Gail stared intently at the writings and runes sprawled across the floor, his expression tightening with concentration as he studied each marking. The symbols were intricate, and carved with purpose, yet time had eroded their crity.

  Crouching down, he ran his fingers over the worn etchings, tracing their patterns in an attempt to find any resembnce to the runes of the mortal realm. But these weren’t magical sigils—no enchantments hummed beneath his touch. They were words. A message was left behind.

  Muttering under his breath, he pieced together what little he could decipher:

  "Lord of water… no, seas. I’ve come once again as I am descending… madness. Forgive me, my humble master… for I committed the greatest sin…"

  Beyond that, the rest was indecipherable. The runes, though deliberate, had deteriorated into jagged scratches, their meaning lost to time. Yet he was certain—this was an ancient tongue, far older than any he had encountered before.

  Maybe if Rita were here, transting these runes would've been much easier. Compared to her, Gail was nothing but an amateur.

  “What sin?” Valentine asked, intrigued.

  “I am not sure. The rest of the writings are unclear.” Gail answered as he moved to the next part of the magic circle.

  In all his years as an enchanter—which were not many—Gail had never thought he would ever get to see magical mechanisms this complex and ancient. He found everything fascinating.

  Especially the spatial magic that transformed the blood tower into a dungeon.

  This infamous sort of sorcery could finally create a bridge between the Human Realm and the Divine Realm. If they learned any of this, humanity could travel beyond and put an end to this ongoing apocalypse.

  He stepped into the center of the room and looked up. The beacon's light, glowing from the tower’s peak, bathed the interior in a soft, ethereal radiance, casting long, shifting shadows. The illumination gave the space an almost angelic feel as if it existed between the heavens and the earth.

  Tall white pilrs stretched toward the ceiling, their smooth surfaces reflecting the beacon’s glow. Unlike the siege tower on the previous floor, this Tower had no staircase leading upward—only an empty expanse, as if daring those who entered to find another way forward.

  While he was in here, Gail could feel his two Soul Gates trembling from just the presence of this pce—as if he wasn’t allowed to be here.

  The others must’ve felt like this too, right?

  "Calm down, Silverman. It’s nothing major. Humans aren’t allowed in many pces anyway."

  He brushed aside his frustration and steadied himself at the center of the circle, arms outstretched. Taking a slow breath, he closed his eyes and, with a mere thought, unlocked his first gate.

  At once, streams of pale blue fmes flickered to life, flowing from his body like liquid energy. The ethereal fire coiled around him before cascading into the teleportation circle below, seeping into the intricate engravings like veins filling with blood. He guided the zenshi carefully, watching, waiting—searching for any sign of reaction.

  For a moment, nothing happened.

  Then—

  "Urgh…"

  A sudden wave of nausea smmed into him. His stomach twisted as the circle greedily devoured his zenshi, drinking in the energy like a starved beast awakening from slumber. The familiar humming of mystical energy almost made Gail shiver now that he was aware of what was on the other side.

  Whether they lived or died didn’t matter to him; as long as they push humanity further then they will never be forgotten.

  His reasons for doing all of this were simply because he was told to. The government leaders thought that this was a great way for him to improve his unique Aura and figure out his limits.

  But as time passed, Gail learned that he was still too weak to even think of limitations. Everyone in this room was much stronger than him…especially Lunaris. He had his guesses before. And after seeing her call for a forged weapon, Gail was sure about Lunaris’s hidden power.

  His thoughts came to an abrupt halt as the realization sank in—he was too weak to activate the teleportation circle alone.

  "Everyone... I need you to channel your energy into the circle. Mine isn’t enough," he called out, his voice heavy with exhaustion.

  Without hesitation, Darkness, Snow, and Lena stepped forward, weaving their zenshi into the circle. Their combined power surged into the engravings, causing the entire formation to emit a ghostly silver glow.

  But instead of opening a portal, something else happened.

  Tendrils of silver light slithered from the circle, tching onto the hands of everyone feeding it energy. Gail’s breath hitched as he watched the eerie strands wrap around him.

  Then—shock!

  A sharp gasp tore from his throat as the tendrils connected with his skin, sending a pulse of energy rippling through his body—straight to his soul.

  They were searching for something.

  Deep within him, his two soul gates stirred, reacting to the foreign force scanning him, probing his very essence for answers.

  And when it was done—

  The Ivory Tower vanished.

  ***

  Luna watched everyone who stepped into the magic circle disappear once they were touched by the silver tendrils.

  Her expression was bleak, hiding the mountain resolve she had built up until this moment. Valentine too joined the group and accepted the energy tendrils, leaving only Len and herself behind.

  Her sister was standing in the circle but the tendrils hadn’t finished doing what they were supposed to do.

  “Are you coming?” she offered her hand to Luna. But the small girl didn’t take it.

  Instead, she sighed heavily and said, “I am not coming with you. There is something I need to do on that floor.”

  Lena instinctively pulled her hand back, her thoughts scrambling for words. She was about to speak when something made her breath hitch.

  Her eyes widened. Her hands trembled.

  Luna!

  The color had returned to her face as if she hadn’t been coughing up blood just minutes ago. The realization struck like a bolt of lightning, and Lena quickly pieced it together.

  "You’re so full of life… Qi." Her voice was barely above a whisper, but the weight behind it was immense. Then, as if the truth had finally clicked into pce, her lips parted in shock. "You can use Qi. Storm Rider can use Qi too. Oh my gods…"

  Luna let out a weak, breathy ugh, nodding slightly. 'Finally'

  “I’ll expin everything when we return to the real world," she said, her tone firm but tired. "Please, wait for reinforcements or Storm Rider. Don’t do anything reckless… please.”

  Lena sighed, exhaling the tension in her chest. Then, she smiled. "Don’t die on me." As the older sister, she was worried sick, of course. But she had also seen enough to know that Luna was much tougher than she looked.

  Luna smirked faintly, despite her exhaustion. “I’ve survived too much in one subjugation. Do you really think I’d die now?”

  Lena chuckled softly. “Hehe… If you do, I’ll have to wear the mantle of ‘worst older sister’ for the rest of my life. And we won’t have that strawberry cake moment we promised.”

  Luna’s lips curled into a weak but sincere smile.

  “I won’t…”

  With that, the silver tendrils completed their mysterious work, pulsing one st time before Lena’s form dissolved into a cascade of shimmering sparks.

  And then—silence.

  The only sound that remained was the soft, rhythmic hum of the teleportation circle, filling the emptiness like a distant whisper.

  In all honestly, Luna was afraid of what fate had in store for her. She had unknowingly healed herself just when she was at death's door for the second time. Gods...if it hadn't been for the fact that she was soon awakening, Luna would be a corpse right now.

  This thought made her worry for her fate after this. How will she protect herself as the anomaly?

  Sigh.

  “Bittersweet goodbyes suck, don’t you think?” Luna asked the figure standing behind her. It had appeared seconds after Lena was taken to the next floor.

  “Maybe…but you will see her again,” replied Storm Rider whose body materialized as she walked into the light.

  “Will they be fine?”

  “Yes, all your comrades are powerful…even the powerless one. Something about him doesn’t sit right with me.”

  “Yeah. He leaves everyone with that impression. Anyway, let’s get on with it, have you killed the cursed tyrant?”

  “Of course I did, what do you take me for Lunaris?”

  Luna almost rolled her eyes, expecting the woman to brag about her powers. But, surprisingly, she didn’t. Her fight against the cursed tyrant was just for show to hide the true magnitude of her powers from Valentine because of his random change in behavior—which changed the way everyone viewed him.

  They had come up with the lie that Storm Rider’s immortality is an effect caused by her Aura. Of course, Valentine was too smart to bye that.

  But…

  He wasn’t as blessed as Luna in terms of sensing Life Essence. He wouldn't identify Qi as powerful as Storm Rider's.

  “Where are they?” she asked while staring at the teleportation circle ahead.

  “They’ve entered Neptune. One of the ascenders can create portals. They just needed to replicate the runes behind the teleportation circle to create their own. Haha, humans of this era are so impressive.”

  She was referring to the "long-awaited" reinforcements. With Mao Feng leading them, traveling to the frozen kingdom would be a breeze. These were the advantages of having a sorcerer like her around.

  Ascenders able to command elements were always recognized as one of the strongest. And at a fourth gate, that ascender had total authority over that element…it was their domain.

  This ice wastend was going to listen to Mao Feng because this was her domain.

  “We’re hidden from the cirvoyant, for now. Let’s proceed to teleport.”

  Storm Rider then took more steps and stopped in the center of the circle. She unleashed her essence and the circle’s hue changed from silver to a golden radiance.

  “The tendrils are known as Aqua Threads they were created by the god of the seas. Aqua Threads look deep into a person’s soul for impurity before they move on to Artemis’s Garden. If you are found with impurity be it madness or corruption, the threads burn your very being and destroy you.”

  ‘Why does everything the gods make sound so horrifying?’ Luna argued while she listened.

  “Aqua threads? Where does the water come from?”

  Storm Rider lingered for a moment then shrugged and answered:

  “From the Twin Rivers of The Moon. Both rivers were born from the tears of the goddess of the Moon. One is born from her pain and sorrow while the other is born from her joy. The heart of the tower grows between those rivers.” Storm Rider did her best to expin. “The Mildrith is said to be sustained by a goddess’s tears.”

  “And the prisoner?”

  “Oh...he was imprisoned in the silent pond far from moonlight. Before I was discovered by the guardian, he would tell me tales of the gods and what led to the cataclysmic events that followed after the death of the gods. When you meet him, show no fear. I will come find you when I'm done here."

  Luna nodded and stepped into the glowing circle. The tendrils moved out and grabbed her. She felt a pulse in her chest and strengthened the grip she already had on her Jian.

  With that, Luna closed her eyes and let the golden tendrils spread into her body and then into her soul