Raven Ashcroft moved through the Forest of Death like a shadow stitched into the darkness.
The forest earned its name not because it was loud or violent—but because it was silent. No birds. No insects. Even the wind seemed reluctant to pass through the twisted trees whose roots clawed at the ground like skeletal hands.
Raven slowed her breathing.
This was her first elite mission.
She did not intend to fail.
Ahead, faint orange light flickered between the trees.
A camp.
She climbed silently into the branches above, balancing with ease, her presence fading completely. Below her, a group of demons gathered around a crude fire, their voices low but careless.
Raven listened.
"…the crystal tower won't be disturbed," one demon said. "Not unless they find a way into that realm."
Raven's eyes sharpened.
Tower?
Another demon laughed. "Even if they learn of it, what then? No one can open a gate to that place."
"The Demon King chose well," a third said.
"The crystal isn't small like before. It's a structure—vast enough to channel the power endlessly."
Raven felt a chill.
A crystal the size of a tower.
That explained everything.
"So long as the tower stands," the first demon continued, "monsters will never cease. Worlds will bleed until they collapse."
"And the location?" another asked.
The demon lowered his voice. "A realm beyond realms. Not part of any known world. Even we don't know the path—only that the Demon King does."
That was enough.
Raven retreated without a sound, leaving the demons unaware they had been exposed.
By dawn, she was already back at the kingdom.
She wasted no time.
Myung-Hee and Lulu listened intently as Raven delivered her report, her voice steady and precise.
"The crystal isn't an object," Raven finished. "It's a tower. Massive. And it exists in a different realm."
Silence followed.
"A tower…" Lulu murmured.
"That explains the endless supply," Myung-Hee said grimly. "A structure like that could channel power continuously."
Raven folded her arms. "There's more. Even the demons don't know how to reach it. Only the Demon King does."
Myung-Hee clenched her fist. "Then we're blind."
She exhaled slowly before turning to Lulu.
"Can you open a portal?"
Lulu shook her head. "No. I can sense different realms, but opening a path… that's beyond me."
Raven looked between them. "Then the only one who can—"
"The Priestess," Myung-Hee finished.
They did not hesitate.
Together, they walked toward the palace, past corridors lined with history and silence, until they reached the sealed chamber where The Priestess resided.
Before either of them could speak—
The door opened.
Pudding stepped out.
Her rabbit ears twitched gently, her expression calm but firm.
"You cannot enter," Pudding said.
Myung-Hee stiffened. "This is urgent."
"The Priestess is meditating," Pudding replied. "She must not be interrupted."
Lulu hesitated. "Pudding… this concerns the crystal."
Pudding's gaze softened—but she shook her head.
"The Priestess already knows."
That single sentence sent a weight through the air.
"She has foreseen the Demon King's next move," Pudding continued. "He will appear in the ruins."
Myung-Hee's eyes widened. "The ruins where—"
"Where nine of the ten Gods of Chaos were slain," Pudding confirmed.
Silence fell again, heavier than before.
"The Priestess said you must go there immediately," Pudding added. "Prepare yourselves."
Lulu swallowed. "And the portal?"
Pudding paused.
"The time is not yet," she said. "Some doors open only when the world reaches the correct point."
Raven frowned. "So we wait?"
"No," Pudding said. "You move. You observe. You survive."
She stepped aside, signaling the end of the conversation.
"The Priestess is busy," Pudding said once more. "That is all."
The chamber doors closed.
Outside, Myung-Hee stood still for a long moment.
"The ruins…" she said quietly. "That place is cursed."
Lulu nodded. "It's where reality itself feels thin."
Raven rested a hand on her blade. "Then that's where the truth waits."
Above them all, unseen and unmoving, The Priestess remained in meditation.
The crystal tower existed.
The Demon King was preparing something far worse than war.
And the ruins—
Were about to awaken.