In the early morning hours, Halo found himself drenched in sweat, his heart pounding, and his entire body burning crimson.

His lungs felt dry, like every fleeting second was squeezing the air out of him. Breathing felt like his heart was being ripped apart, and worse, as though the only air left was lined with sharp blades that tore through his insides.

This wasn't a dream. He wished it were, just as it had been the previous day.

It had barely been a minute since this sensation started, but every part of him screamed: leave this damned castle.

But he couldn't.

He couldn't even form a coherent thought to summon his clones. He dragged himself along the floor instead, gathering every ounce of will he had left to get out of the building.

After barely a second or two, his will started to falter. Each part of his body felt like it had only enough energy to survive on its own, making even a single movement feel like a chore. The only thing clear to him then was that his heart was on the verge of failing.

Then a shadow fell over him. He didn't have the capacity to consider who or what it was; he simply wished to be saved.

Yet even through the dreadful pain, he wore a faint smile when he realized the figure was intentionally letting him suffer a little longer. It was Light.

However, the next thing he felt was a cozy breeze brushing gently against his scorching skin. He couldn't tell if the air was indeed warm or if his skin was simply so hot that he couldn't tell what cold truly felt like.

Still, after choking on his own breath with the eagerness to be finally able to breathe, he opened his eyes to see Liam and Seraph in the same situation as him.

He stared at them in confusion for a moment before rising to his feet and taking a good look at the castle.

He gulped.

He'd been right. There was something wrong with the castle. Those heavy breaths on his neck, the bizarre nightmare that had felt almost real, it was all because of the castle.

He turned to Liam and Seraphim once more, with Tough and Sunday standing behind them.

He didn't know they were enduring the same torture. Their behavior had seemed too calm, too free-spirited for what he'd experienced, but now it was clear they were both just putting on a front.

He sighed and turned to Light, its white eyes darting at the castle. He knew that bastard wanted him to suffer more in the castle, but he was grateful anyway.

"Thanks, jackass."

Light turned to him and gave him a cold look for a moment before acting as though Halo didn't exist.

"I… I thought I was the only one going through this."

Liam said and forced himself to his feet.

"I had my suspicions, but I thought I was the only one going through this… but I guess the castle truly hates us."

Halo watched as Seraph also rose to her feet.

The Changing Malicious Solemn had a reputation for many things, but this was the first time they'd seen it actively attack.

The castle itself was supposedly more dangerous than any of the legends who'd dwelled within it, and now that it had invaded their dreams and begun suffocating them, no further proof was needed.

Something else bothered Halo, though. It was without a doubt that the castle was angry about what they did to the body, which was one of its legends, Fade of Bridle.

He'd been asleep when it happened, which not only reduced his chances of reacting but also made the assault gradual. The castle could have made it sudden, and he was certain that alone would have crushed his insides and killed him before he ever knew what hit him.

But that wasn't what the castle wanted. He wouldn't dismiss the possibility that it could have done exactly that, he'd seen too much to make careless assumptions. However, the castle didn't want to kill them. It wanted to expel them. It needed the Fade of Bridle's body back.

To confirm this, he walked toward the castle once more, but the closer he got, the more he began to feel that sensation he had felt earlier. He was correct.

"Hold on, you're all thinking the same thing, aren't you? The castle actually wants us to recover the body?"

Halo turned to Seraph and gave her a firm nod.

"But… but we will die if that happens."

Liam said with terror etched in his tone.

They were marching toward their own deaths, no matter how they framed it. Fade of Bridle's body would inevitably lure Crawlers to the castle.

They'd already witnessed Crawlers passing them on the way to his burial site, and despite Halo's clones eliminating most of them, the incident proved how dangerous retrieving the body could be.

Crawlers weren't your typical Sinners. Their combination of destructive power and regeneration made them exceptionally dangerous, as Tough and Sunday could attest.

They already knew what the Crawlers were planning in the crimson land, Inferno Moist. They were building a formidable Crawler to face Kysa.

They were realistic about their own limits. A Sinner of that caliber wasn't something they could confront and survive.

"Maybe we should just stay out here and guard the castle from a distance… but no, that could be a mistake. What if the castle attacks us even from here? We might end up failing our Purpose entirely."

Liam kept moving back and forth, thinking out loud.

Halo exhaled.

"I'd suggest we look for Kysa. This is her fight, not ours…"

He didn't want any part of this anymore. Kysa killed Fade of Bridle, and she was the person the Crawlers were growing stronger for. They were just caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. But he knew his claims were bullshit anyway.

Kysa was a monster in her own right, and worse, she was a legend of this very castle. If she didn't kill them for pursuing her, the castle itself might, for the audacity of threatening one of its legends.

Seraph's eyes dropped to the ground, her demeanor grim.

"No matter which path we take, death might be waiting. So be it. If I'm to die, I'll die fighting, not hiding, and definitely not trembling in the dark. We'll find that body, and face every Crawler in our path."

Halo looked at her tiredly. What she said made sense, but something else gnawed at him. If the castle had this much power, why didn't it help them kill the Crawlers? The Crawlers were targeting two of its own legends, after all.

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