Kai opened his eyes and blinked the blurriness away.

His vision adjusted to the surroundings, and almost immediately, a smile curled on his lips.

"Finally..." He inhaled the stale, cold air as if it were fresh air. Ever since the Night Elevation, he hadn’t been able to enter the House of Night, and he thought there was something wrong with the Deep Slumber. "But it seemed that’s not the case. Either the chance of entering is now lowered, or simply me being unlucky."

Remembering what happened last time, Kai was immediately alerted.

He scanned the area, fearing that the Nightborns were going to rush him as they did.

But there is no Nightborn insight.

And nothing changed, too.

It was still the same House of Night, exactly as he remembered.

Just then, he felt a weight in his hand—something neither light nor heavy. Kai looked down. It was the Blood-phantom Scimitar. He had clutched it before sinking into the Deep Slumber, hoping to test whether he could carry things from the real world into the void.

And it seemed he could.

Of course, he needed to experiment more, but this was a start.

"I feel safer with this in my hand," Kai thought aloud, believing that he wouldn’t freeze like he did when the Nightborns were attacking him. "But this confirms that the Deep Slumber is not only to help me sleep or make others sleep."

According to the description, that was what the Deep Slumber Legacy Skill could do.

But it wasn’t only that.

Being able to summon Perion from the House of Night meant the Deep Slumber is also a kind of portal. Kai, entering the house, is putting his mind through a portal. Devouring others is the same as putting them through a portal. And even summoning Perion is opening a portal—for him to enter reality.

It was general knowledge that Legacy Skill is stronger than a Legacy Imprint.

Since a Legacy Skill is the direct power that’s tied to the Patron God’s domain, it’s naturally the stronger ability. And now, Kai began to really see how powerful his Legacy Skill was. Not to mention, the potential of it was limitless.

Perhaps in the future, Kai could do what he could in the House of Night in the real world.

He might be able to bring others into the House of Night without killing them.

Or maybe he could even bring the House of Night to the real world.

Just the thought of those things made his blood boil in excitement; it was the prospect of the Goddess’ power that kept him going through the discrimination and pain that he had to go through on a daily basis.

Had it not been for that, he would likely have given up by now.

Kai shook his head and quickly made his way to Noxian’s domain.

He kept walking until he found the familiar humble abode. And as always, Noxian was sitting silently like a sentinel, motionless until he sensed the presence of another one entering his domain.

A familiar presence that made him lift his gaze.

"Not... bad," His dark purple eyes stared into the small dark sphere inside Kai’s stomach. It was proof that he had already developed his second Primordial Lock. "Completing the Night Elevation faster than I expected. You’re good at this, Son of the Final Night."

"As long as there’s pressure, there will be a way," Kai walked closer. "Alas, I didn’t come here for your praise. I came for answers."

Back then, Noxian said that he’d explain everything after the Night Elevation was finished.

Now that it’s done, Kai came to demand exactly that.

"I always keep my word. What do you want to know?

"First of all, the Night Elevation... What is it?"

Since Noxian had already given away his words, he told Kai what he wanted to know.

The Night Elevation is a divine phenomenon governed by the night itself, a bestowal of greater power upon a child of the Goddess deemed worthy. By feeding the House of Night with the Awakened Monsters, Kai had earned the night’s acknowledgment, proving himself ready for the next step.

Despite how it looked, the Night Elevation is a blessing from the night.

But there’s a problem with that.

The Nightborns could sense the phenomenon the moment it began, and it struck them with a surge of both fury and envy. According to Noxian, every Nightborn was stuck. None of them could grow even a fraction stronger anymore.

It was the reason why they were in the House of Night in the first place.

Because their specific power had come to an ending with no more room for improvement.

Time does not have power in the House of Night, but that doesn’t mean the mind was utterly immune to deterioration. And though the Nightborns had come to their inevitable ending, it doesn’t mean they didn’t try to keep improving.

Most of them did.

Even though it was futile, they simply kept practicing.

So naturally, when they sensed Kai was growing stronger, blessed by the very night that had abandoned them, the Nightborns went feral. Insane. Hateful. Those who are the angriest and most spiteful among them gathered together, driven by a single, venomous purpose: to drag Kai down to their level and keep him there.

And that’s exactly what happened that night.

During the Night Elevation, Kai’s connection to the night grew stronger.

And the Nightborn used that very link to reach him. The darker version of the world he had glimpsed had not been a vision. It had been them. Clawing at the edges of his mind, trying to pull him down and keep him on their level.

"If you dragged it out for longer, there would be a sea of them," Noxian said grimly.

"Would you still come help me if that was the case?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe? Why? You can’t handle too many?"

"Who said that? I can handle no matter how many there are, but it’s a hassle."

"Fair enough," Kai shrugged his shoulders, deciding not to lament on it—as that’s already in the past. Or at least, it should be in the past since there’s no sign of a Nightborn nearby. "And? What happened to them after the Night Elevation?"

"All of them got suppressed, of course. None of them could bother you again."

"Huh... That’s convenient. In any case, thanks for helping. I’d be screwed if you didn’t."

Noxian waved his hand, not wanting to hear more about it.

"And now that my second Primordial Lock is formed, I reckon I could now enter the second floor," Kai said, recalling the notification from the System. He didn’t know exactly what that meant, but he wanted to know. "Do you know anything about that?"

"Yes, I know about it. I can even teach you how to access it."

"Teach me."

Moments later, Kai sat down cross-legged on the shallow water with his eyes closed.

His entire focus was on his two Primordial Locks.

According to Noxian, the method to access the second floor involved using the night to charge both of his Primordial Locks. Kai had to fill them up completely until the darkness overflowed, and when he succeeded, he would know.

Drawing the night is easy, Kai had done it multiple times already.

But he had forgotten one thing.

Splash—!

Kai opened his eyes and gasped; he was frowning hard when the night suddenly dispersed.

He was really close to filling his two Primordial Locks completely, and yet, the night suddenly resisted at the breaking point. Not wanting to give up yet, Kai kept going. Kept trying. Using all his mindpower to focus on this one task.

Failure after failure, a pulse of dark energy detonated outward from his body.

"Seems like you haven’t settled your business with the night," Noxian commented.

"Business with the night? What business?" Kai’s brow furrowed—as he searched his memory. He looked down, sifting through everything that Noxian could possibly have hinted, and then he remembered something. "Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me..."

He cocked back his head and glared at the starry night sky, "We’re still on this?! You are still jealous?!"

Kai remembered what happened with Layra.

After everything that happened, he had completely forgotten about that.

"Fine, what do you want me to do to make up for it?!" Kai roared, but the night only flickered. Dimming and lighting up again as if it was mocking him. "You know what? Scratch that. You didn’t even help me with Bree! I’m not apologizing!"

Stubbornly, he sat down and focused again.

And this time, he exerted everything he had to force the night to fill his Primordial Locks.

So focused that his forehead popped a vein.

Gradually, the Primordial Locks could be seen glowing and pulsating inside him. One could see the night resisting, desperately trying to pull away in protest of Kai being entranced by Layra when the night sky was beautiful that night.

But it failed.

Swoosh—!

Kai’s eyes snapped open when he felt a sudden rush of energy erupting from within.

He looked around, finding Noxian’s gaze, "Did I do it?"

Instead of answering, Noxian pointed skyward.

Kai looked up—not expecting anything in mind, and immediately saw the change. The center of the sky, the full moon was no longer full. A piece of it had been devoured by darkness, and it shrank it into a waxing gibbous.

The sign of the second floor of the House of Night.

Or at least, that’s what Noxian said to him earlier.

According to him, the second floor was marked with the moon turning into a waxing gibbous, and a few missing constellations. Kai could clearly see the waxing gibbous moon, and he also saw a few spots devoid of stars.

"Hmm...?" Kai frowned. "I don’t feel Perion."

Inside the House of Night, even when Perion wasn’t around, their connection was present. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Kai could sense Perion no matter where he was in the House of Night.

And yet, right now, he couldn’t feel Perion at all.

"Is this normal?" Kai turned to Noxian. "I can’t feel Perion. Is it normal?"

"His domain only exists on the first floor. As useful as he is to you, his strength is limited. It doesn’t reach beyond the first floor. Not being able to sense him here is normal," Noxian’s voice carried steady patience as he explained this. "Once you return to the first floor, he will be accessible again."

"Alright..." Kai nodded. "I guess it’s fine."

But then, as he was about to check outside, he paused as realization crashed onto him.

His eyes naturally shifted back to Noxian again.

A thought came to mind.

That being said... Noxian is still here. And he doesn’t seem to look troubled at all. I’m really wondering how strong he really is. I wonder how deep his power reaches in the House of Night.