Naneow was already far ahead. Her pack bulged with emptied flasks hastily refilled with Lurium. The clinging smoke lingered behind, downing the last of the silver liquid.

"I feel uneasy," said Isaac.

Isaac's sudden shift in tone was jarring. A moment ago, he had been giddy, boasting that we no longer had to fear Demon Kings or goddesses.

"That thing isn't the problem. I feel the gaze of surveillance. We've touched the roots themselves. Accelerate speed," said Isaac, his voice now carrying gravity.

With a single powerful beat of his wings, the force of acceleration flowed into both me and the skeletal mount.

Paaat!

The steed surged forward. We'd flee as far as we could. Our goal was the fourth floor, where Naneow had secured the entrance. Thanks to our speed, the sticky smoke remained behind, still feasting on Lurium.

[The Skeleton Soldier has halted.]

Isaac muttered, "The hole in the heavens... it has appeared."

"What? Naneow Tropin has... stopped? What are these messages?"

A panicked voice rang out. The status window continued.

[The Skeleton Soldier has naturally halted. Since the skeletal mount stopped its steps as if it were obvious, the rider above had no choice but to stop as well.]

The skeletal mount had in fact stopped moving.

Hulp!

I could not stop. I leaped down from its back and stepped forward, before realizing something. "No... Isaac, this isn't the hole of the heavens you think it is."

It wasn't the status window. From the very beginning with Lady Succubus, the status window had never once lied.

I stopped? I had not.

[The Skeleton Soldier walked forward meaninglessly. No, this cannot even be called forward, for it will shatter like dust.]

"Naneow Tropin... realized too late that she regretted it. Regretted ever prying into imperial archives. Wouldn't it have been better to simply thank her postponed death and mix Lurium with narcotics at some foolish ratio to indulge instead? What is this...?"

"Don't be deceived! It's fake."

It wasn't forced.

[The Skeleton Soldier has halted.]

But I hadn't.

[The. Skeleton. Soldier. Has. Halted.]

I did not stop. Perhaps trusting me, Isaac and Naneow also tried to press forward.

"Wait, now—"

The moment Isaac tried to speak, the world froze. The golden sorcerer stiffened in place, mouth slightly open. The words commanding me to stop were ripped apart in midair. Through the tear, two humans appeared. Their expressions were blank, as if they'd always been standing there.

"Greetings."

"..."

Five simple marks overlaid together, visible on their arms. It was the same sigil as the one etched in the Ashen Knight's hologram. No, “etched” was the wrong word. It was a different layer revealed, one that I knew all too well. It hovered faintly, translucent above their flesh, like a status window.

I stiffened with wariness. Their faces felt disturbingly familiar. Though they stood right before me, their outlines blurred, so hazy I could barely register them. Not a trick or sight, or an optical illusion for that matter. The two stood side by side—ordinary, plain to the point of being forgettable. Their clothes were the same: worn tunics, yellowed coats that would not keep out the cold. The one behind wore only a rough outer wrap and a stiff linen shirt.

The woman in front frowned. Her features were slightly uneven, her eyes modest in size and without double eyelids. The man behind brushed at his eyebrows, neither thick nor thin. He moved his slightly misaligned lips, mouthing words silently. Faces that seemed almost familiar, yet impossible to remember if passed by on a street.

The woman clicked her tongue as she stepped toward the flasks. "Tsk..."

Her frown, her click, each was performed as though copied directly onto her face. A grotesque mimicry of expression, as if even the smallest habits of individuality were dislocated.

"To think it's already ruined this much."

Meanwhile, the sticky smoke still devoured Lurium in gluttonous silence. The two humans glanced at it, then shrugged faintly as if helpless.

"To appear here of all places."

"We'll have to reverse it."

"Of course. That's not the problem. This crow noticed us."

"What should we do?"

"Extract it."

"But... its influence is far too great."

"That isn't our concern. Stability matters more. The rest will be filled at random. Trust it."

The man produced a black sphere. "Authorization: Extraction."

Without resistance or reaction, the golden crow's radiance vanished. Its feathers dissolved, piece by piece, drawn into the black orb. I wanted to scream for them to stop, but I couldn't move.

Wiiiiiing...

I could feel it. What was being swallowed wasn't just the crow. A chilling concept pressed against me. The world itself was forcing me to forget Isaac.

What were they doing to me? What could I do? The unseen, the past, the traces, the history—Isaac's whole existence was reduced to something that had never been. That was the truth. That was the standard.

No! Desperately, I clung to my memory of him, but there was no stopping it. His presence was being erased with perfect transparency.

"Hmm... is the capacity too small?"

"Looks like it."

Half of Isaac was gone when the man behind them pulled out another orb. Into it, Naneow Tropin, who had built the T&T Guild, began to unravel, scattered and pulled away.

It felt the same as when Isaac was being consumed. Naneow's record was erased. Her past. Her present. The choices she had made and the countless choices she would have made, all shattered and sucked like dust into the black orb.

"Another... chance..."

As the sticky smoke closed in, I managed to force myself to move. I kept issuing commands to an arm that refused to obey. Slowly, I raised the hand clutching my sword. Piece by piece, my heavy self stirred.

Wiiiiing...!

The instant Naneow and Isaac were drawn away, I planted my foot and thrust the blade. The Sword Energy I had taken from Marquis Leandro, the shemale duke, and countless others, erupted forward.

Perhaps because of my desperation, or because the greatsword's reach was long, the azure arc stretched further still. A force sharp enough to tear anything to pieces burst toward the tunic-wearing woman.

"Hm?"

The blade pierced her stomach. Inside writhed scarlet intestines, twisting vividly around the wound, yet they were not severed. They did not spill from the gash wide enough to split her open. Instead, her innards contracted and relaxed, gripping the sword still lodged in her.

"..."

The blue aura froze in place. When I tried to pull the sword free, the woman flexed her abdomen. Her exposed entrails locked the massive blade in place.

She tilted her head, looking down at the sword, then back at me. "Why does he move?"

Then, she stretched out her hand. A black orb swallowed me whole. "Authorization: Absorption."

[Skill: Sword Energy Lv. 4 has been absorbed by the enemy.]

[Skill: Sword Energy Lv. 3 has been absorbed by the enemy.]

[Skill: Sword Energy Lv. 2...]

[Skill: Sword Energy Lv. 1...]

[Skill: Sword Energy has vanished.]

The azure light held within her entrails guttered out, like a candle burning its last.

[Skill: Swordsmanship Lv. 13 has been absorbed.]

[Skill: Swordsmanship Lv. 12...]

[Skill: Swordsmanship has vanished.]

The stance of holding my blade suddenly felt awkward. Even keeping my feet braced on the ground was a strain.

[Strength 3 absorbed.]

[Strength...]

[Agility...]

[Stamina...]

Kwang!

An unbearable weight crushed my wrist. A moment ago, I had swung the greatsword lightly with one hand. Now, I couldn't even grip it. I tumbled grotesquely to the ground. It wasn't because of the sword's weight, which wasn't even one-tenth of the armor I wore. The armor itself was too heavy to endure.

The tunic-clad woman, her entrails rhythmically flexing and relaxing, held Grassmere's greatsword aloft in the air with ease.

[Skill: Dual Sword Technique Lv. 5 absorbed.]

.

.

.

[Skill: Dual Sword Technique has vanished.]

[Skill: Lord of Bones Lv. 3...]

[Skill: Lord of Bones has vanished.]

[...absorbed.]

[...absorbed.]

[...absorbed.]

[...absorbed.]

[Skill: Wind Claw has vanished.]

[Skill: Leap has vanished.]

[Skill: Incurable Bloom has vanished.]

[Skill: Acid Lv. 5...]

[Skill: Acid has vanished.]

The power I had gained from the Kraken, the ability that had melted countless foes and dissolved obstacles, was gone.

[Skill: Suction Lv. 5...]

[Skill: Suction has vanished.]

The skill that had guided me through countless battles evaporated without a trace.

[Skill: Leap has vanished.]

[Skill: Material Refinement...]

[Skill: Fungal Harvesting...]

[Skill: Masquerade has vanished.]

I could no longer mimic Isaac or Leandro, ever again.

[Skill: Battle Cry has vanished.]

Feign Death, Tracking, Fear, Meditation, Forest Adaptation, Desert Adaptation, Enlightenment, Focus, Naneow's Antiquarianism, Purson's Doctrine, Yemera's Doctrine, Imperial Etiquette, Eastern Speech, Martial Arts, Adrian's Fighting Style, Accumulated Strikes, Light Armor Mastery, Heavy Armor Mastery, Reaper's Scythe Mastery, Archery, Scimitar, Ancient Tongue, Ground Warfare, were all gone.

My Strength and Wisdom were sucked into that black orb. Even the flames of awe I had once ignited...

[Skill: Flare has vanished.]

Even the dark power I had once embraced...

[Skill: Frost has vanished.]

[Skill: Wind Blast has vanished.]

[Skill: Frost Storm has dissolved.]

All of it vanished. When I finally managed to turn my head to the side, lying broken on the ground, there was no Naneow Tropin or Bel'Homec Isaac. Miyu had dispersed into dust as the summoning of the skeletal mount unraveled.

[Skill: Essence Absorption has vanished.]

The man behind them moved his lips.

"Huh, still here?"

"The main body remains. A glitch, perhaps... Well, let's start again."

My skull was still shielded by the heavy helm. Neither the woman nor the man laid a foot on me. Still, I knew more clearly than ever that this was the end.

Tick... tick... tick...

Pendulums swung in every direction, widening their arcs.

***

Swoosh...

It was silent. Was I dead...? Did I go back? But there was no storm raging, no thunder loud enough to rattle my skull. No Rubia, no Rena. No...

Clatter.

I felt nothing at all.

Detection...?

That was impossible.

Tak... tak.

I clicked my teeth.

Resurrected...?

Clatter.

My arm felt impossibly heavy. Outside, there was no sound.

It's dark...

Not a speck of light.

Tap.

I felt around. My hand brushed against solid wood at my side.

Tap.

I gathered my fingers and tapped around. Not even a sharp sound answered.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap... Tong.

I clenched my fist and struck. Only then did a louder sound ring, against what I now realized was the coffin. Yes, a coffin, dug into the grave. The sky above was open.

Tap.

But the sides were tight.

Tap. Tap.

My feet and head struck the ends when I stretched out fully. A dug-up grave. A coffin inside it. The memory was vivid. Isaac, Naneow, the sticky smoke of the imperial archives, I remembered it all.

Where... am I?

The coffin and grave looked no different from Erast's tomb, but the weather was strange. No storm. Not even a drop of rain. The sky, once split by constant lightning, now held neither star nor moon, only stillness.

Not the same day? Every time I had awoken from a coffin, the date had always been the same. There was no reason it should change.

Clatter... Clatter...

Grunting, I braced on the coffin's edge and forced myself upright. I felt very heavy, as though cursed. I could see nothing beyond the next step.

Flare...

"Flare... Flare..."

No response.

With a desperate heart, I whispered, "Status... Status Window."

Nothing appeared.

"Status Window."

Still nothing. Only black void.

"Status Window!"

I shouted until my skull rang. Finally, then, the status window appeared.

Ding!

[Skeleton Soldier Lv. 1 (1)

Health: 1

Strength: 1

Agility: 1

Wisdom: 1]

[Ultimate Class: Death Knight is unlocked.]

[Number of Destruction is in effect.]

[Current Purchase Power: 96.7%.]

"Wha... what is this...?"

All the Levels, all the Attributes I had built, were gone. Yet my memories remained intact.

Should I find Isaac? Naneow? Ask for their help? They can't really be gone, can they?

For now...

"Check skills."

I swallowed the unease clawing at me and opened the list. No... There was not even a list.

[Inventory Lv. ?]

"This... is all?"

Fweeeing...!

A desolate wind drove into my side. I sank down where I stood.

Fweeeing...

The wind carried dirt, shattered branches, and weeds. I lay there, beaten by them, unable to rise or resist.