Far away, beyond forests and ruined lands alike, Cyan sprinted across a desolate road with terrifying speed. Dust clouds erupted behind every step while the rhythmic pounding of his boots echoed like war drums across the barren terrain.
Inside his mind, Orion's calm mechanical voice surfaced once more.
"You have been running continuously throughout the day without food or water. Suggestion: rest immediately."
Cyan's response came instantly.
Cold.
Detached.
"Request denied. I can't waste time. I need to become stronger… and for that, my sister's sword comes first."
Crimson light flickered faintly within his eyes.
Above him, Aris's longsword and the shorter mid-range blade hovered silently while sharing their senses directly with him, granting him a predator's awareness over the world around him.
Orion persisted calmly.
"Your body has limitations. Continued strain will eventually result in physical collapse."
"Shut up." The reply cut through the conversation instantly.
The crimson light within Cyan's eyes intensified further.
A brief silence followed.
Then Orion responded calmly.
"Understood."
Cyan's thoughts shifted momentarily.
"I thought you'd use that full-body takeover ability again? why haven't you?"
Orion answered without hesitation.
"Hardship reflects growth. Thus I reject the means to rob you of the experience required to evolve."
Cyan remained silent afterward.
Blood stained his worn boots.
His feet had long since torn open from exhaustion.
Yet he continued running without slowing.
" Whatever" he thought coldly.
" Only time will decide who survives."
His eyes sharpened.
" And I intend to be the one standing at the end."
The wind screamed past him as his pace accelerated further.
"I'll keep fighting."
"Keep bleeding."
"Keep breaking."
"And if anything or anyone stand against me…"
A dangerous silence lingered.
"Then—"
"They better start praying."
crimson light burned violently within his eyes.
"I'll keep punching until my knuckles shatter."
"I'll keep moving through the taste of my own blood."
"And I won't stop... ...Until every last enemy is buried beneath the ground."
He launched upward into the trees once more with terrifying precision.
A blur of motion beneath the dying light.
"…Wait for me, ARCHON!"
Back within the ruins of Ranon, evening settled heavily across the shattered landscape. Randell and Ryker gathered scattered wood and kindling before lighting a small fire inside the crater that had once been their home. Flames crackled weakly against the growing darkness. Ryker stared into the fire quietly.
"…In all my years, I've never heard of a dragon capable of this."
He poked the embers slowly while shadows danced across his face. Randell remained silent for several moments before finally speaking.
"…Does this mean nobody survived?"
His voice trembled slightly.
Ryker's expression softened almost imperceptibly.
"…The better question," he said quietly " where did Cyan and Aris go with the survivors."
Hope.
Even now, he forced it into the conversation.
Because the alternative was unbearable. The fire continued crackling softly while sparks drifted upward into the endless night sky above.
Cold stars stared down upon the ruins of shattered dreams.
As Cyan tore through the forest, his body became a phantom streak beneath the moonlight, so swift that the towering trees around him melted into smears of emerald and shadow. Branches shattered in his wake.
Twigs snapped beneath fleeting footsteps that scarcely touched the earth before he launched forward once more, vaulting from trunk to trunk with inhuman precision.
The night air was thick with the scent of rain-soaked soil and rotting leaves. Pine resin lingered sharply in the atmosphere, blending with the cold breath of the wilderness. Every gust clawed at his clothes, sending the tattered fabric thrashing violently behind him like the ragged banner of a lone survivor.
Silver threads woven into the dark material shimmered beneath the moonlight, flickering like fractured starlight against the abyss of the forest.
Above, a crescent moon hung silently in the heavens, pale and distant, casting a ghostly glow upon the endless sea of trees. Shadows stretched across the forest floor like grasping fingers, twisting and writhing whenever Cyan passed.
The forest itself seemed alive.
Leaves trembled at his approach. Branches bowed and snapped aside. The rhythmic percussion of movement echoed through the darkness—the crack of bark, the whisper of disturbed foliage, the muted thud of boots against wood.
Each motion was flawless, calculated to perfection, his body moving with the lethal fluidity of a predator honed by desperation and battle alike.
His narrowed eyes swept across the terrain below, scanning every inch of darkness for movement.
"You said rune-core monsters can only be found within dungeons, labyrinths, and gates... especially among boss-class creatures."
The thought surfaced calmly within his mind despite the chaos around him, steady and controlled, though tension coiled beneath every syllable like a drawn blade.
A voice answered instantly.
"Affirmative."
The response carried no emotion.
No hesitation.
Only cold precision.
The voice resonated through his consciousness with mechanical clarity, every word measured to impossible perfection, as though an unseen machine had processed the inquiry long before he finished asking it.
Cyan's thoughts accelerated alongside his body.
"If natural dungeons can produce rune monsters... then gate dungeons should as well."
His gaze drifted briefly upward.
The stars glittered across the heavens like shards of scattered crystal embedded within black velvet.
Wind swept through the canopy overhead, carrying with it the fragrance of wet grass, wildflowers, and distant rain.
Beside him, his twin blades floated soundlessly through the air.
They glided in perfect synchronization with his movements, their sharpened edges reflecting pale streams of lunar silver. Silent guardians. Constant companions. Like shadows bound eternally to his existence.
"Correct. Gate dungeons possess superior environmental density and mana concentration compared to standard labyrinths and naturally formed dungeons. Acquisition probability for runes among boss-class entities approaches certainty. However, variables such as gate age, Aura degradation, and exposure duration significantly affect rune integrity."
The voice remained eerily calm.
Analytical.
Inhuman.
Cyan's jaw tightened.
With a powerful leap, he landed atop a massive branch thick enough to support his weight. The wood groaned violently beneath the impact, the sound ripping through the silence like distant thunder.
"So what happened to the Goblin King's rune?"
For the first time since entering the forest, urgency seeped into his thoughts.
A brief silence followed.
Then—
"The entity possessed insufficient combat classification. The rune was repurposed during emergency restoration procedures to preserve your life functions. Physical damage sustained by your body had exceeded critical thresholds. Facial structure, internal tissue, and skeletal integrity were nearing irreversible collapse."
Cyan stopped instantly.
The branch beneath him shuddered from the abrupt halt.
His fingers tightened around the bark until the leather around his gloves creaked softly. Leaves stirred around him in uneasy whispers while the forest descended into unnatural stillness, as though even nature itself had sensed the shift in atmosphere.
Moonlight spilled across his face.
The dark mask resting above his eyes gleamed faintly beneath the silver glow, its sharp contours enhancing the cold intensity lingering within his expression.
For several seconds, the only sounds remaining were the violent pounding of his heart and the slow rasp of his breathing.
An owl cried somewhere in the distance.
Long.
Hollow.
Almost mournful.
"I see."
The words emerged calmly.
Too calmly.
Yet beneath that composed surface, something churned violently. His heartbeat hammered against his ribs like iron striking an anvil, each pulse heavier than the last.
The forest stood motionless around him, towering trees looming like ancient sentinels witnessing the unraveling of something fragile.
Then the voice returned.
"Notice: your body has reached its operational limit."
The statement arrived without sympathy.
Without urgency.
Merely fact.
Cyan's thoughts faltered.
"What...?"
A heartbeat erupted violently within his chest.
His balance shattered instantly.
Pain detonated through his body without warning.
It felt as though molten metal had been injected directly into his veins, burning through flesh, muscle, and bone alike. Every nerve ignited simultaneously, overwhelming his senses beneath a tidal wave of agony so intense it bordered on unreal.
A violent tremor coursed through him from head to toe.
Dry blood cracked along his legs and feet. The scent of copper flooded the air, mixing with sweat, damp moss, and the decayed breath of the forest floor until the smell became overwhelmingly primal.
His stomach twisted.
The world tilted.
Then gravity claimed him.
As Cyan fell from the branch, the forest dissolved into chaos.
Branches splintered around him. Leaves exploded into the air. Twigs snapped beneath the violent descent while cold wind roared past his ears like the howl of unseen spirits.
And yet—
His expression never changed.
No scream escaped him.
No panic surfaced within his eyes.
Only confusion.
Only silence.
As though his mind had yet to fully comprehend the ruin his body had become.