It was just as quiet as the first time.

Stairs lined up from the side, spiraling toward a central platform where a wooden railing stood, allowing one to overlook the black marble floor that was dimly lit by the chandelier that stood up above.

A suffocating silence enveloped the hall as the gentle click of my step resounded throughout.

Tak-

I looked around me, recalling every little detail of the vision I had not so long ago.

I recalled everything.

From the little cracks around the marble floor to the minute crevices on the stairs that lead up to the platform above.

....It was all the same as in the vision.

Almost...

I held my breath as my steps paused.

As I slowly lifted my head, my gaze settled on the center of the platform, where a statue stood. Its hollow eyes were fixed on me, its empty gaze bearing down my soul as my head started to feel light.

It hadn't been there when I had entered...

"Hoo."

The locks within my mind started to rattle.

I still remained composed, starting back at the statue without saying a word.

But...

Flick.

Suddenly, the chandelier above me flickered, and in an instant, the room was swallowed by darkness. The cold crept in immediately, sinking deep into my skin as the silence felt suffocating.

My mouth grew dry as I squinted my eyes.

The locks rattled with even more intensity, the darkness and silence feeling as though they stretched for eternity.

I could only wait for it to end.

The chandelier came back to life with a faint 'flickering' sound.

Flick.

It allowed me to see my surroundings again, instilling oxygen back into my lungs as I breathed again.

But it was only momentary.

Lifting my head back up, my eyes fell back on the platform.

The Angel stood there like before, its empty gaze fixed on me. But unlike before... there wasn't just one Angel.

No.

There were two.

"....!"

My throat squeezed briefly before I took a small and even breath.

Feeling the eyes of the statues linger over me, I remained calm. At least... that was until the chandelier flicked again.

Flick.

I was suddenly plunged into darkness once more.

And just like before, it only lasted for a brief moment before the chandelier flickered back to life.

This time... I was met with three statues.

Lining up on the platform before me, they all looked down on me, their empty gazes sending shivers down my spine.

Flick.

The phenomenon continued, and...

Flick.

With each flick,

Flick.

A new Angel appeared.

Flick.

I soon started to lose count of the number of Angels that stood on the platform above. The number now seemed irrelevant due to how many there were.

Flick-

The Chandelier flicked once more.

This time, however, it flickered with power. Any of the lingering darkness disappeared, fully embraced by the bright light of the chandelier that lit up the entire hall.

I almost instinctively stepped back from the phenomenon but was able to keep a cool head and remain firm.

"Hihihihi."

A faint, childlike giggle echoed through the hall, bouncing off the walls in every direction. The sound twisted and warped, making it impossible to pinpoint its source, leaving an unsettling chill in the air.

I looked around, hoping to see where it came from.

And then, I saw it—exactly what I had been searching for. Had I not been paying close attention, I might have missed it entirely. But my eyes caught the subtle detail: a small, pale hand, barely visible, gripping the hand of the angelic statue in the center.

It was too tiny, too out of place, to belong there.

Her small head slowly peeked out from behind the Angel, glossy yet unfocused eyes glinting

in the dim light as they locked onto mine.

There was something unnervingly still about her gaze as if she had been watching me all

along.

"Hihihihihi."

I once again picked up the giggling as I settled my gaze on the little girl.

'It's her...'

My heart pressed as I recognized the little girl.

She was the same little girl from the vision. The blind girl who had been possessed and fell

victim to the sin of her father.

"....You managed to find me."

She said, her childish voice filling the empty hall as the Angels stood around me, their empty

gazes still lingering over me.

"Hihihi."

Giggling again, the little girl let go of the Angel's hand before turning around and throttling

away.

As she left, she spoke once more,

"Find me again!"

Her voice was light and filled with playfulness. And yet, all of it felt strangely heavy as she

disappeared from the hall.

Silence once again fell over my surroundings.

But not for long.

Krrr-

A harsh, grating sound filled the air as the statues began to tremble.

I didn't stand by and watch whatever was happening. Unlike before when the lights were

flickering, I had already completed my preparations.

"Go, do your job."

Squelch. Squelch. Roots burst through the cracks in the floor and walls, snaking their way into the hall with

unnatural speed.

They twisted and writhed, dashing toward the statues towering above me, wrapping around

their bodies.

It all happened unbelievably quickly.

By the time the little girl's disappeared, all the statues were covered in dark roots.

"...I'm done."

Owl-Mighty settled over my shoulder as the vines squelched and screamed around the

statues.

"You've done great."

It was about time that I employed the services of Owl-Mighty.

Now that we were within the statue's mind, and with no concern about exposing him to the

outside world, I could summon him without any reservations.

Furthermore, this was his forte.

I had called him up the moment the lights turned off and the second statue appeared. I didn't

just stand there and wait for the statues to accumulate.

I slowly and deliberately had Owl-Mighty set its root around the place to handle the statues.

Thump-Thump-!

Even so, he couldn't fully suppress the statues. A faint, muffled bang echoed through the hall

as the vines coiled around them squirmed and writhed, struggling to keep them in check.

Owl-Mighty's expression appeared relatively grim as he waved his hand.

Squelch!

Even more roots sprouted out from the ground locking onto the statues.

"Human."

Owl-Mighty looked at him, his eyes shifting away from the statues.

"You better start moving. I won't be able to hold on for much longer."

"Alright."

I nodded and rushed up the stairs, moving past the statues and heading to the door where the

little girl entered.

Whatever the situation was, she was the key to it all.

So long as I could get to her then I knew I'd be able to stop everything.

There was no need to spend time defeating the statues.

***

At the same time.

"Shhh... Be quiet, I'll free you."

A dim purple glow manifested in the darkness as Evelyn was able to free yet another person.

Unfortunately, unlike Kiera, they weren't able to keep themselves conscious as they

immediately passed out in her arms.

"Another one..."

Evelyn sighed, placing the girl she freed down.

"Looks like you're really special amongst the others."

"....Uh, sure."

Kiera cast Evelyn a brief glance. Her face was still somewhat pale, but she managed to recover she was suddenly drained of her powers.

quite a bit from the

She shuddered upon thinking of the pain she experienced back then.

".....

Looking down and staring at the girl passed out on the floor, she raised her head back up to

face Evelyn.

"For how long are we going to do this? When can we go back out?"

"Not yet."

Evelyn replied, waving her hand for a brief moment before heading toward a certain direction.

Already used to it, Kiera followed her from behind without voicing any complaints.

She seemed to know where she was going. Wherever she went, they'd end up stumbling over someone. While Kiera didn't know why she

was freeing everyone, she knew it was important so she did her job, staying on the lookout

and protecting Evelyn while she was doing her job.

"...We need to free three more people before we can leave."

"Okay."

Kiera didn't ask any questions and simply nodded her head.

She wanted to get it over as fast as she could.

Scratch. Scratch.

The dark... It was getting to her.

Kiera tried to make small talk in order to put her mind away from the dark.

"...Is something bothering you?"

"Um?"

Evelyn paused, her eyes fluttering.

"What do you mean?"

"Nah, you just seem a little out of it. Are you tired? We can rest a little if you want."

"We don't have time."

Evelyn dismissed with her hand.

"Oh."

Kiera was about to nod when her brows furrowed slightly. This came as a result of the look on

Evelyn's face.

"Something is bothering you, after all."

"Um, maybe it is."

Evelyn massaged her face quickly and shook her mind out of it. Before Kiera could say

anything else, she hurried her steps.

"Don't worry about it. I'll find out what I want soon enough. Let's focus on this for now."

***

Outside.

The weird changes surrounding Aoife didn't go unnoticed by the top brass as Atlas's brows

raised a little. Flame, Darkness, and Curse Magic...

'Something is not adding up.'

While there were 'Elemental' Concepts that granted one the ability to use all elements,

Aoife's situation was a little different.

She... Wasn't using a Concept.

Typically, when a 'Concept' was activated, the ground beneath the user would squirm which

was a sign of the domain expanding.

This had happened to Kaelion, Caius, Julien, Leon, and Amell.

But things were different with Aoife.

There was no such indication from her.

It made everyone curious, but at the same time pay extremely close attention to her. On the

outside, there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary, but something was not right.

Atlas noticed that several other people were sharing the same thoughts as him as his

expression started to turn serious.

'What is going on?'

Even he was a little bit confused by the situation.

Could this be an innate skill of hers...? Or an entirely new method of creating a Concept?

Atlas shifted his attention toward Delilah.

Perhaps she'd know...

She was also looking at the platform with incredible intensity.

It looked like she had also noticed something unusual about the situation, and Atlas was just

about to bring it up when Delilah suddenly raised her hand and poked her cheek.

The action took him completely aback.

What sort of...?

She pressed it several times before furrowing her brows in disappointment.

Then, shifting her attention back to the platform, she mumbled,

"Not the same."

***

Cra Crack!

"Umph!"

I quickly ducked as roots burst from the ground below, winding their way up and entangling

the statue that had suddenly appeared.

Cracks appeared on the statue as I moved past it and sprinted through the narrow hall.

Squelch! Squelch!

"Keep going, I'll handle the rest."

"Yes."

I had been moving like this for the past several minutes, narrowly avoiding the statues to

appear from out of nowhere and unexpectedly. If not for Owl-Mighty's help, I would've been

in a lot of trouble.

"Ukh!"

I rolled to the side, hitting my shoulder against the side of the wall. Suppressing the pain and pushing myself back up, I continued to head deeper into the

hallway.

'It should be this way..'

Everything was exactly as it was in the vision. Though I hadn't seen the entire palace, I was

familiar with the path that I needed to take.

Squelch! Squelch!

Roots sprouted from the marble floor, cracking it as they entangled around the walls,

preventing any unexpected encounter.

Which was all that I needed to do...

It'd be a different discussion if I had to defeat them, but outrunning?

That wasn't a problem.

"It should be this one."

Running out of the hallway, I stopped before a door that looked exactly as it did in the vision.

'... She should be behind the door.'

I took a deep breath and braced myself, scanning the area with caution as I anticipated being

surrounded by statues at any moment.

But...

"Nothing?"

It was oddly quiet around me. There were no statues or anything that stood in my way to the

door.

...It was quiet.

Eerily so.

I looked around once more to check for any traps or anything of the sort, but...

It was all normal.

There was absolutely nothing.

"What sort-"

"Are you not going in?"

"Don't rush me."

I glanced at Owl-Mighty briefly before taking a deep breath. Then, taking a single step

forward, I warily reached for the door.

Feeling the cold metal sensation, I licked my lips.

Click!

A soft click echoed as the door opened, revealing the familiar room. The curtains billowed,

and a gentle breeze flowed through as my gaze settled on the bed, where a small figure sat

with her feet dangling by the edge.

Behind her, a red-haired figure sat on the bed with her knees drawn up, her eyes unfocused as

she gently brushed the little girl's hair.

As if sensing my presence, the little girl turned her head, her eyes falling directly over me.

She smiled brightly at first, seemingly happy by my presence.

Her mouth opened as she tried to say something, but the word never left her mouth as her

face froze.

All of a sudden, her entire demeanor changed, turning strangely oppressive. My hands started to tremble uncontrollably as my chest heaved up and down repeatedly,

desperately trying to take in the surrounding air.

....The locks rattled, forcing a wave of emotions to flood my mind.

"I knew you'd come."

A calm voice entered my ears, forcing my head to turn on its own.

"...Oracleus."