Zael took another step.
Then another.
The pressure hadn't eased.
If anything—
It had become sharper.
More precise.
Each step now felt like something was digging into the very structure of his being, testing not just his control, but the limits of what he could hold together.
His breathing stayed steady.
Forced.
Controlled.
The Dao Pool churned under that pressure, rising and falling in unstable waves that he had to constantly correct.
No room for error.
Not anymore.
He stepped onto the eighty-fifth step—
And stopped.
Not because of the pressure.
Because something else—
Moved.
Zael's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…What?"
It wasn't external.
There was no change in the mountain.
No shift in the pressure.
No sound.
But inside—
Something stirred.
Faint.
Forgotten.
For a second—
He didn't recognize it.
Because it had been too long.
Too quiet.
Too irrelevant.
Then—
It surfaced.
A flicker.
A presence.
And suddenly—
A small, incomplete object materialized in front of him.
Floating.
Silent.
Zael's pupils shrank slightly.
"…That…"
The Watcher's Key.
He hadn't seen it in so long—
He had almost forgotten it existed.
The fragment hovered in the air, its form still incomplete, edges jagged like it had been broken off from something larger. Faint lines ran across its surface, dim and inactive—
Until now.
Because now—
They were glowing.
Not brightly.
Not fully.
But enough.
Zael didn't move.
Didn't reach for it.
He just watched.
"…Why now?"
The key didn't respond.
But something else did.
The moment it appeared—
The pressure around him shifted.
Not weaker.
Not stronger.
Different.
It no longer felt like the mountain was just testing him.
It felt like it had—
Noticed him.
Zael's gaze hardened slightly.
"…So you can see this."
Or maybe—
It wasn't the mountain reacting.
Maybe it was the key.
Reacting to something here.
The fragment rotated slowly in the air.
As if searching.
As if responding to a signal.
Zael followed its movement instinctively.
Upward.
Toward the peak.
His eyes narrowed.
"…Up there."
That's what it was reacting to.
Not the steps.
Not the trial.
Something at the top.
Something that resonated with it.
The glow intensified slightly.
Then—
For a brief moment—
The world flickered.
Not visually.
Not physically.
But—
Perceptually.
Zael felt it.
A shift.
Like a layer had been peeled back for just a second.
And in that second—
The pressure changed again.
No longer oppressive.
No longer testing.
But—
Observing.
Cold.
Distant.
Ancient.
Zael's body tensed instinctively.
"…That's not the mountain."
The realization came instantly.
The trial—
The pressure—
Even Blood Peak—
None of it felt like this.
This was something else.
Something higher.
Watching.
Through the key.
The fragment pulsed once.
And for that brief moment—
Zael felt it clearly.
A presence.
Not singular.
Plural.
Watching.
Judging.
Then—
It was gone.
The pressure snapped back.
The mountain resumed.
The trial continued.
Like nothing had happened.
The key dimmed slightly.
The glow fading back to its incomplete, fractured state.
But it didn't disappear.
Not this time.
It hovered there.
Quiet.
Waiting.
Zael stared at it for a second longer.
"…So you finally decided to show up."
No answer.
Of course.
But now—
He understood one thing.
This wasn't random.
Just like everything else.
This place—
Blood Peak—
Was connected to something bigger.
And the Watcher's Key—
Recognized it.
Zael exhaled slowly.
Then—
He moved again.
Step by step.
The key drifting beside him.
Silent.
Inactive—
But no longer forgotten.
And far above—
Beyond the peak.
Beyond the trial.
Something stirred.
Because for the first time in a long time—
A fragment had responded.
And that meant—
The door—
Was closer to opening.
Zael was just about to take another step—
Then he stopped.
Not because of the pressure.
Not because of the key.
Because of movement.
Fast.
Erratic.
Coming from below.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he turned.
Figures.
Multiple.
Running up the steps.
Not climbing—
Running.
And that alone told him something was wrong.
People didn't run here.
They struggled.
They slowed.
They broke.
But these—
They were sprinting.
Fear written plainly across their faces.
"…What now?"
Zael didn't move from his spot.
He watched.
Measured.
Counted.
Six.
No—
Eight.
Among them—
Two familiar figures.
Aurelia.
Auralis.
Unlike the others—
They weren't panicking.
Aurelia's expression was calm, focused, her movements controlled despite the pressure pressing into her.
Auralis—
Was grinning.
Not wide.
But enough.
Like this was inconvenient—
Not terrifying.
That alone was enough to confirm it.
This wasn't normal.
Zael's gaze shifted past them.
And then—
He saw it.
"…So that's why."
The lower steps—
Were no longer quiet.
They were flooding.
Abyssal beasts poured onto the mountain path.
Not scattered.
Not chaotic.
Organized.
Moving in a wave.
Climbing.
Hunting.
Claws dug into stone.
Bodies pushed forward relentlessly, ignoring the pressure that should have slowed them down.
And behind them—
Three figures walked.
Not running.
Not rushing.
Walking.
Like everything happening was beneath them.
Zael's eyes locked onto them instantly.
"…Not beasts."
They were humanoid.
But wrong.
Every instinct he had reacted immediately.
Danger.
Not the kind you measure.
Not the kind you fight casually.
The kind you survive—
If you can.
One of them laughed faintly, the sound carrying unnaturally across the distance.
"…Look at them run."
Another didn't respond.
But even from here—
Zael could feel it.
That pressure.
Different from the mountain.
Sharper.
More lethal.
And the third—
Said nothing.
But her gaze—
Lifted.
Directly toward him.
Zael's body tensed instantly.
"…She sees me."
Not just generally.
Not just part of the group.
Specifically.
Him.
The Watcher's Key beside him flickered faintly.
Almost like a reaction.
Zael didn't miss it.
"…So it's connected."
Below—
The fleeing group was getting closer.
Fast.
One of them stumbled.
The pressure catching up.
A beast lunged—
Tore him off the steps.
Gone.
Just like that.
No one stopped.
No one looked back.
They couldn't.
Zael exhaled slowly.
"…So the trial just changed."
Or maybe—
This was always part of it.
Aurelia was the first to reach his level.
She didn't slow much.
But her eyes met his briefly.
"…We need to move."
Straight to the point.
No explanation.
No time.
Auralis arrived a second later, dragging the spear user along by the collar like dead weight.
She glanced at Zael, then at the floating fragment beside him.
Her brow lifted slightly.
"…Huh."
No questions.
Just interest.
Then—
A grin.
"…Now this looks fun."
Behind them—
The beasts were getting closer.
Too close.
Zael looked down once more.
At the wave.
At the three figures walking behind it.
Then back up.
Toward the peak.
Then—
At the key.
Still floating.
Still faintly glowing.
"…Of course it happens now."
Everything converging.
At the same point.
At the same time.
Zael clicked his tongue softly.
Then stepped aside—
Making space.
"…Run."
He didn't raise his voice.
Didn't need to.
They understood.
Aurelia passed him.
Auralis followed.
The others stumbled through.
Zael stayed for one more second.
Watching the approaching wave.
Measuring.
Thinking.
Then—
He turned.
And started moving again.
Upward.
Faster than before.
Because now—
It wasn't just a climb.
It was a race.
And behind them—
The Abyss followed.