After several minutes, Nora slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing that greeted her wasn't pain.
It was the rich aroma of roasted meat.
She blinked several times before sitting upright. The battle against the Stone Knights still lingered vividly in her memory. Her body had been pushed beyond its limits, and she clearly remembered collapsing after exhausting every last drop of essence.
Yet...
She didn't feel exhausted anymore.
Curious, Nora immediately looked into her Soul Sea.
The sight surprised her.
Her essence had completely recovered.
Not a single strand was missing.
Her Soul Core brimmed with power as though she had never fought in the first place.
"...That's strange."
She frowned thoughtfully.
Normally, recovering from complete essence exhaustion took almost an entire day. Even meditating continuously couldn't shorten that process by much.
Had she been unconscious for longer than she thought?
Before she could think further, Rose's cheerful voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Finally awake?"
Nora turned toward the campfire.
Rose was calmly turning pieces of meat over the flames with a sharpened stick. The delicious smell filled the underground chamber.
Rose smiled.
"Nora... that skill you used back there."
She shook her head with admiration.
"I honestly didn't expect that."
Nora yawned before stretching lazily.
"Neither did I."
Her eyes drifted toward the fire.
"How did you even manage to start one down here?"
Rose laughed softly.
"The Stone Knights."
Nora tilted her head.
"They're basically walking rocks."
Rose picked up two broken fragments from a nearby corpse and struck them together.
Tiny sparks burst into existence.
"I just applied a little science."
"You know what I mean."
Nora nodded.
"That actually makes sense."
Rose returned the stones to the ground.
"Don't worry."
"The meat will be ready soon."
Instead of waiting, Nora stood and walked toward the nearest Stone Knight corpse.
Unlike the others, this one remained relatively intact.
Its jade-like body had cracked during the battle, exposing strange symbols engraved beneath the stone surface.
Nora crouched beside it.
"...Runes?"
She gently brushed away the dust covering the carvings.
Ancient symbols slowly revealed themselves.
She could recognize a few of them...
But only a few.
Runic Sorcery was considered one of the broadest and most difficult branches within the Thread of the Seven Hands.
Weaving itself was already incredibly complicated.
Runic Sorcery...
Was an entirely different world.
Without hesitation, Nora summoned her Legacy Practice.
The massive tome materialized before her.
Its pages flipped by themselves before stopping at a familiar chapter.
Runic Sorcery.
Nora carefully compared the symbols engraved upon the Stone Knight with those illustrated inside the book.
Her eyes gradually widened.
"They're identical..."
The title written beneath the diagram caught her attention.
Ocean Sealing Sorcery.
She immediately began reading.
«Every Divine God possessed methods capable of sealing power.»
«Yet only Ocean God succeeded in transforming sealing itself into a complete Runic Art.»
«Ocean Sealing Sorcery is performed through water guided by direct intent.»
«Water becomes the medium.»
«Will becomes the command.»
«To dissolve an Ocean Seal...»
«Blood Sorcery must oppose its authority.»
Nora slowly closed the page.
"Blood Sorcery..."
She whispered the unfamiliar words.
She had heard of Flame Sorcery.
Shadow Sorcery.
Star Sorcery.
Even Earth Sorcery.
But...
Blood Sorcery?
This was her first time seeing it mentioned.
A small smile appeared on her face.
At least she had taken her first real step into Runic Sorcery.
Even if Ocean Sealing Sorcery wasn't especially powerful...
Knowledge itself was priceless.
Rose's voice echoed once more.
"Nora."
"We don't have all day."
She pointed toward the tunnel ahead.
"We still have plenty of Initiate creatures waiting for us."
Nora stood and dismissed her Legacy Practice.
She looked toward Rose.
"Doesn't that mean your sister will reach the treasure before you?"
Rose laughed.
"It won't be that simple."
"Passing Goldsteel Shelter alone is difficult."
"And after that..."
She pointed toward the distant darkness.
"...comes the Great River."
Nora folded her arms.
"What exactly are you implying?"
Rose smiled mysteriously.
"I know a shortcut."
Nora couldn't help smiling.
"My father always said shortcuts are usually more dangerous than the long road."
"In a strange way..."
"They balance each other."
Rose rolled her eyes.
"You really think this is my first visit?"
She folded her arms confidently.
"I know almost every passage beneath this place."
"And I've explored most of the cave system above us."
Nora suddenly looked around.
"Wait..."
"Are you saying we're underground?"
Rose nodded.
"Kind of."
She walked toward the enormous stone statue standing nearby.
"This isn't just a cave."
"We're inside one of the statues."
Nora looked up.
Only now did she realize the chamber itself had been carved from within an unimaginably gigantic statue.
Rose rested a hand against the ancient stone.
"There are eight of them."
"I believe they're divided according to rank."
"We're currently inside the Initiate Statue."
"The second one should correspond to the Awakened rank."
"I usually train there whenever I want to improve."
Nora quietly listened.
Rose smiled.
"And honestly..."
"I wouldn't have agreed to follow my stepsister if the reward wasn't worth it."
"The River Spawn's eggs..."
"They're priceless."
"If everything goes according to plan..."
"I'll advance straight into the Calamity Class."
Nora's eyes narrowed slightly.
"So it's really the breeding season."
Rose nodded.
"We're almost certain the River Spawn has already found a mate."
"And by now..."
"It should have laid its eggs."
Nora immediately understood.
"So there are two River Spawns."
"Exactly."
Rose's expression became serious.
"We would've ignored them under normal circumstances."
"But if they survive long enough to evolve into Elite creatures..."
She slowly shook her head.
"...even Elite Awakened might struggle to stop them."
"So we'll kill both adults."
"And destroy every egg."
Nora thought for a moment before asking,
"Couldn't you simply tame them with your Seductive Aura?"
Rose smiled.
"I could certainly try."
She shrugged lightly.
"But one rule has kept me alive all these years."
"Always prepare for the unknown."
Silence settled between them.
Then...
Rose's smile slowly disappeared.
Her voice became much quieter than before.
Almost as though she didn't want the cave itself to hear her.
"Nora..."
"Do you know there's a god called..."
"...the God of Oblivion?"
Nora frowned.
"The God of..."
"...what now?"