Twenty-two-hundred-and-twenty hours. The invasion force is heading into the cultists’ lair. Slowly yet steadily, we check every cavern and every crevice as we draw ever closer to the final fight. Although the descent is sharp, the smoothed floors and chiselled stairs make light of an otherwise treacherous dive. That said, I can’t help but imagine we're walking along the tongue of a gaping maw, as every empty room and discarded crate adds to my growing sense of foreboding.

This should be the New Dawn’s last stand and yet I hear nothing but drops of water from the surrounding stalactites. I’m beginning to wonder if the cultists have found some way to bypass Maximillian’s Labyrinth Shrouds. My invisible companion continues to point along the path, and with some reservation, I follow Maximillian deeper into Tascus’ domain.

Speaking of which, it’s not like our forces inspire much confidence either. Looking at our line-up, twenty-four holy knights are leading the charge, armed to the teeth and ready to fight to the bitter end. As for our brave cohort of adventurers and city militia… eighty.

Just eighty suicidal idiots confronting more than 500 confirmed enemies.

Although most were more than happy to give the knights all the glory, Maximillian’s decision to only bring volunteers stunned everybody in the camp. I have no idea what he is thinking but I suspect his mistrust is the main reason. After all, the only ones who will dare accompany him now either have a secret agenda… or are courageous to the point of ignorance.

Quietly, I look back to see Sen, Minna, Norf and Sig following along, with the disguised Hachirou and Lili right behind them. Just seeing their determined faces is enough to induce a spike in anxiety, and for more reasons than one.

(Hachirou, do you copy?)

(Yes, Enbos?)

(Have you noticed anything amiss? Any mismatched scents or peculiar movements?)

(N-no. Like I said before, the only reason I suspected Dion’s follower was because we were briefly acquainted. I have nothing to serve as reference for anyone save our companions. Although I do smell a familiar scent of alcohol, but I can’t seem to place it.)

(I see. There’s no one else… Have you noticed anything else?)

(Yes. Rather, I haven’t noticed anything at all. C-can such a large force really be so silent?)

(Coming from you, I feel even more anxious. Stay vigilant and keep in touch.)

“… What’s wrong, Enbos? You keep looking back like you regret joining the final assault.”

“Trust me, Maximillian. I would have much preferred to have stayed back if my involvement wasn’t mandatory.”

“I don’t believe that,” he says flatly, “although I will utilise your abilities, nonetheless.”

“Yeah, yeah.

…”

“… Don’t let your sentimentality fog your judgement, Enbos. After all, the greatest disrespect would be to allow them to disgrace their memory.”

“Maximillian, you-”

“We’re closing in on the target area. Everyone, on high alert!”

The holy knights blanket everybody in painful protection magic before slowing the advance to a crawl. Again, not a single enemy can be found in sight, which only makes an ambush more likely. With my eyes darting over every corner, I begin to notice peculiar details about our surroundings. The polished floors and occasional stone beam appear more aged and intricate than the ones closer to the mouth of the cave. Ritualistic engravings also decorate the walls, but while some are clearly recent handiworks, others seem so worn that they are incomprehensible. Just how long has the New Dawn cult been around?

(We are approaching the target room.)

(Any sign of the enemy?)

(None, prior.)

(Hm. Enbos?)

(… I’m still sensing the core in that direction.)

Or so I say but my “ghost” is almost walking ahead. Come to think of it, is the target area really just a single room? Where are the 500 cultists supposed to be at?

Maximillian suddenly lifts his fist and our small strike force comes to a complete stop. He gestures ahead and two of his knights nod before moving in as swift as a swallow’s shadow. However, they return barely ten seconds later, abandoning all pretence of stealth.

“It is as you suspected, prior. The room is empty and there is a relocation array etched upon a raised platform. However… the array is still intact and operational.”

“Is that so.”

“Wait, relocation array? What is going on, Maximillian?”

“Don’t bother me with pointless questions. Everyone, advance.”

A slight air of confusion passes all the way to the backline as we continue to delve deeper into Tascus’ lair. The mountain is by no means big, and every other cavern has already been checked. The smooth path continues, and as we follow, the mana in the air grows thicker and thicker. Eventually, we arrive at a towering archway, and past its stone doors is a massive dome space with perfectly smooth walls. At the centre is a large circular platform with thousands upon thousands of indecipherable scripts, all pulsing with powerful magic. As we all wander into the vast room, many of us gasp in awe at the strange environment. But not me, nor Hachirou who has become visibly jittery. Why am I getting a bad sense of déjà vu?

“Why would Tascus build- No, is he even responsible for this place? And that platform-”

“Yes Enbos, it’s a relocation relay,” answers Maximillian. “I know you have an irrational fear of teleportation but now is not to entertain your tomfoolery.”

“… Did they use it to escape your perimeter?”

“Unlikely. Our scouts have surveyed every inch of this land and they confirm this is the only life fall system in the entire area. We’ll bring some Labyrinth Shrouds just in case, but for now...”

Walking over to the stone platform, he rests one hand upon the glowing inscriptions. He remains very still, but after a moment of silence, he stands back up and crosses his arms.

“Prior?” asks Agnes.

“… I cannot tell where the connection leads, although it is there and it is strong. Their base must be deep beneath the earth, close to the inflection point of the life fall.”

“I see. As it stands brother, this is the only way of reaching their base. They may have prepared a physical means of escape, but they will undoubtably have laid a trap.”

“And yet, we must follow. Until we confirm the situation for ourselves, we mustn’t give them the benefit of our hesitation. Everybody, into groups!”

Damn, he really is intent on waltzing straight in. While Maximillian is busy discussing with his knights, Lieutenant Agnes is sorting everyone into squads. Contrary to their excitement, I feel a pang of alarm followed by immediate guilt as I’m directed over to Sen, Minna and Norf.

“Hey Enbos,” greets Sen as he waves his hand with the severed finger, “I’m glad they finally let you join us.”

“Yeah Sen. It’s good to see you guys are still doing well too. Where’s Sig?”

“He’s in a meeting with the rest of the B-rankers,” answers Minna as she gestures with her thumb toward the group of adventurers near the door.

“I see. Poor them,” I say. Behind Minna, Norf makes a wry smile.

“A hassle to communicate with, to be sure, but very reliable. We already owe him for getting us out of a scrape in that last battle,” Minna explains as I notice the line of dried blood on her cheek.

With a faint smile, Sen then glances slightly downward and comments, “You’re wearing our gift, I see.”

“Indeed,” I say as I tap on my metal chest plate, “I spent the past few days getting used to the armour, and after that recent confrontation, I’m never taking it off.”

“I don’t blame you. Tascus’ assassins got very close. How are you holding up?” asks Minna as she nonchalantly raises her arm and points toward the slightly singed fabric on my side.

“I’m fine. Thank you, Minna. If you hadn’t called out when you did, I’d be in the infirmary. I also want to thank all of you for standing up for me against Dion. I really appreciated it.”

“Ah, don’t mention it, Enbos,” responds Sen as he makes a single sweeping motion with his left hand. “We’d gladly stick up for you even if everyone else turned their backs.”

“Although one idiot played right into that jerk’s hands...” says Minna with a hand on her hip.

“I-I wonder who. But hey, Enbos managed to turn the tables easily enough,” says Sen while lightly scratching his nose. “Although… I do feel a little bad for that show-off with the way things turned out.”

“…”

“Enbos?”

“It’s nothing. I just hope that was the last attempt on my life.”

“Hopefully. Oh yeah, I just remembered. There is something I have to tell you…”

I consciously force my body to untense as Sen leans in to whisper. Nobody seems to notice the faint jerk in my fingers, except Norf who has a slightly furrowed brow. Sen looks behind him before speaking in hushed tones…

(… Can you tell Minna it was your idea? I have no clue how I offended her yesterday but it’s basically your fault!)

(Eh?)

(Don’t “eh” me! Did you already forget about your shoddy advice? You said I should smile the next time Minna hits me for no good reason. Well, I did and then she went red in the face. I thought she was burning up so I offered a medicinal herb but then she became even more testy! Honestly, I swear I’m not listening to your advice about Minna ever again.)

(I see. In that case, you can ignore my recommendation to duck, right now.)

(Huh? What do you-) “Ow!”

“Honestly, you two. Now is not the time or place for a topic like that,” chides Minna.

“I know, I know, but… I think this may be the last time we can talk like this. Once we cross that portal, we’ll be giving it our all, so I want to get everything off my chest.”

“…”

“Minna?”

“It’s nothing. I forgive you, Sen.”

“Heh, thanks partner.”

“… You’ve grown, Sen.”

“Nah, you’re overexaggerating, Enbos. I’m just… giving this a mite more thought than I used it.”

“I see. Are you all up for this?”

“Of course. Ever since Catorrem, the three of us have been training together for this moment. Right, everyone?”

“Yeah… near constantly,” says Minna in a slightly exasperated manner. Norf naturally stays silent, instead brandishing his arm in a show of confidence. I offer a weak smile, but looking at some of the revenge-driven parties around me, that invisible smile becomes imaginary.

“Um, let me redirect that question: are you up for this, Enbos?” asks Sen while scratching his cheek.

“I already said I was fine, didn’t I?”

“You already know that’s not what I mean,” rebuts Sen. “You’ve never been, erm, the calmest when dealing with these cultists. And after that recent battle and ambush, I have a feeling you’re already on edge.”

“… I won’t deny it, but I’ll get better. All my demons will be dying here tonight.”

“I-I guess. Anyway, what’s with the holdup? Are those holy knights ready to go yet?”

“… Expect a kill zone on the other side of the array. Is the assault team ready?”

“The protection magic has been fully cast, prior. We should be able to maintain a line of communication on this end.”

“Good. Set the to five ticks and activate the teleporter at the count of four. Maintain a pseudo-portal for another two ticks while the vanguard enters at one-and-a-half. We will await your report before mobilising everyone else. Are we in place?”

“Yes, prior!”

“Godspeed, my brothers. Let the prosperity of tomorrow be a monument to your deeds. Begin breach in four… three… two… now!”

The magic array activates just as Agnes throws a glass orb into the centre. It disappears in a flash of light, and a second-and-a-half later, three knights dive in afterwards. The portal is promptly closed and we begin readying ourselves for the inevitable battle. But before Maximillian even has a chance to take out his spear...

(Prior, the entry point is clear.)

We all freeze mid-motion as those words echo throughout the great dome. Even the consummate prior can’t help but gawk at the communication orb before reaching to reply.

“Identification. Private response.”

(It is… *whisper*)

“… Confirmed, brother. Please elaborate.”

(Yes, prior. We have safely arrived on the other side of the array. There are no enemies or perceived threats in the vicinity. We appear to be standing on a clearing outside of a large structure, with a path leading to the only entry. And, erm…)

“Continue brother.”

(I-I’m not sure how to describe this, but our surroundings do not resemble the interior of a mountain. You see... *whisper*)

“… Noted, brother. Secure the perimeter and wait our arrival.”

“Your orders, prior?” asks Agnes as she glances at our baffled cohort.

“We follow. Do not let your guard down, warriors. You are still entering hostile territory. Receive our protection magic and arrange yourselves into defensive formation. We will teleport several parties at a time, at my discretion.”

I don’t like this. Not one bit. I’m half expecting our group to get teleported away from the rest. I don’t know what to expect on the other side, but there is no turning back. I slowly step onto the array along with Sen, Minna, Norf and the returning Sig. The self-styled wordsmith gives a slight nod which I reciprocate in turn. We then draw our weapons and work with the other adventurers to form a defensive circle. I’m clutching my staff tightly as I prepare to cast the moment we cross to the other side.

“Are you breaking out in hives yet, Enbos?”

“As long as the teleporter isn’t yours, Maximillian.”

“Well then. Activating in three… two… one… now.”

“W-what… the…”

Blackness. Infinite, inscrutable, absolute. We are standing on a small island in the middle of a perfect void. I would have thought we were in outer space if not for the fact that even space dotted the light of countless stars. Here, the darkness is almost a corporeal being, devouring even the glow of the mystic crystals lining the edge of the platform. I’m afraid to look over the rim to check if the island is being raised by some unseen pillar or if it really is adrift in a pitch-black ocean.

“This is incredible,” I breathe.

“Um, Enbos?” calls out Sig. “If you really want to put the imp in the press, I suggest you turn around and look straight ahead.”

Puzzled by Sig’s words, I follow his instructions and immediately become enthralled by the scenery before me.

The floating platform is joined to a long obsidian bridge, and on the other end is a colossal structure. It’s hard to tell given the faint glow of the scattered crystals and the perennial darkness, but it seems to be a perfectly spherical building that has me readopting my interstellar suspicions. A massive obsidian orb with a smooth surface, like if Archimedes had directed the Ancient Egyptians. More mystifying than the brick-and-mortar moon is the massive halo rotating and spinning around the alien structure in all directions. Nonetheless, the gargantuan structure never crosses over the static bridge as it generates a powerful magical barrier around the central construct.

Team by team, more adventurers teleport to this side and join the enraptured crowd. At last, Maximillian and his knights arrive, and like the rest of us, they end up staring at everything around them. What is otherworldly to me would be unimaginable to them.

“… Brother Michael,” says the prior after mustering the will to break his attention away, “have you already surveyed our surroundings?”

“Yes, prior. I ran every test with our field equipment, and from what I can discern, this “darkness” is composed almost entirely of dark-type magic and it’s pressing against a transparent barrier enveloping the platform, the bridge and the entire, er, building in the distance. Although we are still able to maintain contact with the other side… we are unable to judge our relative position to the cave.”

“Hm? Are you saying the mana in the air is disrupting our coordinates?”

“… No,” I breathe, “he’s saying we’re not even in the same plane of existence. This entire space is like when I use , except a thousand times bigger and infinitely more stable. I-I can hardly believe it, but… we’re in a pocket dimension.”

“That is inane, Enbos. Even if this place was constructed over generations, how could anyone, let alone a cult, build something so advanced?”

“That’s because they didn’t. I should have realised long before we got here. Damn it, it was staring in my face all this time.”

A life fall providing a constant stream of mana. A one-way cave and a massive subspace completely isolated from the outside world. Tascus’ knowledge of the Undead Ravager’s history and my “ghost’s” seeming familiarity with these caverns…

“It’s a doomsday bunker. The last bastion of an extinct civilisation at the end of the Golden Age.”

“I see. So the cultists are making use of the ruins of an ancient demi-human city. I suppose the Undead Ravager was never explicitly a human one. Corrupted by demonkind and fearing God’s cleansing of Garea, they resorted to necromancy to survive the Apocalypse.”

“*Sigh* Yes, yes. Congratulations on solving the paradox of necromancy in the Golden Age.”

“You misunderstand, Enbos. If the Undead Ravager that destroyed Tiel was originally a resident of this domain, then who’s to say it was the last of its misbegotten kind?”

“… Damn.”

Maximillian actually has a point. Whereas the winged ones became a bunch of cannibalistic crawlers, this race may have resorted to necrotic slumber and accumulated thousands of years of mana. I doubt there is another elder lich given Tascus’ fixation on the core but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other kinds of undead, awaiting the call of their champion. An army of ancient undead at the behest of an “ascended” Tascus. It would be like owning a personal nuclear arsenal.

With the stakes raised, I turn to Maximillian, half-expecting him to rally everyone for a blind charge. Instead, he is looking back at the platform in worrying silence. He then surveys the alien structure before settling his eyes on the lone bridge.

“Maximillian?”

“The reason the teleportation array is still active is not because Tascus is tempting us: it is because it is their only way in, and out. That’s why they didn’t attack us at the point of entry, in case they damaged the bridge or the array. From the Golden Age it may be, but it is far from impervious.”

“What are you getting at, Maximillian?” I ask.

“I’m saying that if we destroy this ancient portal, everybody inside will be trapped for time immemorial.”

“That’s-”

“You can’t!”

Unfortunately, Sen catches wind of Maximillian’s murmuring and suddenly approaches him. Almost instantly, two swords are pressed against his neck before Minna and Norf can hold him back. My marrow runs cold as I watch Sen stare down the impassive inquisitor.

“My friend – our companions – are still held hostage by those dastards! I won’t let you write off their lives as a necessary cost.”

“Please, Sen!” pleads Minna. “You need to take a step back.”

“It’s quite alright,” says Maximillian as he gestures to his men to lower their arms. “You are right to say we have an obligation to rescue those hostages, and it is for that exact reason Tascus has kept them alive. Nevertheless, millions more lives hang in the balance. If we cannot ensure the cult’s destruction, then we must prepare a contingency.”

“A contingency?”

“Yes, Mr (Sen) Carris. Brother Evans, I wish for you to remain on the cave side of the array. At first light, if none of us return from our endeavour… I order you to destroy the teleporter, no matter the cost.”

“Wha-!”

“Moreover, if the hostage retrieval team returns first, or you receive a report that the assault team has utterly failed, also destroy the teleporter immediately. Our lives and the lives of all the innocents trapped within are inconsequential before the greater good. Are we in agreement, Mr Carris?”

Sen doesn’t say a thing. He is stunned speechless alongside the rest of the expedition team. Taking his silence as confirmation, the holy knights promptly set off towards the ancient tomb.

As Sen looks on stunned, Norf places a hand on his shoulder and offers a reassuring nod.

“Don’t worry, Sen. We’ll find your friend before the night is over,” I say.

“W-well, yeah, but I’m more worried about making it back early. Is Maximillian really fine with us leaving him, or is he that confident his knights can wrap everything up before then?”

“I don’t think it’s entirely his arrogance speaking,” observes Minna. “Regardless, if we do make it sooner, we can always wait for them instead.”

“Yeah. I guess we can do that.”

“Come on, you guys. We’re getting left behind.”

With the mages conjuring a wall of shields, we march towards the front door of Tascus’ fortress. Even with to peer through the ravenous shadows, I’ve massively misjudged the distance and scale of this impossible space. The colossal sphere gradually fills our field of view as we arrive at a towering entrance that resembles a giant’s vault door. Again, not a single enemy tries to stop our advance. Maximillian walks up to the door, holding his bronze glaive.

“This is no time for subtlety. The enemy is already aware of our every move, so any caution now will only be exploited. Sister Agnes, Brother Victor, you and your teams will take the lead. Brother Michael, yours shall marshall everyone else after me. Are we ready?”

“Yes, brother!”

“May God watch over us all. .”

A white haze emits from Maximillian’s hand and covers the entire door. It’s not actually frost but an incredibly sophisticated aerosol spell that’s drawing heat from everything it touches. More remarkably is that he’s then recycling all that accumulated heat and mana into his clenched fist. With a nonchalant thrust, the inquisitor pulverises the entire door, and nary a moment later, the holy knights charge into the premise. The dust is still thick in the air and yet Maximillian’s men are already ushering us to rush inside. With a united roar, we run after the back of Brother Michael as sounds of flying spells and dying screams echo from within. We leap over the door debris and prepare to meet Tascus’ defenders, but as the dust settles…

“Eh?”

It’s empty. Not a single knight, cultist, dead, undead, spell remnant nor sign of resistance. Moreover-

“U-um, sir?” asks one of the adventurers towards the flabbergasted knight in charge. “Where did Sir Iudico go?”

“… No, the better question,” I say as I point toward the solid wall where we just came, “is where the hell did we go?”