A narrow stone bridge extended from the doorway toward the floating cathedral, suspended over the endless dark below.
Blyke looked down once.
"…Nope."
Henry stepped onto it without hesitation. "If you fall, you will try to scream creatively."
"That is your support?"
"Emotional support is Arcee's department."
Arcee adjusted her hair and followed. "Incorrect. I specialize in survival probabilities. Shouting lowers oxygen efficiency."
"Great." Blyke muttered, stepping onto the bridge. "If I die, I am haunting all of you."
Cagaro walked last, movements steady, gaze focused ahead.
The stone beneath them felt ancient but firm. Still, every step echoed far too loudly into the abyss.
Blyke glanced sideways at Henry. "Be honest. On a scale of one to 'we're doomed,' how doomed are we?"
Henry considered. "Comfortably doomed. Definitely comfortable."
"We'll probably see it coming."
"That's not comforting!"
Arcee's lips curved slightly. "Statistically, dramatic architecture indicates dramatic confrontation."
Blyke sighed. "So this is a boss arena."
Cagaro spoke quietly, eyes on the glowing altar ahead. "Then we walk in together?"
Henry nodded faintly. "Always."
They advanced slowly along the ancient stone bridge, the echoes of their footsteps swallowed by the yawning void beneath.
Henry's hand shot out instinctively, dragging Blyke to the side before the larger man could step forward.
He didn't speak immediately, only his eyes flicked upward, scanning the impossibly vast chamber above.
Something moved, and the way the air shimmered around it set every hair on his neck to attention. The others froze, their instincts sharpening as one.
Above them, a presence manifested. Wings, enormous and impossibly bright, spread wide like molten light caught in motion.
The bridge vibrated faintly beneath them, the heat radiating from the figure rolling over the stone surface like a tangible wave, warping the air.
Blyke squinted, shielding his eyes but even behind shadowed hands, the intensity of the aura pressed against them.
Arcee's lens adjusted automatically, scanning, calculating, but even her systems struggled with the luminescence.
The figure revealed itself fully and every second felt like a weight pressing down.
It was small, childlike in form, its skin pale and radiant, the very embodiment of angelic perfection.
Yet there was no innocence in the aura—only an overwhelming energy that seemed to demand attention and obedience.
The wings beat slowly, stirring heat and light into the air, rippling along the bridge, making it tremble under their feet.
Cagaro instinctively raised a hand as if to shield himself, though instinct told him there was nothing simple about this being.
The glow bathed the group, and for a heartbeat, the cathedral seemed to vanish, replaced entirely by the brilliance of the infant angel hovering above them.
Henry's jaw tightened as he whispered, almost to himself, "Stay sharp. That's… not a child."
Blyke muttered under his breath, "I told you this place was a boss arena. We just found the boss's bonus stage."
Arcee's voice was measured but carried a tremor of awe. "This energy… it's active, conscious and aware of us."
Above, the angelic infant remained, wings fully unfurled, radiant and silently watching, as if measuring whether they were worthy to proceed.
The first ripple struck before anyone could react. Light shot outward from the baby's wings... not at them, not directly but into the very space around them.
The space shimmered violently, the stone bridge quivering as if the floor itself had taken a deep, angry breath. Blyke stumbled slightly, catching himself.
"What the hell was that?!"
Henry's hands went instinctively to the sides, scanning the disturbances. "It's not targeting us… exactly. But it's warping the space. Every strike it releases is like… dropping a boulder in water."
He sidestepped a sudden distortion that shifted the bridge slightly beneath his boots.
Cagaro adjusted his stance, gripping the railing to steady himself.
"It's like reality itself is rippling. Every movement has to be precise, or we get caught in the distortions." His voice was tense but controlled.
Arcee analyzed the phenomena through her lens, voice calm but urgent.
"The light waves are not projectiles. They induce localized matter distortion. Even if they don't directly strike, the environmental turbulence can destabilize footing and trajectory. Do not underestimate it."
Blyke snorted despite the tension. "So it's basically playing Marco Polo with the laws of physics and calling it a fight. Now I like it!"
Another ripple hit. The stone beneath them vibrated as if it were water, sending faint cracks along the edges of the bridge.
Light shimmered in streaks across their vision, making the distance to the cathedral altar feel both impossibly far and frighteningly close.
Henry shouted over the vibrations. "Keep moving! Don't let the distortions dictate your speed!"
Cagaro gritted his teeth. "It's testing us, gauging our reactions. Focus on maintaining formation and positioning!"
Blyke grinned wildly despite the tension. "Oh, so it's not just a baby angel. It's an interdimensional babysitter throwing tantrums. Lovely."
Henry's mind raced, even as he moved in sync with the others.
The bridge trembled beneath them again, the space-warping light from the infant's wings flickering violently across the air.
He couldn't place it.
Where did this come from? Was it another trap set by the mastermind, a summon similar to Tubal Cain, designed to test them or worse, to destroy them?
Or… was it something far stranger? Something that had arisen naturally from the cathedral itself, a consequence of the floating structure, the distorted space, the unnatural physics?
The golden light and serene angelic form mocked his reasoning, impossible and contradictory. It should be innocent, harmless, yet the way the environment bent, warped and quivered in response to the baby's presence screamed danger.
Henry's eyes narrowed. It didn't behave like anything he had faced before. Only a constant, creeping awareness of them.
"Whatever it is…" he thought, clenching his fists, "we can't rely on guessing its origin. We just have to survive and figure it out as we go."
The heat wave rolled over the bridge again, pressing him forward, forcing focus sharper than ever.