The journey away from the destroyed ridge was slower than before.
Not because Ayan lacked determination.
But because his body had finally reached its limit.
Every step sent dull pain through his muscles, the wounds across his arms and torso burning beneath torn fabric and dried blood. The battle against the false core had pushed him beyond exhaustion, beyond instinctive survival, into something harsher. Even breathing felt heavier now.
But despite that—
His thoughts refused to slow down.
Because too many things no longer made sense.
The crimson lines burned into the shattered ground remained behind them as they moved, faint traces of the destroyed network lingering beneath the world itself like hidden veins exposed after the collapse of the false core.
And according to Aelira—
Those traces connected to something larger.
Something real.
Ayan walked beside her silently for a while, the evening wind brushing lightly across the ruined landscape surrounding them. The farther they moved from the battlefield, the more normal the world appeared again. Trees returned. Grass swayed naturally. The pressure and distortions had disappeared entirely.
But now that he understood what existed beneath the surface—
Nothing truly felt normal anymore.
"…This world was never supposed to work like this."
The thought settled heavily in his mind.
Because evolving monsters, connected networks, artificial adaptation—
None of it resembled the fantasy game world he remembered.
Not completely.
Ayan's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…You said this process isn't natural."
Aelira glanced toward him briefly before returning her gaze forward.
"…Yes."
Ayan adjusted the grip on his sword slowly.
"…Then someone made it."
"…Yes."
"…And you know who."
This time—
Aelira remained silent.
Ayan let out a tired breath.
"…Right."
The answer itself wasn't surprising anymore.
But the silence surrounding it—
Was.
Because every time the conversation approached the truth directly, Aelira stopped.
Not because she didn't know.
Because she chose not to tell him.
And that—
Bothered him more than before.
"…You really don't trust me enough to explain it."
The words left his mouth quietly.
Aelira stopped walking.
Ayan noticed immediately and turned slightly toward her.
For the first time in a long while—
Her expression shifted visibly.
Not dramatically.
But enough.
"…That isn't the reason."
Her voice remained soft.
But carried something heavier beneath it.
Ayan held her gaze.
"…Then what is?"
Silence followed briefly as the evening wind moved through the trees around them.
Then—
"…Because once you understand it fully…"
Her crimson eyes locked directly onto his.
"…You will no longer be able to return to how you were before."
The answer settled deeper than he expected.
Ayan frowned slightly.
"…I already can't."
He gestured vaguely toward the destroyed ridge behind them.
"…Look at what's happening."
His voice remained calm.
But firm.
"…I've fought things that shouldn't exist."
"…Something out there knows I exist."
"…And now we're tracking some hidden system buried beneath this world."
He looked directly at her.
"…You think things are still normal for me?"
Aelira remained silent.
But this time—
It wasn't avoidance.
It was thought.
Ayan exhaled slowly.
"…I'm not asking because I'm curious anymore."
His grip tightened slightly.
"…I need to understand what I'm fighting."
The wind passed between them quietly.
Then finally—
Aelira spoke.
"…Long ago…"
Her voice remained calm, but quieter than usual.
"…This world functioned differently."
Ayan's attention sharpened immediately.
"…Differently how?"
Aelira looked toward the distant horizon.
"…Power developed naturally."
"…Creatures evolved through survival."
"…Humans grew stronger through experience."
"…Balance existed."
Ayan listened silently.
"…Then something changed."
Aelira nodded once.
"…A foreign influence entered this world."
Ayan's chest tightened slightly.
"…Foreign."
The word immediately stood out.
"…You mean something from outside this world?"
Aelira didn't answer directly.
"…It did not belong here."
That alone was enough.
Ayan's thoughts sharpened instantly.
Because now—
The possibility he had avoided thinking about finally surfaced completely.
"…Like me?"
Aelira's eyes shifted toward him again.
Silence.
Ayan felt his heartbeat slow slightly.
"…So I'm not the only one."
Not originally.
Not entirely.
Aelira looked away again.
"…No."
The answer sent a strange chill through him.
Because suddenly—
Everything felt connected in a way he hadn't considered before.
The game.
The world.
The systems.
The artificial evolution.
"…Something crossed over before me."
The realization settled heavily.
Ayan's voice lowered slightly.
"…And caused all of this."
Aelira remained quiet for several moments before speaking again.
"…Not immediately."
Ayan frowned.
"…Meaning?"
"…At first…"
Her gaze darkened slightly.
"…It only observed."
Ayan's chest tightened.
Because that sounded familiar.
Too familiar.
The false core.
The way it had analyzed him.
The way everything adapted through observation and correction.
"…Then it started changing things."
Aelira continued quietly.
"…Slowly."
"…Carefully."
"…Until the world itself began adapting around its influence."
Ayan's grip tightened unconsciously.
"…And the network?"
Aelira's expression remained calm again.
"…Was created to accelerate that adaptation."
Ayan looked toward the fading evening sky silently.
Because now—
The scale of everything felt far larger than before.
This wasn't just monsters evolving.
It wasn't just corrupted regions.
Something was rewriting the rules of the world itself.
And somehow—
He had stepped directly into the middle of it.
A long silence followed as they continued walking again.
Then Ayan spoke quietly.
"…Why me?"
Aelira glanced toward him slightly.
"…What do you mean?"
Ayan's eyes remained forward.
"…Why did I end up here?"
The question had lingered in the back of his mind since the beginning.
But now—
It felt unavoidable.
Because if something else had crossed worlds before him—
Then maybe his arrival wasn't random either.
Aelira remained silent longer this time.
Long enough that Ayan almost believed she wouldn't answer again.
Then finally—
"…I don't know."
Ayan looked toward her immediately.
And realized—
She was telling the truth.
Not avoiding.
Not hiding.
Actually uncertain.
That surprised him more than anything else she had said.
Aelira's gaze remained distant.
"…But I know this."
Her voice softened slightly.
"…The moment you arrived…"
"…The network reacted."
Ayan's eyes narrowed sharply.
"…Reacted how?"
Aelira looked directly at him again.
"…Like it recognized you."
Silence.
Heavy.
Absolute.
Ayan felt something cold settle deep in his chest.
Because somehow—
That answer frightened him more than the battle itself.
The evening sun slowly disappeared beyond the horizon as darkness began spreading across the distant world around them.
And for the first time since arriving here—
Ayan truly began wondering if his appearance in this world had ever been accidental at all.