One Claw...

"A catacomb?"

Dara tilted her head, curious.

"Yeah. Probably Academy-made," Sion replied. "Either a test zone or a tourist trap."

"Test zone sounds more like them." Dara leaned in, whispering, "Does it have treasure?"

Sion closed his eyes, sensing below.

"Can't scan too deep from here... but yeah. I felt some treasure."

Dara's eyes beamed. "Good, now we have another tour point."

An hour later.

"Babe, we've been walking forever." Dara groaned. "Are you sure your instincts are working today?"

"Probably not. I think they've been disrupted by your constant nagging."

"Aww." She smiled sweetly. "Thanks."

"What?" Sion blinked.

"You complimented me."

"No, I didn't."

"Sure you did." Dara tapped his arm. "You said I matter so much that being near me throws you off—even your instincts can't keep up."

Sion paused, squinting at her. "...I said that?"

"Yup."

He stared for a moment, then resumed walking.

Dara chuckled behind him. She finally had someone she could be her full, chaotic self with.

She jogged to catch up. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask—" She stopped as soon as he turned. "...You keep getting hotter."

"What?"

"Don't play dumb." She frowned. "You know your appearance keeps evolving. You looked good before, but now? It's like you level up every time I blink."

Sion sighed.

"Okay, fair. It's changing." He flicked his earring. "Because of this."

"That little thing?"

"It's complicated. My current appearance isn't directly from the earring. It's a side effect." He paused. "See, because of my gift—transformative class—I'm actually supposed to look even better than this. But I suppress a lot of its passive effects to avoid the backlash."

"And the earring?"

"It stabilizes me. Absorbs some of that backlash."

"So, you are progressively realizing your passives." Dara eyes widened in comprehension. 

"Yep."

"Cool."

"It isn't exactly..."

The two continued with their banter as they walked further through the winding valleys.

Before long, they stumbled into what looked like a dead end.

A cliff wall rose like a mountain before them — sheer, rough, and impossibly wide. But what caught Sion's attention wasn't its size.

It was the runes.

They were scattered across the stone face in a wild, disordered sprawl. Dozens — no, hundreds — of ancient glyphs shimmered faintly, embedded in the wall like stars across a night sky.

Sion stepped forward, eyes glowing faintly with curiosity.

"This is... beautiful."

Dara folded her arms. "It's the entrance."

He glanced at her.

"Those runes aren't decorative. Academies loves puzzles. Solve the riddle, you get access."

Sion tilted his head. "I am at a loss on solving this, have a clue?"

"Already on it." Dara walked up to the wall, fingers tracing the air in front of it. Her eyes scanned the symbols, calculating.

A minute passed.

"Got it."

She made a quick sweeping motion with her hand. The runes began to shift — slowly at first, then faster, snapping into position like pieces of a mechanical lock.

One sentence, glowing now with clarity:

"The path opens only to those who see order in chaos."

A low hum shook the air.

The cliff wall shimmered—then shattered like glass into golden fragments.

Sion and Dara vanished.

Elsewhere.

In the Inner Core.

Lina sat at the head of the long obsidian table, her gaze fixed on nothing in particular.

Three chairs lined each side of the table. All were filled.

At the far end, Mavric knelt — head lowered, blood still crusted on his lip. His breathing was uneven, but he remained still.

Fang, the white-haired boy seated at Lina's right, leaned forward, his voice sharp.

"You lost to first years. First years, Mavric. How does that even happen?"

Mavric clenched his fists. "It was the second-ranked student—"

"And?" Fang cut him off. "That makes it better? Pathetic."

The words hung in the air, but Lina didn't react. Her eyes were distant.

Anyone paying close attention would've noticed it — the slight twitch in her fingers, the tightness in her jaw. Lina wasn't listening. She was unraveling inside.

Her mind replayed that moment.

She knows exactly how far the Academy's outer edge was from the inner core — hundreds of miles apart, dozens of barriers, mental wards. But none of it had mattered.

Sion had looked straight through it all. Through the screen. Straight at her.

And then he had spoken to her.

Not through normal telepathy. It was unlike any mental power she had ever seen or felt. It was deeper. Colder. Like he'd whispered directly to her soul.

Her heartbeat stuttered just thinking about it.

"Lina?"

Megan, seated to her left, had noticed her distraction. She placed a reassuring hand on the table.

"Don't stress too much about the power split. You already control the second strongest faction. You're still in the running. Relax."

Lina blinked slowly. Then nodded once, more out of habit than response.

"Meeting's over," she said softly.

The others began to rise — chairs sliding, conversations low.

But then Fang spoke again, tone cocky.

"What about those two who attacked Mavric? Want me to take care of it?" His smirk grew. "I'll make it clean—"

The air cracked.

A crushing pressure slammed Fang into his seat. His smirk vanished instantly.

Lina still hadn't looked at him.

Her voice was calm, but it carved through the room like a blade.

"None of you are to go near them."

Fang's teeth grit as he struggled under the weight.

"I'll handle it."

She finally looked up.

And no one dared speak again.

---

Back at the outer edge.

Sion and Dara opened their eyes to a new environment.

They stood on black stone, and before them loomed a gate.

It was massive — easily ten meters tall — carved into the mountain like a scar. Intricate lines ran across its surface, forming an ancient sigil. On either side of the gate rested colossal serpent-dragon statues, coiled and silent. Behind them stood two armored knights, tall and unmoving, swords stabbed into the ground before them.

Dara let out a slow breath. "Well. That's… grand."

"And a bit theatrical." Sion stepped forward, eyes scanning the structure. He was quite impressed by the sight—but he had to act cool.

The moment his foot touched the first step leading to the gate, all four guardians stirred.

Stone groaned.

The dragons' eyes lit up, crimson runes glowing beneath their lids. Their bodies trembled — not with rage, but activation. The knights' armor shimmered, and with a heavy creak, they stepped forward, blocking the path.

A deep, mechanized voice echoed from the gate.

"Entry denied. Catacombs are not yet open."

"State your clearance."

Sion raised an eyebrow.

He turned to Dara, unsure on how things like this works.

"Tech-based sentries. Meant to protect valuables and prevent unwarranted entry." She explained. "It seems we can't enter until the Academy has a test for us here." 

"Guess, we would explore here later." Dara said with a downcast look, she was really looking forward to this. Not to talk of the long walk here.

Sion shook his head. "That's not right. We can enter."

"Huh?" Dara blinked.

"There are no rules, remember?" Sion smirked, turning back to the gate back.

Dara eyes brightened. "Yea, that's right!" 

"We can break in as long as have the strength." She watched as Sion's claws elongated. "They are pretty hard to deal with. I will back you up."

"No need. I wouldn't like to stress my flower." Sion voice was gentle, but it carried a pressure unlike before. His eyes were currently glowing with a strong golden hue. His hair fell down to his waist. "Just watch the show, it would be cooler than the jump, trust me."

He slashed at the air.

Once.

He then turned to face her, dipping into a half bow.

"As long as I don't hurt innocent lives," he started. 

Meanwhile.

A golden claw-shaped energy streaked through the air. Closing in on the guardians.

They reacted instantly.

But not fast enough.

They had moved as the system flagged the attack as a genuine threat—but the strike was too fast.]

And apparently.

Unstoppable.

It cut through them like paper. 

Through the Serpent-Dragons.

The gigantic Knights.

And even the Gate.

Boom!

They all fell to the ground in five pieces. Right at the same time he completed his statement.

"I'll get you anything you want. In this world… or the next."