Drael slowly opened his eyes.There was no trace of anger or rage in them—only sadness and loneliness.

He let out a quiet sigh, trying to calm his mind, but it didn't work.

That feeling of sorrow couldn't be destroyed. He had tried for years to bury it deep inside, yet now it was overflowing again.

Why? Why would he see such a dream?

He'd rather face his worst nightmares than see this one—a dream that was slowly dragging him down into itself.

He knew it was a lie. From the very moment the dream started, he knew it wasn't real.

But even if it was a lie, he wouldn't have minded spending the rest of his life in it.

…Until suddenly, killing intent flickered in his eyes.

"You alright?" Daniel looked at the man, unsure how to react as he saw so many emotions flash across Drael's face in just a few seconds—

Sadness, loneliness, then anger and killing intent.

It reminded him of himself. Of who he used to be in his previous life.

Strangely enough, the same feeling, the same vibe, came from Drael.

Could it be…?

"I'm fine. It seems a lot happened here while I was out."

He nodded once, glancing around. The cave was almost completely destroyed—barely anything was left standing.

"There was a small fight, but I dealt with it quickly."

"Thank you."

"Thank me? For what?" Daniel raised an eyebrow.

"For saving me. If you hadn't, I would've been trapped in that lie forever," Drael sighed and spoke with genuine gratitude.

Unlike before, this time it came straight from his heart.

Daniel didn't say anything. He just nodded, turned back toward the fire, and sat beside it again.

He had been forced to use mana during the fight, so now he needed to restore what he had spent.

Drael, seeing this, also stayed quiet. He closed his eyes again and entered meditation—not to recover his mana this time, but to calm his mind.

Meanwhile, Daniel's consciousness drifted into his spiritual realm.

A spiritual version of himself appeared inside his mind palace, where he faced his new Fallen—Mercious.

"Greetings, my Lord," Mercious bowed respectfully.

"There's no need for that. I just want you to answer some questions. First of all… what exactly are you?"

"I don't know."

"You don't… know?" Daniel's eyebrows rose in surprise.

What did that even mean? How could this creature not know what it was?

This was the same monster that had trapped both him and Drael inside that dream.

"I've already told you, my Lord. I was the cave itself—part of this mountain range.

Those strange drops of blood that flowed down from the peaks gave me awareness. Not only that, but they also granted me incredible abilities."

"So it's those blood drops again."

Daniel frowned slightly. He had already suspected there was something deeply unusual about that blood.

After all, it was able to give life to stones and turn them into monsters.

And now, apparently, it had even given a cave a mind of its own.

What the hell were those things?

How could blood have such properties?

Even stranger, it was somewhat similar to his own bloodline ability.

"Do you know anything else about that blood? Who does it belong to?"

"No, my Lord. But from the moment I gained awareness, I knew—deep inside my mind—that I must worship a being called the Buried God, and dedicate myself to freeing Him. Perhaps… the blood belongs to that God?" Mercious replied without hesitation.

"The Buried God? The blood of a God?" Daniel's expression darkened.

Wasn't that eerily similar to his own situation?

His bloodline also came from a God—the one known as the Fallen God.

And now it seemed there was another God—one whose blood could create monsters, or grant life, consciousness, and power to the nonliving.

A God called the Buried God...

Daniel knew that nothing inside the Tower's floors was meaningless. Everything existed for a reason.

Could the Fallen God and the Buried God be connected somehow?

Unfortunately, he didn't have enough information to draw any conclusions. For now, he'd have to set it aside.

"So, this mountain range… it's also related to the Buried God?"

He glanced at his Fallen and asked.

"I do not know, my Lord," Mercious shook his head, making Daniel sigh quietly.

It seemed he couldn't get much more information from this one.

Still, it wasn't all bad. At least now he had a clue—this floor might be tied to that entity known as the Buried God.

And based on Mercious's words, it sounded like that being was trapped.

He suspected that the final stage of this floor might involve either freeing or killing that God.

Daniel hoped his guess was wrong—that it would be neither.

First, he had no desire to fight a God, and he knew he couldn't win anyway.

Second, he didn't want to cross whoever—or whatever—was powerful enough to trap a God in the first place.

His awareness returned to his physical body.

He pushed those thoughts aside and focused on refilling his mana.

His intuition told him that tomorrow wouldn't be a peaceful day, and he needed to be at his full strength.

Honestly, he regretted not waiting a full month before entering the Tower again.

He didn't have access to any of his skills yet, and if he did, this whole climb would've been much easier.

But what was done was done.

Regret wouldn't change anything.

Besides, even without his skills, he doubted anyone here could challenge him.

Time passed slowly until morning came.

The blazing sun rose again, spilling its light over the entire mountain range.

Daniel and Drael both opened their eyes, looked at each other, and stood up.

After putting out the fire, they headed for the exit.

"We need to get out of here as soon as possible. We'll fly until we clear the mountains.

If the conditions outside are stable, we'll land afterward," Daniel explained.

"Understood," Drael nodded.

After removing the safety wards, both of them left the cave, they ascended straight into the sky, flying fast toward the edge of the mountain range.

But neither of them expected what kind of danger, and horror, was waiting for them there.

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