Aurelia sat off to the side near a collapsed pillar, calmly organizing the materials and loot they had gathered throughout the day.
For once—
Nobody talked much.
The earlier energy was gone.
Even Auralis, who was usually loud enough to fill the silence herself, seemed quieter than normal.
Zael noticed.
Mostly because he kept catching himself looking at her.
Not intentionally.
It just… happened.
Every now and then his eyes would drift toward her before he looked away again.
Auralis sat near the fire they had made, the crimson hammer resting beside her while she stared into the flames absentmindedly. She wasn't smiling much anymore.
Which honestly looked strange on her.
Zael leaned back slightly against a broken section of stone, arms folded loosely as his thoughts wandered despite himself.
What exactly happened between those two?
And more importantly—
When did it even start?
He genuinely didn't know.
Thinking back on it now, there had been signs.
Small things.
The way Zane paid more attention to her than anyone else. How Auralis somehow always ended up beside him during fights. The casual arguing. The weird understanding they had sometimes without speaking much.
At the time, Zael hadn't really thought about it.
Mostly because there had always been bigger things happening.
The abyss.
The trials.
Survival.
But now—
Looking back—
"…Huh."
Maybe it had been obvious.
He glanced toward Auralis again.
This time she noticed.
"What?"
Zael looked away immediately.
"…Nothing."
Auralis narrowed her eyes slightly.
"…That didn't sound convincing at all."
Lily snorted quietly from nearby while Aurelia hid a small smile behind her hand.
Zael ignored all of them.
But internally—
He sighed.
Because if he was being honest—
Zane leaving affected him more than he expected.
A lot more.
Which was strange in a way.
Zane was technically his clone.
A skill.
An extension of himself.
At least that's how it started.
But somewhere along the line—
That stopped being true.
Now when he thought about Zane leaving—
It didn't feel like losing a clone.
It felt like his brother moved away.
And that thought was… annoying.
Zael clicked his tongue lightly and leaned his head back.
"…Troublesome idiot."
Auralis heard him this time.
Her expression softened slightly before she looked back toward the fire.
"…Yeah."
After that—
Silence returned to the camp.
Quiet.
Heavy.
But not uncomfortable.
The peace didn't last long.
One moment the camp was quiet, the fire crackling softly while everyone rested.
The next—
The ground exploded.
A massive beast burst out from beneath the ruins, sending shattered stone flying everywhere. Lily reacted instantly, space folding around her as she disappeared from where she had been sitting.
"Move!"
Her voice rang out just as another roar echoed nearby.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Zael landed lightly a few meters away, eyes narrowing as shapes started appearing from every direction.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
The darkness beyond the ruins lit up with movement.
Beasts.
Too many.
Far too many.
A massive wolf tore through a broken wall while several armored reptilian creatures crawled across nearby structures. Bird-type beasts circled overhead, their screeches mixing with the constant rumbling of approaching monsters.
And the levels—
Were all over the place.
Level 40.
Level 55.
Level 62.
Level 70.
No pattern.
No order.
Just chaos.
Auralis swung the crimson hammer downward with explosive force, crushing a pangolin-like beast that had lunged toward Aurelia.
The impact shattered the creature's armored shell instantly.
"What the hell is this?!"
"This should be impossible," Aurelia muttered, cutting down another beast with a sharp burst of energy. Even she looked genuinely confused now. "They shouldn't gather like this."
"Doesn't seem so impossible now," Auralis shot back before spinning and slamming her hammer into another charging creature.
Zael sighed.
"Why am I not surprised anymore…"
Another beast lunged toward him.
He caught it midair by the skull.
Then slammed it into the ground hard enough to crater the stone beneath it.
More came immediately.
No pause.
No hesitation.
Like they were being driven forward by something.
The group started moving almost instinctively after that.
Because staying still was suicide.
Lily opened spatial pathways rapidly as they pushed through the ruins, everyone fighting while retreating at the same time. Beasts poured after them endlessly, the sounds of destruction echoing across the outer layer.
Zael cut through three creatures in one swing, abyssal energy tearing across the battlefield while Auralis bulldozed straight through another cluster with her hammer.
Aurelia stayed near the center, constantly redirecting attacks and warning them whenever stronger signatures approached.
Above them, several winged beasts suddenly dove downward.
Lily reacted instantly.
Space twisted.
The creatures vanished—
Only to reappear crashing into a distant ruin.
"Left!" Aurelia suddenly shouted.
Zael turned immediately.
A gigantic serpent burst through the ground, jaws wide enough to swallow a person whole.
Void Collapse.
Space compressed violently around its head.
The serpent slammed into the ground stunned—
And Auralis immediately brought the hammer down on it with a grin.
"Mine!"
BOOM.
The skull exploded.
"...You sound way too happy right now," Lily muttered while opening another spatial path.
Auralis shrugged shamelessly.
"I like this hammer."
Despite the chaos, Zael's expression slowly sharpened.
Because Aurelia was right.
This wasn't normal behavior.
The beasts weren't fighting each other.
They weren't acting territorial.
They were moving together.
Hunting together.
And the deeper they ran—
The more beasts appeared.
Then suddenly—
Zael stopped.
Completely.
The others nearly crashed into him.
"What now?" Auralis asked quickly.
Zael didn't answer immediately.
His gaze had lifted upward.
Toward the distance.
Where—
Far beyond the ruined landscape—
A massive shadow moved slowly beneath the moonlit sky.