With Cessy gone while Vella's new abilities stood confirmed, Hajin turned from the ruined clearing and began climbing toward the ridge.
The checkpoint stood at the top, where the Gate guards watched him approach with weapons drawn and confusion written across their faces.
None of them tried to stop him, and they traded nervous looks before stepping aside as he passed through the barricade.
The guards had watched the Gate vanish along with the rest of the world. None of them had decided yet what they were supposed to guard now.
Hajin ignored the guards and walked toward Cassie's party, which Loccy had dragged up the slope before the dimension collapsed.
Cassie, Jonas, and the completely exhausted scout lay beside the guard post, awake now while still gasping. Their bodies were still recovering from the pressure of the ten-Shard anomaly.
Hajin activated Divine Eye and swept his gaze over them, confirming that surviving the pressure had permanently expanded their mana cores.
