The Castle of Darkness .. a towering fortress unbothered by the ravages of time, protected by an ancient barrier that had never once broken.
It welcomed its visitors at last, after standing empty for countless years, awaiting the promised day.
The Engineer entered, cradling Frey in one arm, followed by Angry, dragging both Snow and Ghost behind him.
From the beginning, they never stood a chance. Not against him.
The enraged statue let the unconscious bodies rest at the entrance, then marched toward the Engineer.
Upon reaching him, Angry immediately knelt before the blue-eyed man.
His glowing violet eyes locked onto Frey and never looked away.
Unconsciously, the statue extended his hand toward the unconscious mortal.
There was no way to know what the statue was thinking, but the Engineer understood him perfectly.
"No need to worry. He's alive."
The Engineer smiled—an expression uncharacteristic of him—as he showed a face none had seen before. A face only for an old friend.
"Forgive me for making you attack him like that. I know how painful it must've been... for you and the others. But it was necessary."
Angry said nothing, incapable of speech, yet behind the cold metal mask was a being that felt. And his gaze never once left Frey ... not even with the Engineer standing before him.
The Engineer lifted his head, wearied by time.
"Forgive my bluntness, old friend. But I need to borrow your strength… one last time. An uninvited guest has come knocking."
With care, the Engineer passed Frey—along with the mask—into Angry's hands. The statue nodded.
A blinding surge of aura radiated from Angry's body, far beyond anything he'd shown against Frey and the others. His power transferred into the Engineer like a torrent, consumed down to the last drop.
With a slow nod, the Engineer's body glowed… and vanished.
In less than a second, the blue-eyed figure reappeared—soaring above the Castle of Darkness—his gaze fixed on the skies.
The ever-dark crimson skies of Londor lit up as if the sun itself had pierced its veil.
A radiant, holy light descended ... a brilliant white that announced the arrival of a powerful guest.
A being of reverence and awe, emanating such overwhelming pressure that even the void trembled.
And the Engineer stood to face him—unflinching, unmoved.
The radiance slowly dimmed, revealing the figure beneath:
A supreme entity, one of the highest beings of this world.
Clad in golden armor that glowed with divine radiance, crowned with long white hair, and eyes etched in ancient golden sigils across his face and body.
"You're far from your den this time, Lightbearer," the Engineer was first to speak.
The mighty Lightbearer did not look pleased. Though their fists had yet to clash, their auras collided—creating ripples of power that echoed through the world.
The radiant light that surrounded him was far more intense than the Engineer's blue flame.
"Remnants of the Nameless... you again."
The proud warrior's voice rumbled like thunder.
"Don't think for a second that those above haven't noticed your little games."
He rose slowly, his divine aura intensifying with every heartbeat.
"I couldn't care less about your petty schemes with your little friends... but this time, you've gone too far."
The Lightbearer's words struck with weight, but the Engineer answered with a smirk.
"Too far? And who decided where the line is? You?"
He showed no hint of yielding to a being clearly more powerful than him.
"I hear they call you the Lord of Light now .. worshiped as some kind of god or king. But don't forget your place, Orsted."
The Engineer spoke his opponent's name with purpose.
"Don't forget… you bowed once too. Just like the rest. Before our king. So what's the use of pretending now?"
Despite the provocation, Orsted's face remained unreadable.
"Are you sure this is what you want?"
He spoke calmly ... just before releasing the full extent of his divine power, shaking the heavens and the earth alike.
He glanced around—feeling them. From distant points, a network of immense auras was closing in, surrounding him.
"What's wrong?" the Engineer asked. "Why did you stop?"
Orsted answered without hesitation...
"You think that's enough?"
All those auras clearly reached SSS rank. They were the Humans who had chosen to walk alongside the Engineer long ago — the same ones Abraham met in ages past. But to the Lord of Light, that meant nothing.
Raising his hand high into the sky, the Lightbearer's aura erupted, stacking upon itself violently to form an enormous sword — so vast it overshadowed the entire Dark Castle and the surrounding pilgrims.
A blade the size of a meteor, blinding in its brilliance and threatening to annihilate all beneath it.
His golden eyes blazed.
"I could kill you... along with that precious boy of yours… before your allies even take a single step."
A direct threat.
But the Engineer didn't flinch.
Instead, he raised his own hand, drawing upon the final remnants of his strength.
From nowhere, glowing circular seals appeared around his arm ... clocks with hands that moved slowly within their rings.
At that same moment, identical time-seals materialized around the massive blade the Lord of Light had forged. With a single gesture from the Engineer, the hands of those clocks froze.
The great sword stopped moving entirely, rejecting its master's command, as though time itself had abandoned it.
Yet the Engineer didn't stop smiling — his smirk calm, unfazed.
"You can kill me. I know that much already. I'm just a ghost of who I once was."
He paused before continuing.
"But don't you think you've stepped into this fight while handing your enemy the advantage?"
Those words narrowed Orsted's eyes.
"What exactly do you know?"
"Not much," the Engineer admitted. "But I do know how much you care about that spoiled brat we beat half to death. Isn't that why you came here in the first place?"
That smile again — met with a scowl from Orsted, the Lord of Light, clearly struck where it hurt.
"I know just how important Snow Lionheart is to the Lightbearers. So let me ask you this, great Lord of Light…"
They may have stood on opposite sides today, but both had placed great hopes on a single human.
"I know your power. You're one of the Seven Great Powers for a reason. But… are you strong enough to defeat me and my comrades ... and save your golden boy down below before my ally kills him?"
The question was met with silence.
But Orsted's aura dimmed slightly — proof that he wasn't confident in doing both.
He could crush the Engineer and the others. That much was true.
But saving Snow in time? That was close to impossible.
"We are not your enemies, Lord of Light," the Engineer said firmly. "Just as you've placed your hopes in that radiant youth… we've chosen his shadowed counterpart. Our goals may clash ... but our enemy is the same."
He was ready to fight if necessary. But if the conflict could be avoided, he would take that path.
A direct confrontation with the Lord of Light would lead only to casualties — ones they could not afford.
Thankfully, Orsted was reasonable enough to realize that.
"…Very well."
The crushing aura faded, and the colossal sword dissolved into light.
The Engineer lowered his hand too, finally letting out a breath.
"Times are changing… Nameless follower," Orsted said quietly.
"I don't know what you're trying to accomplish. But all of you are just shadows ... faint echoes of what you once were. You'd do well to stay hidden down below. You're not ready to bear the weight of what lies above."
"…"
"Time changes… but Agaroth remains constant. No matter how many ages pass, he only grows stronger. Damn him — and his filthy race."
His golden body flared with light once more.
The Demon King Agaroth — a catastrophe by every measure. A monster that brought death and despair wherever he went. Even the titans of the world feared his name.
"Be warned, Nameless follower. I won't hold back next time."
Orsted turned, offering his back to the Engineer.
The blue-eyed one said nothing in return.
"Where are you headed?" he asked at last.
"I sensed a surge of dark aura in the distance," Orsted replied.
"One of the wretched High Seats, I assume…"
He smirked ... clearly referring to the Lord of Graves .
"I'll go hunt him down."
"I doubt you'll catch him," the Engineer said. "If you sensed him… he sensed you."
"That's fine. Did you forget I'm the fastest among the Seven Great Powers?"
Light surged through Orsted's body as he shot through the sky, ripping it open in a flash of divine brilliance.
Only one remark was left to echo in the Engineer's ears.
"Nice barrier, by the way."
An odd farewell—but the Engineer gave it no weight.
He exhaled with quiet irritation, his eyes drifting to his fractured hand.
His body could no longer withstand battles of this magnitude.
The blank expression he wore concealed the truth .. but the broken vessel told a different story.
Exhausted. Shattered. He had reached his limit.
And yet, he pressed on—relentless in the mission he had lived for all this time.
His blue eyes settled on the fortress below…
Where Frey Starlight lay.
That boy had left reality behind, plunged into another world .. one shaped by the mask that flooded his mind with memories never meant to be his.
Memories so vivid, so detailed, they manifested as a life he was now living.
While the fated encounter between Orsted and the Engineer unfolded above, Frey had slipped into a deep, disturbingly vivid dream ...
A dream titled "Nameless."