"wake up...."
A faint voice echoes through the darkness.
Soft.
Distant.
Yet growing louder.
"Wake up..."
A Dream...
"You won't get her..."
A man's voice roared with desperation.
"I will protect her till my last breath!"
Theen—
Laughter. Ha haha ha
"Save your breath..."
".... they are useful even in death."
The world twisted.
Not outside —
Inside him.
Like a warning.
Like fear itself had taken shape.
Limbo's eyes snapped open.
A sharp breath escaped him as his body jerked upright.
His heartbeat pounded violently.
For a moment, he simply sat there in silence.
The air felt wrong.
Different from before.
Yesterday, this place had felt peaceful...
Unnaturally calming.
But now—
That comfort was gone.
Something was watching.
Or perhaps —
Something was approaching.
Limbo slowly stood up and stepped outside.
The night sky was dark, with only faint moonlight filtering through the trees.
Cold wind brushed past him.
His instincts screamed.
A few moments later, the door behind him creaked open.
Adri stepped outside quietly.
Her sharp eyes immediately settled on him.
"What are you doing outside in the middle of the night?" She asked calmly.
Limbo stayed silent for a moment before answering, "... It's Hard to explain."
His gaze drifted towards the distance.
"I can't say for sure...but something feels wrong."
Adri narrowed her eyes slightly.
"What kind of wrong?"
Limbo slowly raised his hand and pointed towards the forest.
"That direction."
Adri's expression changed instantly.
Because the direction he pointed towards was the border.
The only path leading into the safe zone.
The Guardian's warning from earlier resurfaced in her mind.
Sooner or later...it will fall.
A faint unease crept into her chest.
Without another word, she began walking.
Limbo followed immediately.
"You're coming too?" She asked.
"If something is happening," Limbo replied calmly, "I'd rather see it myself."
Adri didn't object.
The two moved silently through the trees.
The deeper they went, the heavier the atmosphere became.
Then—
They stopped.
Adri's eyes widened slightly.
For the first Time since limbo met her—
She looked shaken.
"... impossible."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Ahead of them, the edge of the safe zone had changed.
The pure green grass was slowly darkining..
Black patterns crawled across the ground like veins.
The corruption.
It had reached the border.
"No..." Adri muttered yher breath. "I thought it would hold longer..."
Her gaze hardened.
"But something is interfering."
Limbo remained silent.
But his expression changed slightly.
Because He could feel it too.
Not just corruption.
Something else was hidden within it.
Something deeper.
"That..bad-mouthed guardian..." Adri clicked her tongue softly.
She turned toward Limbo.
"We should return."
But Limbo didn't answer.
He stood frozen for a moment, staring into the distance as through listening to someone.
"...Limbo."
No response.
"Limbo!!!"
He blinked.
"...Huh?"
Adri drowned.
"You were spacing out."
Limbo rubbed his forehead lightly.
"...it's not just corruption."
Adri's eyes narrowed.
,"What do you mean?"
"This safe zone..." Limbo spoke slowly.
"... isn't safe anymore."
Silence followed.
Then Limbo's expression sharpened.
"Something is approaching."
Adri immediately looked around.
"What? How do you know?"
Limbo clenched his hand slightly.
"I don't."
"...I can just feel it."
And strangely — that feeling kept getting stronger.
We... won't be...
....this place is destined to...fall.
The two returned quickly.
As they felt urgency to return, reason unknown.
But they rushed...
A scream shattered the silence of night.
A familiar, direction of house.
"..Mora..." both sync.
"Grandma!!!!"
Both Limbo and Adri rushed towards the room instantly ,mora was trembling violently on the bed.
She was crying, tears streamed down her face.
"Grandma..."
Adri immediately held her shoulders gently.
"What happened?"
Mora looked terrified.
"...paa...?
Limbo frowned and confused.
"Paa?"
"I hear him..."
Her small body shook harder.
".. he's calling me."
Silence filled the room.
Adri froze, for the first time her composure cracked.
"What..?"
Even she looked confused by Mora's words.
Mora covered her ears tightly.
"He keeps calling me..."
Adri quickly pulled the child closer.
"Calm down," she whispered softly. "Take a breath."
"It's just a bad dream."
"I'm here."
"This time, I won't —"
She stopped herself mid-sentence last moment.
A shadow crossed her expression briefly.
Then she gently patted Mora's head.
Slowly, Mora calmed down.
But, only for moment.
Because Soon—
The pressure returned.
Stronger.
Mora suddenly cried out again and covered both ears.
"No...!"
"It's too loud!" "S—stop shouting!"
Limbo watched as he witnessed something, never before, trying to assemble the situation unaware.
He couldn't hear anything, he didn't know the situation.
But whatever Mora sensed—
It has to be real.
And it's getting worse every passing second.
Adri's expression entangled she try to help nothing works, she was desperate to help.
Usually calmed,but seeing a child suffering she loosened her calmness.
"...Wait."
He quickly stepped outside.
Adri looked at him sharply.
"What are you doing?"
Gave turn, and went ahead.
Instead of answering, limbo activated his mana.
A faint blue glow spread across his hands, as he raised.
Then...
A barrier formed around the house.
Transparent.
Stable.
Protective.
The same defensive field he used earlier.
The moment the barrier Fully expanded, mana frozen.
The trembling stopped.
The crying faded .
And the fear in her eyes slowly disappeared.
"It's gone," she whispered weakly.
The voices.
The pressure.
The strange calling, all of it had vanished.
Exhaustion quickly overtook her small body.
Within a moments, mora lost her consciousness and collapsed gently into adri's lap.
Adri immediately caught her, her eyes widened slightly.
Because she understood what had happened.
Anger, relief, hope, helpness,all emotions flooded at once.
The barrier hadn't just blocked physical danger.
It blocked something else, something invisible.
Something trying to reach mora.
Adri silently patted the sleeping child's head.
Meanwhile....
Outside the barrier, the border of the safe zone continued to darken.
The corruption spread slowly across the ground.
Not violently, not suddenly. but steadily.
Rentlessly.
The untouched sanctuary from before, was no longer untouched.
Limbo stared into the distance.
"...what exactly is happening here?"
And somewhere far beyond the forest—
Something answered.
Not with the words.
But with the presence.
Something had awakened.
And it was getting closer.
...Finally it has located, the target...