The atmosphere shifted in an instant.
The air itself seemed to grow heavier with every passing heartbeat.
Noah's pulse thundered violently inside his chest, each beat louder than the last. His breathing became shallow and uneven as cold sweat slowly rolled down his forehead. Every instinct inside him screamed that something was horribly wrong.
Beside him, Heinrich's expression slowly changed from confusion to genuine fear as he stared at the grotesque creatures before them.
,,Heinrich: Noah... what's happening? Why... why do those things look exactly like us?"
Noah couldn't tear his eyes away from them.
His body trembled.
,,Noah: Is... is this another dream? Am I inside another nightmare?"
Heinrich looked at him as if he had completely lost his mind.
,,Heinrich: Noah! What are you talking about?! Karoschi's being eaten alive! We have to help him! NOW!"
Noah swallowed.
,,Noah: ...So... this isn't a dream?"
Heinrich tightened his grip around his sword.
,,Heinrich: No! And if we don't move, it'll become our funeral!"
Without another word, both of them drew their Nexometal swords and charged forward.
But they were already too late.
A sickening ripping sound echoed through the corridor.
CRACK.
The Hollowed version of Karoschi dug its claws deep into the real Karoschi's chest...
...and tore his beating heart straight out.
Blood erupted across the stone floor.
Before Karoschi could even scream...
The creature opened its distorted mouth...
...and devoured the heart in a single bite.
Crunch.
Silence.
,,Heinrich: NO!!"
,,Noah: KAROSCHI!!!"
Karoschi's lifeless body collapsed onto the floor.
His empty eyes stared at the ceiling.
The Hollowed monster slowly turned toward Noah.
Its face twisted into an impossible grin.
,,Hollowed Karoschi: Flesh."
Another voice joined in.
,,Hollowed Heinrich: Flesh!"
Then the third one spoke.
Its voice sounded exactly like Noah's...
...yet completely devoid of humanity.
,,Hollowed Noah: Parvus puer non est is quem eum putatis; est enim deus noster Karag."
The three Hollowed charged simultaneously.
The Hollowed Karoschi leaped directly toward Noah.
Its jaws opened unnaturally wide—
—but Heinrich intercepted it first.
With one perfectly timed slash...
...he split the creature completely in half.
Black blood splattered across the corridor.
,,Heinrich: Noah! We've got this! Stay focused!"
For a brief second...
Hope returned.
Heinrich rushed toward his own Hollowed counterpart.
Steel collided against claws.
CLANG!
With one powerful swing, Heinrich severed the monster's arm.
The creature staggered backward.
Then...
It smiled.
,,Hollowed Heinrich: Die."
Before Heinrich could react...
A second arm shot forward like a spear.
SHHK!
It pierced straight through Heinrich's stomach.
Blood poured from the wound.
Time seemed to stop.
Heinrich slowly looked down...
Then back toward Noah.
His voice had become barely louder than a whisper.
,,Heinrich: Noah..."
,,Noah: HEINRICH!!"
The next moment...
The Hollowed Noah appeared behind Heinrich.
One swing.
One clean cut.
His sword flashed through the air.
Heinrich's head separated from his body.
It rolled slowly across the blood-covered floor before coming to a stop.
His body collapsed seconds later.
,,Hollowed Noah: Flesh."
Noah fell onto his knees.
His sword slipped from his trembling fingers.
Everything...
Everyone...
Was gone.
Karoschi.
Heinrich.
Everyone died.
Because of him.
The Hollowed version of himself slowly approached.
Step...
Step...
Step...
It reached out with both hands.
Noah didn't move.
Didn't fight.
Didn't even breathe.
He simply closed his eyes.
He accepted death.
Cold fingers touched his face.
Then...
The creature forced two fingers directly into Noah's eyes.
Everything vanished.
Darkness.
Not ordinary darkness.
An endless...
Silent...
Bottomless void.
No sound.
No air.
No light.
Nothing.
Then...
Tiny lights slowly appeared.
One.
Two.
Ten.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
The darkness transformed into an endless night sky.
Countless stars stretched infinitely above him, shining brighter than anything Noah had ever witnessed.
It was beautiful.
Peaceful.
Almost...
Comforting.
A calm voice broke the silence.
,,Karag: Do you see now what happens when you continue opposing me?"
Noah slowly turned around.
There stood Karag.
His back faced Noah as he quietly observed the stars.
His long magenta-and-turquoise hair gently moved in a wind Noah couldn't feel.
His posture carried neither hatred...
Nor anger.
Only calmness.
,,Noah: ...So... it really was just another dream."
,,Karag: Not entirely."
He slowly looked over his shoulder.
,,Karag: I only pulled your consciousness into the Dream World after the three of you found the exit corridor."
His voice remained strangely gentle.
Almost...
Fatherly.
,,Karag: Don't worry. Your friends are perfectly alive."
He pointed somewhere beyond the stars.
,,Karag: They're sitting beside your unconscious body this very moment."
Noah stared at him.
Confusion slowly replaced fear.
,,Noah: Then why?"
His voice trembled.
,,Noah: Why are you doing this? Why don't you just kill me?"
Karag remained silent for several seconds.
Then he answered.
,,Karag: Because this was merely a test."
He stepped closer.
,,Karag: I wanted to show you how effortlessly your friends could die if I truly wished it."
Noah clenched his fists.
Karag continued.
,,Karag: But..."
His expression softened.
,,Karag: I can also prevent that future."
He raised one hand toward the endless stars.
The night sky slowly transformed.
The stars became peaceful cities.
Children laughed.
Families smiled.
No soldiers.
No blood.
No monsters.
No war.
A perfect world.
,,Karag: Imagine a world without violence."
,,Karag: A world without suffering."
,,Karag: A world where none of your friends ever have to die."
He finally turned toward Noah.
His one green eye and his hollow black eye reflected the stars themselves.
,,Karag: All you have to do..."
He extended his hand.
,,Karag: ...is join me."
Silence.
Noah looked at the offered hand.
A peaceful life.
Together with his friends.
Everyone.
No more running.
No more death.
No more fear.
It sounded...
Perfect.
Yet something inside him refused to believe it.
Why him?
Out of everyone...
Why was Karag offering him this chance?
As if reading his thoughts...
Karag smiled.
,,Karag: I already know where your journey leads next."
His voice echoed across the endless sky.
,,Karag: The Toren Fortress."
He lowered his hand.
,,Karag: We'll meet again inside your mind."
,,Karag: And when that time comes..."
His smile slowly widened.
,,Karag: You will give me your answer."
A pause.
,,Karag: Will you stand beside me..."
Another pause.
,,Karag: ...or against me?"
The stars suddenly began to disappear.
The sky shattered like fragile glass.
The Dream World collapsed around them.
,,Karag: Until then..."
His final words echoed through the darkness.
,,Karag: Think carefully, Noah."
Everything dissolved into blinding white light.
,,Heinrich: Noah!"
Noah gasped loudly.
His eyes flew open.
He found himself lying on the cold stone floor of the corridor.
Heinrich was kneeling beside him.
Karoschi stood nearby.
Both completely unharmed.
Noah immediately looked around.
No blood.
No Hollowed.
Nothing.
His breathing remained heavy.
,,Heinrich: Are you okay? You suddenly collapsed while we were running."
Noah stared silently at both of them.
Alive.
They were really alive.
He almost told them everything.
About Karag.
The dream.
The offer.
But...
Something stopped him.
If he told them...
They would only worry.
Or worse...
They might think he was losing his mind.
He slowly forced a smile.
,,Noah: Sorry... I think I just haven't been getting enough sleep lately."
He stood up and picked up his sword.
,,Noah: Let's keep moving. We have to find the others."
Karoschi nodded once.
,,Karoschi: Right."
The three continued running.
Unaware that fate had already begun tightening its grip around all of them.
Meanwhile...
At the rear gate of Kalburg.
Chaos had already taken hold.
Thousands of terrified civilians crowded before the enormous wooden gate, pushing against one another in desperation. Mothers desperately held onto their children, elderly people struggled to remain standing, and frightened soldiers attempted to force order upon a crowd that had long since surrendered to panic.
The smell of smoke drifted through the air.
Somewhere in the city...
Buildings were collapsing.
People screamed.
Others cried.
The kingdom that had stood proudly for generations was falling apart before their very eyes.
Johann tightened his grip around his sword as he looked toward the massive gate.
,,Johann: Open the damn gate already!"
Anna stepped beside him, her voice equally desperate.
,,Anna: Please! Hurry!"
Perfidus searched the wall with anxious eyes.
Suddenly, relief appeared across his face.
He pointed toward one of the towers.
,,Perfidus: Look! One of the guards is coming!"
Everyone turned.
A lone guard sprinted toward the enormous winch responsible for raising the gate.
His breathing was heavy.
His armor was stained with soot.
Without wasting a second, he grabbed the wooden handles and began turning the mechanism with all his strength.
CLANK...
CLANK...
The chains groaned loudly.
The gigantic gate slowly began to rise.
The crowd erupted with hope.
Some people even began crying in relief.
Anna smiled for the first time since the attack had begun.
,,Anna: Thank goodness..."
She released a trembling breath.
,,Anna: We're going to make it..."
Then...
Something moved across the wall.
A black blur.
One...
Two...
Five...
Dozens.
The guard looked up.
His eyes widened.
,,Guard: W-What—"
He never finished.
A swarm of Hell Beetles exploded from the darkness.
They crashed into him like a living wave.
,,Guard: AAAAHHHHH!!"
His screams echoed throughout the courtyard.
The insects buried themselves into his flesh.
They tore through his armor.
Blood sprayed across the stone.
Within seconds...
They were devouring him alive.
The crowd froze in absolute horror.
Children screamed.
Some people vomited.
Others simply stood there...
Unable to comprehend what they were witnessing.
The guard's screams slowly faded...
Until only the sickening sounds of chewing remained.
Crunch.
Rip.
Crack.
Then...
Silence.
A slow...
Mocking laughter echoed across the battlefield.
,,Lilithra: Hahahahaha..."
Everyone looked upward.
The Hell Beetles suddenly began crawling over one another.
Hundreds of tiny bodies intertwined.
They twisted together like living vines.
Their bodies merged into enormous writhing tendrils that lifted someone high above the terrified crowd.
Standing effortlessly atop the living mass...
Was Lilithra.
Her long red hair danced in the heat of the burning city.
The twisted smile on her face was almost childlike...
Yet horrifying.
She looked down upon the terrified civilians as though she were watching a stage performance made solely for her amusement.
Johann's face immediately darkened.
,,Johann: Oh no..."
He groaned.
,,Johann: Not that crazy witch again..."
Lilithra placed one hand dramatically against her chest.
She pretended to look offended.
,,Lilithra: A witch?"
She laughed again.
,,Lilithra: Just because I wear a black dress and hat and have red hair doesn't make me a witch."
Johann rolled his eyes.
,,Johann: Still looks like one to me."
Anna couldn't help letting out a tiny sigh.
Even in the middle of complete disaster...
Johann somehow still found time to argue.
Perfidus looked back and forth between them.
His confusion was obvious.
,,Perfidus: Wait..."
,,Perfidus: You actually know her?"
Johann pointed his sword directly toward Lilithra.
,,Johann: Unfortunately."
He frowned.
,,Johann: She's completely insane."
His expression became more serious.
,,Johann: Last time we met her..."
He tightened his grip.
,,Johann: She captured us."
A brief pause.
,,Johann: And she kept dozens of people imprisoned inside her basement."
Perfidus swallowed nervously.
His face turned pale.
Lilithra giggled as though she had just heard the funniest joke imaginable.
,,Lilithra: You're making me sound so evil."
She tilted her head.
Her smile widened.
,,Lilithra: Jo..."
One of the Hell Beetles crawled onto her shoulder.
She gently stroked its shell with one finger.
,,Lilithra: Be a good little brother."
Her smile became unsettling.
,,Lilithra: Go."
She slowly raised her hand.
,,Lilithra: Attack them together with your siblings."
The beetle let out a sharp clicking noise.
Instantly...
The enormous tentacles beneath Lilithra exploded apart.
Hundreds of Hell Beetles rushed forward before instantly weaving themselves back together.
Another gigantic living tentacle shot across the courtyard.
Its target...
Anna.
,,Anna: Watch out!"
The monstrous appendage came crashing toward her.
Before it could reach her—
A magenta flash cut through the air.
SLASH!
Johann's sword sliced cleanly through the living tentacle.
The massive structure split apart.
Dozens of Hell Beetles fell onto the stone pavement.
Without hesitation, Johann lunged forward.
His blade danced through the swarm.
One beetle after another was split apart.
Black blood splattered across the ground.
The surviving insects immediately retreated, crawling frantically back toward Lilithra before merging together once more.
Anna blinked in surprise.
Then looked toward Johann.
A small smile appeared despite everything happening around them.
,,Anna: She actually named one of her beetles after you."
Johann stared at her.
,,Johann: ...That honestly annoys me way more than it should."
Anna laughed for the briefest moment.
Only for the sound to disappear beneath another explosion somewhere inside the burning kingdom.
Lilithra covered her mouth as she laughed.
,,Lilithra: Ahahaha..."
She looked genuinely delighted.
,,Lilithra: This is wonderful."
She slowly spread both arms.
Behind her...
The countless Hell Beetles began moving again.
Thousands of tiny black bodies crawled over each other.
The ground itself seemed alive.
Their bodies twisted together once more...
Forming an even larger tentacle than before.
It towered above the fleeing civilians like a living monster.
Its countless jaws opened simultaneously.
Anna instinctively stepped backward.
Perfidus' entire body began trembling.
Johann slowly raised his sword once again.
Lilithra's smile widened.
,,Lilithra: Let's see..."
She pointed directly at them.
,,Lilithra: How long can you keep protecting everyone?"
With a deafening roar of chittering insects...
The colossal Hell Beetle tentacle lunged straight toward the group.