Two full months had passed since the unpleasant and bloody events.

Veythral had shown unexpected resistance to Prince Charles's gambit, emerging victorious at least for now from this political game of chess.

Since that jarring confrontation with Fredrinn that night, Cassian had melted all the ice between them.

There were almost no secrets left. He had told him nearly everything: all he had endured, the horrific prophecies he had witnessed, the truth about Dr. Aris, the dangers of the reincarnators, and how fate was relentlessly flowing toward the same, cruel end.

Fredrinn had staggered under the inconceivable weight of this knowledge.

The world was not the simple place he had known; it was a complex, deadly game filled with gods, reincarnators, and an inevitable apocalypse.

But before Cassian, he had to stand strong, no matter what. He could not betray the trust of this small boy.

At the same time, he raged at the thought of a child being crushed alone beneath a burden heavy enough to decide the world's fate. He would not let him carry this load by himself any longer.

As for the matter of Julian, Cassian had been brutally honest. A part of Julian's mind was no longer under his own control and was likely being consumed more each day by Nerath's dark presence.

Cassian had admitted there was little he could do. He could use holy mana to excise Nerath's presence from Julian, but doing so would inflict irreversible, massive damage upon his soul.

He had also mentioned he might be able to do something for Julian by bending reality, but he stressed he would avoid it at all costs, as the price would be steep.

But in that moment of despair, Nivelle had intervened. As a primal fae, she was the world's foremost expert on souls. The safest path, she had explained, was to separate Julian and Nerath by intervening directly with their spirits.

Nivelle herself had grown incredibly strong over these two months. She now traveled within Cassian's body, alongside his soul. She could merge and separate her spirit from Cassian's at will.

This granted them a tremendous boost, especially when it came to fae powers and spiritual intervention.

Regarding the Empire and Veythral, Fredrinn had managed the crisis masterfully. He had agreed to return the prisoners in exchange for hefty compensation and trade privileges. Though Prince Charles had angrily rejected this "barbaric" offer, his father, the Emperor, had accepted, seeking to avoid a pointless war with Veythral. In the end, Prince Charles departed with his pride wounded, while Fredrinn had secured both gold and prestige for Veythral.

As for the others Hebi, Eric, Rod, and Kael despite being ruthlessly defeated by Cassian that night, they bore him no grudge. Once they learned the full truth of the incident, they understood why he had been so desperate and furious. The sole exception was Rose.

Rose still despised Cassian. She believed he had "poisoned" Fredrinn's mind and was leading him down a dangerous path. But for Fredrinn's sake, she tolerated his presence. For the most part, the rift within the team had mended.

And now, Fredrinn, Cassian, and Nivelle hidden within his soul were on their way to the next ruin. Cassian had already shared all the necessary information about it with Fredrinn. They were both well aware of the dangers awaiting them.

The boss of this ruin was leagues beyond the Dark Knight.

Cassian hoped to acquire several powerful abilities this time. After all, the ruin boss possessed quite a few. This represented both a great peril and a center of immense profit.

This ruin was supposed to be filled with mummy-like, cloth-wrapped undead creatures. For the final boss, they would face a reflection of Anubis a colossal creature with the head of a jackal and the body of a man. The other monsters posed little threat, but the boss's abilities were deeply troubling.

In the original game, Fredrinn's probability of clearing this dungeon alone was a mere 7%.

It was a dungeon with a boss that was remarkably agile for its size. If one were to list its abilities, the result would be long and terrifying:

Blood Howl: Upon roaring, it unleashed a magical shockwave, throwing players back and causing mental confusion.

Soul-Rending Claws: Dealt physical damage while simultaneously draining the victim's mana or life energy, healing itself momentarily.

Ruin's Call: Controlled the surrounding rubble to hurl pillars, raise walls, and create area tremors.

Totem Clan Bond: Every slain minion (jackals, ghost hounds, skeletons) empowered the boss.

Curse-Born Smoke: Exhaled a black mist mingled with blood, obscuring vision and causing hallucinations.

Rabid Form: Caused the monster to fight even more fiercely than normal, ignoring all its wounds.

In the midst of the endless desert, beneath the scorching sun, Fredrinn walked with heavy steps while Cassian sat upon his shoulder in his small, white-haired fae form. Nivelle rested, invisible, within Cassian's soul. Cassian was recounting a memory from his old world, from "Memories of Toven"—which was, in truth, a cliché 'anime' story.

At first, Fredrinn had been annoyed by Cassian's strange and nonsensical tales, trying to silence him repeatedly. But after days of this empty, silent trek, the stories had become his only entertainment. Now, he listened with relish, even asking eagerly what happened next. Cassian, for his part, swung his feet from Fredrinn's shoulder, narrating the tale with utter seriousness.

"Wait, hold on," Fredrinn said, stopping abruptly. "Why does the main character always fight as if he's at his strongest when he's most wounded and weak? And why do his enemies always wait for him, monologue, and then die like fools? It makes no sense."

Cassian sighed. "Yes, yes! That's exactly what I think! Damn it, he doesn't even have unique regeneration abilities like me! Ahh, no wonder that anime got 4/10 stars."

"'Anime'? What's that?" Fredrinn asked, curious.

"Hm, hard to explain. Think of picture books. But with magic, the pictures can move and talk."

Fredrinn's eyes lit up. "Wait... there's magic like that?"

"Of course not, are you an idiot? Pictures can't talk."

"But you just said..."

"Argh, I knew you wouldn't get it. Forget it."

Fredrinn muttered. "Why am I even listening to your stupid stories... Why haven't we reached this damned ruin yet?"

"I don't know," Cassian said, his tone turning serious again. "The entrance is supposed to be a giant canine skull, right in this desert of absolute, arid nothingness. It sounds like it would stand out, but since we don't have an exact location, we still have to search for it."

Cassian floated up from Fredrinn's shoulder. "I'll scout from above."

Cassian shifted into his crow form and soared into the scorching desert sky. His vision was filled with nothing but sand and the blistering sun. For days, they had been wandering in this same, tedious loop.

After several more hours of boring flight, Cassian finally spotted something large and white, shimmering in the distance at the very edge of his vision. He flew closer.

It was exactly what he sought. Half-buried in the sand, a portion of it shattered by time, was a bizarre, massive skull with sharp, enormous teeth—a grotesque hybrid of a human and canine skull.

"There! The very thing!"

He flew back rapidly toward Fredrinn. Landing before him, he transformed back into his true, white-haired form.

"Partner! I found what we were looking for!" he said, a happy smile on his face.

Fredrinn let out a breath of relief. "Finally! I was starting to think I'd spend my last youthful days in this cursed desert."

After another grueling hour of walking, they finally stood before the massive, bone-white skull. The structure was larger than a hill, and its eye sockets gaped like the mouths of dark caves.

Fredrinn began to feel that familiar, nauseating fluctuation of mana. He approached until he was just a few feet from the skeletal skull and extended his hand to Cassian.

"Ready?"

Cassian took his hand. "Of course."

The pair closed their eyes and were pulled into a different dimension by the ruin's ancient seal.

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