The transition wasn't violent.
That was the first thing Kael noticed.
No tearing sensation.
No spatial distortion ripping at his body.
No resistance.
Just—
A smooth, silent shift.
One moment he stood before the gate.
The next—
He was somewhere else.
His boots touched ground.
Solid.
Real.
But wrong.
Very wrong.
The air was heavy.
Not dense—
But oppressive.
Like something unseen was pressing down on everything.
Watching.
Waiting.
Kael's eyes narrowed.
He didn't move immediately.
Didn't speak.
His instincts—
Refined through years of battle—
Were already screaming.
Danger.
Not the kind that could be measured.
Not the kind that could be fought head-on.
Something deeper.
Something older.
Behind him—
One by one—
The members of Starfire Squad appeared.
Cyrus landed lightly, scanning the surroundings.
"…This isn't right."
No one argued.
Because it wasn't.
Not even close.
The sky—
If it could be called that—
Was a deep, suffocating crimson.
Not the red of a sunset.
Not the red of fire.
But something thicker.
Darker.
Like coagulated blood stretched endlessly overhead.
There was no sun.
No light source.
And yet—
Everything was visible.
Dimly.
Unnaturally.
The ground beneath them was black.
Cracked.
Veined with faint glowing lines that pulsed slowly—
Like something alive beneath the surface.
Cyrus crouched slightly, placing a hand on the ground.
His expression changed instantly.
"…Captain."
Kael didn't look at him.
"…I know."
Because he felt it too.
Mana.
But not the mana they knew.
Not neutral.
Not elemental.
This—
Was tainted.
Corrupted.
Every breath carried it.
Every second within it—
Was exposure.
One of the epic-ranked members swallowed slightly.
"…This doesn't feel like a dungeon."
Another spoke, voice tight.
"…It feels like we're inside something."
Kael finally moved.
Slow.
Measured.
His gaze swept the horizon.
There were no walls.
No visible boundaries.
No structures.
Just endless terrain stretching outward—
Jagged.
Broken.
Wrong.
"…It's not a dungeon."
His voice was calm.
Certain.
That alone—
Was enough to make everyone tense.
Cyrus stood fully now.
"…Then what is it?"
A pause.
A very brief one.
Then—
Kael spoke.
"…We've been redirected."
Silence.
The words settled slowly.
He continued.
"…The gate signature was correct."
"…But the endpoint—"
His eyes darkened slightly.
"…was altered."
Cyrus's expression hardened.
"…That's not possible."
Kael's response was immediate.
"…It shouldn't be."
A beat.
"…But it happened."
Silence fell again.
Heavier this time.
Because that meant something far worse than a malfunction.
It meant interference.
Control.
Something powerful enough to hijack a world-scale dungeon event.
Something that understood the system.
And could override it.
One of the squad members spoke again.
Quieter now.
"…So where are we?"
Kael didn't answer immediately.
But his gaze lifted slightly—
Toward the crimson sky.
Toward the unseen weight pressing down on reality itself.
Then—
He said it.
"…The Abyss."
Everything froze.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Because that word—
Wasn't just a place.
It was history.
War.
Extinction.
The origin of everything humanity feared on the battlefield between heaven and earth.
The birthplace of demons.
Cyrus exhaled slowly.
"…That's not possible."
But even as he said it—
He didn't believe it.
Because everything around them—
Screamed that it was true.
The corrupted mana.
The oppressive atmosphere.
The unnatural terrain.
Kael's voice came again.
Lower this time.
"…We're not just in the Abyss."
A pause.
"…We were sent here."
And that—
Changed everything.
Because that meant intent.
Targeting.
Design.
This wasn't an accident.
They weren't lost.
They were placed.
Another squad member's grip tightened around his weapon.
"…Then this is a trap."
Kael didn't deny it.
"…Yes."
A single word.
Absolute.
Cyrus looked around again, sharper now.
"…For us?"
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…No."
A pause.
Then—
"…For all of them."
And suddenly—
It clicked.
The gates.
The selection.
The high-potential targets.
They weren't gathering participants for a dungeon.
They were harvesting them.
Sending them here.
To the worst possible place.
A low, distant sound echoed across the landscape.
Not loud.
Not explosive.
But wrong.
Deep.
Resonant.
Alive.
Every member of Starfire Squad tensed instantly.
Because they felt it.
Not with their ears—
But with their instincts.
Something had noticed them.
Kael's grip tightened around his weapon.
His voice came out calm—
But sharper than before.
"…Formation."
They moved instantly.
No hesitation.
No questions.
Years of discipline snapping into place.
Because whatever this was—
Whatever had brought them here—
Wasn't done yet.
And far away—
Beyond what they could see—
Something stirred.
Ancient.
Malicious.
Hungry.
The Abyss…
Had received new prey.
And this time—
It was watching closely.
-------
The landing was different.
Violent.
Unstable.
Zael's body slammed into the ground, rolling across jagged terrain before he forced himself upright with a sharp exhale.
His vision blurred for half a second—
Then snapped back into focus.
Silence followed.
But not the calm kind.
The kind that felt… wrong.
Heavy.
Watching.
Zael didn't move immediately.
His senses stretched outward.
Prime Predator Instinct activated on reflex.
Nothing rushed him.
No immediate attack.
But the unease didn't fade.
If anything—
It deepened.
The air was thick.
Not with mana he recognized—
But something distorted.
Impure.
Corrupted.
His brows furrowed slightly.
"…This isn't a dungeon."
The words came out low.
Certain.
Because even without experience—
His instincts rejected this place entirely.
The ground beneath him was uneven, dark, and veined with faint pulses of dull crimson light.
The sky above—
If it could even be called that—
Was a suffocating red expanse.
No sun.
No clouds.
Just an endless stretch of oppressive color that felt like it was pressing down on him.
Zael's grip tightened slightly.
Then—
A presence.
Behind him.
His body reacted instantly.
Void Step—
Half-triggered.
Interrupted only because—
He stopped himself.
Not out of hesitation.
But recognition.
"…You."
Aurelia stood there.
Unharmed.
Unbothered.
As if she had simply walked into this place instead of being dragged across dimensions.
Beside her—
The identical girl.
Radiating that same bubbling, almost chaotic energy.
Completely out of place.
Completely unfazed.
Zael's eyes narrowed.
Slightly.
But noticeably.
Because something didn't add up.
He hadn't seen her enter.
Not at the gate.
Not during the pull.
Not even a glimpse.
And yet—
She was here.
With him.
Not nearby.
Not coincidentally placed.
But exactly where he landed.
That wasn't luck.
That wasn't chance.
That was intent.
"…You got here fast."
His tone was calm.
Flat.
But beneath it—
There was scrutiny.
Aurelia didn't react immediately.
Her gaze moved briefly across the landscape.
Measuring.
Calculating.
Then—
"It wasn't random."
Her answer was simple.
Too simple.
Zael didn't respond.
Didn't accept it either.
His eyes remained on her.
Sharp.
Observant.
"…I didn't see you enter."
A pause.
Then—
"You weren't at the gate."
This time—
Aurelia looked at him.
Directly.
Her expression didn't change.
Calm.
As always.
But there was something behind it.
Something she wasn't saying.
"…Does it matter?"
Zael's gaze didn't waver.
"Yes."
One word.
Firm.
Because it did matter.
In a place like this—
Information was survival.
And unknown variables—
Were threats.
The identical girl beside Aurelia tilted her head slightly, watching Zael with open curiosity.
"…He's sharp."
Her voice was light.
Almost amused.
Aurelia didn't respond to that.
Her attention remained on Zael.
For a brief moment—
Silence stretched.
Then—
"…You're suspicious."
Zael didn't deny it.
"Yes."
Another straightforward answer.
No hesitation.
No pretense.
Aurelia studied him for a second longer.
Then—
A faint exhale.
"…Good."
That response—
Was unexpected.
Zael's eyes narrowed slightly more.
Because that wasn't the reaction of someone cornered.
It was the reaction of someone… approving.
"…Blind trust gets people killed."
She added calmly.
Then her gaze shifted—
Toward the horizon.
"…Especially here."
Zael followed her line of sight.
Nothing moved.
Nothing visible.
But—
That didn't mean nothing was there.
His instincts were still active.
Still alert.
Still uneasy.
"…Where are we?"
This time—
He asked directly.
Aurelia didn't answer immediately.
But unlike before—
She didn't deflect either.
"…Not where we were supposed to go."
Zael's expression didn't change.
"…That much is obvious."
A brief pause.
Then—
"…Try again."
The identical girl chuckled softly at that.
"…I like him."
Aurelia ignored her again.
Her voice came out steady.
"…We've been redirected."
Zael's mind moved quickly.
Connecting it instantly.
The gates.
The synchronization.
The scale.
"…Not a malfunction."
Aurelia nodded slightly.
"No."
A pause.
Then—
"Deliberate."
Silence settled again.
Heavier now.
Because that confirmed it.
This wasn't coincidence.
This wasn't chaos.
This was planned.
Zael's gaze sharpened slightly.
"…By who?"
Aurelia didn't answer.
Not this time.
Instead—
She said something else.
"…You felt it, didn't you?"
Zael didn't respond verbally.
But his silence—
Was answer enough.
The mana.
If it could even be called that.
Corrupted.
Hostile.
Alive in the worst way.
Aurelia's voice dropped slightly.
"…This isn't just any place."
A pause.
Then—
She said it.
Calmly.
As if stating something inevitable.
"…This is the Abyss."
Zael didn't react outwardly.
Not immediately.
But inside—
Everything tightened.
Because even without context—
That name carried weight.
Danger.
Finality.
The identical girl grinned slightly.
"…Home sweet home."
Zael's eyes snapped to her.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
Because that—
Wasn't a normal reaction.
At all.
Aurelia's gaze flicked toward the girl for a brief second.
Then back to Zael.
"…Ignore her."
Zael didn't.
He couldn't.
Because now—
There were two problems.
The Abyss.
And them.
His instincts didn't just warn him about the environment anymore.
They warned him about proximity.
About variables.
About risk.
And right now—
Aurelia had just moved to the top of that list.
Zael's voice came out calm.
But colder than before.
"…You knew."
Not a question.
A statement.
Aurelia didn't deny it.
"…Yes."
A slight pause.
"…Just not this exact outcome."
Zael held her gaze.
Long.
Searching.
Measuring.
Then—
He spoke again.
"…And you still came."
Aurelia's answer was immediate.
"Yes."
No hesitation.
No regret.
Just certainty.
Silence fell once more.
But this time—
It wasn't just tension.
It was understanding.
Because whatever this was—
Whatever had dragged them here—
Aurelia wasn't just caught in it.
She had stepped into it.
Knowingly.
And that made her—
Dangerous.
A low, distant sound echoed across the crimson landscape.
Deep.
Resonant.
Wrong.
Zael's head turned instantly.
His body already adjusting.
Already preparing.
Because whatever this place was—
It wasn't empty.
And now—
It knew they were here.
Aurelia's expression hardened slightly.
"…It begins."
Zael didn't ask what she meant.
He didn't need to.
Because in the distance—
Something moved.
And the Abyss—
Was finally responding.
[END OF CHAPTER]