Chapter 97
Inside the hidden hut, silence remained steady despite the suffering outside.
Nille sat motionless in a meditative posture while Nyx continued regulating the integration process deep inside the Celestial Cloth system.
The Hydra core floated within his inner enclave.
Massive.
Heavy.
Ancient.
Unlike the Drake core Nyx previously processed, Veylthra's core felt denser in structure, carrying countless layers of instinct, territorial memory, biological adaptation, and regenerative authority accumulated over centuries of survival inside the swamp domain.
The process itself was not destruction.
It was assimilation.
The Celestial Cloth's primary function had never been simple storage.
It was integration.
Absorption of knowledge.
Absorption of sentient memory.
Absorption of functional existence.
Nyx stood beside Nille within the enclave in her human manifestation, calmly regulating the incoming spiritual flow while countless golden system-like rings rotated faintly behind her eyes.
"Core stabilization reaching completion," she spoke softly.
The enormous Hydra core slowly dissolved into streams of spiritual light.
Then, another halo manifested around Nille's main spiritual core tree.
The ten-foot tree inside the enclave pulsed faintly as a second rotating halo formed around its trunk, layered beneath Nyx's existing system authority.
The entire warehouse-like enclave shifted slightly in response.
The ground became more refined.
More stable.
And faint traces of swamp-like regenerative energy began spreading naturally through the inner space.
At the same time, a new presence quietly appeared.
Not fully physical.
Not entirely spiritual either.
A faint feminine silhouette formed near the base of the core tree, partially transparent and sleeping peacefully beneath the rotating halos.
Veylthra.
Or at least the preserved sentient structure derived from her soul and memories.
Nyx observed calmly.
"Integration successful."
"Delegated function assigned."
"Hydra regenerative authority linked to defensive systems of the Celestial Cloth."
Nille slowly opened his eyes inside the enclave.
He immediately felt the difference.
Not power in the usual sense.
But support.
Stability.
The Celestial Cloth no longer felt like clothing alone.
It felt alive in multiple layers now.
Nyx remained the primary steward regulating the entire system structure, calculations, analysis, adaptation, and combat assistance.
Meanwhile Veylthra's integrated authority quietly reinforced biological protection, regeneration, toxin resistance, environmental adaptation, and structural durability.
The drake scales embedded into the cloth subtly shifted in response to his thoughts, reacting faster than before.
Even the retractable scale whips resting behind his back felt more stable now.
Nyx spoke again.
"Master Nille's psychokinetic burden has been reduced."
"Hydra integration now autonomously supports movement regulation of external scale structures."
Nille exhaled slowly.
That alone was a massive improvement.
Using psychokinesis continuously to control the scale whips had been mentally exhausting. His brain constantly processed movement corrections manually.
But now, the movement assistance felt partially automated.
Not fully independent.
But lighter.
More natural.
The scale whips no longer behaved like separate objects he had to force into motion.
Instead, they moved more like extensions of instinct.
Nille quietly looked toward the smaller orb still hovering near the main core tree.
It remained there silently.
Rotating slowly around the central structure.
He still did not fully understand what it represented.
But he never sensed danger from it.
Only unfamiliarity.
Lakay Dalisay's old words slowly resurfaced in his mind.
"Every spiritual core manifests differently."
"The metaphysical world reflects the structure of your inner self."
"At higher levels… thoughts, instincts, fears, memories, and desires begin shaping spiritual reality."
Back then, Nille thought the old man simply spoke in metaphors.
Now he wasn't so sure anymore.
Because none of this felt metaphorical anymore.
Not the enclave.
Not the halos.
Not the living systems integrated into his clothing.
Not the fact he was sitting inside a hidden hut in a corrupted swamp while processing the soul of an ancient Hydra into a sentient spiritual construct.
If someone told him all this years ago, he would have laughed.
The world he grew up in did not prepare people for this.
As a child, strange things were easier to accept.
Children imagined monsters naturally.
Imagined spirits.
Imagined impossible worlds.
And adults dismissed those thoughts as childish imagination.
But now, Nille wondered how many things people called imagination were simply things humanity stopped seeing properly.
Because after entering the academy, the line between fantasy and reality had completely collapsed.
Outside the hut, the swamp remained filled with suffering.
Dark elves continued eating raw Hydra flesh to survive.
The miasma spread slowly across the wetlands.
And somewhere deeper within Sector 12, the unknown being that crippled Veylthra might still exist.
Nille slowly stood up inside the enclave.
The halos rotated quietly behind the core tree.
Nyx watched calmly beside him.
And Veylthra's sleeping presence rested beneath the roots like a silent guardian reborn into a different form.
The Celestial Cloth shifted softly around Nille's body.
Not as fabric anymore.
But as a growing ecosystem of accumulated survival itself.
The hidden hut remained dim and damp beneath the heavy swamp fog.
Water droplets slowly slid through cracks in the rotten wooden roof while the smell of mud, sickness, blood, and decaying flesh lingered heavily inside the cramped structure.
Then the young dark elven girl returned.
Lyris stumbled through the doorway weakly, barely able to support her own body anymore.
One of her legs dragged unevenly behind her as if her muscles were no longer responding properly. Every step looked painful, her thin arms trembling violently from exhaustion alone.
Nille silently watched from within Nyx's three-layer concealment camouflage.
The girl looked far worse now.
Her condition had deteriorated rapidly.
The black veins beneath her skin had spread higher toward her neck and jawline, pulsing faintly beneath her pale gray flesh like something alive was crawling inside her body. Her lips were cracked and darkened from dehydration while small traces of black blood remained near the corners of her mouth from earlier convulsions.
One of her eyes had almost completely clouded over now.
Not blind.
But dying.
Her breathing came in shallow uneven gasps that sounded wet, as if fluid was slowly filling her lungs.
And despite all that—
she still carried small strips of raw Hydra flesh wrapped inside torn cloth.
Food.
Or rather—
survival.
The sight quietly reminded Nille of home.
Not the academy.
Not the supernatural world.
But the reality he grew up seeing.
People enduring things they should never have to endure just to survive another day.
Children sleeping hungry.
Families eating reheated leftovers pulled from restaurant garbage bins.
People forcing themselves to consume spoiled food because starvation was worse.
And the most painful part was always the same:
eventually, suffering stopped looking shocking.
It simply became normal.
Lyris slowly reached the far corner of the hut.
There, resting unevenly above stacked stones, was a worn-out bamboo sleeping platform.
A kawayan papag.
Almost identical to the ones Nille remembered back home.
Simple.
Cheap.
Practical.
The kind of bed poor families used because it was all they could afford.
Seeing it inside this dying swamp domain felt strangely surreal.
The young dark elf struggled just to climb onto it.
Her body shook violently the entire time.
Twice she nearly collapsed before finally pulling herself onto the rough bamboo frame.
The moment she laid down, a weak painful sound escaped her throat.
Not crying.
Not screaming.
Just exhaustion breaking through.
Her body curled slightly inward instinctively, like someone trying to protect themselves from pain they already knew would not stop.
Outside the hut, faint coughing and distant screams echoed through the swamp village.
The remaining dark elves were deteriorating quickly.
Some had stopped speaking entirely.
Others wandered aimlessly through the fog in half-conscious states, their bodies moving while their minds slowly disappeared beneath the corruption.
A few sat motionless beside the Hydra corpse, mechanically eating flesh without expression anymore.
Not because they wanted to live.
But because their bodies feared death more than their minds could process suffering.
Nyx quietly updated the status inside Nille's awareness.
"Dark elf population approaching psychological collapse."
"Extended miasma exposure causing severe neurological degradation."
"Survival instinct overriding emotional resistance."
It was horrifying.
Not because they were monsters.
But because they were still people trying desperately not to become monsters.
And hidden only a few meters away, Nille remained completely unseen beneath Nyx's three-layer concealment camouflage.
From an outside perspective, the camouflage did not make him completely invisible in the simple sense.
Instead, it erased recognition itself in layers.
The first layer distorted physical perception.
Light bent subtly around his body, causing observers to unconsciously overlook his outline unless directly focusing on him.
The second layer suppressed spiritual presence.
His energy signature became almost nonexistent, blending into surrounding environmental noise like another part of the swamp itself.
The third layer affected instinct and awareness.
Even if something looked toward his direction, their mind naturally dismissed him as unimportant background detail unless he performed sudden aggressive movement.
Together, the effect was unnerving.
To outside observers, the space where Nille sat simply felt… empty.
Like a forgotten corner no one paid attention to.
Even the swamp creatures avoided reacting toward his position.
Nille quietly watched the young dark elf struggle to breathe on the bamboo bed.
And for the first time since entering Sector 12, he felt something heavier than danger.
Helplessness.
Nille remained motionless in the shadows of the hidden hut while the young dark elven girl finally lost consciousness from exhaustion.
Her weak body curled slightly atop the worn bamboo bed as shallow breaths escaped her lips unevenly. The corruption beneath her skin continued pulsing faintly like spreading rot hidden beneath fragile flesh.
Outside, the swamp village remained trapped between survival and death.
But Nille's thoughts had already shifted elsewhere.
He was connecting the pieces now.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Because the more he learned about the supernatural world—
the more he realized that the mindset of Encanto beings was not truly different from humans.
Only older.
More powerful.
More detached.
Human greed existed.
Human pride existed.
Human cruelty existed.
The Encanto simply carried those same flaws while believing themselves above humanity itself.
High Elves viewed awakened humans with quiet superiority, treating them almost like blessed descendants touched faintly by divine bloodlines. To them, nurturing talented humans reflected their own nobility rather than equality.
Dwarves behaved similarly.
Even spiritual races often treated mortals less like equals and more like temporary lesser beings struggling beneath them.
Not hated.
Just… beneath them.
Like intelligent pets allowed to grow under supervision.
And if that mentality existed among the more civilized races—
then truly ancient Encanto beings could become far worse.
Nille slowly looked toward the unconscious dark elven girl.
This entire swamp domain felt wrong.
Not random destruction.
Not simple slaughter.
The attack against Veylthra carried precision.
Cruelty.
Purpose.
The Hydra had not merely been defeated.
She had been humiliated.
Pinned alive.
Forced to suffer slowly while her domain collapsed around her.
And whoever did it understood exactly how to destroy regeneration itself.
Nyx quietly spoke within his mind.
"Probability increasing."
"Current evidence suggests involvement of higher-tier Encanto entity."
Nille narrowed his eyes slightly.
His thoughts drifted toward the Dimas twins again.
Imto Dimas.
The way he spoke.
The strange confidence.
And most importantly—
the title he used.
"Apo Lakkay."
Back then, Nille barely reacted to the phrase.
But now—
it suddenly carried meaning.
"Apo."
In the Philippines and many Austronesian cultures, the word referred to respected elders, ancestors, grandfathers, ancient figures.
Not merely old—
but revered.
Powerful.
The realization quietly settled into place inside Nille's mind.
If the being connected to Imto Dimas used that title…
Then there was a high chance that entity originated somewhere in Asia.
And among the supernatural races tied deeply to Philippine folklore—
one race immediately surfaced in his thoughts.
Dalaketnon.
Elf-like engkanto associated with ancient balete and dalakit trees.
Beautiful.
Powerful.
Intelligent.
And notoriously dangerous.
Some legends described them as seductive rulers hidden beneath human civilization.
Others described them as predators that viewed humans as livestock or entertainment.
Nille remembered old stories from his childhood.
People disappearing near ancient trees.
Villages whispering about unseen nobles living in hidden realms.
Children warned not to answer voices calling from the forest at night.
At the time—
they sounded like myths.
Now they sounded possible.
Too possible.
Nyx quietly confirmed his thoughts.
"Cultural alignment probability: high."
"Behavioral profile consistent with dominant elder-class Encanto entity."
"Possible connection between Hydra incident, Drake incident, and Dimas bloodline increasing."
Silence filled the hut again.
Outside, the swamp wind carried distant coughing and cries from the surviving dark elves.
Nille slowly stood up from the shadows.
The Celestial Cloth shifted silently around his body while the three-layer camouflage continued distorting his existence from the surroundings.
His eyes lingered briefly on the unconscious girl resting on the bamboo bed.
Then his gaze slowly lifted toward the fog-covered swamp outside.
Something powerful was moving behind everything.
Not random monsters.
Not coincidence.
A connected hand.
Nille felt like he was no longer simply hunting creatures.
He was stepping closer toward something intelligent enough to shape disasters deliberately.
Nille slowly crouched near the edge of the ruined bamboo bed, his eyes fixed on the young dark elven girl as her frail body trembled weakly beneath the thin cloth covering her.
She looked far worse up close.
The corruption spreading through her body no longer resembled ordinary sickness.
It looked alive.
Dark veins pulsed beneath her gray skin like roots crawling inside flesh, branching upward from her neck toward her face. Portions of her arms had become unnaturally thin, almost skeletal, while small patches of blackened skin cracked whenever she moved. Her breathing came in uneven gasps, each inhale sounding wet, as though the miasma itself had settled inside her lungs.
Even her eyes looked exhausted.
One remained half-open, cloudy and unfocused, while the other twitched faintly beneath the pressure of fever and spiritual contamination.
And despite all that—
she was still trying to survive.
The sight reminded Nille too much of home.
Not because of magic.
Not because of curses.
But because suffering always looked the same in the end.
People enduring things they were never meant to endure simply because dying was not an option yet.
The worn bamboo bed beneath the girl resembled the old kawayan papag he used to see back in poorer provinces—simple bamboo slats tied together by rope, rough and uncomfortable, yet used because there was nothing else.
Nille remained hidden beneath Nyx's three-layer concealment.
From an outside perspective, the camouflage did not make him invisible in the normal sense.
It distorted presence itself.
The first layer bent spiritual detection, making his energy feel nonexistent, like empty air.
The second layer subtly altered light and environmental perception around him, causing observers to unconsciously overlook his position unless directly focused on it.
The third layer disrupted instinctive awareness.
Even creatures sensitive to danger would struggle to realize someone stood nearby unless Nille physically interfered with the environment.
To the dark elves inside the hut, the empty corner near the wall simply looked darker than normal.
Nothing more.
Nille quietly observed the girl again.
Then his thoughts slowly connected together.
Encanto societies were different from humans.
But not truly different where it mattered.
Power still created hierarchy.
Pride still created cruelty.
And stronger beings still treated weaker ones as lesser creatures.
High Elves nurtured awakened humans because they believed humans carried diluted blessings from divine bloodlines.
Dwarves respected utility and craftsmanship over emotion.
Spiritual races saw mortals as temporary existences.
And beings like Dalaketnons—
they often viewed humans as possessions rather than equals.
Nille remembered the name Imto Dimas once mentioned.
"Apo Lakkay."
At first, it sounded harmless.
But now the meaning settled differently in his mind.
Apo.
Respected elder.
Ancestor.
Someone ancient.
Someone from the same cultural roots tied to Austronesian lands.
And if that being truly attacked both Nyx and the Hydra—
then this was no random destruction.
This was deliberate.
Nyx quietly confirmed his thoughts.
"Probability increasing."
"Current evidence supports involvement of high-tier Encanto entity connected to Dalaketnon lineage."
Nille slowly stood up from the corner of the hut.
The dark elven girl had already passed out from exhaustion.
Outside, distant coughing and weak voices echoed through the swamp settlement while starving dark elves continued carving flesh from the dead Hydra's body just to survive another few hours.
Nille exhaled slowly.
Then re-evaluated himself internally.
Nothing had changed dramatically after integrating the Hydra core.
His metaphysical core still pulsed steadily inside his spiritual perception like a living heart processing energy throughout his body.
The two rotating halos continued circling around it slowly, functioning almost like layered mechanisms regulating power flow.
And the small orbiting orb—
still remained unexplained.
But he no longer feared it.
Lakay Dalisay once told him every spiritual core manifested differently because the soul translated understanding into symbolic structure.
Most people simply lacked the awareness to perceive it clearly.
Nille never questioned it deeply before.
The entire awakened world already felt unreal enough.
As a child, he had seen strange things many adults dismissed as imagination.
Now he understood some children simply noticed what others ignored.
Then the Hydra's voice echoed gently within the Celestial Cloth.
Much weaker now.
But calmer.
"Thank you… Nille…"
The communication remained limited due to integration strain, but the ancient creature continued softly.
"There… is a plant…"
"It may slow the corruption affecting them…"
Nille followed the spiritual image she projected into his mind.
Then his eyes narrowed slightly.
A small smile appeared on his face for the first time in a while.
Because the plant was familiar.
Very familiar.
"Tuba-tuba…" he murmured quietly.
The shrub-like plant grew near parts of the swamp edge, its jagged green leaves partially covered by black mist.
Back in the Philippines, it was known as Jatropha curcas.
Most people considered it poisonous.
And it was.
But Nille also remembered old provincial knowledge surrounding it.
Traditional medicine.
Oil extraction.
Wound treatment.
Parasite cleansing.
Even crude detoxification methods when processed properly.
Nyx immediately analyzed his reaction.
"You recognize this species?"
Nille nodded slightly.
"Yeah."
"We have this back home."
His gaze shifted toward the unconscious dark elven girl.
Then outside toward the dying settlement.
"If the contamination hasn't completely altered its structure yet…"
"It might still work."
For the first time since entering the swamp domain—
Nille saw something other than survival.
A possible solution.
Nille immediately remembered the ring Maruha had given him before.
The old silver ring remained hidden beneath the Celestial Cloth layers, its surface engraved with tiny shifting symbols that only became visible when spiritual energy flowed through it.
Until now, he had never truly tested it.
Nyx spoke calmly inside his mind.
"Most spiritual artifacts operate through energy synchronization."
"Try channeling spiritual energy into the ring."
Nille nodded slightly.
Then focused.
A thin stream of spiritual energy flowed from his fingertips into the ring.
For a moment—
nothing happened.
Then the symbols across its surface ignited faintly in pale blue light.
A soft pulse echoed through the air.
And suddenly a familiar voice burst through the connection.
"AH! IT WORKED!"
Maruha's excited voice nearly made Nille pull the ring away.
"Young Master Nille! Finally! Do you know how difficult it is waiting for someone to actually activate an artifact correctly?!"
Nille blinked once.
"...You can hear me clearly?"
"Of course I can hear you clearly!" Maruha replied proudly. "This is a resonance-linked communication artifact. Expensive too! Do not lose it!"
Nille ignored the last part immediately.
He went straight to the issue.
"Do you have medicine made from tuba-tuba?"
There was a brief pause on the other end.
"...Tuba-tuba?" Maruha repeated.
"Jatropha curcas," Nille clarified calmly.
Another pause followed.
This time more serious.
Maruha's tone lowered slightly.
"What kind of illness are you trying to treat?"
Nille glanced toward the unconscious dark elven girl lying weakly on the bamboo bed.
Then he described everything.
The blackened veins.
The coughing blood.
The muscle decay.
The miasma contamination spreading through entire settlements.
The hallucination-like fever.
The slow loss of bodily function.
The inability to digest normal food.
The lingering soul corruption.
By the time he finished—
Maruha was completely silent.
Then her voice returned, quieter now.
"...That's not ordinary poisoning."
"It sounds like advanced miasma sickness mixed with biological decay contamination."
Nille frowned slightly.
"Can it be treated?"
Maruha answered carefully.
"Maybe."
"Not completely."
"But it can be slowed."
He heard papers shifting rapidly on her side, followed by glass clinking sounds.
Then Maruha finally spoke again.
"There are several old restoration compounds that use Jatropha curcas as a primary stabilizer."
"The plant itself is poisonous if handled improperly, but when purified correctly, it becomes extremely useful against internal corruption, parasites, fever diseases, and contaminated blood conditions."
Nyx quietly listened while simultaneously analyzing the information.
Maruha continued.
"The most common anti-miasma recovery mixture is called Verdant Blackroot Elixir."
Nille memorized the name immediately.
Maruha began listing the ingredients.
"Primary ingredients:
Purified Jatropha curcas oil extract — reduces internal parasite spread and slows tissue corruption.
Moonleaf herb — lowers fever and stabilizes spiritual pathways.
Ashvine bark powder — absorbs toxic residue from blood circulation.
Silver moss essence — slows miasma accumulation inside lungs.
Ground bitterroot flower — prevents organ collapse caused by prolonged contamination."
Nille listened carefully.
Most of the ingredients sounded unfamiliar except the first one.
Maruha continued explaining.
"The potion was originally designed centuries ago during plague outbreaks near corrupted spirit zones."
"It was used for illnesses similar to malaria, black fever, corpse-plague infections, and cholera-type spiritual contamination."
Nyx immediately processed the comparison.
"Conclusion: potion designed to stabilize biological systems against spiritual toxin overload."
Maruha continued.
"It won't cure advanced corruption completely."
"But it can buy time."
"Enough time for stronger purification methods later."
Nille looked outside the ruined hut.
The dark elves still moved weakly through the swamp village like dying ghosts.
Some were barely conscious.
Others could no longer stand properly.
And further away, countless unmoving figures remained scattered across the swamp like abandoned corpses that still breathed.
Maruha suddenly spoke again.
"...Nille."
Her tone had changed completely now.
More serious.
"How many infected are there?"
Nille answered honestly.
"...Too many."
Silence.
Then Maruha exhaled slowly.
"If the contamination already reached that scale..."
"...then whatever caused this wasn't natural."
Nyx quietly responded inside Nille's mind.
"Confirmed."
Nille's gaze slowly shifted toward the deeper swamp beyond the fog.
Toward the unseen presence connected to Apo Lakkay.
Then he asked the question directly.
"Can you teach me how to make it?"
Maruha became noticeably quieter after hearing the scale of the contamination.
Then papers shifted again on her side before she spoke.
"…We actually still have some."
Nille's eyes narrowed slightly.
"How much?"
"About two gallons," Maruha answered. "Verdant Blackroot Elixir. Properly stabilized and sealed."
That alone was already more than Nille expected.
But Maruha continued.
"Though normally, for severe miasma poisoning, the potion is strengthened using high-grade blood extract."
Nille listened carefully.
"Blood extract?"
Maruha nodded on the other side of the connection.
"Yes. Ancient species with naturally purified spiritual circulation."
"Creatures whose blood contains regenerative or cleansing properties."
Nille immediately asked:
"What creatures?"
Maruha answered without hesitation.
"Dragons."
A brief pause followed.
"Or Bakunawa-class bloodlines."
"Their blood naturally carries purification energy because their bodies process spiritual toxins differently from lower species."
Nyx quietly analyzed the statement.
"Logical."
"High-tier species possess superior metaphysical filtration systems."
Nille suddenly remembered something important.
The Drake.
Not only its scales.
Not only the core.
But its heart.
Its blood.
And the fact he had already fused portions of its metaphysical structure into his own evolving spiritual core system.
Nille spoke immediately.
"I have Drake materials."
This time Maruha fell completely silent.
"…You what?"
"I absorbed a Drake core."
"And fused with its heart and scales."
Several seconds passed.
Then Maruha's voice returned much slower than before.
"…Young Master Nille."
"…That is not a sentence normal people say casually."
Nille ignored that.
Instead he asked directly:
"If I can provide Drake blood energy…"
"Can the potion become stronger?"
Maruha answered honestly.
"Yes."
"Far stronger."
"Possibly enough to temporarily reverse advanced contamination symptoms."
Nyx immediately processed the implications.
"Probability of stabilizing infected Dark Elven population increased."
"But resource management required."
Nille nodded slightly.
Then asked another question.
"Can you send the potion here?"
Maruha hesitated.
"…Normally? No."
"But…"
Her tone shifted thoughtfully.
"The Celestial Cloth changes things."
Nille waited.
Maruha explained carefully.
"If you establish temporary storage synchronization and physically touch the destination point on your side…"
"I can place the potion containers against the linked relay circle here."
"The Celestial Cloth should automatically recognize them as transferable stored objects."
Nille looked down at the fabric layered around his arm.
Nyx quietly confirmed.
"Possible."
"Temporary dimensional storage overlap achievable."
Maruha continued.
"Though honestly…"
"I already suspected where you were."
Nille blinked once.
"What do you mean?"
Maruha gave a small tired laugh.
"When you disappeared through that portal before, I felt the spiritual signature leaking from the other side."
"It wasn't ordinary."
Her voice lowered slightly.
"I've been there before."
Nille's expression sharpened slightly.
"…here at Yamatai island?"
Maruha's voice softened further, as if she was recalling something she hadn't spoken about in a long time.
"We lived at that place before," she answered carefully.
"But that was near the deeper connected territories… a long time ago."
Nille stayed silent for a moment.
Then he asked directly, keeping his tone steady.
"Is the separated Sector 12 system still there?"
A brief pause came through the ring.
Then Maruha replied.
"…Yes. It still exists."
The confirmation made the air around Nille feel slightly heavier, even though nothing in the swamp physically changed.
Maruha continued, her tone turning more cautious.
"Nille… just be careful."
"That place is unpredictable, especially the higher-numbered sectors."
A faint sigh followed.
"Our clan once stayed near the Luminaire Boundary many, many years ago."
Her voice lowered, almost nostalgic.
"It's an old story to tell… I'll share it with you another time."
Nille's gaze shifted slightly toward the swamp fog beyond the broken hut.
The word Luminaire Boundary stayed in his mind.
A controlled system.
A sealed domain.
A place that didn't fully belong to either world.
Nyx quietly analyzed the conversation.
"External confirmation: High Elven training infrastructure has historical overlap with Maruha's lineage region."
Nille responded quietly.
"…I understand."
But his tone didn't fully agree.
He wasn't dismissing the warning.
He was processing it.
Not as fear, but as structure.
Every piece of information was becoming part of a larger map in his mind.
Maruha seemed to sense this silence.
She added one final warning, more direct this time.
"Don't treat those sectors like normal hunting grounds."
"They don't just contain threats."
"…They shape them."
Nille didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he looked at the swamp outside again.
The fog had grown thicker.
The silence had deepened unnaturally.
Even the distant sounds of the starving Dark Elves had faded.
Nyx's voice followed instantly.
"Master."
"Multiple anomalous signatures confirmed."
"Something is approaching."
Nille slowly lowered the communication ring slightly.
His grip tightened, not in panic,
but in readiness.
"…Yeah," he murmured.
"The academy hides it well from most humans, but certain ancient domains connected to that school are known among older spiritual races."
Nyx remained silent for several seconds.
That alone was confirmation enough.
Maruha continued quietly.
"The energy coming from there is extremely specific."
"Layered containment."
"Artificial dimensional stitching."
"Old High Elven structural design mixed with localized mortal-world anchors."
Then her tone became more serious.
"And if you're currently inside one of the lower corrupted territories…"
"…you need to leave before the deeper domain notices you."
Nille frowned slightly.
"Deeper domain?"
But before Maruha answered, Nyx suddenly spoke.
"Warning."
"External movement detected."
Nille's eyes immediately shifted toward the outside of the ruined hut.
Through the gaps in the wooden walls, he saw movement in the swamp fog.
Not the slow wandering movements of dying dark elves.
Something else.
Something larger.
And the swamp water had suddenly become silent.
Maruha's voice softened further, as if she was recalling something she hadn't spoken about in a long time.
"We lived at that place before," she answered carefully.
"But that was near the deeper connected territories… a long time ago."
Nille stayed silent for a moment.
Then he asked directly, keeping his tone steady.
"Is the separated Sector 12 system still there?"
A brief pause came through the ring.
Then Maruha replied.
"…Yes. It still exists."
The confirmation made the air around Nille feel slightly heavier, even though nothing in the swamp physically changed.
Maruha continued, her tone turning more cautious.
"Nille… just be careful."
"That place is unpredictable, especially the higher-numbered sectors."
A faint sigh followed.
"Our clan once stayed near the Luminaire Boundary many, many years ago."
Her voice lowered, almost nostalgic.
"It's an old story to tell… I'll share it with you another time."
Nille's gaze shifted slightly toward the swamp fog beyond the broken hut.
The word Luminaire Boundary stayed in his mind.
A controlled system.
A sealed domain.
A place that didn't fully belong to either world.
Nyx quietly analyzed the conversation.
"External confirmation: High Elven training infrastructure has historical overlap with Maruha's lineage region."
Nille responded quietly.
"…I understand."
But his tone didn't fully agree.
He wasn't dismissing the warning.
He was processing it.
Not as fear, but as structure.
Every piece of information was becoming part of a larger map in his mind.
Maruha seemed to sense this silence.
She added one final warning, more direct this time.
"Don't treat those sectors like normal hunting grounds."
"They don't just contain threats."
"…They shape them."
Nille didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he looked at the swamp outside again.
The fog had grown thicker.
The silence had deepened unnaturally.
Even the distant sounds of the starving Dark Elves had faded.
Nyx's voice followed instantly.
"Master."
"Multiple anomalous signatures confirmed."
"Something is approaching."
Nille slowly lowered the communication ring slightly.
His grip tightened, not in panic,
but in readiness.
"…Yeah," he murmured.
"I noticed."