The team got together once again after dealing with their respective sides.

As the group caught their breath, Mikhail kept looking toward the horizon.

The silhouette of the strange building kept reflecting the sun’s light.

It was tall; dark walls rose from the black sand, partially crumbled but still imposing.

A single tower leaned slightly, like a broken finger pointing at the sky.

The others quickly noticed Mikhail’s behavior and looked toward the horizon as well.

"A building..." Stella whispered, adjusting her glasses. "In a place like this? Do you think other people got trapped here before us?"

"Or maybe it’s where these things came from," Nelly said quietly, gripping her bow tighter.

Mikhail stared at the structure for a long moment.

The rotten scent in the air seemed slightly stronger in that direction, but not overwhelming.

It could be a trap, but it could also be their best lead so far.

"Whatever it is, it’s the only thing we’ve seen that isn’t just black sand and dead trees," he said. "We should check it out."

Mikhail glanced at Aleena for any sort of emotion, but the girl was as stoic as before.

’Either she knows we are in the right direction, or maybe she is just a bum.’ 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

James frowned. "You sure? It could be full of those headless bastards."

"Better than walking blindly forever," Bert replied. "At least we’ll have walls at our back if we need to fight."

Mikhail planted the spear in the sand and addressed the group.

"Patrick, send your owl to scout from above. Bert, you will be the second scout. Look around the area and inform immediately if something is amiss. The rest will stay together."

The others nodded. For the first time since Jasper died, they looked like a real team.

They began walking toward the lonely building.

As they got closer, the details became clearer.

The building was made of dark stone that seemed to absorb the orange sunlight.

Cracks ran along the walls, and parts of the roof had caved in.

Strange symbols were carved above what looked like the main entrance.

"It doesn’t look completely ruined," Stella observed. "Someone built this... a long time ago maybe."

"Or something," Patrick muttered.

They stopped about fifty meters away.

Bert vanished into stealth once more and slipped forward to investigate.

Several tense minutes passed.

When Bert reappeared, his face was serious.

"No movement outside," he reported. "But I heard something from inside... faint gurgling. There might be a few of them wandering in there."

"Veltam didn’t find anything on the outside," Patrick informed them as well. "It looks like there isn’t anything inside."

With two contradictory pieces of information, Mikhail couldn’t help but frown in confusion.

He took a deep breath and said, "Let’s move closer and check it out."

With Mikhail leading the way, the group advanced toward the dark, silent building under the unchanging orange sun.

As they crossed the broken threshold, the temperature dropped noticeably.

The air inside felt heavier, thicker with the smell of rot and dust.

Once they reached the building, Mikhail gestured for them to stop.

He carefully tried to hear if there was any sound from inside, but even after a few minutes, he heard nothing.

"I think it’s safe to enter," Mikhail said, glancing back. "But be extra careful."

The team moved carefully through the broken entrance.

The grand hall inside was surprisingly large, with high ceilings and thick stone pillars that had started to crack over time.

Dim orange light filtered in through gaps in the roof, casting long, eerie shadows across the dusty floor.

Mikhail kept the spear raised, eyes scanning every corner.

Methew walked silently beside him, ears twitching at the slightest noise.

The rest of the group stayed close together.

They moved deeper into the hall.

Broken pieces of furniture and shattered pottery littered the ground.

Strange symbols covered some of the walls, faded but still visible.

Mikhail narrowed his eyes as he looked at those symbols closely.

He felt like he had seen them somewhere before.

"It’s Elvish!" Stella suddenly cried. "It’s the language of elves!"

When everyone turned to look at her, she suddenly felt embarrassed. "I-I learned the Elvish language as a hobby."

"Can you tell me what they mean?" Mikhail requested in a polite tone.

"I can try," she replied, walking closer.

Mikhail remained close by as the rest of the group began to look around.

They didn’t find anything else in the place, so they returned to the main hall.

After about fifteen minutes, Stella completed her observation.

She walked toward the rest and said in a confused tone, "It seems like a warning."

"What?" Mikhail asked with a frown.

"It mentions something about ’Sun Devourer’ and ’vessels that walk without heads.’" she whispered in a soft tone.

"It warned not to think about it so as not to turn mad."

Mikhail frowned when he heard that, and he couldn’t help but make his own speculation.

’Looks like this place was some sort of hiding spot or a barrier to keep those inside safe from "it".’

He wanted to think about it more, but he wisely stopped himself.

’I just heard the warning. I am not stupid enough to do what was stated not to.’

Mikhail clapped his hands to get the attention of his teammates.

"We will be walking toward the sun once again," he said in a deep voice. "That’s still our best bet."

The others nodded and began to move out of the building.

Mikhail gave the building one last look before he took a step forward.

But at that very instant, he felt a prickling pain in his finger.

Before he could understand anything, the Artifact of Destruction got triggered once again.

He fell on his knees as his vision turned blurry.

Mikhail then ’saw’ a completely different world filled with trees and a clear sky.

Elves lived in this place, spending their everyday lives in happiness.

Then he ’saw’ the sun turning orange slowly.

One day, a headless monster appeared out of the sun and corrupted everything.

Mikhail ’saw’ the monster kill everyone and everything within the world.

He ’saw’ pure destruction, and then his vision returned as he found himself surrounded by his teammates.

"Mikhail!"

"Mikhail!!"

They tried to help him as Stella was ready to use her healing.

Mikhail raised his hand and said softly, "I am fine."

Though from the inside, he was anything but fine.

As he remembered the headless monster, a single thought appeared in his mind.

’....Outer God.’