Zone 08, Base Camp of Grand Expedition
Tyr opened his eyes with a snap.
His breath came in short, sharp bursts.
His body felt clammy, and his muscles were tense, as if he had just awakened from a nightmare too vivid to be anything but real.
He swallowed hard.
His mind raced through the events that had just unfolded within his dream—or was it something else?
He recalled seeing Neo, Ava, Zera, and a woman who looked strikingly like Julie de Beaufort.
The memory was crystal clear, not the fragmented like a dream.
‘Everything is a nightmare?’
The thought sent a wave of fury through him.
He clenched his fists, feeling the heat rise in his veins.
He remembered it all—Neo battling his weaker past self, Zera speaking to him about the Nightmare World, and the snippets of truth exchanged between them.
But more than anything, he recalled the door, and the presence behind it.
The sickening feeling it exuded, like something incomprehensibly vast staring back at him from beyond reality itself.
Tyr’s head snapped toward his tent’s entrance as the fabric parted.
A woman with golden hair and a blindfold stepped inside, flanked by her entourage.
Celestia, leader of the Hope Dragon Clan.
Her presence was always poised, and her expressions unreadable.
“What is it?” Tyr asked, his voice harsher than intended.
Celestia did not react to his tone.
“Someone entered the Second Zone from outside. Judging by the responses, it is Neo Hargraves—the man Great Disaster Kane brought with him.”
At her words, Vlad, who sat across from Tyr, narrowed his eyes.
“Neo Hargraves?” he questioned. “I saw him among the Grand Expedition army this morning when we were clearing Zone Seven. How did he suddenly appear in Zone Two, which is two floors above us?”
“We are still investigating,” Celestia answered evenly.
Tyr remained silent.
Neo and Zera were here, in the Abyss of Nightmare, along with the Grand Expedition.
Then… who had he seen in his dreams?
‘The ones with us are fake.’
He stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the ground as the air in the tent grew thick with tension.
The others exchanged uncertain glances, waiting for his next words.
“The Grand Expedition will halt its progress immediately,” Tyr commanded. “We will set up defenses and wait for my further orders.”
A ripple of shock passed through the gathered figures.
The expedition was at a crucial juncture. They were about to reach the Zone 09, where the finaly Protector was present.
Halting progress now was unheard of.
Only Celestia and Vlad remained impassive, waiting for him to continue, sensing there was more to his decision.
“Detain Neo Hargraves and Zera de Beaufort,” Tyr said, his voice like iron. “I suspect the ones with us are not who they claim to be.”
The tent fell into stunned silence.
Celestia tilted her head slightly, unreadable as always. Vlad, however, looked skeptical.
“Do you have proof?” Celestia asked at last.
“I have no concrete proof,” he admitted. “But I do have an idea of what’s going on, and why there are two Neo Hargraves. Give me some time to confirm my theory.”
Celestia remained silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.
Vlad frowned.
“Tyr, you know what you’re suggesting, don’t you? If you’re wrong—”
“I’m not wrong.” Tyr’s voice cut through the air like a blade. “I will stake my life on this.”
Silence appeared.
It seemed to stretch for minutes.
Finally, Vlad sighed and leaned back, running a hand through his dark red hair.
“Fine. If we’re detaining them, we need to be careful. If they’re fakes, they could be dangerous.”
“They will be,” Celestia said. “If they are not who they claim to be, then we are facing something beyond our current understanding.”
“Keep the news hidden from them, and act like everything is normal. I will go to Zone 2 and meet Neo Hargraves there to confirm my theory. Until then, the Grand Expedition is not to proceed.”
The gathered leaders and the other members exchanged glances.
Vlad’s arms remained crossed over his broad chest as he regarded Tyr with a piercing gaze.
“You’re planning to use the teleporters we set up while descending, aren’t you?”
“Yes, with them, I’ll reach Zone 2 within a day or two.”
“Celestia will go with you.” Vlad’s tone left no room for argument. “You’ll need her if you want to locate him quickly.”
“What about Zera?” Tyr asked. “If she really turns out to be a fake, it could create problems. With only you here—”
“I can handle her even if she turns rogue.”
There was no arrogance in his words just cold certainty. Tyr held his gaze for a moment before nodding.
“Very well.”
Without wasting another word, he turned and strode toward the exit. Celestia followed without a sound.
Outside, the camp bustled with activity.
Soldiers and expedition members moved around, completely unaware of the truth of the Nightmare World.
The Grand Expedition had spent months carving a path through the Abyss of Nightmare, advancing through its treacherous Zones with the singular goal of reaching the bottom.
But now, Tyr was pulling the brakes.
The teleportation platform stood at the edge of the encampment. It had countless Magic Circles compressed within it that allowed it to traverse between the dimensional wall seperating the Zones.
Tyr and Celestia stepped onto it, and the moment the operator activated the spell, the world around them blurred.
The next moment, they were gone.
…
Zone 02
The World Time Spell could rewind time by fifty years.
Of course, it had its limitations.
Even Daniel, the greatest time mage, had never managed to reach the full limit of the spell. Neo doubted he could do the same.
But that wasn’t a problem. He didn’t need fifty years.
A few hours would be enough. If he could push further back, even better.
He took a deep breath, and pushed his scattered thoughts aside.
Energy.
That was his first priority.
His body was barely holding together, and his World Energy was trickling through the cracks on his soul and body like a drying river.
He had been slowly using Infinite Mana to knit together his shattered body, but it wasn’t enough.
His Seed of Existence was still fractured. It had to be repaired first.
Without hesitation, Neo diverted all his remaining energy toward his Seed of Existence.
Pain rippled through him as the cracks in his soul resisted his attempts to mend them.
His breath grew ragged, and sweat beaded on his brow. He endured the pain with an expressionless face.
Only a second had passed since he began healing himself when his instincts screamed in warning.
A sudden shift in the air was followed by blur of movement.
The severed spider leg shot toward him like a spear.
His body was too weak to dodge.
With a sickening crunch, the jagged limb pierced through his chest.
Blood spurted from the wound, and a choking cough wracked his body.
Pain flared like wildfire, but his expression remained impassive.
He pressed his palm against the gaping hole in his torso, while his fingers trembled from the strain.
The corpses of the spider monsters twitched. Then they moved.