A week passed.
For seven days, Nora remained inside the ancient cave.
She trained.
She hunted.
She practiced Ocean Sealing Sorcery.
And slowly, the fragments accumulated.
Every battle pushed her closer.
Every creature she killed strengthened her foundation.
Every failure while practicing the Ocean God's sorcery gave her another piece of understanding.
Until finally—
The familiar voice of the System echoed inside her mind.
"Devil Fragments: 4,000/4,000."
Nora opened her eyes.
For a moment, she simply stared ahead.
Then the next notification appeared.
"Required amount reached."
"Prepare for reformation."
Nora's expression changed.
"So it's finally time."
She had experienced advancement before.
But this felt different.
Her entire body suddenly became heavy.
An invisible force pressed against her existence.
Then—
Pain exploded through her.
Nora's fingers dug into the ground.
Her breathing became ragged.
Her Devil Core began shaking violently.
Cracks appeared across its surface.
Not physical cracks.
Something deeper.
The core itself was being dismantled.
Rebuilt.
Reformed.
Essence poured through her body like a raging river.
Her muscles tightened.
Her bones became denser.
Her blood became purer.
Even her senses seemed to sharpen.
For several minutes, Nora could do nothing except endure.
Then the pain suddenly disappeared.
Silence followed.
A strange warmth spread through her body.
Her new core slowly stabilized.
Then the System spoke.
"Reformation complete."
"Congratulations."
"You have advanced to a new class."
"Class: Tyrant"
"Tyrant Fragments: 0/5,000."
Nora slowly opened her eyes.
For a few seconds, she didn't move.
Then she clenched her fist.
Boom!
The surrounding air trembled.
Nora's eyes widened.
Her strength had increased dramatically.
It wasn't merely an increase in raw power.
Her entire existence felt more stable.
Her essence circulated more naturally.
Her body responded faster.
Her mind felt clearer.
Even the connection between her and her spirits seemed stronger.
Nora immediately tested it.
She summoned one spirit.
Then another.
Then another.
More figures appeared around her.
Nora's eyes widened.
Six spirits.
All six looked exactly like her.
Same face.
Same body.
Same expression.
For a moment, Nora simply stared at them.
Then a smile slowly appeared.
"Six..."
She looked from one to another.
"So I can fight as six people?"
The six spirit versions of herself stood silently around her.
Nora's imagination immediately began working.
One could attack from the front.
Another could attack from behind.
Two could defend.
Another could create an opening.
The final one could strike the enemy's destiny.
It wasn't simply creating six extra bodies.
It was multiplying her tactical possibilities.
Six positions.
Six perspectives.
Six attacks.
Six chances to deceive an opponent.
And if she combined them with her False Glimpse...
Nora's smile became wider.
"This is interesting."
She dismissed the spirits.
Her body suddenly felt strangely light.
Her eyesight had improved again.
Not dramatically.
But enough for her to notice.
Even distant objects appeared slightly clearer.
She turned toward Rose.
Rose had been watching her advancement from nearby.
"We're almost at the teleporter."
Nora nodded.
"Then we should leave."
Rose smiled.
"Exactly."
She released a soft pink aura from her body.
The aura spread outward.
It wasn't an attack.
It was simply her presence.
Yet the moment it spread through the cave, the creatures hiding nearby became completely still.
None approached.
None attacked.
Even the creatures that had previously watched them hungrily simply turned away.
Rose glanced at Nora.
"Let's go."
They continued walking.
Soon, the darkness ahead revealed something unexpected.
A wooden door.
It looked completely ordinary.
Almost absurdly ordinary compared to the ancient ruins surrounding it.
Rose placed her hand on the door.
"Ready?"
Nora nodded.
Rose pushed it open.
The moment she stepped through—
She disappeared.
Nora followed.
The world twisted.
For a brief instant, she felt as though she had been squeezed through a narrow space.
Then—
She emerged from the statue.
Rose had already stepped outside.
Nora followed immediately.
Except—
She hadn't expected Rose to stop directly in front of her.
"Watch out—"
Too late.
Nora crashed into Rose.
Both of them lost their balance.
They fell onto the ground.
Rose groaned.
Nora slowly lifted her head.
"...Are you okay?"
Rose stared at her.
Then sighed.
"Prepare for a wild ride."
Nora frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Rose stood.
"You'll see."
They left the cave.
Outside, darkness covered the surroundings.
Rose summoned a small torch.
The moment essence entered it—
The darkness disappeared.
The cave entrance and surrounding terrain became visible.
Nora glanced at the torch.
She still found it amusing that Rose carried so many strange Data abilities.
Rose dismissed it.
Then her expression changed.
A powerful aura erupted from her body.
Nora immediately felt the difference.
Rose's God Body manifested.
Her body became covered in a crystalline, jade-like radiance.
Her skin seemed almost translucent beneath the glow.
A delicate flower crown formed around her head.
Then—
Wings emerged from her back.
Beautiful wings.
Not feathered.
Not entirely physical.
They resembled enormous crystalline petals layered together.
Each movement scattered faint pink particles into the air.
Nora stared.
"Woah."
Rose glanced at her.
"What?"
"That's an amazing God Body."
Rose smiled.
"I've had some time to practice it."
She raised her hand.
A tiny bird suddenly appeared.
At first, it was no larger than Nora's palm.
Then—
It grew.
Larger.
Larger.
Its body expanded until it became enormous.
Its wings stretched several meters.
Its talons became sharp enough to pierce stone.
A powerful aura radiated from it.
Rose touched the creature.
Pink essence flowed from her body into it.
The bird immediately reacted.
Its aura surged.
For a moment, Nora's expression became serious.
The creature's pressure had become even stronger than Rose's.
Nora looked at it.
"This is..."
"My relic."
Rose patted the enormous bird.
"Elite class."
Nora's eyes widened slightly.
"An Elite relic?"
Rose nodded.
"Unfortunately, it isn't suited for direct combat."
She looked at Nora.
"But it can carry us."
Rose climbed onto its back.
"Come on."
Nora followed.
Once she was seated, Rose gave the creature another infusion of essence.
Its wings opened.
Then—
BOOM!
A massive gust of wind exploded outward.
The ground cracked beneath them.
Nora grabbed onto the bird.
Rose laughed.
"Hold tight."
The creature shot into the sky.
Nora's hair immediately whipped backward.
Within seconds, the ground became smaller.
The forest disappeared beneath them.
Mountains became distant shapes.
The horizon stretched endlessly ahead.
Nora summoned Guiding Light.
The small spirit floated beside her.
She handed it toward Rose.
Rose reached for it.
But the moment her fingers touched it—
Guiding Light transformed.
Its entire body dissolved into pure light.
The light escaped Rose's hand and floated into the sky.
A thin beam appeared.
It pointed toward the distant horizon.
Rose stared.
"So it can guide us by itself."
Nora nodded.
"That's what it evolved to do."
The beam shifted slightly.
The bird immediately changed direction.
Then it accelerated.
Faster.
And faster.
The sky became a blur.
---
The journey was long.
Much longer than Nora had expected.
The Great Ocean stretched beneath them like an endless blue world.
At first, Nora admired it.
The water reflected the sky like a gigantic mirror.
Occasionally, enormous creatures could be seen moving beneath the surface.
Some were so large that their shadows resembled islands.
Others surfaced briefly before disappearing again.
But as the days passed...
The ocean began to feel endless.
Nora eventually stopped trying to guess where they were.
She simply watched.
At night, the stars reflected across the water.
During the day, sunlight transformed the ocean into a field of silver.
Rose remained focused.
Her essence reserves slowly declined.
Even with the Elite relic carrying them, controlling such a powerful creature for so long was exhausting.
She occasionally rested her hand against the bird's neck.
"Keep going."
The bird continued.
Nora looked toward the horizon.
"How far is it?"
Rose exhaled.
"Far."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only answer I have."
Nora sighed.
The journey continued.
Days became weeks.
The Great Ocean seemed determined to test their patience.
Eventually—
After nearly a month of traveling...
Guiding Light suddenly changed direction.
The beam became brighter.
Nora immediately opened her eyes.
"We're close."
Rose looked ahead.
The ocean finally began changing.
The endless water gradually narrowed.
Land appeared in the distance.
A coastline.
Then mountains.
Then a massive stretch of unfamiliar terrain.
The bird began descending.
Rose's expression relaxed for the first time in days.
"Finally."
The bird landed.
Its enormous wings folded.
Rose immediately dismissed Guiding Light.
The light vanished.
The Elite relic landed beside them.
Rose stepped down.
Then nearly stumbled.
Nora immediately caught her.
"You're exhausted."
Rose shook her head.
"I'm fine."
"You almost fell."
"I said I'm fine."
Nora looked at her carefully.
Rose's face was pale.
Her essence reserves were dangerously low.
She had pushed herself far beyond what was comfortable just to get them here.
Rose finally sat down.
"Give me a few minutes."
Nora nodded.
They remained silent.
The surrounding area was strangely calm.
No monsters attacked.
No wind moved.
No birds called.
It was almost too quiet.
Rose closed her eyes and began recovering her essence.
Nora stood nearby.
She looked toward the unfamiliar landscape.
Somewhere beyond this place was the Great River.
Beyond the Great River was their next destination.
And beyond that...
Misty Mountain.
The place where the River Spawn supposedly waited.
The place where their expedition would truly begin.
Nora tightened her grip.
Then—
A cold voice suddenly echoed from behind them.
"See who we have here."
Nora's expression changed.
Rose opened her eyes.
Both girls turned.
Someone was standing nearby.
Neither had sensed the person's approach.
Nora's instincts immediately warned her.
Danger.
The figure stepped forward.
Their face remained hidden beneath the darkness.
Only their eyes were visible.
Cold.
Calculating.
Watching.
Rose slowly stood.
Her exhaustion disappeared from her expression.
Nora summoned Thread Breaker.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
The journey was over.
Whatever waited beyond the Great Ocean...
Had already found them.