The crystal remained warm in Ayan's hand long after the vision ended.
Not physically warm.
But present.
Like something inside it continued moving slowly beneath the surface, faint crimson lines pulsing softly through the black crystal each time he tightened his grip around it.
And no matter how many times he looked at it—
The same thought returned.
This thing was dangerous.
Not because it could explode.
Not because it held power.
But because it knew things.
Things the network clearly did not want separated from itself.
Aelira watched him silently for a while as the ruined clearing gradually settled around them. The last traces of corruption had almost completely faded now, leaving only shattered earth and broken trees behind as evidence of the battle.
"…You're still thinking about keeping it."
Her voice remained calm.
Ayan didn't look at her immediately.
"…Yeah."
A faint breeze moved through the clearing.
"…Even knowing the risks."
This time Ayan did glance toward her.
"…You already know the answer."
Silence followed briefly.
Then Aelira sighed softly.
Not dramatically.
Not irritated.
Just tired.
"…You continue choosing the dangerous option."
Ayan almost smiled slightly.
"…Pretty sure that stopped being optional a while ago."
Honestly—
He didn't trust the crystal.
Not even slightly.
But after seeing that memory fragment—
Destroying it now felt wrong.
Because somewhere inside those fragments existed answers.
About the network.
About the people from Earth.
About why he had been brought here.
And most importantly—
About what the system actually wanted.
Ayan slowly attached the crystal securely inside the small pouch at his side before adjusting his sword against his back again.
"…So."
He looked toward Aelira.
"…What's our next move?"
Her gaze shifted northward through the forest.
"…The memory confirmed something important."
Ayan narrowed his eyes slightly.
"…The underground structures."
Aelira nodded once.
"…The network beneath the world is real."
"…And the traces left behind by the destroyed core are still connected to it."
Ayan's thoughts sharpened immediately.
"…Meaning we can follow them."
"…Yes."
A long silence followed.
Then Ayan let out a slow breath.
"…We're seriously going underground to chase some world-corrupting system built by people from Earth."
Aelira looked toward him calmly.
"…That summary is technically accurate."
Ayan stared at her for several seconds.
"…You know, sometimes I genuinely can't tell if you're joking."
A faint pause followed.
Then unexpectedly—
"…Neither can I."
Ayan blinked once.
Then despite everything—
Actually laughed quietly.
Only for a second.
But real.
And strangely—
That small moment made the suffocating tension around everything feel slightly lighter.
At least briefly.
The two of them left the ruined battlefield soon afterward, continuing north through the increasingly dense forest while the sunlight overhead gradually dimmed beneath thicker branches.
As they traveled, Ayan noticed subtle changes in the environment around them.
Not corruption.
Not obvious distortion.
But signs.
Animals avoided certain areas completely. Sections of earth carried faint crimson discoloration beneath the surface. Occasionally he noticed broken stone formations half-buried beneath roots and moss, each marked with the same thin red lines connected to the underground network.
The deeper they went—
The more frequent those traces became.
"…It's spreading further than I thought."
Ayan muttered quietly.
Aelira walked slightly ahead of him.
"…The network has existed for a long time."
Ayan frowned.
"…How long?"
A brief silence followed.
"…Long enough that most people no longer recognize the signs."
That answer bothered him more than expected.
Because if corruption had already spread this deeply into the world—
Then how much remained untouched?
Ayan's thoughts drifted briefly toward the villages and cities they had visited before.
Toward the guilds.
The knights.
Ordinary people trying to survive.
None of them truly understood what was happening beneath the surface of their world.
And honestly—
Neither did he.
Not fully.
But now at least he knew the monsters weren't random anymore.
They were symptoms.
The real problem existed somewhere below everything.
Hours passed quietly afterward until eventually the forest terrain began changing.
The ground sloped downward sharply, the trees thinning near massive rocky cliffs that stretched across the landscape ahead. Strange black stone formations emerged naturally from the earth here, jagged pillars covered in faint crimson markings barely visible beneath layers of moss.
Ayan slowed slightly.
"…You feel that?"
The air had changed again.
Not heavy.
Not oppressive.
But vibrating faintly.
Like distant machinery humming beneath the ground.
Aelira stopped near the edge of the cliffside.
"…We're close."
Ayan stepped beside her.
Then froze slightly.
Far below the cliffs—
Partially hidden between enormous stone formations—
A massive circular structure had been carved directly into the side of the earth itself.
Ancient.
Gigantic.
Its surface resembled black metallic stone covered entirely in crimson lines spreading outward like veins. Several enormous pillars surrounded the structure, most partially collapsed with age while faint red light pulsed slowly beneath cracks across their surfaces.
And at the center—
A descending opening disappeared deep underground.
Ayan stared silently for several moments.
"…That's not natural."
Aelira's expression remained unreadable.
"…No."
The structure felt wrong.
Not ruined like ancient fantasy ruins.
Engineered.
Built intentionally.
And despite the visible age—
Parts of it still moved.
Faint crimson energy pulsed beneath the surface continuously like something inside remained active even now.
Ayan's chest tightened slightly.
"…This was in the memory."
Aelira looked toward him immediately.
"…You recognize it?"
Ayan nodded slowly.
"…Not exactly this place…"
His eyes remained fixed on the underground entrance.
"…But the architecture."
"…The network structures underground looked the same."
Silence followed briefly.
Then Aelira spoke quietly.
"…This is likely one of the access points."
Ayan narrowed his eyes.
"…One of them?"
"…The network spreads beneath the entire world."
The scale of that statement settled heavily.
Ayan looked down toward the massive underground structure again.
Because now—
For the first time—
The system no longer felt distant.
No longer hidden.
This was real.
Physical.
Something built beneath the world itself.
And somewhere far below that entrance—
Answers waited.
Along with things far worse than answers.
The wind moved quietly across the cliffside as Ayan stared into the darkness descending beneath the ancient structure.
Then slowly—
He tightened the strap securing his sword.
"…Alright."
His voice remained calm.
Focused.
"…Let's see what's hiding under this world."
And deep below them—
Far beneath stone and earth—
Something awakened.