The blue flames dancing across Vandal's palm finally died out, leaving behind faint trails of smoke that slowly dissolved into the darkness of the chamber. The dried blood around his ears still pulsed with a dull ache, yet compared to the overwhelming pressure of existence filling every inch of the room, pain like that felt almost meaningless.
For a while, no one spoke.
Then Camelia's voice once again filled the chamber—still smooth, still gentle, yet carrying enough weight to make the very air feel heavier.
"You may leave now, Vandal Nacht… but before that, perhaps there is someone you might recognize."
The attendant who had escorted him from the beginning remained standing with her head bowed.
Without saying a single word, she reached beneath her black uniform and produced a small bell of tarnished silver. Its surface was covered in ancient runes that shifted faintly, as though alive.
With a single flick—
Ting.
The sound itself was soft, almost ordinary.
But the space at the center of the chamber instantly cracked apart like glass struck from the other side of reality.
The fractures spread outward, twisting into a silent vortex of emptiness—
and a body was suddenly hurled through it, crashing hard onto the marble floor.
Bang.
The figure groaned under his breath before pushing himself up, rubbing the back of his neck with an irritated expression.
"Damn it… next time, throw me a little gentler, you old monster."
The complaint died on his lips the moment his eyes met Vandal's.
For a fraction of a second—
both of them froze.
Then Vandal's eyes widened.
"…Aldean?"
The man raised an eyebrow before a crooked grin spread across his face.
"What's with that expression?"
Vandal's breath caught in his throat.
"You're… still alive?"
Aldean clicked his tongue softly before rising to his full height, rolling his shoulders as he did.
"What do you mean, still alive? Of course I'm alive. When Valeria came and took my place against Orpheon, she saved me. Honestly, I thought I was dead for sure…"
He lifted a thumb toward the darkness behind him.
"Turns out I was just being kept."
His grin sharpened.
"By that thing."
The pressure in the room shifted instantly.
Colder.
Heavier.
Camelia's voice descended once more, still soft—yet enough to make the marble floor tremble beneath their feet.
"Your choice of words remains as poor as ever, child of Leviathan. The fact that you are still capable of breathing should have taught you where your limits lie."
For the first time—
Aldean fell completely silent.
Vandal, meanwhile, continued staring at his friend with widened eyes.
"Wait… don't tell me you were inside the Void?"
Aldean shrugged.
"More or less."
"That's impossible." Vandal slowly shook his head. "No human could survive in there. Even consciousness would be torn apart before a single second passed."
"Because he was never human to begin with," Camelia interrupted, leaving no room for assumption. "You looked at his outer form and immediately believed you understood his nature."
A brief pause.
"A classic mistake."
Aldean raised his right hand, revealing a faintly glowing ring around his wrist.
The symbol rotated slowly, like a living organism.
Camelia continued.
"He comes from the Leviathans—an ancient adaptive race whose existence predates most divine civilizations. The circle on his wrist is the Circle of Adaptation—both a biological and metaphysical core that allows him to evolve to any environment…"
Her voice grew quieter.
"…even absolute emptiness."
Vandal's eyes widened slightly.
"So… his power doesn't come from the Root?"
"No."
Camelia's answer came sharp and absolute.
"And that is precisely why he can stand against the Councils. His power does not kneel to the laws of the Root. It asks no permission from reality."
Aldean smirked.
"Finally, someone says it."
"Silence."
A single word—
and the smile vanished from Aldean's face as though it had never existed.
Silence descended once more before Camelia spoke again.
"Unfortunately… your friend is still weak, Vandal."
Aldean's jaw tightened instantly.
Vandal narrowed his eyes.
"Still weak?"
"Not just him."
The pressure in the room began to rise once more.
"You are both far too immature. Far too premature. Even if the world calls you prodigies…"
Her voice grew colder.
"…before me, you are nothing more than embers not yet worthy of being called flame."
Vandal's hand slowly clenched into a fist.
Aldean clicked his tongue, but this time chose to remain silent.
Several seconds passed before Vandal finally spoke again.
"Then… why do we need to become stronger?"
For the first time, Camelia's voice seemed deeper than before.
"Because the future will not offer you a choice."
Vandal's heartbeat quickened.
"What do you mean…?"
"One day," Camelia continued, "an existence will come—one that no longer obeys fate, causality… or even logic itself."
Vandal's body stiffened.
"Then… the Councils can stop it, can't they?"
"You forget."
Camelia's tone grew heavier.
"The Councils are bound by the Primordial Pact. They are forbidden from intervening so long as the threat remains within the path of causality and the destiny of the cosmos."
Vandal's gaze sharpened instantly.
"Then… the Councils in the previous world?"
Silence.
Then Camelia answered.
"They broke it."
Vandal's entire body went still.
"And that is why Valeria rewrote this world using the Codex Veritas. Otherwise…"
For the first time—
Camelia's voice carried something close to memory.
"…the old world would have collapsed into narrative ruins."
Vandal remained silent for a long while before finally lowering his head slightly.
"Forgive my boldness… but how do you know all of this?"
A pause.
Then, more quietly—
"And… what exactly is the Nacht family?"
For the first time—
the silence that followed felt heavier than any threat.
Several seconds passed.
Then Camelia's voice filled the chamber once more—slow, deep, and older than time itself.
"There are truths you are not yet worthy to touch…"
A pause.
"…and truths you are not yet worthy to know."
Silence fell once again.
A few moments later, her voice returned.
"Go."
"There is a small café in the outer district that you must visit."
For the first time, the attendant's name was spoken.
"Carbela. Escort them."
The attendant immediately bowed deeply.
"As you command, my lady."
Vandal, along with every attendant in the room, bowed in respect.
Only Aldean remained standing, his expression sour, his jaw still tense—clearly harboring lingering irritation.
And just as they were about to step outside—
Camelia's voice echoed through the chamber for the final time that night.
"Vandal Nacht…"
A pause.
"Do not die… before you understand…"
Her voice faded into the darkness.
"…why this world still allows you to breathe."