A day passed in the Layer of Ancients.
Then another, in silence.
Everywhere, it was eerily quiet.
Amid the silence, the darkness in the air gradually grew so dense that even seeing ahead became extremely difficult. Even the white mist surrounding the clearing where Azazeal floated, waiting for Nathaniel to awaken from slumber, turned pitch black.
It was as if the entire ancient realm—vast enough to rival countless massive planets—had fallen completely under his control.
He smiled when he heard distant cries of agony. All of his bodies gathering around the clearing could feel that Cassian was killing every living being he encountered.
Many weaker Celestials who had entered the Layer of Ancients with the Rulers, but had been separated from their group and somehow survived until now, all fell by his hand. He was like death itself—merciless—as he roamed the ancient realm, soaked in the blood of Celestials from head to toe.
The more Cassian killed, the more he lost himself to the darkness. Azazeal found it amusing that Cassian didn’t even seem to realize it, or perhaps he simply didn’t care, as if he had surrendered everything for the sake of his revenge. Yet, strangely, Cassian still had not managed to eliminate any of the seven people he actually needed to.
It was as if Ares, Guardian Zami, Gvette, Silver, Jolie, Tai, and Owin—all seven of them—had simply vanished into thin air.
But Azazeal, who could see everything, raised an eyebrow at their futile struggles and, like a good master, sent their location to his first Celestial Shadow General, who seemed to be running around in circles.
Far away, in a high place resembling a tall mountain strewn with many broken stones, Ares’s bloodied form hid behind a massive rock, his body trembling as he grit his teeth.
Slowly—very slowly—he peered out from behind the rock into the darkness behind him, where a very familiar figure stood.
It was Cassian, a dark sword in his hand, calling out in a disturbingly gentle voice.
"I know you are hiding there. Come out, Clan Leader. I’m here to help... I swear."
Ares’s lips twitched as he looked away.
He would be completely insane to trust a person surrounded by such thick darkness—and that was without even considering the blood and dead body before Cassian.
He even dared to wipe the sword in his hand clean, as if preparing to kill again!
Tremors shook through Ares’s whole body as he clenched his fists and shut his eyes.
’What happened to him?! We were only separated for a while! How did he lose it?’
Ares cursed under his breath. His injuries still hadn’t healed due to his lack of energy, making every movement painful. His body was already beyond saving, yet he refused to abandon it and retreat to a quiet place to create a new one for his soul—because if he did that, who would protect the others?
The agony was made even worse by the constant effort to shield his soul from the darkness attempting to slip into his body.
It had been two long days since Kyle had teleported everyone to safety, but none of them could heal. Luckily, Ares had marked each of them before Kyle teleported them away, allowing him to track them easily. In the end, Ares had no choice but to collect everyone’s souls using an artifact, as their bodies were no longer salvageable. If he made it out of the realm, they could form new bodies for their souls with treasures.
The only person Ares couldn’t locate was Cassian. The mark he had placed on him was obscured by something. Yet he didn’t give up, continuing his search—only to find a man who had surrendered completely to the darkness, a person who seemed to be searching for his companions to kill them.
That’s why, the moment Ares saw him, he immediately retreated and hid, keeping the souls of everyone he had collected safely secured within the bracelet on his wrist.
He crawled away from the mountain, his vision growing hazy with each movement.
"Can we... survive this...?"
Broken words slipped from his dry lips as he lost his balance and tumbled down the mountain, dragging rocks along with him.
The sound caught Cassian’s attention. His crimson eyes instantly narrowed into slits as he stepped toward the falling debris.
Cassian watched as the rocks fell to the very bottom of the mountain into the mist.
At the same time, Ares hissed, his fingers trembling beneath the weight of the rocks, but he still protected the bracelet, pressing it beneath his body. It couldn’t be broken—if it were, his clanmates and companions would lose their only chance at survival.
He tried to push the rocks pressing down on him aside. As a powerful Celestial, this task should have required no effort, but his state was so bad that it now felt impossibly difficult. In the end, he gave up, lying under the rocks quietly and breathing hoarsely.
The sound of footsteps echoed opposite him, crisp and clear. Yet he couldn’t resist.
In that instant, a familiar symbol lit up on the back of Ares’ hand, cutting through the darkness. It shattered into small particles and flowed into his body, granting him the power to send his soul and consciousness to safety. Ares’s lips curved into a smile, tinged with sadness, as he whispered.
"Even now... you are helping us. So young, yet capable of so, so much. But it seems I won’t be able to live to thank you myself."
He closed his eyes, forcing the power that had just entered his body into the bracelet on his wrist and sending it away. Far from his location, the faint clink of metal hitting the ground echoed through the darkness.
At that moment, Zami’s consciousness stirred. Her sleeping soul awakened, and she dazedly took in her surroundings. As she recalled everything that had occurred after Kyle teleported them away from the clearing, Zami grasped it all. The bracelet should’ve been with Ares, who had found them and collected their souls to protect them from the surrounding darkness. But seeing it lying alone in the dark, she knew something serious had happened to the Clan Leader. Otherwise, there was no way he would have abandoned the bracelet.
Summoning the power within her soul—something few dared to do, as it could endanger their existence—she took the bracelet and left to find a safe location.
She didn’t know how long they could stay hidden, or how long they could survive with the darkness around—but as long as there was any hope, she would guard the younger ones with everything she had. Perhaps they would find a way out of this dire situation.
If not, they would fight to the very end.