The [Mirage Dream Catcher], an artefact resembling a snow globe containing a storm of gold, appeared floating in front of him.

Samael stared at the orb for too long given the urgency of the matter, but still, no matter how much he thought, he couldn’t help but hesitate.

The thing contained within the orb was... horrifying.

But it had to be done. Or else, they were all screwed.

’Open!’ he roared in his mind.

A loud click! echoed, and suddenly—

WHOOSH!

—it felt like the world grew darker. But at the same time, it also felt like it became so bright that all became blind to it.

The strange dance of light and darkness flash-banged both Korynth and Samael, so much so that the latter had his focus entirely broken, and he accidentally let his control over his abilities and tools slip.

But weirdly enough, nothing happened.

The anchor remained, the terraformed hall remained, and the Mirage creature... remained as well.

"...?"

Samael’s vision cleared and his eyesight adjusted, just in time to catch the large and looming shadow that sped past him and toward the [Ashen Anchor].

Of its form, he saw nothing but a slithering shadow that travelled through space at untold speed. It was like he’d blinked, and it had already reached the singularity.

Finally still, he was able to make out more of the creature’s details and shape. And so was Korynth.

They saw a tall and thin figure wearing silver robes, shrouded by a thick veil of ivory and obsidian mist of light.

From the figure’s back, long and vast white-feathered wings spread out, filling nearly the entire hall with their dominion.

The creature had an aura deeper than the deepest seas and broader than the most unfathomable skies. It carried no weight, yet cut so deep it touched the root of their souls.

Merely looking at the creature made Korynth fall to her knees, tears streaming from her vacant eyes as her mouth hung open and her mind fell into a horrid nightmare.

A nightmare born from all her sins and regrets.

"..."

The Mirage creature, The Fallen Muse of Ithuril—born of one of Uriel’s twisted dreams and nightmares—looked back at the duo, its deep crimson eyes peering past its veil.

Within that gaze, there was nothing but pure and absolute apathy, hiding an inferno of wrath so intense it could only be called madness—a form of primal anger so corrupted it rang like the call of an ancient horror.

"..." The Mirage creature nodded at Samael, then looked back at the singularity. It stepped forward and... vanished, fusing and disappearing into the folds of the grain-sized bead the anchor had become.

PAH!

A loud, whip-like noise echoed—and then... silence.

The air was silent, unnaturally so, and even the atmospheric flows of elemental energy in the hall stood frozen, almost as if they too had been locked down by the Mirage’s presence.

And then slowly, as the silence stretched on, the gears of the world began to spin once more, properly churning back into motion.

The filter of endless darkness and blinding radiance that had taken over the hall faded as everything settled.

"...!"

Korynth snapped out of her trance, and Samael finally breathed again, the crushing pressure vanishing in a single beat.

He collapsed to his knees in a cold sweat.

His heart thundered in his chest, the taste of metal thick in his mouth as he heaved and gasped for oxygen.

The cadence of his heartbeat was so violent that his body shook and trembled, though it was hard to tell whether it was that alone or the deep fear layered beneath it.

"Y-you okay?" Surprisingly, it was Korynth who turned to him first, recovering rapidly and approaching to check on him.

She wiped the tears and slobber from her face and crouched in front of him, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him lightly.

"Hey?"

Samael stared into empty air for a while. He found it odd that Korynth was so cordial, he’d found it odd from the very beginning.

But at the moment, he didn’t have the energy to care.

"Yeah. I’m fine." Samael sighed and rose to his feet as she helped him up. "Sorry, that was a necessary sacrifice."

Korynth nodded but didn’t ask what the Mirage was or what purpose it served. She simply accepted it and moved on.

The trust she showed unsettled Samael even more, but he pushed it down.

"Now, we should be good to go."

She turned away from him, staring at the Ashen Anchor.

"You’re not sure?" she asked, eyeing the structure. It was an ingenious blend of technique and creativity, the type of which she rarely had seen.

Samael wouldn’t know it, but merely seeing him activate his abilities—and their sheer scale and potential—told Korynth a lot about his foundation and sparks.

What kind of G-Ranker could control space to such a degree? Wield such powerful abilities? Command such creatures?

And though Samael had tried to hide it, she knew he had two cores? something she found almost as shocking as the fact that he could control void flames like he had on the omega floor.

He was full of secrets, and unfortunately, he was revealing them all to her.

"No, I’m not," Samael shook his head. "But I said so at the beginning. This is the best I can do. And it’s the best you can do."

"If it doesn’t work and we die while crossing the hall, perhaps that’ll be mercy compared to what happens if Kael catches us."

Her gaze narrowed, almost imperceptibly. That sounded oddly defeatist, especially for him.

"What about Uriel? Your brother?"

Samael paused. Then he said nothing.

"..."

He stared at the distant gate and took a step forward. Then another. And another.

He slowly crossed the no man’s land between the tunnel exit and the bronze hall—now turned into his ashen haven—his back straight, his steps steady, his gaze fixed on the gate.

Life or death, none of it mattered as long as he tried.

’As long as I lit myself on fire, as long as I had the courage to face the flames... whether I collapse to ashes or melt into clear glass doesn’t matter.’

The faintest edges of his will—still juvenile, still embryonic—manifested as a faint outline of a crown appeared atop his head.

His Demi-God Path stirred, and almost as if syncing with him, each step he took forward—toward possible death or glorious victory, the truth unknown until too late—pushed his path forward as well, inching toward the lofty and true God ranks.

His aura grew by the second, and each step sent ripples across the ground, as if he walked on water rather than ash, sand, and steel.

And then, finally, he left the no man’s land, his bare and bloodied feet touching the true floor of the hall.

TOH!

The sound was like a droplet falling into a vast, still body of water; muted, yet echoing across the endless plane.

Runes flashed around Samael, the formation threatening to activate and annihilate him, but with a mere shudder of the Ashen Anchor, the runes collapsed into streams of ash that drifted with the cold air.

Samael snapped out of his dazed state and grinned wildly.

"I did it!"

Not far behind, Korynth sighed in relief, shaking her head as she quickly moved to catch up.

"Somehow."

...

Nothing stood in their way, and within minutes, they reached the massive gate of ancient black steel, the only thing untouched by his gourd.

Samael and Korynth stood shoulder to shoulder at its base, gazing up at its vastness. But they didn’t linger.

Samael took out the droplet of ’true’ blood Kael had given Korynth and smeared it across the cold steel.

According to her, doing so would bypass the final layer of defense and lead them to their destination.

And it did.

Samael’s hands trembled, his breaths quickening. He couldn’t believe they’d made it. He was a single step away, a single wall away.

He would finally get his brother back.

Tears welled in his eyes as he smeared the last of the blood across the surface. Immediately, the gate trembled, glowing with a deep emerald light before collapsing inward and beginning to open.

WHOOOSH!

Harsh winds infused with violent streams of elemental aether rushed past them, so powerful they were forced to slide back several meters.

Samael raised a forearm to shield his eyes, his long ashen-grey hair whipping wildly in the storm. He squinted, trying to see what lay beyond.

’...what?’

Unsurprisingly—and almost amusingly, if not for the situation—it was another hall.

But perhaps calling it that was wrong. It was simply...

’Empty? What?!’

And in the center of that dark, empty void stood a coffin of old oak, sealed shut by countless runes, chains, and materials of all kinds.

Thorned vines coiled tightly around it.

The coffin floated in the void.

"..." Samael stepped forward, knees shaking, mouth dry as—

"Oh." A voice echoed, just as a shadow loomed over them.

"It seems I’ve made it in time."

It was Kael’s voice.