The world dissolved into a blur of violet smoke.
One moment, I was standing on the pulsating flesh-ground of the outer domain. Next, the sensation of weightlessness hit me, followed by a sudden return of gravity.
My boots touched a surface that felt more like hardened glass than earth.
I opened my eyes.
Or rather, I tried to see.
It was pitch black.
Not the murky gloom of the outer layers where faint outlines were visible. This was absolute, crushing darkness. It was a void so complete that I couldn’t even see the hand I held up in front of my face.
’So this is the core area...’
I stood perfectly still, my senses strained to the limit.
While my eyes were useless, my other senses were screaming.
Thump.
Thump.
A slow, rhythmic vibration echoed through the floor plates and up my spine. It was a deep, resonant pulse, like the heartbeat of a sleeping titan.
I turned my head toward the source of the sound.
I couldn’t see it, my Darkness Affinity was still too low to pierce this level of density, but I could feel it, probably because I had affinity with Void.
It was a massive, swirling coalescence of energy about fifty meters ahead. It felt heavy. Terrifyingly so. It was like standing blindfolded next to a naked reactor core. The sheer density of aura rolling off it made the air taste like metal and static.
The Heart of the Night Devourer.
If I were a normal hunter, the temptation to strike it right now would be overwhelming. Destroying this would instantly kill the Overlord and end the nightmare.
But I didn’t move a muscle.
A burning sensation on my chest reminded me of the Soul Oath I had sworn just moments ago.
[Condition: Do not harm the Core.]
Nemo wasn’t an idiot. He had forced me to include a clause that specifically forbade me from damaging his Heart while I was "guarding" it. If I even tried to channel aura with hostile intent toward that pulsing beat, my own soul would backlash and cripple me.
’Well, I had no intention of doing that anyway.’
I sat down on the invisible floor, crossing my legs.
’Now... we wait.’
I closed my useless eyes and took a deep breath, regulating my heart rate.
Silence reigned.
It was a silence so profound it felt heavy, pressing against my eardrums. There was no wind, no distant battle cries, only the rhythmic thump... thump... of the monster’s heart.
My mind drifted to the upcoming confrontation.
’Prince Bane.’
I tapped my finger against my knee.
To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure if using [Exorcist’s Eye] on Bane was a good idea.
It wasn’t because I feared a backlash alone; it was the cost as well.
’20 hours.’
The cooldown was massive.
If I used it now and failed to kill him, or if he had a way to negate it, I would be left without my strongest trump card against spectral entities for nearly a full day.
In a place like this, swarming with nightmares, that vulnerability could be fatal.
’But I already sealed the deal.’
I had taken the payment. I had sent my friends to safety. There was no backing out now.
’Focus.’
I cleared my thoughts.
Since I had nothing but time in this sensory deprivation tank, I decided to do what I did best.
Mental Simulation.
It was a fundamental practice for a Mystic Resonator. To visualize the flow of aura, to predict the enemy’s moves, to run scenarios in the safety of the mind before executing them in reality.
I constructed a mental image of the encounter.
’Opponent: Bane.’ ’Rank: Peak Tier 5.’
The gap was immense. He was touching the realm of a Master. In a fair fight, he would crush me like a twig.
I ran the simulations one after another, adjusting the variables.
I visualized the cat appearing first since Nemo said it was his anchor. I visualized Bane stepping out of the shadows a split second later. I visualized myself ignoring the cat and striking Bane the exact moment he materialized, before his senses could adjust to the Core’s pressure.
’Strike. Disrupt. Retreat.’
I ran it over and over.
Strike. Disrupt. Retreat.
Strike. Disrupt. Retreat.
Time lost its meaning in the dark. It could have been minutes or perhaps an hour.
Then, it happened.
My eyes snapped open.
I didn’t hear a sound. The silence was still absolute.
But the air... rippled, almost faintly.
About twenty meters to my left, the dense fabric of the darkness was disturbed. It was a subtle sensation, like a drop of oil falling into a still pool of water.
But I instinctively knew something foreign had entered the sanctum thanks to Nemo sharing some of its powers with me.
’It’s here.’
I remained seated, sending a quick mental signal to Nemo.
I held my breath, suppressing my presence to the absolute minimum, utilizing every technique and passive skill I possessed to erase my existence.
A faint, purplish light began to bleed into existence from that spot. It wasn’t the violent violet of Nemo’s domain, but a softer, eerier glow.
Two glowing slits appeared in the dark.
Eyes.
Vertical, predatory pupils floating in the void.
Then, a sleek, black shape stepped out of the nothingness as if walking through a curtain.
It was the cat creature Nemo told me about.
It didn’t rush. It stepped onto the invisible floor with agonizing slowness, looking around lazily. Its tail swished back and forth, its gaze sweeping across the void, checking the corners, the ceiling, the empty space.
For a terrifying second, its gaze lingered right where I sat.
But then, as if deciding nothing was there, it turned its head and looked straight toward the pulsing mass of the Core.
Vwoom.
The shadows directly behind the cat rippled.
Like ink rising from water, a figure emerged from the floor. First the boots, then the legs, and finally the torso and head.
’...Bane.’
He stood there, dusting off his shoulder, his expression calm and composed.
My muscles tensed, screaming at me to execute the simulation. Strike now. Disrupt.
But I remained unmoving.
’Something is wrong.’
I could feel it. Or rather, I couldn’t feel it.
I narrowed my eyes, trying to trigger [Status Check].
[Target invalid.] [Target invalid.]
The system returned nothing but error messages.
This "Bane" had no life force.
’A decoy?’ I guessed.
If so, the cat was definitely cautious. It was testing the waters with a high-tier illusion, checking for traps or guardians before the real body committed to the entry.
The fake Bane took a step forward, looking up at the massive, thumping Core.
"Heh," the figure chuckled faintly, the sound thin and hollow against the heavy silence. "So this is its heart... Impressive, as I expected."
He reached out a hand, as if to touch the swirling energy.
I watched, sweat trickling down my back.
Was it really just an illusion? Or was he using a technique to completely mask his presence, making me think it was a fake so I would hesitate?
...What should I do?
If I attacked now and it was a decoy, I would lose the element of surprise and my trump card. The real Bane would pinpoint my location instantly and strike before I could recover.
But if I didn’t act and it was real...
The Heart would be breached. Nemo would be enslaved. And I would be dead or severely injured.
’Think.’
My eyes darted frantically between the figure and the cat.
The cat was sitting on its haunches, watching the figure with bored, violet eyes. Yet, beneath that lazy facade, I could sense a coiled tension. It was ready to spring, to intercept, to kill the moment a threat revealed itself.
It was too realistic. Every shadow, every movement screamed that this was the real Prince.
But...
’It’s a fake.’
I repeated the words in my head like a desperate mantra, fighting the screaming instinct to draw my blade.
’It’s a fake. It’s a fake.’
Bane stood right beside the Heart now. His hand was moving upward, inches away from the swirling vortex of power.
I gritted my teeth so hard my jaw ached, forcing my muscles to stay liquid, to stay frozen in the dark. I had to trust the error message over my own eyes.
’I will bet on you, System.’
I squeezed my eyes shut for a split second, praying to the only absolute advantage I had in this wretched world.
’Please... don’t disappoint me!’