Adam drifted closer to the colossal serpent skull, his crimson eyes glowing faintly in the oppressive dark. The sheer size of it still stole his breath, each cracked bone plate was thicker than his own torso, the empty eye sockets like bottomless wells. He reached out with one clawed hand, Trisense humming as he traced the surface.

Deep gouges and jagged fractures marred the ancient bone. Some looked like claw marks from something impossibly massive. Others were clean, almost surgical as if a weapon of pure fate or void had pierced straight through. Adam’s brow furrowed.

’What in the hells could kill something this big?’ he thought, a chill running down his spine. ’Even in my full Ouroboros form... I’d look like a snack next to this thing.’

Curiosity and practicality won out. He pried loose several large, intact bone fragments, sharp, dense, and humming with residual ancient power. These could be crafted into weapons, armor pieces, or catalysts later. With a quick motion, he stored them inside the Pouch of the Hoarding Gnome, the dimensional space swallowing the heavy bones without resistance.

As he turned to examine another section of the skull, something caught the corner of his eye, a violent, erratic flicker of light deep within one of the shattered eye sockets. It pulsed chaotically, like a dying star trapped in crystal, constantly threatening to explode.

Adam floated nearer, Prismatic energy glowing softly in his palm to illuminate the way. The light revealed it clearly now: a massive, fist-sized core hovering unsteadily inside the hollow orbit. It was shaped like a coiled serpent devouring its own tail, a perfect Ouroboros symbol forged from pure, crystallized mana. Yet this core was dangerously unstable. Its surface cracked and shifted constantly, leaking bursts of silver, void-black, and golden energy that warped and tore at the surrounding space. The air around it trembled and rippled, as if reality itself was barely containing its volatile power.

[Ancient Core of the World Tree Serpent (Mythical) ]

Warning: The core’s energy is extremely unstable and chaotic. Safe absorption or integration is only possible for beings of extremely high level and soul strength.

Adam’s crimson eyes narrowed. Even at his current strength, he could feel the terrifying pressure radiating from the core, like holding a miniature sun on the verge of supernova. A single wrong move and it could tear his soul apart.

He extended his hand slowly, claws trembling from the raw, unstable force. "Easy... don’t you dare blow up in my face," he growled under his breath, voice low and tense. "I’ve eaten worse things than you."

The moment his fingertips brushed the core’s surface, a violent surge of chaotic energy exploded up his arm, making his scales ripple violently and his Ouroboros vitality flare in desperate defense.

Adam’s jaw clenched hard. "Shit—! Hold it together, you bastard!" he snarled through gritted teeth as the core fought him, threatening to detonate right there in his palm.

For a split second the world seemed to warp and crack around him, then his high-level physiology and the Eternal Cycle skill clamped down like iron jaws, forcing the wild energy to stabilize just enough.

The core flared one final, blinding time before settling heavily into his palm, still pulsing dangerously but no longer on the brink of explosion.

Adam let out a shaky, relieved breath. "Heh... that’s right. You’re mine now." With a careful motion, he slipped the volatile relic into the Pouch of the Hoarding Gnome, where its chaotic aura was finally sealed away in dimensional storage.

A low, satisfied hum echoed through his body. He patted the Pouch of the Hoarding Gnome with a clawed hand and muttered to himself, voice echoing strangely in the void.

"Heh... didn’t expect to find something this good down here. Jackpot."

The thrill of the Mythical core still buzzed under his scales, but he quickly pushed the thought aside. Ignis came first. Always. He turned away from the ancient remains and pushed deeper into the crushing darkness, Trisense extended to its limit, crimson eyes scanning the endless black for any trace of her fiery presence.

As he drifted onward, the void around him began to change. Strange, half-sunken structures started appearing in the distance, twisted towers of obsidian and crystal, shattered temples floating upside-down, broken bridges that led nowhere, all slowly sinking into the black abyss like forgotten relics of a drowned civilization. The sight sent an involuntary shiver down his spine. It felt wrong. Ancient. Like he was walking through the graveyard of worlds that had already been judged and discarded by the Loom.

’This place... it’s not just a prison. It’s a tomb for everything the Loom deemed unworthy.’

The chill deepened, but Adam clenched his jaw and kept moving.

Then he felt it, a faint, familiar aura flickering weakly somewhere ahead. Warm. Fiery. Undeniably Ignis.

His heart leaped. Without hesitation, Adam shot forward through the darkness, wings of void and starlight flaring behind him.

"Ignis!" he shouted, voice booming through the void. "Ignis, where are you?!"

No answer. Only the oppressive silence of the abyss swallowed his call.

He didn’t stop. The aura grew stronger. Adam weaved between the sunken ruins, claws outstretched, until the darkness finally parted into a vast, empty chamber, a single, floating space of pure nothingness, like a bubble trapped inside the void.

And there she was.

Ignis lay curled up in the center of the empty chamber, her Blazeheart Dragon humanoid form looking strangely small and vulnerable. Her once-vibrant crimson hair had lost its fiery luster, falling limply over her shoulders. The golden horns that crowned her head were dull, and the small wings on her back were folded tightly against her. Her tail lay still, and the faint Solar Aura that usually radiated from her skin had faded to a weak ember glow. She looked exhausted, fragile, nothing like the energetic, fiery girl who always charged ahead with a grin.

Adam’s breath caught. He landed lightly a few meters away, heart hammering.

"Ignis..." he whispered, voice cracking with relief and worry.

Adam moved closer with careful steps, Trisense sweeping over her from head to tail. No visible wounds. Her breathing was steady, if shallow, and the faint warmth of her Solar Aura still lingered beneath her dull crimson scales. She was physically unharmed, just trapped in this unnatural, exhausted sleep.

"Ignis..." he whispered again, kneeling beside her massive draconic body. Gently, he placed one clawed hand on her shoulder, channeling a soft pulse of his own Ouroboros vitality through the touch. "Hey... wake up. It’s me. I’m here."

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then her eyelids fluttered. A weak spark of golden fire flickered across her scales. Slowly, Ignis’s eyes opened, bright golden irises still hazy with confusion and lingering fear. The moment her gaze focused on Adam, recognition hit her like a lightning bolt.

"Adam...?" Her voice cracked, small and disbelieving.

A wide, relieved grin broke across Adam’s face. "Yeah. It’s me."

Before she could say anything more, he pulled her into a tight, fierce hug, arms wrapping around her slender waist and back. His wings folded around them both, shielding her from the cold void.

"I’m sorry," he murmured into her scales, voice thick with emotion. "I’m so damn sorry for leaving you alone in that trial. I should’ve been there. I never should’ve let you face that mirror by yourself."

Ignis’s body trembled. A low, broken sob escaped her throat. Tears spilled from her eyes and sizzled softly against his chest.

"It’s not your fault..." she choked out, voice shaking as she pressed her snout against him. "It’s mine... I was the one who failed. I was too weak... too arrogant. I thought I could beat my own reflection easily. I thought I was strong enough... but I couldn’t even win against myself. I let that stupid mirror swallow me. I’m the one who got trapped here... because I’m still just a weak little lizard."

Her sobs grew heavier, body curling tighter around Adam as if afraid he would vanish again.

"I was so scared... I thought you’d never come. I thought I’d be stuck here forever...."