After that, they traveled to the west.
Sunny had acquired an Echo, and Cassie rode it, allowing them to move much faster. The wind rushed past them, carrying the scent of salt and decay, as if the labyrinth itself was breathing down their necks. Cassie remained quiet for a long time… until she finally spoke, her voice trembling slightly.
"I… saw something again."
They all slowed, even the Echo seeming to hesitate beneath her.
Cassie continued, her blind eyes unfocused, yet filled with invisible horror:
"At first, I saw a boundless darkness locked behind seven seals… something vast was churning inside it… something alive. I couldn't see it clearly… but I could feel it watching me. The seals began to break. One after another… slowly… inevitably… until only one remained. And then… it broke too."
She clenched her hands, her breathing uneven.
"Then I saw the human castle again. But this time… it was night.A single star burned in the sky… cold… distant… like it didn't belong there. And under its light… the castle burned. Not just fire… blood too. Rivers of it… flowing through the halls… like the castle itself was bleeding."
Sunny swallowed hard.
Cassie's voice dropped to a whisper:
"I saw a corpse in golden armor sitting on a throne… like a king who died waiting. A woman with a bronze spear… drowning under endless monsters… still fighting. And an archer… shooting arrow after arrow… trying to pierce the sky itself
Then… the spire. A crimson spire… so tall it felt like it pierced the world. At its base… seven severed heads… guarding seven locks… And at the top… A Hero Dying… alone… abandoned. When I saw him bleed… I feel disgusting. my head felt like it was splitting apart… and then I woke up."
No one spoke for a while.
Even Kurai… unusually… said nothing.
---
Nephis eventually broke the silence, her tone calm but firm.
"We move forward."
She began teaching Sunny swordsmanship and combat techniques in exchange for soul shards. Her movements were precise, almost cold—but there was purpose behind every strike.
Meanwhile… Kurai changed.
The shift wasn't sudden, but it was undeniable.
Something inside him hardened.
Something darker… deeper.
He had become a demon from a monster.
---
Kurai sliced through a Carapace Scavenger, its head rolling into the mud with a wet thud. He stood still for a moment, staring at the corpse—not with pride, but with quiet calculation.
"I think a storm is coming," he said finally, his voice low. "We need higher ground. Now."
Sunny looked toward the distant cliffs, unease creeping into his chest.
"We're about two to three kilometers away… Do you think we can make it?"
Kurai didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at the sky—the shifting clouds, the growing darkness… and then at his companions.
His jaw tightened.
"We don't have a choice."
Nephis stepped forward.
"Then stop talking and start moving."
---
They ran.
"What about the monsters on the way?" Sunny asked, breath uneven.
Kurai's answer came instantly, cold and absolute:
"Cut them down."
There was no hesitation in his voice. No doubt.
Only certainty.
---
Rain began to fall—heavy, violent drops slamming against the ground. The wind howled like a living thing, tearing through the coral labyrinth, throwing mud and seaweed into the air.
The world dimmed.
The storm swallowed the light.
They ran harder.
Kurai stayed slightly ahead, cutting down anything that dared block their path. Each strike was efficient, brutal—like he was conserving something… or holding something back.
'Faster…'
'If we're late… they die.'
His thoughts were sharp.
Focused.
---
They reached the cliff just moments before the floodwaters surged in.
For a while, none of them spoke.
They simply breathed.
---
After a while, Sunny suddenly looked around.
"Where's Kurai?"
Nephis frowned slightly.
"He climbed behind us."
"Then where is he—?"
"Don't worry."
The voice came from afar.
"I'm here."
They turned.
Kurai approached through the fading rain, dragging the corpse of a massive creature. Blood trailed behind him like a dark path.
"There was an awakened monster. A Carapace Centurion," he said, dropping the body. "It won't bother us anymore."
Sunny stared.
"You… went alone?"
Kurai ignored the question.
"I got an armor-type Memory."
Then, after a brief pause, he turned to Nephis.
"Give me your hand."
She did not hesitate.
As he transferred the Memory, Kurai's expression softened—just slightly.
"You'll need it more than me."
---
That night, Kurai remained awake.
Watching.
Listening.
Guarding.
He sat at the edge of the cliff, unmoving as the storm raged below.
'If something comes… I'll be ready.'
For the first time, his thoughts weren't about survival.
They were about 'them'.
---
The next morning, they continued west.
Days passed.
They reached the Bone Ridge.
The massive skeletons loomed like silent giants, their hollow remains stretching across the crimson landscape. It felt like walking through a graveyard of gods.
Sunny muttered, "How many of these things died here…?"
Kurai looked at the bones, his gaze distant.
"…Not enough to stop whatever killed them."
---
Later, after setting camp—
Sunny returned from scouting.
"I saw something."
He described the creature.
"I saw a creature. It's as large as a house. It has eight segmented legs like pillars. Its body is similar to scavengers and centurions—crab-like carapace with a humanoid torso—but that's where the similarities end."
Nephis listened carefully.
"It's probably an awakened demon."
Silence.
Then—
Kurai stepped forward.
"Then we kill it."
Sunny stared at him.
"…Are you insane?! That's an awakened demon!"
Kurai met his eyes.
For a moment, something flickered there—not madness… but something heavier.
"If we leave it," he said quietly, "it might find us first."
Nephis nodded.
"Kurai is right."
Sunny groaned.
"…You both are crazy."
---
They made a plan.
Cassie saw its weakness from the dream.
And they fought.
The battle was brutal.
Relentless.
At one point, Kurai took a direct hit—but didn't fall. Instead, he pushed forward, grabbing the creature's limb and holding it in place.
"Now!" he shouted.
Nephis and Sunny struck together.
The demon fell.
---
After the fight—
They stood in silence.
Breathing hard.
Alive.
Sunny looked at the broken remains of his Echo and sword , jaw tight.
"…Damn it."
Kurai glanced at him, then at the broken on Sunny's hand Memory.
"Take the memorie it drop." he said.
"You earned it."
---
They rested near a giant tree.
Time blurred.
Kurai felt… wrong.
Disconnected.
Like something was watching him—but he couldn't see it.
Then Sunny spoke:
"The tree… it's a monster."
Something snapped into place.
[Dark-Brave] activated.
Kurai inhaled sharply.
"…So that's it."
His eyes hardened.
"You should've said that earlier. How many day have pass."
---
Now clear-headed, he walked toward Sunny and Nephis.
They were building a boat.
"Trying to escape?" he asked.
Sunny looked relieved—but cautious.
"You're back… How long can you stay like this?"
Kurai flexed his hand.
"…Long enough."
Then, quieter:
"I won't lose control again."
---
That night—
The boat was ready.
Kurai placed Cassie inside gently.
"I'll get Nephis," Sunny said.
Time passed.
Too much time.
Kurai frowned.
"…Something's wrong."
He moved.
Fast.
---
He found them—
Fighting.
Nephis and Sunny.
No hesitation.
Kurai stepped in.
Steel clashed. Movements blurred.
"Snap out of it!" he shouted.
Nephis didn't.
So he ended it.
Together, they subdued her.
---
Back at the boat—
Kurai looked at both of them.
Tired.
Broken.
Alive.
He exhaled slowly.
"…Let's go."
---
And so, they left it after a month and 10 days.
Drifting into the endless black sea—
Heading west.