A few minutes ago, just as Michael had decided to go after what he suspected was the source of infection, the whole realm suddenly started shaking violently.
Though it lasted only a short mont, the impression it left behind was heavy. The crystal veins beneath the ground had flared, pulsing brighter than before, as if sothing deep within the ruin had awakened.
It had stopped quickly.
But what followed was far worse.
Both Michael and Arianne watched as dozens of participants like them ran like madn toward a certain familiar direction.
The sa direction Cedric, Lucien, and Alaric had gone.
The sa direction every infected individual had been drawn.
They did not run with discipline or coordination. They ran with desperation. So stumbled and fell, only to force themselves back to their feet imdiately. Others ignored wounds that would have crippled a normal person. Blood trailed behind them in thin streaks across the crystal-veined ground.
It was as if sothing had called them.
Michael's eyes narrowed.
This was different from before.
Previously, they had walked like puppets guided by invisible threads.
Now they ran.
Beside him, Arianne suddenly stiffened.
Michael noticed it imdiately.
Her fingers tightened around the reins of her Fla Lion until her
knuckles turned pale. Her breathing grew uneven again, but this ti it was not only fear.
It was sothing else.
Her pupils trembled slightly.
Her gaze remained fixed on the distant direction where the others had gone.
Michael's expression hardened.
He extended his senses carefully.
There it was.
A faint fluctuation.
It was subtle.
Not enough to be seen by ordinary perception. But through the Eye of Truth, it beca clear.
The distortions beneath her skin had grown more active.
The faint faces shifted faster now, their outlines more defined than before.
It appeared they were responding to the sa call.
Michael felt a cold realization settle in his chest.
Arianne trembled.
Her lips parted slightly.
"...I..."
Her voice faltered.
She lifted a hand slowly, pressing it against her chest.
Her heart was racing fast.
Her breathing hitched.
"I can feel it," she whispered.
Tears began to form in her eyes before she even realized it.
A single drop slid down her cheek.
Then another.
"I don't understand," she said weakly. "What is happening to ?"
Her Fla Lion shifted beside her, sensing her distress imdiately. The beast pressed its massive body closer, its warmth radiating against her leg, rumbling low in its throat.
But even it looked uneasy.
Its golden eyes flicked toward the distant horizon.
Toward the call.
Arianne's grip tightened in its mane unconsciously.
Her shoulders trembled.
"I don't want to go," she whispered.
Another tear fell.
"But..."
Her voice broke.
"...sothing is pulling ."
Michael watched her carefully.
His jaw tightened slightly.
The timing was too precise.
The mont the realm had shaken was the mont whatever lay at
the center awakened.
Every infected individual had responded, including her.
Before, Michael had only suspected there was sothing at that
destination.
Now he was sure.
Arianne's reaction confird it more clearly than anything else. The infection inside her had shifted from passive to active the mont the source awakened, as if a dormant seed had finally received water.
Michael's eyes narrowed.
Unfortunately, he could tell he did not have enough ti.
If he did not do sothing soon, there was a great possibility Arianne
would turn into the others, the deeply infected participants who were now sprinting toward the call without hesitation.
And if the situation worsened, it could start to threaten him as well.
Michael did not dare to overestimate himself.
This place had once been the domain of a deceased Rank 4
superpower.
Even dead, a Rank 4 could leave behind traps, wills, and remnants that
could drown a Rank 2 without effort.
As those thoughts passed through his mind, Michael forced his voice
to remain steady.
"Arianne."
She flinched, as if his voice pulled her back from the edge.
Her eyes were wet. Her lips trembled.
Michael stepped closer and placed a hand on her shoulder, firm
enough to ground her.
"Listen to ," he said.
Arianne swallowed hard, forcing herself to focus on him instead of the
horizon that called to her.
"I don't know what's happening," she whispered. "It feels like
sothing is pulling apart."
"I know," Michael replied quietly.
He held her gaze.
"Try your best to hold on," he said. "No matter what you feel, do not
follow it."
Her breathing hitched.
"You'll figure it out?" she asked, desperate.
Michael did not answer directly.
Instead, he reached inward into his soul space.
A palm-sized coffin appeared in his hand.
The Damaged Coffin of the Forgotten. The mont it manifested, Arianne stiffened.
Her pupils shrank.
The Fla Lion reacted even more strongly.
A low, instinctive growl vibrated from deep within its chest, its massive fra shifting protectively in front of her. Its golden eyes locked onto the coffin, then onto Michael, uncertain and tense. Arianne's fingers tightened in its mane unconsciously.
But what happened next startled them both as a figure appeared out
of nowhere.
It was Spartan.
He wore a dark robe. His posture was straight and composed.
The Fla Lion bared its teeth.
Its mane flickered faintly with heat.
Arianne's heart pounded faster.
Spartan lowered his head slightly toward Michael, ignoring the
hostility of the beast completely.
"My master," Spartan said calmly, his voice smooth and respectful. "What should I do for you?"
Michael did not hesitate.
"Stay with her," he said. Spartan's gaze shifted toward Arianne.
The mont his eyes landed on her, she froze.
The Fla Lion stepped forward half a pace, placing itself directly
between Spartan and its master, body lowered protectively, ready to attack if necessary.
Michael raised his hand slightly.
"It's fine," he said calmly.
The Fla Lion hesitated.
It did not fully relax, but it did not attack either.
Michael looked directly at Spartan.
"Protect her," he said. "Do not let her move toward the source. Even if
she loses control."
Spartan bowed his head slightly. It did not know what its master ant by losing control, but it would protect her whether she liked it
or not.
"As you command." Michael turned his gaze toward the distant horizon, where the infected figures had disappeared beyond the crystal ridge.
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