The center of Life Island had become a scorched graveyard.

The massive trunk of the fallen mother tree smoldered quietly, glowing in the flickering firelight. The air was choked with ash and smoke. The scent of burning wood was laced with the metallic tang of blood.

Three bodies lay near the ruined tree. Their blood had soaked into the scorched roots, letting off faint sizzles where it met still-glowing embers.

After a long, deathly stillness…

A finger twitched. Then another.

With agonizing effort, one of the bodies rolled onto its side. There was a gaping hole where shoulder met chest. A wound that should've killed a man ten times over.

"Ghh… a-ah…"

Torren gasped for breath, his chest heaving. Slowly—almost blindly—he clawed his way toward the broken base of the tree. His hand found something soft buried in the soot.

A half-rotted Heavenly Spirit Fruit.

He grinned, blood bubbling between cracked teeth.

Then he shoved it between his lips and held it there. Clamping his mouth shut, he began to drag himself forward, one trembling handful of dirt at a time.

His limbs were mostly useless now. The world swam red before his eyes. He couldn't think straight.

But one thought screamed above the pain:

> "I have to get it out."

Axel emerged from the collapsed tree moments later and froze.

Ten meters ahead, a shape crawled across the blackened earth.

It was Torren—bloodied, broken, dragging himself inch by inch toward the lake. Axel stepped closer. Quietly. He stopped just in front of him.

Torren froze. He tilted his head upward—and when he saw Axel's face, his whole body shuddered. A sob escaped his throat.

A sound filled with raw grief and rage. The cry of a man who had nothing left.

"Why… Why won't anyone believe…" His voice cracked. "The Heavenly Spirit Fruit… it's a cure… not a curse…"

He knew it was pointless. Axel had no reason to help him.

But then Axel did something Torren didn't expect.

He knelt down. And reached out.

He took Torren's hand. It was rough. Calloused. Cold as stone. The blood had long stopped flowing to his fingers.

"I believe you," Axel said quietly. Then, slowly and deliberately, he added, "The night has no eyes."

Torren's entire body trembled. And then—he laughed.

"But the wind still listens… Ha… ha ha ha… cough—cough!"

The laughter tore open his injuries again. More blood spilled from the massive wound in his chest. His limbs were already ice cold, and his mind was slipping fast into darkness—but still, he clutched Axel's hand with everything he had left.

Torren coughed up the half-crushed Heavenly Spirit Fruit from his mouth. His breathing was ragged, but his face held a strange peace. "See? I… I told you…"

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Axel lowered his head, listening. He could feel it—this was the end.

Torren's chest had been torn open, his Original Pool shattered, and he'd lost more than half his blood. There was no saving him.

"I know… it's not the source of infection."

Torren's pupils were dimming. But a smile played across his bloodied lips. "Lord Aurelion… he'll make the cure, right?"

Axel nodded. "Yes."

Torren gave a slow exhale. "Axel… this one's no good. But it's the last one I had. Please… take it out."

Axel hesitated, then slowly reached into his pocket and took out a small fruit of his own.

"I already have some," he said gently.

He wanted to say more—but before he could, Torren's hand slipped from his grip. Limp. Lifeless.

Axel carefully cleaned up the bodies, gathering their undamaged life crystals and placing them quietly in his pouch.

The flames around them still burned, staining the night sky red.

Axel stood before their remains in silence for a long, long time.

Then, softly: "I'll take them back."

He had managed to collect over a dozen Heavenly Spirit Fruits that had survived the fire.

Just as he was preparing to leave, a familiar voice called out behind him.

"Axel?!"

Axel turned. Millers came trudging over, covered in dust. "What the hell? Were you talking to a dead guy?!"

His gaze snapped to the fallen, burning tree, and his expression grew serious. "That… is that the Heavenly Spirit Fruit tree?"

Axel, tucked away the fruits and gave a small, surprised smile. "Millers.."

Millers scratched his head, smiling bitterly. "Ran into Caius. Bastard said he studied the map for a month. Guess what? Total bullshit. Followed him for hours and didn't hit a single right turn."

He sighed. "Got pissed, left him behind, and stumbled here on my own. Pretty sure he's still wandering in circles somewhere."

Axel's expression twitched. So Millers hasn't even noticed the Abyss is changing?

Axel exhaled. "Maybe it's not all Caius's fault."

He told Millers about the shifting terrain and strange phenomena across the Abyss. Millers listened in growing confusion.

"…I see."

Then his eyes moved to the three bodies lying near the burned-out tree.

"So what happened here?"

Axel knew there was no point hiding it.

"We found the Heavenly Spirit Fruit tree on this island. When people tried to cut it down, members of the Holy Light Organization appeared and tried to stop them. They were… killed."

He paused, then added casually, "I figured they might've had something valuable on them, so I stayed behind. The rest probably moved on already."

Millers squinted at the corpses. "Can't believe the Holy Light Organization got in and I didn't even notice."

"Let's get out of here," Axel said. "Still early—if we keep moving, we might find something worthwhile."

Millers grinned. "Good plan."

They packed up and headed into the woods. After the earlier attack on the island, most of the aquatic mutants were dead—and the survivors, sensing something, didn't try to stop them.

Millers watched Axel walking a few steps ahead, silent.

His face twitched like he wanted to say something… But in the end, he kept it to himself.

......

Two hours passed.

Darkness blanketed the sky and earth alike, and in the stillness of the jungle, only the occasional chirp of insects or flutter of wings could be heard. Axel and Millers finally came to a stop.

"…Looks like I really misjudged Caius," Millers muttered.

A thick fog clung to the edges of the landscape ahead, curling like pale fingers over the jagged drop of an abyss. Just standing near it sent a biting chill through their bones.

Axel's face hardened. "The Infinite Cold Cave."

The place in front of them was marked clearly on the map—one of the forbidden zones. And not just any danger zone, but one where Force—all Force—was said to become completely inert upon entry.

That made it one of the most terrifying places in the entire Abyss.

"Didn't expect we'd stumble across something like this…" Axel murmured.

Millers, uncharacteristically solemn, nodded in agreement. "This place just feels fucked up."

Axel gave him a long, skeptical look. "Wait—you know about this place?"

Millers blinked, then grinned sheepishly. "Not a clue. The name just sounds scary."

Axel stared at him. "…Unbelievable."

As they stood by the abyss, the Force in the air was still pulsing—wild and abundant, as it always was in the Abyss. Axel continued to absorb it in a steady stream, aided by the life crystals he'd collected.

Then suddenly—he froze.

A dull ache flared in his lower abdomen. A moment later, a wave of pressure rippled outward from his body.

Axel narrowed his eyes. He'd hit the ceiling.

"The peak of Level Three," he muttered. He had finally maxed out his Force capacity.

Millers perked up immediately. "Wait, really? You've hit the bottleneck?!"

Axel gave a small nod. He had wanted to wait—move somewhere a little safer, maybe deeper into the jungle—but this spot was a bit too close to a forbidden zone. Cautious instincts made him hesitate.

But Millers was already waving him down, adamant. "No. Don't wait. Start compressing—now."

"Here?"

Millers crossed his arms. "Axel, compressing right after hitting the limit gives you the best results. Don't waste this window."

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