’Huh?’

The exit was gone, replaced by nothing in particular. As Eric moved forward in a frenzy, he was immediately sent flying backward. Priscilla did the same thing, completely out of her right mind, only to be sent flying backward as well.

Rohan, on the other hand, just frowned, trying to pinpoint exactly what was going on.

’Is this Zul’Kharath’s doing?’ he thought, feeling no remorse for his teammates who were currently trapped under a hunger illusion.

He was also caught in the same hunger illusion, but he was able to control it. He still had no idea what was happening, but his intuition told him something was playing a sick hunger game with them.

’Why does everything feel so haphazard?’

Being constrained to act like someone who was weak annoyed Rohan deeply, but he had no other choice... for now.

Eric stood up and started thrashing around wildly, while Priscilla shook her head and coughed. She slowly walked up to Rohan, her brow furrowed.

"What’s... What’s happening? Why do I feel so hungry?"

’I guess she’s able to control it better than Eric.’

Rohan sighed. "I think there’s something in this cave with us."

Priscilla frowned, casting a grim glance at Eric before turning back to Rohan. "I think so too. How do we stop him from thrashing around?"

Rohan shook his head. "I have no idea."

"Alright then," Priscilla said, her tone growing decisive. "To get out, we have to get rid of the source."

Priscilla’s determination was strong, but her physical state was rapidly deteriorating. Her breath was short, and though she was keeping the ravenous hunger from entirely driving her mad like Eric, the effort was draining the last of her remaining essence.

"To get out, we have to get rid of the source," she repeated, her fingers tightening around the hilt of her sword.

Rohan kept his face carefully blank, masking the cold calculation running through his mind. ’Go ahead and try,’ he thought bitterly. ’The source isn’t something you can just slice through.’

"Well, considering what is happening to Eric, I don’t think this thing is something we can just slice through," Rohan said politely.

"You have a point, but we have to try, don’t we?" she asked, a forced smirk appearing on her face.

Rohan shrugged. "Yes..."

’Now you smirk. You conniving—’

"Uhm, Rohan," Priscilla called out, her expression softening into something somber. "I’m sorry for being hard on you. I just wanted to try and establish a good team. But it led to the death of two Hunters... and I’m to blame."

Rohan forced himself not to roll his eyes and offered a small smile.

"Don’t blame yourself, Priscilla. We all knew the risks when we stepped into the Frontier," Rohan said, his voice the perfect blend of soft reassurance and mild exhaustion.

Internally, he remained entirely cold. Her apology meant nothing to him, but maintaining his cover as a reliable, harmless commoner was vital. If she was feeling guilty, she was distracted... and a distracted hunter was less likely to notice his true capabilities when things inevitably went wrong.

Priscilla let out a slow breath, nodding slightly as she tried to steady her grip on her weapon. "Thank you, Rohan. But remorse won’t open a path out of here. We have to keep moving."

Just then, Eric suddenly stopped thrashing and glanced around, looking exhausted. "Argh, I can’t control this hunger. I’m going to run mad. And you guys couldn’t stop me?"

Rohan smiled faintly. "Glad you’re back. Take a deep breath, Eric. You can control the hunger."

Eric scoffed and scratched his head.

"To reduce it, you have to stop panicking," Rohan explained calmly.

Priscilla raised an eyebrow. "So you’re saying the more we panic, the weaker we get, and the more vulnerable we are to whatever is in this cave?"

Rohan nodded. "Yes."

Eric took a deep, shaky breath, trying to calm his racing heart. The intense burning in his stomach began to settle into a dull, manageable ache. "Alright. I’m good. I can hold it together."

"Good," Priscilla said, her grip tightening on her sword. "If the hunger is an illusion meant to drain us, then standing still won’t help either. We need to move. The entity controlling this domain must be deeper inside."

Rohan shrugged slightly, keeping up his weak appearance. "Lead the way."

The three of them turned away from the blocked exit and began walking down the dark path, their footsteps echoing quietly against the damp stone walls. They kept walking deeper, but found no trace of the source. After a while, they stopped to take a break. Behind them was nothing but darkness, and in front of them lay the exact same void.

They had been walking for quite a while now.

"Is this cave endless or something?" Eric groaned. "I can’t feel my legs."

Rohan sighed, while Priscilla simply frowned. "Let’s keep going."

With grunted efforts, they continued their journey.

***

Rohan tried to slide under the creature’s scales but was immediately slammed aside. In that agonizing split second, he saw Eric pinned to the wall, dead, and Priscilla’s head rolling off her body as she knelt lifelessly in front of the monster.

He slammed hard into the cavern wall, the impact knocking a heavy chandelier loose and causing a loud rumble. He coughed up mouthfuls of blood.

When he opened his eyes, the last thing he saw rushing toward him was a pair of massive, gleaming fangs.

Rohan died.

***

"Down!" Priscilla barked.

The avalanche of stone slammed into the upper roof of her glacial barrier. The sound was like a rapid sequence of thunderclaps as the massive boulders cracked violently against the reinforced ice.

The pressure was immense, threatening to shatter her construct, but the ice held just long enough. The momentum propelled the three of them forward, sending them skidding wildly down the frozen incline at a terrifying speed, directly toward the jagged face of the forested peaks.

A dark, gaping maw appeared in the cliffside ahead—a hidden cavern entrance obscured by the giant roots of the swamp trees. With a final, desperate surge of her essence, Priscilla detonated the ice ramp behind them.

The resulting localized blast threw them forward, launching them through the air and directly into the mouth of the dark cave. A split second later, the massive rockslide reached the base of the peak, completely burying the entrance under a mountain of impenetrable granite.

The light of the First Jianghu was instantly extinguished.