Hayes stepped up beside Ethan, her face stiff with shock, as though what she was seeing refused to fit into anything she had ever been taught. For a long moment she said nothing, just stared out at the empty stretch of the third layer, her disbelief written plainly in her eyes.

Ethan noticed her expression and tilted his head slightly. "Isn’t this how it’s supposed to be?"

She shook her head slowly, almost reluctantly, like she wished she were wrong. "No. The ancestral records say the opposite. The third layer should be richer than the second, more energy, stronger celestial beasts, more relics. A lot more. Our ancestors who died in the ancient wars left behind treasures, heirlooms, things meant for those who came after. But this place..." She swept her gaze across the barren surroundings, her shoulders sinking. "It’s like everything’s been stripped clean."

Ethan followed her gaze for a moment, then dismissed it just as quickly. Whatever had happened here had nothing to do with him. "Then we move on to the fourth layer."

He looked straight ahead, his eyes fixed on a direction only he seemed certain of. When he had first entered, he had already checked the jade token, and it pointed clearly toward the next gateway. That was all that mattered. Whether the third layer had been emptied or looted to the bone was irrelevant. His path only went forward.

Hayes hesitated. "The fourth layer..." There was a flicker of longing in her eyes, quickly buried under caution as she turned to him. "That’s not somewhere we can just walk into."

"Why not?"

"Because every two layers mark a jump in difficulty," she explained, her voice steady but strained. "The third layer is already considered intermediate. The fourth is a threshold, the same way the second layer was before this. The first layer in each tier gives you some breathing room, like where we lived. But the second layer was already dangerous, and the fourth..." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "It’s worse. Much worse. The records say only prodigies can enter and survive. Anyone else is just walking to their death."

She fell silent after that, the weight of her own words settling over her. Hayes could feel the pull of that next layer, the temptation to keep climbing, to chase the end of the trial like the heroes in the stories she had grown up hearing. But she also knew exactly who she was. A healer, not a warrior. Even if she had chosen a combat path, her talent would not carry her through something like that. The fourth layer would not challenge her, it would erase her.

"No entry unless you’re a prodigy?" Ethan let out a quiet chuckle, glancing at her with a faint, knowing smile. "So you’re not going?"

Hayes opened her mouth, then closed it again. The answer was there, but saying it out loud made it real.

Ethan didn’t push her. Instead, he turned to the others. "What about you guys?"

Their reactions were written all over their faces. Ginger’s hesitation was the most obvious, her eyes flicking between Ethan and Hayes, while Onyx kept glancing at Ginger as if her decision would decide his own. Ethan caught that and almost laughed. The girl really had no intention of thinking for himself.

Before anyone else could speak, Hayes made her choice. "You can go if you want," she said quietly from behind Ethan. "But I can’t. I have responsibilities. If something happens to me..." She trailed off, then forced herself to finish. "Our people won’t survive here."

They had all grown up hearing the same stories, about the Divine Sea Temple, about the trials, about those who climbed higher and higher in pursuit of the so-called supreme throne. It was a dream shared by everyone born into this place. But Hayes understood something the others didn’t like to think about. If she left and didn’t come back, it wouldn’t matter what she achieved. Even if she completed the trial, even if she gained her freedom, even if she reached the very top, she wouldn’t return. And without her, the tribe would lose its only healer. In a place with no real medicine, barely any herbs, where even a serious wound could mean death, that loss would be catastrophic.

"Fine. I’m not going either," Ginger said at last, letting out a long breath, as though she had been holding it in for too long.

"Same here," Onyx added immediately, without a trace of hesitation now that her decision was clear.

"Us too." Brock and Vale exchanged a glance before speaking together, their voices firm.

Riley stared at them like they had lost their minds. "Are you all idiots? Why aren’t you going? This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Stick with him and we might actually make it out! My grandpa always said, climb as high as you can, even if you die trying!"

She waved her fist, completely fired up, her energy spilling out in every direction.

Ethan rolled his eyes. He got what she meant, but the way she said it made him sound like some kind of lucky charm people were supposed to cling to. Still, he couldn’t deny that he liked her grandfather’s philosophy. Climb as high as you can. Whether you lived or died wasn’t the point. What mattered was how far you got before the end.

In the end, only Riley chose to follow him.

Ethan didn’t try to persuade anyone else. Everyone had their own path to walk. If they had decided to keep following him, he wouldn’t have turned them away. But if they chose to stop here, that was their decision. He had no obligation to change their minds.

Hayes, however, kept glancing at Ginger, Brock, Vale, and Onyx, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t quite bring herself to do it. The silence stretched until Brock finally broke it.

"Hey, don’t look at us like that," he said, scratching the back of his head. "We grew up together. Your grandpa took care of all of us. I might not be the smartest guy around, but I know one thing. If you’re safe, the tribe’s safe. So wherever you go, we go."

It was a simple statement, but it landed with surprising weight. The others nodded along without hesitation.

Hayes trembled slightly, her eyes turning red as she struggled to keep her composure.

"Hey, don’t start crying," Vale said, walking over and lifting a hand to pat her shoulder.

For once, Hayes didn’t flinch away from him. Vale froze for a split second, clearly surprised, before gently bringing his hand down.

She gave a small, grateful smile. "Alright. Let’s search this place. Maybe something’s still left."

"Got it."

"Yeah, let’s at least send Ethan and Riley off properly," Brock added with a laugh.

"Leaving already?"

The voice came from the entrance, cold and sharp, like it had been forced through clenched teeth. "Who... took my opportunity? Who claimed the first baptism?"

Riley’s face drained of color. "Oh no... it’s Zatan! The portal must have opened and he sensed it!"

The others stiffened immediately, tension snapping into place like a drawn bowstring. Ethan didn’t understand why they were so afraid of this guy. He had thought they might avoid him altogether. Apparently not.

A massive figure stepped through the light of the gate.

Ethan stared at him for a second... then burst out laughing.

There was no holding it back. The man looked like he had been carved out of blocks. His head was perfectly square, his ears square, his eyes, nose, and mouth all rigidly shaped, and his body followed the same unnatural geometry. Arms and legs, straight and angular, like something that didn’t belong in the real world.

Zatan froze, his expression darkening. "Who are you? And what’s so funny?"

Ethan wiped at his eyes, still grinning. "Your savior, obviously. And I’m laughing at you. What happened, were you born like that or did someone build you piece by piece?"

The reaction was immediate. The air seemed to tighten as Zatan’s expression twisted with rage. Hayes and the others all winced slightly. They had forgotten to warn Ethan. There were some things you just didn’t say to a person, especially not to their face.

"You’re dead," Zatan said, his voice low and shaking with fury.

Ethan’s smile faded, replaced by something colder. "The last person who told me that is buried so deep no one remembers his name."

Zatan didn’t waste another word. He lunged forward, his square fists cutting through the air with frightening speed.

Ethan didn’t even look at him. Instead, he glanced sideways at Hayes. "Can I kill him?"

The question hit harder than the attack itself, leaving the others momentarily stunned.

Before Hayes could answer, Zatan roared, "You think you can ignore me? Bloodlust, activate!"

A surge of power exploded from him. His movements sharpened instantly, faster, stronger, more aggressive, his entire body pushed to its limits at the cost of his defenses.

Ethan watched the shift with calm interest, then clenched his fist.

’Panther Form. Rend, condensed.’

A sharp sound cut through the air as three blade-like extensions formed along his hand, solidifying from condensed energy rather than being released as a skill.

"Don’t!" Hayes shouted at the last second.

Ethan moved anyway. He ducked under Zatan’s punch, the force of it cracking through empty space as if it had struck something solid. At the same time, his arm swept upward, the blades already aligned with Zatan’s chest. At Hayes’s shout, he adjusted slightly, shifting the angle just enough.

The sound of tearing flesh followed.

Three deep gashes opened across Zatan’s ribs, blood spilling instantly.

The entire exchange lasted no more than a heartbeat. Zatan staggered back, clutching his side, his face a mix of shock and disbelief, while Ethan stepped away as if nothing had happened.

"This... this has to be the baptism," Zatan growled, his eyes burning with resentment. "No one should be able to hurt me like that otherwise."

"Zatan, stop," Hayes said quickly, stepping between them. "You can’t beat him. He’s a prodigy-tier trial-taker from Earth."

She wasn’t defending Ethan. She was saving Zatan.

Zatan blinked, his anger faltering as he stared past her at Ethan. "From Earth?"

The way he looked at him changed completely, shifting into something unsettling, something that made Ethan’s skin crawl.

"What are you staring at?" Ethan snapped. "Keep looking like that and I’ll take your eyes out."

Zatan suddenly burst into laughter, throwing his head back. "This is perfect. Hayes, you’ve done well. The young clan lord will reward you for this."

He removed his hand from his wound as if it no longer mattered.

Ethan frowned, his gaze dropping to Zatan’s ribs. The blood was still there, but the gashes themselves were already closing, the flesh knitting together at an unnatural speed.

Before he could say anything, the entrance flared again.

This time, it wasn’t just one person stepping through. It was many.