The journey toward the western descent continued in silence.
No sunlight existed here.
No moon either.
Above them stretched a vast black sky that looked less like night and more like a dead ocean hanging overhead.
Sometimes the darkness moved.
Slowly.
Like something enormous was swimming beyond the clouds.
Arthur Ravenheart kept his eyes forward as he walked beside Alex through the shifting wilderness of the Black Continent outskirts.
Behind them, the nine masked figures of The Hollow Choir glided silently through the landscape like wandering ghosts.
Two hours passed without conversation.
And the deeper they traveled—
the stranger the world became.
The air itself felt heavy.
Not humid.
Not cold.
Heavy.
As though reality here was denser than normal.
Breathing required effort.
Even sound behaved incorrectly.
Sometimes Arthur's footsteps echoed several seconds late.
Sometimes they made no sound at all.
The terrain changed constantly too.
The rocky wasteland slowly disappeared beneath enormous fields of dark grass.
The blades reached nearly to Arthur's waist.
Not green.
Silver-black.
And whenever the strange wind passed through them—
the grass whispered.
Not rustling.
Whispering.
Thousands of incomprehensible voices sliding across the plains.
Arthur tried ignoring it.
Then they reached the forest.
The trees were massive.
Far too massive.
Each trunk wider than entire buildings.
Their bark carried unnatural colors shifting between deep violet and dull silver depending on the angle.
No leaves grew from the branches.
Instead—
long strands resembling pale flesh hung from the canopy like curtains.
They swayed slowly despite there being almost no wind.
The scent in the forest was worse.
Sweet.
Rotten.
And strangely nostalgic.
Like remembering a dream moments before forgetting it forever.
Arthur frowned deeply.
"…This place feels alive."
Alex answered quietly.
"It probably is."
That was not comforting.
Strange weather drifted endlessly through the forest.
Black snow occasionally fell upward into the sky.
Lightning flashed silently between distant clouds without illuminating anything.
At one point Arthur noticed rain falling in reverse.
Droplets rose from the ground and vanished into the darkness above.
None of it made sense.
The Hollow Choir continued moving silently behind them.
Their white masks occasionally reflected strange shapes moving between the trees.
Shapes Arthur never fully saw directly.
The deeper they walked—
the quieter the forest became.
Until eventually—
even the whispering grass stopped.
Arthur immediately noticed.
"So we're pretending this isn't suspicious?"
Alex slowed slightly.
"…Stay alert."
A low sound echoed somewhere deep within the trees.
CRACK.
Like wood splintering beneath enormous pressure.
Arthur's purple Aether flickered instinctively around him.
The strange flesh-like strands hanging from the trees began moving slightly.
Not with the wind.
Toward them.
The Hollow Choir stopped moving entirely.
Then the lead figure whispered softly beneath its cracked mask.
"…It has noticed us."
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
"…What noticed us?"
Silence.
Then—
something massive moved high above the canopy.
The trees bent slightly beneath its weight.
Yet Arthur saw nothing.
Only darkness shifting unnaturally between the branches.
Another crack echoed.
Closer this time.
Then suddenly—
all the strange weather stopped at once.
No reverse rain.
No moving grass.
No silent lightning.
Everything froze.
And from somewhere deep in the black forest—
a single enormous eye opened.The enormous eye stared at them from high above the canopy.
Unmoving.
Ancient.
Its iris shifted between deep crimson and pitch black while silent lightning flickered endlessly across its surface.
Arthur Ravenheart felt his body tense instantly.
Not from fear alone—
but from instinct.
Something about that eye felt wrong on a level deeper than thought.
The strange forest around them had gone completely still.
Even the flesh-like strands hanging from the trees no longer moved.
The lead figure of The Hollow Choir slowly lowered its cracked porcelain mask.
"…Do not provoke it."
Arthur kept staring upward.
"…What IS that thing?"
The choir member answered softly.
"…An observer."
That explained absolutely nothing.
Then—
the eye blinked once.
And vanished.
Not closed.
Vanished.
As if it had never existed.
The strange weather returned immediately afterward.
Black snow drifted upward again.
The silver-black grass resumed whispering softly in the distance.
Arthur exhaled slowly.
Only now realizing he had stopped breathing.
Alex remained calm beside him.
Though even he looked slightly tense now.
The lead choir member turned toward the deeper parts of the forest.
"…We are close."
The journey resumed.
This time the atmosphere changed gradually as they moved deeper through the towering trees.
The ground became smoother.
Old stone pathways appeared beneath the dark grass.
Broken pillars emerged from the earth.
Ruins.
An entire civilization buried beneath the forest.
Arthur looked around carefully.
Massive shattered statues stood between the trees.
Most had no faces.
Some had been split cleanly in half.
Others appeared melted.
The deeper they went—
the more black chains appeared throughout the ruins.
Wrapped around pillars.
Buildings.
Entire sections of forest.
The chains pulsed faintly like living veins.
Arthur frowned.
"…Those chains…"
Alex answered quietly.
"Containment restraints."
Arthur's stomach tightened slightly.
Then finally—
the forest ended.
The trees opened into a massive clearing overlooking an enormous ruined structure buried deep within the earth.
Arthur froze.
It looked like an underground city ripped open from below.
Gigantic black walls surrounded the ruins.
Ancient towers leaned sideways beneath spreading corruption.
And at the very center—
a colossal black spire descended endlessly underground.
Countless chains stretched from the spire into the darkness below.
Arthur's heartbeat quickened instantly.
Because he felt it.
A familiar resonance.
Weak.
But unmistakable.
"…Mom…"
The lead figure of the Hollow Choir stopped walking.
The other masked members halted beside it.
"…Beyond this point…"
Its fractured voice echoed softly.
"…we cannot proceed."
Arthur looked toward them sharply.
"What?"
The choir member slowly looked back toward the forest.
"…The Silverroot recognizes us as its children."
Another layered whisper echoed beneath it.
"…But the lower sanctums reject our existence."
Alex narrowed his eyes slightly.
"So this is where you leave."
The choir leader nodded once.
Then slowly raised one distorted hand toward the underground city.
The black mist around its fingers shifted—
revealing a pathway descending toward the central spire.
"…Follow the chained roads."
Its cracked mask turned toward Arthur.
"…The imprisoned woman remains beneath the seventh descent."
Arthur immediately started forward—
then froze.
Because within the shifting black mist—
he saw her.
A distant image.
Like the forest itself was showing him.
Alexi Ravenheart.
His mother.
Her silver hair had grown longer.
Her body looked thinner.
Black chains wrapped tightly around her neck, wrists, and ankles.
Dozens of them.
The chains pulsed with dark resonance while she remained suspended within a massive ruined chamber beneath the spire.
Her head was lowered weakly.
Motionless.
Arthur's breathing stopped.
"…Mom…"
His voice cracked slightly.
The image flickered again.
Arthur saw the wounds around her wrists.
The chains digging into her skin.
And despite everything—she was still alive.
Arthur's purple Aether exploded violently around him.
The ground beneath his feet shattered instantly.
The forest trembled.
The Hollow Choir immediately lowered their heads slightly beneath the pressure.
Arthur's eyes shook with emotion.
Anger.
Relief.
Fear.
All at once.
"She's suffering…"
Alex placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder before his emotions spiraled further.
"She's alive."
Arthur clenched his fists so tightly blood dripped from his palms.
"…I'm getting her out."
The choir leader whispered softly—
"…Then descend quickly, child of heaven."
The black mist around the masked figures slowly thickened again.
"…Because something beneath the sanctum has already awakened."The moment the vision of Alexi Ravenheart disappeared into the black mist—
Arthur Ravenheart moved.
BOOOOM.
The ground beneath him exploded instantly as purple Aether erupted violently around his body.
The ruined clearing shattered apart.
Black grass bent outward from the pressure.
Arthur shot down the chained pathway toward the underground sanctum without hesitation.
"…ARTHUR!"
Alex immediately moved after him.
But Arthur wasn't listening anymore.
All rational thought had vanished the moment he saw her.
The chains around her neck.
Her wrists.
Her feet.
The wounds.
The exhaustion in her face.
His mother.
Alive.
And suffering.
Purple lightning-like Aether crackled violently around Arthur as he sprinted through the ruined descent tunnels.
The chained roads beneath him trembled with every step.
The deeper he descended—
the darker the world became.
Massive black chains lined the walls of the underground pathways like living serpents.
Some moved slightly when Arthur passed.
The air itself felt corrupted.
Heavy.
Ancient.
But Arthur ignored all of it.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
She's alive.
That was the only thing repeating inside his head.
He smashed through broken gates.
Leapt over collapsed ruins.
The underground city stretched endlessly beneath the Black Continent.
Ancient towers buried underground.
Endless stairways descending deeper and deeper into darkness.
Then—
the whispers started.
"…Smile of Heaven…"
Arthur froze briefly.
The voice echoed through the walls themselves.
Soft.
Ancient.
"…Why do you rush toward suffering?"
Arthur's purple eyes narrowed sharply.
"Shut up."
The voice chuckled softly.
"…You sound just like him…"
Arthur immediately resumed moving faster.
The deeper he descended—
the more unstable the environment became.
Gravity shifted strangely.
The walls occasionally pulsed like living flesh.
At one point Arthur saw entire hallways upside down above him.
Then the whispers returned.
"…The vessel approaches…"
"... Heavens mistake …"
"…The anomaly…"
Arthur slammed his fist into a wall as he passed.
The whispers stopped temporarily.
Far behind him, Alex continued following silently through the destruction Arthur left behind.
His brown eyes narrowed slightly.
"…He's losing control."
Arthur finally reached the seventh descent.
And stopped.
A massive chamber stretched before him.
Ancient.
Colossal.
Countless black chains hung from the ceiling like roots descending into darkness.
At the center of the chamber—
she was there.
Suspended high above the ground.
Alexi Ravenheart.
Her silver hair fell loosely around her face.
Black chains wrapped tightly around her neck, wrists, waist, and ankles.
Dozens of glowing symbols pulsed across the restraints.
Her head remained lowered weakly.
Motionless.
Arthur's breathing became uneven.
"…Mom…"
The chamber trembled faintly.
Then—
Alexi slowly lifted her head.
Weakly.
Her eyes opened slightly.
And despite her exhausted condition—
the moment she saw Arthur—
her expression changed completely.
Shock.
Fear.
Then immediately—
"…Arthur?!"
Her voice echoed weakly through the chamber.
Arthur's eyes shook violently.
He immediately rushed forward.
But the instant he crossed the center of the chamber—
the black chains reacted.
A loud clang is felt from afar .
Every chain in the chamber snapped toward him at once.
Arthur's instincts exploded.
He twisted sideways as chains ripped through the air fast enough to shatter the ground.
The floor collapsed beneath the impact.
Arthur skidded backward while purple Aether erupted violently around him.
Alexi's eyes widened immediately.
"No! Arthur RUN—"
The chamber suddenly shook violently.
Then—
something massive moved beneath the floor.
The black chains tightened around Alexi instantly.
And from the endless darkness below—
two crimson eyes slowly opened.The seventh descent trembled violently.
Massive black chains rattled throughout the underground sanctum while the Half-Corrupted slowly climbed from the abyss beneath the chamber floor.
Arthur Ravenheart immediately stepped forward the moment he saw Alexi Ravenheart suspended above the chamber in chains.
His mother.
Alive.
But barely.
Black restraints wrapped tightly around her neck, wrists, waist, and ankles.
The wounds around the chains made Arthur's chest tighten painfully.
Then—
the creature fully revealed itself.
Four meters tall.
Two massive black horns curved backward from its head.
Its skin looked burned by corruption itself, glowing crimson cracks spreading beneath charcoal flesh.
Black eyes with glowing red irises stared directly at Arthur.
And from its arms—
dark blades slowly formed from condensed Void Resonance.
The System immediately exploded into warnings.
[ WARNING WARNING WARNING ]
[ HIGH-RISK ENTITY DETECTED ]
[ STATUS: HALF-CORRUPTED ]
[ ESTIMATED THREAT LEVEL: CORRUPTED CLASS ]
Arthur's pupils narrowed instantly.
More windows appeared.
Rapidly.
Violently.
[ CURRENT USER STATUS: AWAKENED ]
[ SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 1,2% ]
[ RECOMMENDATION: IMMEDIATE RETREAT ]
Then another screen appeared directly before Arthur.
Bright crimson.
[ MAIN MISSION UPDATED ]
[ SAVE ALEXI RAVENHEART ]
[ TIME REMAINING BEFORE SANCTUM COLLAPSE: 02:00:00 ]
Arthur's breathing slowed.
Two hours.
Only two hours left.
The System glitched again.
Then—
a final choice appeared.
---
[ DECISION REQUIRED ]
OPTION 1: ABANDON MISSION
Escape seventh descent immediately
Survival chance increases to 47%
Penalty:
> Death
OPTION 2: CONTINUE MISSION
Enter combat against Half-Corrupted Entity
Survival probability remains critically low
Unknown consequences detected
---
Silence filled the chamber.
Behind Arthur, Tom, Lucas, and Kierran had finally arrived at the chamber entrance.
And immediately froze.
The pressure flooding the sanctum was monstrous.
Even breathing felt difficult.
Kierran's face had gone pale.
"…What the hell is THAT…"
Lucas stared at the Half-Corrupted in horror.
"…That thing isn't human anymore…"
Meanwhile the creature slowly smiled.
Its black eyes locked onto Arthur.
"…Ah…"
Its distorted voice echoed across the chamber.
"…So the child finally arrived."
Arthur ignored it completely.
His eyes remained locked on his mother.
Alexi's exhausted eyes widened when she saw him.
"…Arthur…?"
Her voice trembled instantly.
Fear overtook her expression.
"No… no you shouldn't be here…"
Arthur clenched his fists.
The System warning still hovered before him.
ABANDON MISSION
Or continue.
The timer ticked downward.
01:59:41
01:59:40
01:59:39
The Half-Corrupted slowly raised one blade-like arm.
Void Resonance spread across the chamber floor.
"…Choose carefully, Smile of Heaven."
Arthur stared silently for one second longer.
Then—
his hand moved.
[ OPTION SELECTED ]
[ CONTINUE MISSION ]
The System froze briefly.
Then warnings exploded violently across Arthur's vision.
[ USER DECISION CONFIRMED ]
[ WARNING: DEATH PROBABILITY EXTREMELY HIGH ]
[ GOOD LUCK ]
Purple Aether erupted around Arthur instantly.
The chamber floor shattered beneath his feet as he launched forward without hesitation.
At the same time—
Alex disappeared from Arthur's side.
The Half-Corrupted grinned wider.
"…GOOD."
SHIIIIING.
A massive black blade formed from its arm instantly before swinging downward fast enough to distort the air itself.
Arthur barely reacted in time.
The corrupted blade passed centimeters from his head—
—and split the chamber wall behind him apart like paper.
Stone exploded everywhere.
Alexi screamed instantly.
"ARTHUR!"
Arthur skidded violently across the shattered ground breathing heavily.
Too fast.
Way too fast.
Then the Half-Corrupted appeared directly above him.
Its second blade already descending toward his neck.
Arthur's eyes widened.
But before the strike landed—
Alex intercepted the blade barehanded.
Black Aether exploded violently through the chamber.
The impact shattered the floor beneath both of them.
The Half-Corrupted's grin widened further.
"…Interesting."
The instant Alex blocked the corrupted blade barehanded—
the seventh descent exploded with force.
Black Aether surged violently from Alex's arm while the Half-Corrupted grinned like a mad beast.
Then—
BOOM
Alex twisted his body and drove a brutal punch directly into the creature's jaw.
The impact cracked the sound barrier.
The Half-Corrupted's massive body flew sideways through hanging chains before catching itself midair.
At the same time—
Arthur Ravenheart rushed forward.
Purple Aether erupted around him wildly.
Fire ignited along his right arm.
Ice spread across his left.
The chamber temperature dropped and rose simultaneously.
The Half-Corrupted noticed immediately.
Its crimson eyes widened slightly.
"…Interesting."
Arthur didn't answer.
He punched.
BOOOOOM.
Flames exploded from Arthur's fist the moment it collided with the creature's guard.
The Half-Corrupted blocked with one arm—
—but Arthur's frozen knee slammed into its ribs at the same time.
Ice spread instantly across the creature's torso.
Arthur spun immediately afterward.
A flaming kick smashed into the side of its head.
The explosion lit up the entire chamber.
The Half-Corrupted skidded backward laughing.
"…Dual elemental control…"
Its black eyes glowed brighter.
"…Levi's blood truly is absurd."
Then it vanished.
Arthur's instincts screamed instantly.
He ducked.
A corrupted claw sliced through the air where his head had been moments earlier.
The pressure alone cut several chains behind him in half.
Arthur countered instantly.
ICE erupted beneath the creature's feet.
Frozen spikes burst upward violently.
The Half-Corrupted stomped downward—
Black corruption exploded from its body and shattered the ice instantly.
But Alex was already there.
A black-Aether elbow crashed into the creature's spine hard enough to bend its body forward.
Arthur immediately followed.
Fire spiraled around his fist.
Then—
A devastating uppercut engulfed in blue flames launched the creature into the air.
The chamber shook violently.
Arthur jumped after it.
Ice formed beneath his feet midair as platforms.
Step.
CRACK.
Step.
CRACK.
Step.
He accelerated upward rapidly.
Then—
J FREEZE."
Arthur slammed both hands forward.
An enormous wave of ice exploded through the air toward the Half-Corrupted.
The creature grinned midair.
Then black wings of corruption burst from its back.
Dark energy erupted outward and shattered the ice wave apart.
But Alex suddenly appeared above it.
His brown eyes cold.
Black Aether condensed around his leg.
Then—
A devastating axe kick slammed the creature back toward the ground like a meteor.
The impact cratered the seventh descent.
Entire sections of the chamber collapsed.
Far behind them near the entrance—
Lucas stared blankly.
"…That thing just got hit by BOTH of them and it's still moving."
Kierran swallowed hard.
"…I can't even follow the fight anymore."
Even Tom looked tense now.
Meanwhile—
the Half-Corrupted slowly stood back up from the crater.
Laughing.
Its broken jaw regenerated with sickening cracks.
"…Wonderful…"
Black corruption leaked from its mouth.
"…I haven't enjoyed combat like this in centuries."
Arthur landed heavily beside Alex.
Breathing hard.
Purple Aether flickered violently around his body.
His right arm burned with flames.
His left radiated frost.
Alex glanced sideways briefly.
"…Control your breathing."
Arthur wiped blood from his mouth.
"Kind of busy."
The Half-Corrupted suddenly disappeared again.
This time—
both Arthur and Alex reacted instantly.
Three fists collided simultaneously.
Arthur's flaming punch.
Alex's black-Aether strike.
The Half-Corrupted's corrupted claw.
The collision detonated through the chamber.
Fire exploded.
Ice spread across the floor.
Black corruption twisted through the air.
The entire seventh descent trembled like it might collapse at any second.
Then the creature smiled wider.
Its crimson cracks spreading further across its body.
"…YES…"
The System suddenly glitched violently.
[ WARNING ]
[ ENTITY INSTABILITY INCREASING ]
[ EVOLUTION POSSIBILITY DETECTED ]
The Half-Corrupted slowly spread its incomplete wings wider behind itself.
Black mist swallowed the chamber.
Then its voice deepened unnaturally.
"…Let us continue, Smile of Heaven."