I returned to Abor and headed straight for the central monitoring chamber. As expected, Primus was still there, standing in front of the layered projections, his attention completely absorbed in the flow of information moving across them.
"Hey there, Mr. Demon," I said as I walked up beside him, giving his shoulder a light pat. "How’s it going?"
"All good," he replied without looking away, his eyes still fixed on the displays.
"Well, I’ve got some good news for you."
That got his attention. He turned his head and looked at me.
"What kind of good news?" he asked.
"I’ve secured a deal with the Nagas," I said. "You can head there and work out the financial support directly with them before we move on the Grade 3 rift."
His eyebrow lifted slightly.
"That was fast," he said. "When can I go?"
"You can leave right now," I replied. "Head to Base 27. From there, you’ll get a direct route to Kaalseris."
He didn’t hesitate.
"Good. I need resources immediately," he said, already moving. "The sooner this is handled, the better."
And just like that, he walked out of the chamber. I watched him go for a second, then chuckled.
"That was quick."
Without lingering, I stepped out as well, shifting space and arriving inside the training compound.
Steve and North were both seated in meditation.
"Hello, you two," I said as I approached. "How’s life treating you here?"
Steve opened his eyes first and let out a long breath.
"Boring," he said. "Extremely boring."
I smiled slightly.
North opened her eyes next, her expression far calmer.
"Do we have any updates?" she asked. "When are we moving?"
"Yes," I said.
Both of them focused on me.
"We leave tomorrow," I said. "Grade 3 rift."
"Finally," Steve said, pushing himself up to his feet with a stretch. "So when do we sit down and plan this properly?"
I shook my head.
"There’s no real plan for this one," I said.
He frowned slightly. "What do you mean no plan?"
"We go in fully prepared and we hit as hard as we can," I replied. "That’s it."
North’s brows drew together just a little.
"You’re saying we go into a Grade 3 rift without a strategy?" she asked.
"I’m saying no strategy we sit and design here is going to matter in there," I said. "This isn’t like the lower rifts. We won’t just be dealing with abominations and phantoms. There will be Eternals inside... and not just a few. Enough to turn the entire space into a battlefield."
I paused briefly before continuing.
"There’s also a chance a Saint-level Eternal shows up. If that happens, everything changes instantly."
Both of them went quiet.
"So instead of pretending we can control it," I added, "we go in at our peak, stay sharp, and overwhelm anything that stands in front of us. Strength, awareness, and adaptability, that’s the only plan that works there."
They exchanged a look. Then Steve let out a short laugh.
"You know what," he said, "I actually like that. No overthinking. Just go in and go all out."
I shrugged lightly.
"That’s the idea."
North didn’t say anything immediately, but she gave a small nod, accepting it.
"Anyway," I continued, "this should help us finish the merit point requirement."
Then I exhaled slightly.
"Still no sign of the soul treasure we were looking for though."
"Umm... why don’t you just ask the System?" North said.
I looked at her.
"It should already know what I’m looking for," I replied.
"Yeah," she said calmly, "but you haven’t actually asked it."
I exhaled, almost rolling my eyes.
"Fair enough."
I straightened slightly and spoke out loud,
"Hey, System. I need something that can help me increase my soul quality... and quantity."
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
A notification appeared.
I blinked.
"It actually replied..." I muttered, a hint of surprise slipping into my voice.
Steve leaned forward slightly.
"What does it say?"
I didn’t answer immediately.
My eyes were fixed on the notification in front of me, reading it again as if expecting it to change.
"It says nothing good," I said finally.
"What do you mean nothing good?" Steve asked.
I didn’t look away. Because there was only one thing written there. And it was enough.
[Crimson Zone]
"Crimson Zone..." I said slowly.
Silence fell between us. Both of them understood what that meant.
North’s eyes widened slightly. Steve’s expression shifted, the earlier excitement fading into something more serious.
"Anyway, you two continue," I said, already turning away. "I have something to take care of."
Without waiting for their response, I vanished from the training chamber. I reappeared high above the city, suspended in the open sky. The winds moved quietly around me as I remained still, letting the noise below fade away while I organized my thoughts.
Everything was beginning to align.
Amun had not given those conditions randomly.
The merit points were straightforward. Fight rifts, gather points, and fulfill the requirement. There was nothing complicated about that. The second condition, the Pre-Origin stats, had also been clear. Push the body beyond its natural limits using Essence until it reached saturation.
But the third requirement... soul.
That had never been clearly explained. And yet, I had already experienced something related to it.
During Amun’s trial.
When I had destroyed those black shadows and released the human souls trapped within them, I had felt my own soul strengthen. Through interaction with other souls.
That wasn’t a coincidence. Amun had shown me that path once already. Which meant he knew. Or at the very least, he understood what lay ahead.
My gaze hardened slightly. And now the System had pointed to the same place.
Crimson Zone.
It was the missing piece.
"I see..." I muttered under my breath.
Then I spoke again, more firmly.
"System, explain the Crimson Zone."
No response. The silence confirmed it. I tried again, this time with more intent, pushing my will into the command itself.
Still nothing.
A faint irritation passed through me, but I didn’t dwell on it. If the System refused to answer directly, then it meant one thing, it wanted me to discover it myself.
"Fine," I said quietly.
I drew Essence into my body once more from the core, attempting to push my stats further, to see if there was still any room left to grow through force alone.
Nothing happened. I was not able to increase my stat any further.
My expression slowly grew serious. There was no bypassing this.
Crimson Zone.
That was where the answer was. And that was where I would have to go next.