Louskas was dreaming, sinking into a sea of absolute darkness.
He kept falling deeper and deeper, yet he neither choked nor felt fear. Instead, there was an unnatural calmness—a soothing stillness—as if the entire world was drowning alongside him.
In the depths of that void, he heard a voice… distant, faint, barely audible.
How could he hear anything underwater?
There was only the gentle silence of still waters.
The voice grew closer.
"Awak…"
"Awake…"
And then, a piercing scream shattered the tranquility:
"Louskas, wake up! Now! You're going to die!"
Die?
Didn't he swear to walk the path of power?
Hadn't he endured agony and suffering just to reach this point?
He couldn't let it end here. Not now.
He had to fight.
To struggle.
To survive.
Death? He would not accept it.
These thoughts stormed through his mind—and suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
It was daytime.
He waited a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light. He lay curled on his side, knees clutched tightly to his chest like a frightened child. Before him stretched a thick red mist that dimmed the sunlight.
He was terrified.
More than ever in his life.
As if he were an ant staring into the heavens.
He buried his head against his chest, trembling as though something were violently shaking him.
"Cover your nose, you idiot!" Eldron's voice roared.
But Louskas couldn't hear him.
He was beyond reason—lost in pure, primal fear.
Eldron's silhouette was hidden in the dense fog. Even his voice only heightened Louskas's panic.
He gasped for breath, sweat pouring from his skin. His heart pounded like a war drum—fast, wild… he was dying.
Then, suddenly—he started laughing.
Laughing with manic joy, as if touched by divine ecstasy.
Then fury.
Then despair.
As if he'd lost everything he ever loved.
He twisted and turned through a storm of emotions, even ones he hadn't felt in years.
"Damn it!" Eldron cursed aloud, watching the scene unfold. Louskas was collapsing.
He clenched his jaw. If Louskas didn't move now, he would die—or worse—lose his mind.
Eldron could teleport him using the shard. Their souls were linked, after all.
But the cost would be severe. Using the shard would force Eldron into a long slumber to recover. And Louskas… he still needed him.
"Damn it… no time to hesitate."
He activated the shard.
A burst of energy surged as they teleported a hundred meters away—the maximum range. But the mist still clung to them like death itself.
Eldron gritted his teeth.
Once again—he triggered the shard.
The pain was unbearable.
He couldn't channel spiritual energy from Louskas's core, which meant… he was burning his own soul.
The second jump brought some relief.
The fog grew thinner.
The crushing pressure lifted slightly, enough for Louskas to regain a sliver of clarity.
He looked around, then stood and ran.
Ran with everything he had.
Fear still clung to his chest, but it was no longer overwhelming. He feared the euphoria more than the terror now. He wanted neither.
He kept running, no rest, no pause.
Until—finally—he emerged from the red fog.
Breathless, hands on his knees, his heart still racing.
That… sensation.
It was horrifying. All the emotions at once, raging like a storm.
What kind of nightmare had he just survived?
He glanced back.
And collapsed to his knees, vomiting violently.
"What the hell just happened…?"
He wiped his mouth, raised his head, and froze.
Above him, the sky burned crimson.
Six black moons hung overhead. One of them glowed faintly red, incomplete.
There was no light but the bleeding heavens.
He stood at the edge of a massive rift.
A bottomless abyss yawned beneath him.
Before him… a forest.
Unlike anything he had ever seen.
Blood-red trees, crimson grass, towering high into the sky like spears of death.
From within the woods came terrifying howls—beasts of nightmares.
And behind him…
True horror.
The fog.
And beneath the abyss… the unknown. He wouldn't risk going there.
In this moment, there was no sound of life around him.
But he wasn't surprised. That fog would have scared away even the bravest of monsters.
He considered staying.
But what if the fog came again?
What if it crept toward him—now that Eldron was gone?
No.
There was only one path left: The forest.
And so, Louskas stepped forward.
Crossing the bridge between two worlds—
Unaware he had just begun a journey… from which there may be no return.