[The Obsidian Dragon's Back — 6 Hours 30 Minutes Remaining]
As the Earth Dragon glided through the silent, violet expanse of the Void, Nefa didn't seem bothered by the lack of gravity or the encroaching darkness. She remained close to Techyon, her emerald eyes sparking with curiosity.
"Hey, Techyon," she asked, tilting her head. "I've been wondering... what is your age, exactly?"
Techyon looked at her, surprised by the casual question in the middle of a Z+ Dungeon. "I just turned seventeen a few weeks ago," he replied, adjusting his collar.
Nefa's face lit up with a mischievous grin. "Oh! That means I'm not actually that much older than you. I'm just twenty-five."
Techyon nearly tripped over a jagged rock on the dragon's back. "Just twenty-five?! Nefa, that's a massive gap! Eight years of difference is absolutely massive!"
Nefa laughed, a light sound that echoed strangely in the vacuum. "I don't think it's that much of a massive gap. In the world of high-rank adventurers, eight years is like a single afternoon. You're just a late bloomer."
Before Techyon could argue further, Captain Carod descended from the sky, his heavy boots clanking as he landed on the stone scales of the dragon. He deactivated his flight systems with a hiss of steam.
"My thrusters are discharging faster than usual," Carod grunted, checking his wrist-mounted energy gauge. "The Void's atmosphere is messing with the battery efficiency. I'm going to sit for a while; I need to save my mana for the Boss fight. We can't afford to be at 50% when the core guardian appears."
Yoru glanced back from her scouting position, her eyes narrowing at the speedster. "Nefa, stop flirting with Techyon. He's like our little brother. Focus on the perimeter."
The word 'brother' hit Cynthia like a physical blow. She stood at the very front of the dragon, her back to the group. Little brother... she thought, her heart racing. He's seventeen. My brother would have been seventeen this year. He has the same name, the same age... She squeezed her eyes shut, her flames flickering wildly. No. Cynthia, focus on the dungeon. Don't let your grief create ghosts where there are none.
Fraxy noticed the weary expressions of the two veteran Arcons. She gestured to the empty space near her. "Mr. Ruta and Mr. Neweland, you should also sit here. Lapis is maintaining the oxygen and pressure bubble, so there's no point in wasting your strength hovering."
Ruta let out a gruff sigh and sat down, his magma-like skin causing the obsidian beneath him to glow red. "The healer is right. This Void is long. If we don't pace ourselves, the darkness will swallow us before we even see the 2nd Floor."
Suddenly, the dragon let out a low, vibrating growl. The "Earth Bubble" Lapis created began to rattle. Something was hitting the shield—not from the outside, but from below.
[Deep Void – Path to the Second Floor]
"Look below!" Lilia Shuito screamed, pointing her trembling finger past the edge of the obsidian scales. "Something is rising through the mist!"
From the bottomless purple depths of the Void, a massive silhouette emerged. It was a Void-Terror Dragon, its body composed of swirling black smoke and jagged red-flame crystals. It roared, a sound that bypassed the ears and vibrated directly into their souls.
Goto stood up, a feral grin crossing his face as he ignored the mana-drain. "Now it's my time to shine! Vanguard, positions!"
"Master Goto, it's massive—it looks like a dragon made of pure corruption!" Siyo Kiloji shouted, drawing his blades.
"I'll tank its hits!" Kokoi Ai declared, slamming his twin daggers together to create a localized defensive barrier. "Just give me the opening!"
Gaia stood at the center of her summon, her golden eyes cold. "Everyone, hold onto something for balance! My Earth Dragon isn't just a transport—it's an apex predator."
With a deafening groan of shifting tectonic plates, the Earth Dragon coiled its massive body. As the Void-Terror lunged, Gaia's dragon whipped its tail with the force of a falling mountain.
CRACK!
The impact sent the shadowy dragon tumbling backward into the darkness. But the Elites weren't finished.
"[SPLITTING BLADE]!" Yoru vanished in a yellow blur. She reappeared in mid-air, her sword moving so fast it created a vacuum that sucked the black flames away from the monster's core.
"Switching to Lightning Form!" Captain Carod bellowed. His heavy armor didn't just glow; it transformed. The thrusters emitted blue-white electrical arcs as he became a living bolt of kinetic energy.
The two Z-Elites crossed paths over the enemy in a perfect "X" formation. In a single, synchronized heartbeat, they struck. The Void-Terror didn't just die—it was systematically dismantled. Under the pressure of Yoru's precision and Carod's electrical force, the monster was sliced into nano-pieces, its black and red flames snuffed out before they could even flicker.
Nefa stood on the dragon's back, pouting as she watched the cinders fade. "Hey! You guys are too fast! You should have let me join the attack. I didn't even get to stretch my legs!"
Techyon watched the display of power, stunned. Even a dragon-class monster was nothing more than a minor annoyance to the people standing around him. But as he looked at the "nano-pieces," he noticed the cinders weren't disappearing. They were starting to cluster around the Earth Dragon's legs.
[The Edge of the First Floor — 6 Hours 15 Minutes Remaining]
The Obsidian Dragon glided through the final layer of violet mist, revealing a structure that defied logic. Floating in the absolute center of the nothingness was a massive, ornate archway forged from pulsing red crystals and black iron.
"Everyone, look!" Yoru shouted, pointing her blade. "There it is. The gate to the Second Floor."
The group fell silent. The gate wasn't just a door; it was radiating a mana signature so dense it felt like a physical wall hitting their chests. The red crystals hummed with a low-frequency vibration that made the Z-rankers' armor rattle.
Lapis squinted his Honoured Eyes, his magenta pupils scanning every inch of the surrounding void. "Something is wrong," he muttered, his voice cold. "A Z+ Rank dungeon always has a Floor Guardian. It should be standing right in front of that gate, but there is nothing. No life signatures, no shadow-residue... nothing."
"Maybe Cynthia's flare spear scared it off?" Goto joked, though his hand was white-knuckled on his weapon.
"A Z+ Guardian doesn't feel fear," Cynthia replied, her eyes narrowing as she studied the gate.
"I'm going to check it out," Yoru announced. She didn't wait for a rebuttal. She ignited her yellow aura, her flying speed increasing until she was nothing but a streak of golden light. She blurred across the gap, stopping inches away from the crystalline archway.
She stood there for a heartbeat, her body silhouetted against the pulsing red light. Suddenly, her posture stiffened. She looked down at the empty "ground" beneath the gate and then back at the team, her face pale.
"Everyone, come here fast!" Yoru screamed, her voice echoing with a panic they hadn't heard since the mission began. "You need to see this now!"