The transition wasn't a fall; it was a step.
They simply walked through the swirling brown energy of the Rift like passing through a heavy curtain. The humidity of the ruined city vanished instantly, replaced by a wall of biting, sub-zero air.
Drex blinked, shielding his eyes from the sudden glare.
They were standing on a jagged ridge of grey stone, surrounded by an endless expanse of blinding white. The sky was a pale, bruised aurora that shimmered with sickly light. In every direction, massive snowy peaks pierced the clouds like broken teeth, stretching out as far as the eye could see.
Drex let out a long, shaky breath, watching the vapor plume in the air.
"The Outerverse," he whispered, a shiver running down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold.
He knew about this place from the books. It was the chaotic world that sat on the other side of the rifts. He didn't know this specific mountain range, but just being here, breathing the alien air, made his heart hammer against his ribs.
He was actually doing it. He wasn't just watching Sai from the sidelines or reading about it in a webnovel anymore. He was also venturing.
"Focus," Sai said.
He was standing a few feet away, his coat flapping violently in the gale. He looked bored, staring out at the frozen landscape with a casual indifference, completely ignoring the sub-zero temperature.
"We aren't here for the view," Sai said, nodding toward the depths. "We're going deep in."
He pointed toward the base of the ridge where the path descended into a ravine.
At the bottom, a massive, gaping maw of a cave mouth was carved into the side of the mountain. It was pitch black inside, a stark contrast to the blinding snow, like a tunnel boring straight into the earth's heart.
"A dungeon crawl," Drex grinned, his intuition already pinging. He could feel the heavy, stale air drifting up from down there. It felt dangerous. It felt like adventure.
"I'll take point!" Drex called out, already moving.
"Don't run off, kid," Sai sighed, drifting after him.
But Drex was already jogging toward the path that led to the tunnel. He paused at the mouth of the cave, staring into the absolute pitch blackness. A normal person would need a torch or a flare. Drex didn't have a night-vision skill, but he realized he didn't need one.
He reached out with his mind, tapping into Sovereign Dominion. He commanded the shadows to stop obscuring his vision, to become a lens rather than a wall.
It happened instantly. The inky blackness didn't vanish, but it became transparent to him, revealing the jagged rock floor and the ice stalactites hidden within.
Drex grinned. He hadn't practiced that. He just felt it should work, and it did. He stepped into the dark, his vision perfectly clear.
Behind him, Sai raised an eyebrow, watching the boy navigate the pitch black without hesitating for even a second.
"He's learning fast," Sai muttered, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Show off."
He lifted a hand to his own eyes, his irises shifting from their usual dark hue to a luminescent, feline slit.
[Skill Activated: Nocturnal Sight]
Sai stepped into the cave. Beside him, Lucianna didn't have the luxury of sensory manipulation skills. She gripped her spear, channeling a pulse of mana into the metal. The runic engravings along the shaft flared to life, casting a cold, white light that cut through the oppressive darkness.
Midway down the spiral, the silence was broken by the sound of skittering legs. A pack of smaller monsters—scaled-down versions of the creatures from the city—detached themselves from the ceiling.
Drex was already in the middle of them.
He moved through the dark like he was part of it. His intuition was sharp; he wasn't just reacting, he was adapting. When a monster lunged, he was already stepping aside, coating his fists in shadow to deliver a crushing counter-blow.
Lucianna stepped in to support, swinging her spear in wide, heavy arcs, but the skirmish was short. Between Drex's speed and Lucianna's reach, the smaller creatures were cut down quickly.
Drex stood over the carcasses, breathing hard but grinning. He looked at the dead monsters, then down the tunnel, vibrating with the thrill of the clear.
"Warm-up is over," Drex said. "The main event is down there."
They continued until the tunnel finally opened up into a massive subterranean cavern.
The space was enormous. The floor was littered with the frozen bones of ancient beasts and the husks of dead monsters. At the far end, nestled against the rock wall, was the nest.
Coiled around it was the Swarm Leader.
It was titanic, its black, armored shell thick with ice. Its massive, eyeless head was raised high, mandibles clicking slowly, wetly, as it tracked their entrance. It had been waiting for them.
Drex crouched behind a massive rib bone, peering at the waiting giant. His eyes were wide. He had read the novels cover to cover, but the Outerverse was large; the author hadn't described everything.
"Okay," Drex whispered, his brain rapidly analyzing the visual data. "I don't know what that is, but look at the carapace. It's built like a tank. It's going to be slow but hit like a truck."
He pointed at himself, logic taking over. "I need to bait it. It's too big to fight head-on. I'll use my speed to make it snap at me, and when it overextends, you guys strike the joints."
He looked at Sai, confident. It was the standard strategy for an unknown heavy-type boss.
"No," Lucianna said.
Drex paused, confused. "What?"
"I am taking the lead," Lucianna stated, her voice quiet but steely. She stared at the monster with an intensity that felt rigid, almost obsessive. "A beast of that size... it requires a target that will not move. I will be that wall."
Drex frowned. This felt wrong. Why risk taking damage from an unknown enemy?
"You don't need to take it head-on," Drex hissed, keeping his voice low but urgent. "We don't know what it does. Taking the damage intentionally... it's just bad math."
"I said no," Lucianna replied. She didn't shout, but her tone was hard as iron. She turned to him, her expression composed, though her eyes burned with a strange, stubborn light. "I will handle the beast's fury. You flank."
Drex looked at Sai, bewildered. "Sai? Talk to her. She's ignoring the mechanics. She's going to get herself killed."
Sai looked at Lucianna. He studied her posture—the way she gripped her spear, the way she seemed to be bracing herself not out of fear, but out of anticipation.
"Let her do it," Sai said, stifling a yawn. "If she wants to take the hit, let her take the hit. Just be ready."
Drex exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "Fine. But when you're half-eaten, don't say I didn't warn you."
Lucianna stood up immediately. She walked out from behind the cover, stepping into the open space of the cavern with a heavy, purposeful stride.
She didn't cast a defensive skill. She didn't adopt a guarding stance. She walked right up to the monster, her posture stiff and unyielding.
The Swarm Leader hissed, a sound like steam escaping a vent. It uncoiled, its hundreds of legs scraping against the stone as it rose to its full height, towering over the small silver figure.
Lucianna didn't flinch. She stopped within striking distance. She threw her arms out wide, leaving her armor completely exposed to the monster's looming strike.
Drex squinted, catching a glimpse of her face in the pale light of her spear.
Her composure cracked, just for a second.
A deep, unmistakable flush rose up her neck to stain her cheeks. Her eyes weren't just determined anymore; they were glistening with a feverish, suppressed delight.
"Come!" she shouted, her voice echoing through the cavern, trembling not with fear, but with breathless excitement. "Strike me!"