As the expeditions continued forcing themselves deeper through the corrupted regions, the emotional pressure inside the advancing formations gradually began reaching its limit.

At first, it only appeared through quiet murmurs spreading between exhausted soldiers and mages. But eventually, the fear and anxiety they had desperately tried to suppress finally exploded openly.

One of the knights suddenly slowed his steps before finally stopping completely.

"What are we even doing anymore?" he shouted angrily beneath the storm.

The soldiers behind him also slowly stopped moving.

Another mage clenched his fists tightly while his face twisted with frustration and fear. He said, "Our kingdoms are under attack right now! Our families could already be dying while we keep running deeper into this wasteland!"

"We should go back!" another soldier shouted.

"Yes!"

"What if this entire mission is already pointless?"

"What if the capitals already fell?"

"We should spend whatever time remains with our families!"

"The world is doomed anyway!"

The tension finally snapped apart completely.

More expedition members gradually stopped moving. Fear and despair spread rapidly throughout the formation. Arguments erupted everywhere beneath the dark skies.

The expedition leader himself eventually slowed down as well. His expression looked deeply conflicted while he stared at the ground.

Inside his mind, thoughts of his wife and daughter immediately surfaced. Were they still alive? Had the creatures already reached their district?

Could he really continue moving forward while knowing his family might currently be dying without him there?

But at the same time, another thought continued crushing against his mind.

If they abandoned the fragments now... then what would happen to the world?

The expedition leader slowly closed his eyes for a moment while gripping his sword tighter. He wanted to go back. Gods, he wanted to go back more than anything right now.

But the mission still remained unfinished.

Before he could decide anything further, violent winds suddenly descended from above.

Erend landed heavily before the halted expedition while dust and loose stones exploded beneath his feet. His eyes immediately narrowed after seeing the stopped formation.

"What happened?" Erend asked sharply.

The expedition leader hesitated briefly before finally speaking. "They’re losing hope," he admitted heavily.

One of the soldiers immediately stepped forward. "We can’t keep doing this!" he shouted toward Erend. "Our families are back there while we keep chasing the fragments!"

"What’s the point of saving the world if everyone we love is already dead?" another mage asked bitterly.

"We should return now!"

The surrounding expedition members quickly voiced their agreement.

Erend remained silent while listening to all of them.

The anger, grief, fear, and desperation inside their voices felt painfully real.

Finally, Erend released a long heavy breath.

"We cannot return without the fragments," he said firmly.

The expedition members immediately quieted slightly.

Erend continued while looking at all of them one by one. "We need all the fragments to rewrite the Sky Anchor. If we fail here, then this world itself will eventually be destroyed."

"But what use is that if our families are already gone?" one knight asked with reddened eyes.

Those words immediately made the atmosphere turn heavier again.

Erend looked toward them with exhausted eyes. For a short moment, silence filled the canyon except for the roaring storm winds.

Finally, Erend spoke again.

"I’m sorry," he admitted quietly. "I should have seen this coming. Our enemy is far more clever and far more deceitful than I expected. We couldn’t predict his movements. But I promise you all this, I will make him pay for this," Erend continued while Dragon Magic flickered around his body

The expedition members lowered their heads while grief continued weighing heavily inside them.They understood the mission.

They understood that rewriting the Sky Anchor might be the only way to preserve the future of the world.

But imagining the loss of their families still hurt too much.

Then suddenly, the expedition leader slowly stepped forward.

His eyes no longer carried hesitation.

"We continue," he said firmly.

The surrounding soldiers immediately looked toward him.

The leader tightened his grip around his sword while staring toward the dark canyon ahead.

"If my family survives," he said quietly, his expression hardened further, "then I will return to them after saving this world. And if they don’t..." The man slowly inhaled deeply. "Then I will dedicate the rest of my life to making sure their deaths were not meaningless."

Silence spread throughout the expedition. The soldiers stared toward their leader and slowly began understanding the determination inside him.

It was the resolve of a man who had already accepted that he might lose everything but still chose to continue forward for the sake of everyone else who could still survive.

Gradually, one after another, the expedition members slowly tightened their grips around their weapons again.

Then finally, they resumed moving forward once more beneath the storm-filled skies.

Erend watched the expedition members continue moving forward again. A complicated feeling slowly surfaced inside his chest. Pride. Not because they were fearless or unwavering heroes untouched by despair.

But because despite their fear, despite the possibility that their families might already be dying far away in the kingdoms, they still chose to continue moving forward.

That decision carried far greater weight than simple bravery.

Erend slowly looked across the advancing soldiers and mages while storm winds whipped violently around him. Their expressions still looked pale. Their eyes still carried grief and anxiety. Yet none of them stopped walking anymore.

The Dragonborn slowly clenched his fists. Inside his heart, another promise quietly formed.

"I’ll make him pay for all of this," Erend thought heavily. "No matter what it takes."

The Void Architect had pushed these people into despair. He had turned entire kingdoms into battlefields and forced ordinary people to sacrifice everything for survival.

Erend would never forgive that.

Then suddenly, another thought appeared inside his mind. They were exhausted. Even with Magic reinforcement supporting their bodies, the expeditions had already pushed themselves beyond normal limits for too long. Fear and emotional exhaustion only made it worse.

If they continued like this, eventually their bodies would fail before they reached the fragments.

Erend slowly lowered his gaze toward his own hands while Dragon Magic flickered around his fingers.

Then his eyes narrowed slightly. Maybe...

He had never attempted something like this before. Dragonborn Magic was overwhelming and destructive by nature. It was not meant to support large groups continuously over long distances.

But right now, his determination burned stronger than hesitation.

Without warning, his Dragon Magic suddenly erupted more violently around Erend’s body.

The expedition members immediately looked up in shock. Then the Dragonborn slowly spread both arms.

The Dragon Magic surrounding him expanded rapidly across the skies before descending toward the advancing formations below like enormous flowing streams of bright crimson energy.

At first, the soldiers instinctively tensed. But the moment the energy touched them, their eyes widened. Warmth surged through their exhausted bodies. Strength immediately flooded back into their muscles while the crushing fatigue weighing down their limbs rapidly lessened. Their breathing became lighter.

The Dragonborn’s power had enveloped all of them.

The expedition leader looked down at his own glowing body in disbelief while red energy flowed faintly across his armor.

"What... is this?" one mage muttered in shock.

Erend remained hovering above them while maintaining the enormous output of Dragon Magic.

"We move faster now. Even faster than before!" Erend said firmly. The Dragonborn nodded at them.

Then the expeditions surged forward once more.

This time, they advanced with far greater speed than before while crimson Dragon Magic continued flowing around them.

—