[The Void Arena — Victory]
The million red-lightning phantoms collapsed back into a single point of light. As the smoke from the vaporized Gladiator Bahamu cleared, Captain Carod stood in the center of the molten crater.
The terrifying Inferno Volt energy vanished instantly. His armor hissed as the cooling vents released clouds of white steam, and his glowing red core dimmed back to its standard blue. He stood up straight, adjusted his shoulder plates, and deactivated his weapons as if he had just finished a light morning exercise.
"Too weak," Carod rumbled, his metallic voice echoing through the silent dungeon.
The spectator stands remained frozen for a long beat. Goto, Lapis, and the other Z-rankers stared down at him, their mouths slightly agape. After a display of power that had nearly collapsed the floor's dimensions, they expected him to be on his knees. Instead, he looked bored.
"He... he's not even out of breath," Siyo whispered, a cold sweat running down his back.
Cynthia let out a short, sharp exhale—a mix of a laugh and a sigh of relief. She looked at Saina Reidan, who was being supported by Fraxy. "That's the Captain for you. He doesn't believe in exhaustion when there's a mission to complete."
"Let's move," Carod commanded, looking up at the floating stands. "We've wasted enough time on the 'Lesser Path' warm-up."
As he spoke, the massive obsidian gates at the far end of the arena began to groan. The red runes that had previously glowed with Bahamu's malice flickered and turned a deep, crystalline Cyan. With a thunderous thoom, the Second Floor Gate swung inward, revealing not a hallway, but a swirling portal of mist and light.
The "View Seats" dissolved, gently lowering the spectators back to the arena floor.
Techyon walked toward the gate, his hand subconsciously reaching for the pocket where he kept his notes. He felt the shift in the mana. The air coming through the portal was no longer hot and dry; it was cold, damp, and smelled of ancient salt.
He glanced at Cynthia. She was walking beside Saina, her expression unreadable but her posture protective. This is it, Techyon thought. The Second Floor. If I'm going to tell her the truth, I have to find the right moment before the next Guardian appears.
"Stay sharp," Gaia warned, her silver hair shimmering as she stepped toward the portal. "The Second Floor is known as the 'Sea of Echoes.' The terrain won't be as straightforward as a gladiator's arena."
One by one, the Z Elite and the Vanguard stepped into the light.
[The Second Floor: The Abyssal Archipelago]
The team stood huddled on a tiny, jagged outcrop of obsidian rock—the only "land" in sight. Beyond the ten-meter radius of the entry gate, a vast, horizonless ocean of Stagnant Black Water stretched out. There were no waves, no wind, and no sound. Only distant, small islands poked out of the dark liquid like the teeth of a submerged beast.
"This water..." Yoru knelt at the edge, her hand hovering over the surface. "It's not just H2O. It's dense with concentrated Dark Mana. If we swim in that, our mana will be sucked dry in minutes."
Goto looked at the distant islands and then at the black depths, his face turning pale again. "We don't have enough flight-capable members to carry everyone. Are we stuck?"
Neweland stepped forward, his long robes billowing despite the lack of wind. He didn't look worried; he looked like a man standing in his own backyard.
"I can clear it," Neweland stated calmly. He raised his staff, the blue gems at the tip beginning to rotate with a rhythmic hum. "[HYDRO ART: HYDRO REPULSOR]!"
The effect was cinematic.
A massive, invisible wall of kinetic pressure erupted from Neweland. The black water, heavy as it was, had no choice but to obey the Arcon's command. With a roar like a thousand waterfalls, the sea split apart. A massive canyon of water opened up, the walls of the ocean rising fifty feet into the air on either side, held back by a shimmering blue field of force.
A perfectly dry, straight path of the seabed was revealed, leading directly toward the first major island.
"Move quickly," Neweland said, his voice echoing in the new canyon. "Maintaining this level of repulsion against Dark-heavy water is a constant drain. We have a window, let's not waste it."
Techyon walked down the damp path, looking up at the walls of water. He could see strange, bioluminescent shadows moving deep within the dark liquid—creatures that were watching them from behind the barrier. He moved closer to Cynthia, the path being narrow enough that they were almost shoulder-to-shoulder.
"Cynthia," he whispered, his voice low so the others wouldn't hear. "Once we reach that island... there's something I need to tell you. Something about the Reidan clan. And about us."
Cynthia didn't look at him, but her steps faltered for a fraction of a second. "The 'Sea of Echoes' makes people say strange things, Techyon," she replied, her eyes fixed on the path ahead. "Make sure you're the one speaking, and not the floor."
[The Sea of Echoes – The Path of Neweland]
The group marched through the canyon of parted water, the towering walls of black liquid humming with suppressed pressure. But suddenly, the light from the surface was blotted out.
"Everyone, look above!" Gaia shouted, her hand flying. "What is that?!"
High above the dry path, suspended in the air as if the sky itself were a liquid medium, drifted a monstrosity. It was a Void Kraken, its skin a translucent, sickly purple and its tentacles stretching for hundreds of meters. Unlike normal sea creatures, it didn't swim—it floated through the mana-rich air of the second floor.
Its massive, central eye locked onto the tiny group below.
"How dare you enter the Second Floor..." The Kraken's voice didn't come from a mouth; it vibrated directly inside their skulls, cold and slimy. "Lesser beings treading the path of the Ancients... you shall be the first to drown in the Echoes."
The Kraken began to descend, its weight threatening to collapse Neweland's Hydro Repulsor barrier.
[The Null Dimension – Location: Unknown]
Far beyond the reach of the dungeon, in a place where time and space had no meaning, the Null Dimension sat in eternal silence. There was no sun, no stars—only a thick, suffocating darkness that felt like a physical weight.
Suddenly, a massive Red Eye snapped open in the void.
It was larger than a planet, its iris swirling with the chaotic energy of destroyed universes. The darkness itself seemed to shiver as a voice rumbled through the nothingness—a voice that sounded like the void itself was speaking.
"So... they defeated Gladiator Bahamu..."
The voice carried a tone of cold, detached amusement.
"I am curious to see what they can do after this. Will the 'Hope' of the Reidan bloodline be enough... or will they join the billions of souls already dissolved in my shadow?"
The red eye blinked once, and a ripple of dark energy shot toward the dungeon's coordinates. The true master of the void was no longer just watching.