Above, below, and to the sides of the gangway, remnants of the ancient empire overflowed.
Where there had once been buildings, debris now rained down or collapsed, creating a thunderous roar.
Boom, crash, rumble!
As one soldier stared at the falling remains of the ancient empire, he clutched his head in despair.
He was a graduate of the Archaeology Department at the Imperial University who had chosen enlistment over taxes.
“Th-those are finds of the century falling! We have to stop them…!”
“This isn’t the time for that! Run!”
Without needing Aslan’s constant urging to keep moving, another soldier struck the first on the head and shouted, prompting Aslan to cry out:
“Just as they said—don’t stop running!”
Thus, without voicing complaints or hesitations, the soldiers and others sprinted forward.
Fourteen people immediately began their dash. What awaited the progression of this group was the violence wrought by frozen time.
“Up ahead!”
At the shout of one soldier, debris began to fall. Tiamat glanced at it briefly and drew an arrow, firing it in one fluid motion.
The sound of the bowstring resonated as the destruction he caused collided with the descending violence and shattered into pieces.
Crash! Falling rocks tumbled down. However, no one complained about the slight descent of the rock piles as more building debris, castle remnants, and fortress ruins continued to fall chaotically around them.
Boom, rumble, crash!
Huge remnants fell, blocking their path. A high-pitched scream from a female soldier pierced the air. Angie burst forth through the chaos.
Angie charged into the remnants blocking the way, smashing them apart and dashing out the other side.
“Follow me! I’ll clear the path!”
With victory secured behind her, Angie’s call spurred the soldiers and the party to follow without hesitation, maintaining the line of fourteen as they moved forward.
“Huff!”
Lumel shattered a piece of falling debris with his spear aimed toward the center of the group.
“Waste of arrows!”
Tiamat shot down debris that was about to fall in their path, preventing its descent.
“Huuuuh, haaah!”
At the forefront, Angie wielded Victory skillfully, breaking through fallen debris and blocked paths.
The physically strongest members of the party were clearing the way and protecting the group, allowing the advance to continue.
However, this sudden collapse wasn’t easy to navigate either.
Crack, crash, boom!
Spider-web-like cracks spread across the ground, and the floor began to crumble, sinking into an unknown abyss.
“Uuaaaaah!”
“It’s collapsing!”
Caught in the turmoil, soldiers were kicked, pushed, and pulled away by Phey with their characteristic speed, saving five soldiers who would have otherwise fallen to their deaths. They rolled on the ground and quickly got back up.
Aslan stood among the soldiers, raising a single feather towards the falling debris.
“Purity.”
With those words, a purely white sword appeared. Swinging it with acceleration so fast it blurred the eye, it left a crescent-shaped trace in the air.
Sssshhiiing!
The falling debris split apart and tumbled aside, allowing Aslan to nod slightly in acknowledgment to the grateful soldiers as he thought.
The world’s seam is called a ‘gangway’ for convenience, but in reality, it’s an incredibly long corridor.
It spans a distance equivalent to crossing a decent-sized city, making it unreasonable to simply run across it.
There were only a few in the party capable of such a feat.
Healthy Angie with regenerative abilities.
The tireless elf Phey.
Ereta with divine regeneration powers.
Aslan, whose indomitable spirit allowed him to ignore muscle fatigue.
The rest of the group didn’t have such advantages, so blindly running wouldn’t solve anything.
And stopping would mean getting crushed by debris or freezing under the veil of mercy eroding this gangway.
Opening a gate to the afterlife would take too much time, and it was uncertain if any soul could respond to Aslan’s call.
Even if they did, whether these soldiers or Resham would accompany them through that ominous portal was uncertain.
Aslan wrestled with these thoughts, eventually realizing there was only one option left, gritting his teeth in frustration.
“Damn it.”
Ultimately, the key issue lay here.
Not all the people could pass through the gangway before it completely collapsed or was eroded.
So, finding a way to cross the gangway was the solution.
Aslan had only one method available.
“Angie!”
“What? Wha- Why?”
Startled by the sudden call of her name, Angie responded in confusion, only to be thrown further off balance by what Aslan said next.
“Focus!”
“What?!”
Confusion crossed Angie’s face as she questioned him, unsure what she was supposed to focus on or do.
But Aslan had no time for elaborate explanations.
“When you fought Supreme Divinity’s Sword!”
“The feeling then, when I trusted you and pushed that guy hard—recall that! It’s flowing through your body now! Focus on that sensation with all your might!”
Despite the bewildered looks from the party, who seemed intrigued or confused, Aslan continued addressing Angie.
Naturally, Angie also wore a strange expression but wasted no time hesitating. Lowering her gaze, she focused inward.
“Everyone, protect Angie and me.”
“What… well, alright, but…”
“I’ll explain later.”
Richard grumbled but shut his mouth, having grown accustomed to Aslan’s behavior. The rest of the group took their positions and intercepted falling debris, striking, shooting, and pushing them away.
“What are you doing?! We need to run…!”
“Just wait a moment! Aslan has devised a plan!”
“But relying solely on that…”
Some soldiers and fortress managers voiced their dissatisfaction, but Resham silently observed without interfering.
Aslan noticed Resham’s calm gaze and turned to look at Angie.
Gently clenching and unclenching her hands, Angie concentrated on the sensations.
What Angie was feeling now, and what Aslan had instructed her to focus on, was Divine Power.
Divine Power of the Ancient Deity.
Aslan watched Angie maintain sharp concentration and extended purity in front of her.
Angie looked at Aslan curiously at this action, and Aslan, meeting her golden eyes, spoke.
“Clench your fists.”
Angie clenched her fists. Through Aslan’s guidance, a crackling Divine Power was felt.
“Take your stance.”
Without further instruction, Angie naturally assumed a position suitable for throwing a punch. It was an instinctive movement.
“Do you see it?”
Aslan’s question hung in the air as Angie stared silently at the purity.
This was purely a gamble.
If Angie’s senses weren’t sufficient or if the collective Divine Power gathered by the group wasn’t enough, they wouldn’t succeed.
Or if there was even the slightest flaw in Aslan’s theory, it would fail.
But Aslan was certain.
Through 12 years of experience,
and countless attempts before that while playing,
Aslan knew Eternal Dominion and Geladridion well.
Therefore, he trusted his theory.
More importantly, he trusted Angie.
In response to that trust, Angie perceived the faint shimmerings behind the purity.
The things drifting before her eyes, like moon halos glowing softly yet bright like sun halos spreading light.
Those mysterious particles of light.
Angie followed them, lifting her head to observe her surroundings.
Not just Aslan and Angie, but everything in this space was filled with that light.
Aslan relaxed upon seeing Angie’s movements and the shifting pupils, and Angie, after observing the light particles, slowly lowered her head to look at Aslan.
When the purity was withdrawn, instead of the gentle glow wrapped in purity, there was a brilliant light everywhere.
As if inviting them to strike.
Confirming Angie’s pupil movements, Aslan spoke confidently.
“Strike with full force!”
At his command, Angie swung the fist she had drawn back.
Zzzziiiiing!
A sonic boom echoed.
This was the preliminary draft of a method Aslan intended to use later at the Throne of the Gods, Kehil.
Precisely, it was one approach to deal with the Evil Deity.
An unparalleled method intricately tied to Aslan’s theories and experiences, with unpredictable success rates.
Therefore, Aslan foresaw its success.
Geladridion was the creation of Eternity and Night.
The medium through which the Veil of Mercy spread was also Geladridion.
Thus, temporarily destroying Geladridion should halt the spread of the Veil of Mercy.
When Angie’s Divine Power clashed with the Divine Power of Eternity and Night, part of Geladridion crumbled.
Crack, crack, crack!
Spreading fissures. Spider-web-like cracks engraved onto the very fabric of space itself.
The sounds mingled with the destruction of the already collapsing gangway.
As the cracks gradually spread forward, the falling debris abruptly ceased.
The space above the cracked area fell eerily silent, as if a passage had suddenly opened.
“What… what is…?”
One soldier spoke amidst the silence, and others showed similar reactions.
Even Resham was surprised enough to widen her eyes, and the group, though unaware of what had happened, revealed expressions of astonishment.
Aslan looked at the group, then patted the heavily breathing Angie on the shoulder and explained.
“We’ve shattered a portion of the territory of Eternity and Night, Geladridion. Given its restorative nature, it will soon return to normal, and the collapse will begin again. We must move before that happens.”
Now is our only chance.
The implication of his added words was simple.
We must run now.
Thus, the fourteen individuals, including Aslan and Angie, immediately dashed forward.
The only sound heard over the static-filled passage was the sound of footsteps.
The stronger ones like Angie and Lumel carried those who lagged behind, giving them brief rests, while Phey led at the front, breaking through debris obstructing the path.
Aslan also joined the procession, leading them at the front by breaking debris.
It was a marathon that was both tranquil and extremely dangerous.
Soldiers, on the verge of passing out from exhaustion, kept emerging, vomiting as the procession never stopped.
They were encouraged, pushed, and given small amounts of life by Ereta, but that was all.
The marathon continued relentlessly.
…Boom, rumble.
The sound of collapse began echoing distantly from behind.
Fortunately, light started appearing ahead, though the contrast between despair and hope contorted the soldiers’ faces even more.
Perhaps the gradual restoration of the Geladridion Angie had broken and the creeping coldness enveloping the surroundings played a role as well.
As a soldier screamed amidst the re-collapsing gangway, Aslan clenched his teeth and frowned.
Though success was foreseen, the strategy itself was hastily planned.
Thus, complete success or perfect results couldn’t be expected.
Regret lingered.
Suppressing this regret, Aslan ran, and the soldiers, despite their screams and distorted faces, continued to run as well.
The exit was drawing near.
Crashhhhh!
And so was death.
The sound of collapse grew louder from directly behind. Simultaneously, the ground sank.
Boom, rumble, crash!
Soldiers caught in the sudden drop of the ground.
Aslan reflexively drew back his left foot and swung it.
‘Thunder Call.’
Thunder surged through his leg as it swept forward.
Krrrrrrooooom!
“Wha—?!”
The thunder resounded as it struck the backs of soldiers about to fall.
The soldier, comically flung far by Aslan’s kick, was caught on the other side by Richard.
“I’ll go myself, let go, old man!”
“Enough, just keep moving!”
Next, Angie snatched up the falling soldiers and Tiamat, throwing them across.
Once every member of the group and the soldiers had reached the other side, and the sinking ground finally plunged into the unseen depths, Aslan nodded at Angie.
Now it was just Aslan and Angie who needed to cross.
Thinking this, Aslan crouched, ready to use Thunder Call.
Just then, a massive remnant fell from behind.
At the exact moment Aslan used Thunder Call, kicking off the grayish ground with his thunder-laden leg.
Boom, crashhhhhh!
The thunder’s roar mixed with the deafening sound of destruction.
The floor hammered by the giant remnant collapsed, severing the path ahead and behind, leaving the unsupported ground to be pushed away by Thunder Call.
“Damn…”
“Aslan!”
Pushed away, the ground plummeted into the deep abyss below.
Naturally, Aslan fell along with it.
Stunned, Aslan muttered as Angie stretched out her arm from the remaining surface to grab his hand.
“I’ve got you—”
Relief painted her face as she smiled—but before it could spread,
Screeeeech!
Something erupted from the deep abyss below.
This something violently collided with the ground where Angie lay.
Crashhhhh!
Roughly tearing and shattering the ground, it invited Angie and Aslan to the deep bottom.
*
Consciousness darkened. Perception blurred as Aslan slowly opened his eyes.
Upon opening them, Aslan sensed roughly four things.
One was warmth. The heat from the woman lying atop him was palpable.
Another was softness.
Especially the large mass pressing against Aslan’s chest made him flinch as soon as he regained awareness.
Through this, Aslan realized Angie was sprawled on top of him.
Thus, moving to the third sensation—her breath.
The steady breathing near his ear was a clear sign of survival and health.
Before checking anything else, Aslan gently pushed Angie aside and immediately looked around upon sitting up.
From the hazy memory, Aslan recalled falling into the bottom of the world’s seam while trying to cross it.
Meaning, this was the bottom of the world’s seam.
Yet, despite being the bottom, it wasn’t particularly dark.
A gentle light diffused around.
This was the final thing Aslan noticed upon waking.
Light.
Still, directly above, where Aslan and Angie had fallen from, was pitch black.
So dark and high that it was impossible to discern.
‘How deep did we fall?’
It was unclear while still sitting.
‘Why is it glowing here?’
That too was unknowable without looking.
Seemingly finding this strange, Aslan tilted his head to scan the surroundings.
Walls patterned in red and white. Occasionally, something unreadable—symbols or letters—appeared on the walls.
Judging from this, Aslan deduced he was in the ruins of the ancient empire.
Combining this with the information he had before falling, it became apparent they were in the ruins of the ancient empire beneath the world’s seam.
Clearly, this was unusual.
According to Aslan’s knowledge, which encompassed all ruins within the game, there were no ruins in the world’s seam.
Most notably, the form itself was unfamiliar.
An unheard-of and unseen ruin.
Instinctively sensing unease, Aslan scanned his surroundings and, upon detecting movement, instinctively spoke.
“Angie, rest a bit longer. It’s still… ”
Softly coaxing, Aslan turned his head but immediately fell silent when he saw Angie still unconscious.
Despite the presence of movement,
Aslan turned to look in the direction of the sound and found someone standing there.
A man with crimson hair like Angie’s, possessing golden eyes.
Holding Victory, which was planted before him, he gazed at Aslan.
The Divine Power of the Ancient Deity emanated from his body.
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