Silence fell over the wall. Every warrior stared at the dark pillar that pierced the sky in disbelief.
And Hamada, with his eyes wide and teeth clenched, whispered the only thing that came to mind.
“…He’s alive.”
The moment those words left his mouth, the eyes of the guards snapped toward him.
Alive?
There was no way they could mistake what Hamada meant. For the past two days, since the ruined heir had entered the pit, they had lost count of how many times Hamada had returned to the gate, asking if there were any changes.
Among the warriors of Blackreach, none had wanted his return more than Hamada.
But Hamada wasn’t just any warrior. He was a Blood Champion, a person of strength, of power. A rank not easily reached.
Which was why, when he spoke, it became their reality.
Their hearts trembled.
An unevolved… had entered the Darkness Pit… and returned?
“Blood Champion—” one guard began to speak, but he froze in the next instant, his words caught in his throat.
The air around Hamada had suddenly turned heavy, oppressive. He hadn’t moved his gaze from the pillar of darkness even once.
Then, quietly but firmly, Hamada spoke.
“I’ll be going first.”
A wild energy rippled around him. His body dipped slightly. Then—
Boom.
The ground shattered beneath him as he rocketed into the sky, landing with force on the barren earth below.
He didn’t pause. Didn’t look back.
He was barely able to contain the excitement inside him as he surged forward toward the pit, tearing through the air at supersonic speed.
—
Meanwhile, in the Darkness Pit where the pillar of darkness was erupting from, another scene was playing out.
Nyx fixed her eyes on the pillar with a cautious look. She had shot back and created distance from the pit the moment she felt the danger emanating from it.
‘Is it time already?’
It was already expected that the pit would act like this once every month, causing darkness creatures to spill out and attack the Blackreach.
However, it was supposed to occur once every month, and she had witnessed the last one barely a week ago.
‘Or… is it him?’
Nyx’s heart trembled. She dared to hope.
Since Malakai entered the pit, she had never once left her position, simply staring at the pit and hoping for his return.
She knew, she knew very well, that many would consider this borderline delusional. Every single fact pointed to the reality that there was no way Malakai would survive this.
He was unevolved. He was weak.
His death was assured.
But Nyx had still stayed. She had still dared to hope. She didn’t know what else to do.
In all her years of acting like Malakai’s maid, she never would have imagined that she would come to care for him.
She had wanted to deny it before, to ignore how she felt. But ever since her devastating loss in the past, she had never once felt the need to protect someone as she did now.
And it took a mission that was a death sentence to Malakai for her to fully realize her feelings.
During the two days spent staring at the pit, she had constantly asked herself the same questions: Why had she allowed him to enter? Why didn’t she try to get him out of it? Why didn’t she follow him…?
She felt nothing but regret.
And now, as she watched the scene unfold before her, once again, she hoped.
Then the pillar of darkness reached the skies… and began to collapse on itself, retreating downward until it vanished back into the pit.
Silence.
The force of its eruption had stirred a massive cloud of dust, now covering the area and obscuring the pit from view.
Regardless, as silence descended upon the area, Nyx’s eyes suddenly sharpened, her guard rising to its peak.
‘There’s someone coming.’
Step. Step. Step.
The sound of footsteps echoed through the not-so-silent air, reaching Nyx’s ears.
‘Just one person.’
The steps were calm. Measured.
As though nothing in this world could rush him.
As though the world itself waited for him.
A pair of crimson eyes shone through the haze, locking onto Nyx’s. And in that instant, her world seemed to still.
She didn’t know how to describe it.
Relief? Happiness? Gratitude? Excitement?
No single emotion could capture what she felt in that moment, because everything came crashing down on her all at once.
She froze… just as a figure burst out from the haze.
The gleaming blade of a scythe reared its head first, slicing through the dust. And then came the figure, gripping it by the handle.
Crimson eyes. Crimson hair.
His shirtless torso the very image of flawlessness, chiseled muscles, every line and pack carved like stone.
The air whipped around him, sending his hair flowing back, framing those cold and icy eyes…
Eyes that Nyx knew she would never forget in her lifetime.
Not now. Not ever.
He had actually returned.
He had been sent to the depths of hell, and still, he had returned.
Nyx, despite the rush of happiness flooding her chest, struggled to believe what she was witnessing.
But his return… wasn’t what shocked her the most.
They were close to the Darkness Pit, on an accursed land where darkness creatures were slaughtered regularly.
Because of that, the Vita in this barren expanse was thick, dense enough to choke the air.
And she felt it immediately.
The Vita.
It was swirling around Malakai in droves, then getting sucked into his body without resistance.
He appeared like a collapsing star, pulling in everything around him. A singularity in the middle of chaos.
The realization hit her like a thunderclap.
‘H-He evolved.’
Anyone who heard her thoughts now would call her mad.
The ruined heir of the Sanguine family?
The boy whose nodes had been shattered beyond repair?
Evolved?
It had to be a lie.
But reality didn’t lie. And Nyx had never been more certain of anything in her life.
The steps stopped.
Nyx snapped out of her thoughts, quickly regaining her composure, only to realize…
He was standing right in front of her.
