It was midnight.
The endless sea below the ruined platform roared quietly beneath the crimson sky, while cold winds drifted through the Forgotten Shore like whispers from ancient ghosts.
Everyone else was asleep.
Everyone except Senrix.
As usual, he was the one keeping watch.
At this point, the role had naturally fallen onto him. Nobody even questioned it anymore.
Partly because he was the strongest among them.
Partly because he barely seed to need sleep at all.
And partly because, whenever Senrix stood guard, the others sohow felt safer.
Sitting near the edge of the broken platform, Senrix quietly gazed at the distant darkness while faint embers of crimson fla occasionally flickered around his gauntlets before disappearing once more.
His expression remained calm.
Yet internally, his thoughts drifted endlessly.
Earlier that day, he had spent hours teaching Sunny, Nephis, and Cassie the fundantals of combat and teamwork.
Strangely enough…
He had genuinely enjoyed it.
That realization itself felt bizarre.
Teaching people was never sothing he imagined himself liking.
Yet while guiding the three of them, correcting their mistakes, and watching them slowly improve, he found himself feeling oddly satisfied.
Perhaps even happy.
Of course—
That did not change the fact that their teamwork was absolutely horrendous.
Senrix let out a tired sigh just rembering it.
If Elysia had not been present during several earlier fights, the group would have probably been torn apart by a single Carapace Scavenger.
And that was not even an exaggeration.
Sunny and Nephis fought well individually.
Extrely well, actually.
But together?
Disaster.
There was even one mont where the two of them accidentally attacked each other while fighting a scavenger.
Senrix still rembered the utterly dumbfounded expression Sunny made afterward.
Sotis, he genuinely wondered where the legendary coordination between Lost from Light and Changing Star from the original story had gone.
Readers always described their teamwork as sothing almost poetic.
Like yin and yang.
Light and shadow moving as one.
Perfect synchronization.
Yet the current reality looked more like:
two violent idiots accidentally trying to kill both the enemy and each other simultaneously.
Senrix rubbed his forehead helplessly.
Thankfully—
Elysia was the sole exception.
That woman was absurd.
Her marksmanship completely defied logic.
It was less archery and more divine punishnt.
Her arrows never missed.
No matter the distance.
No matter the target.
No matter the environnt.
Back when they had still been at the tall hill, Elysia casually pulled out her bow and shot a Carapace Scavenger over a thousand ters away.
A thousand ters.
Senrix himself had not even noticed the creature.
Yet Elysia simply smiled, released the arrow, and instantly killed it.
Like so kind of ridiculous aimbot disguised as a cheerful pink-haired girl.
Thinking about it now still felt surreal.
A short while later, Senrix slowly leaned back against the cold stone and closed his eyes briefly.
It had not actually been that long since he transmigrated into this world.
Yet over ti, sothing strange had happened.
At first, he feared that the original consciousness of Senrix would slowly overwrite his own mind.
The possibility terrified him.
The idea of losing himself…
Of becoming soone else entirely…
It was horrifying.
But as ti passed, things changed.
Instead of being erased, the two consciousnesses slowly began rging together naturally.
mories intertwined.
Emotions blended.
Instincts synchronized.
And eventually—
He stopped distinguishing between the "original" Senrix and himself.
There was no difference anymore.
There was only Senrix.
The son of Broken Sword and Smile of Heaven.
The older twin brother of Nephis.
The transmigrator who never even finished reading Shadow Slave.
The Avatar of Apocalypse.
Oddly enough—
Accepting that truth did not feel frightening.
It felt euphoric.
Like discovering a missing piece of himself he never realized was gone.
Like finally becoming whole.
Senrix slowly opened his eyes again and stared toward the distant Hollow Mountains looming beneath the crimson sky.
The dark peaks looked endless.
Silent.
Empty.
Yet strangely hypnotic.
For a while, he simply allowed his thoughts to drift quietly within the sea of his own soul.
Then—
A scream suddenly shattered the silence.
"AHHHH!"
Senrix's crimson eyes snapped open instantly.
At the sa mont, Sunny shot upright before he was even fully awake.
Sohow, Starlight Blade was already in his hand.
His shadow hovered beside him imdiately, writhing anxiously as though prepared to either attack or protect at a mont's notice.
Sunny's heart pounded violently.
'What the hell happened?!'
Nearby, Elysia instantly summoned her bow and aid toward the darkness with terrifying speed despite having been asleep only monts ago.
Nephis stood up silently beside her, silver sword already raised in a defensive stance.
The atmosphere imdiately beca tense.
Sunny quickly looked around.
The eastern horizon had only just begun showing the faintest hints of dawn, painting the endless darkness in slight shades of grey.
Everything still looked quiet.
Still empty.
Still terrifying.
Then—
He noticed soone missing.
'Where's Cassie?'
Fear instantly gripped his chest.
Sunny's eyes widened as he finally spotted the blind girl stumbling near the edge of the ruined platform.
Cassie's blonde hair was completely disheveled, her face pale with terror.
Her arms stretched helplessly through empty air while she struggled to orient herself.
There were no walls nearby.
No barriers.
Nothing.
Only the violent ocean waiting far below.
And without even thinking—
Sunny moved.
Every logical instinct scread at him to stop.
There could be enemies nearby.
There could be hidden danger.
Nephis still could not properly see in the darkness.
Elysia and Senrix were equally prepared to attack anything suspicious.
If they misunderstood his sudden movent—
Things could go horribly wrong.
Yet despite all that—
Sunny acted first and thought later.
He lunged forward desperately.
Just as Cassie took another step toward the edge—
Sunny grabbed her tightly and pulled her backward into his arms.
The two of them crashed onto the cold stone together.
"I got her!" Sunny shouted imdiately.
That single sentence stopped the others from reacting violently.
Cassie trembled uncontrollably in his arms.
Sunny tightened his hold slightly and spoke quietly.
"I got you."
His voice softened.
"It's alright. Calm down. Everything's fine…"
Cassie's entire body shook violently.
Sunny quickly looked around again.
Nothing.
No enemies.
No monsters.
No movent.
Only darkness and waves.
Elysia imdiately rushed toward them and knelt beside Cassie.
Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around the trembling blonde girl from behind.
"It's okay, Cassie."
Her cheerful voice beca unusually gentle.
"You're safe."
anwhile, Senrix slowly approached as well, his crimson eyes vigilantly scanning the surroundings.
Nephis remained standing nearby while listening carefully to the distant sea.
After several tense monts, she quietly asked:
"Do you see anything?"
Sunny helplessly shook his head.
"No."
Carefully, he helped Cassie sit near the center of the platform away from the dangerous edge.
Nephis continued guarding the area silently while Sunny checked Cassie for injuries.
Thankfully—
There were none.
No wounds.
No blood.
Only fear.
Deep, overwhelming fear.
Elysia softly hugged Cassie from behind and slowly began singing a quiet lullaby.
Her voice drifted gently through the cold night air like warm light cutting through darkness.
The trembling in Cassie's body slowly lessened little by little.
anwhile, Senrix remained alert.
His gaze constantly swept across the sea and surrounding ruins, searching for even the slightest sign of a Nightmare Creature nearby.
But there was nothing.
Everything seed perfectly normal.
And sohow—
That only made the situation feel even more unsettling.
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