BOOM.
The heartbeat thundered through Blackthorn Forest.
Not once.
Not twice.
But over and over again.
Each pulse shook the earth beneath Noah’s feet.
The black trees bent as though paying homage.
The mist retreated.
Even the sky above the forest darkened.
Azrael’s expression hardened.
For the first time since arriving...
He looked serious.
The black chains erupted from the shattered ground like living serpents.
Each chain was thicker than an ancient oak.
Crimson runes crawled across their surfaces.
They shot toward Azrael from every direction.
The Apostle vanished.
BOOM!
The chains collided where he had been standing.
The sanctuary exploded into rubble.
Azrael reappeared dozens of meters away.
"...So you’ve regained enough strength to fight."
His voice had lost its playful tone.
Another chain lashed toward him.
Azrael caught it.
The moment his fingers touched the rune-covered metal—
The chain exploded into crimson lightning.
His black hand hissed.
Smoke rose from his skin.
Noah’s eyes widened.
He’d been injured.
Only slightly.
But injured nonetheless.
Azrael glanced at his hand.
Then smiled.
"...Interesting."
The heartbeat answered.
BOOM.
The earth split open.
A colossal root emerged from beneath the sanctuary.
No.
Not a root.
It resembled the root of a tree, but its surface was covered in crimson veins.
It pulsed like a living heart.
Blood flowed beneath its bark.
The entire forest was connected to it.
Blood Sense activated automatically.
Thousands.
Millions.
Countless crimson threads stretched from every creature in Blackthorn Forest toward the massive root.
The wolves.
The Executioner.
Every beast.
Every insect.
Every blade of grass.
Everything fed it.
Everything belonged to it.
The System flashed.
[Blackthorn Forest Core Located.]
Synchronization: 9%
Only nine percent.
And Noah could already feel its overwhelming presence.
A deep voice echoed from within the root.
Not loud.
Yet impossible to ignore.
"Successor..."
Noah looked up.
The root pulsed again.
BOOM.
"Come."
The single word resonated through his bones.
Azrael stepped forward.
"No."
His voice was sharp.
"He isn’t yours."
The root ignored him.
Instead, another chain burst from the earth.
Then another.
Then ten more.
The chains wrapped around Azrael’s arms and legs.
The Apostle struggled.
For the first time...
His smile disappeared completely.
"You’ve imprisoned me once before."
The forest answered with silence.
The chains tightened.
Cracks spread across Azrael’s black skin.
Dark blood dripped onto the sanctuary floor.
He laughed.
A low, dangerous laugh.
"So..."
"You remember."
The heartbeat grew louder.
BOOM!
The guardian slowly rose from the rubble.
Its body was barely holding together.
Cracks covered every inch of its armor.
Its crimson eyes flickered weakly.
Still...
It knelt before Noah.
"The Fragment..."
Its voice trembled.
"Take it."
The crimson crystal floated toward Noah once more.
This time...
Nothing stopped him.
He reached out.
The instant his fingers closed around the crystal—
The world dissolved.
Darkness swallowed everything.
When Noah opened his eyes again...
He wasn’t in the sanctuary.
He stood inside an enormous chamber.
Its ceiling couldn’t be seen.
Its walls were formed from tangled black roots.
At the center...
A gigantic crimson heart floated in midair.
Each beat sent waves of power through the chamber.
BOOM.
It was larger than a castle.
Countless chains pierced its surface.
Holding it in place.
Keeping it asleep.
Or imprisoned.
Noah slowly approached.
The closer he came...
The louder the whispers became.
"Successor..."
"Free us..."
"Become stronger..."
"Finish what they began..."
Hundreds of voices.
Thousands.
All speaking at once.
He stopped a few meters away.
The heart beat once more.
Then...
A figure stepped from behind it.
A young woman.
She looked no older than Noah.
Long black hair reached her waist.
She wore ancient crimson armor covered in cracks.
A broken crown rested upon her head.
Her eyes...
Burned with the same crimson light as the System.
She studied Noah silently.
Then smiled.
A tired smile.
"So..."
Her voice echoed through the chamber.
"...the Seventh has finally arrived."
Noah stared.
"Who are you?"
The woman’s smile faded.
She placed one hand over her heart.
"My name..."
She closed her eyes.
"...has been forgotten."
A pause.
"But once..."
She looked directly into Noah’s eyes.
"...I was the Second Successor."
Silence filled the chamber.
Noah’s heart skipped a beat.
The Second Successor.
One of the six who had died.
Yet...
She was standing right in front of him.
Alive.
Or something frighteningly close to it.