The Black Forest
The fading black glow was slowly being absorbed into Clayon.
An even more chilling aura emanated from Clayon as it devoured the black light.
Zeon asked cautiously.
"Is that the master of this temple?"
Dayton retracted Clayon as he replied.
"Just the remnants of a god stripped of its divinity. At best, it's worthless chaff that can't even muster ten percent of its original power."
"So it really is a god? Is it possible to kill a god?"
"I told you. It's nothing but chaff that's lost its godhood."
"But..."
"It's not even from Earth—just a fragment of Kurayan trapped in a dungeon, barely clinging to existence. Even without me, it would've vanished on its own someday. So quit making a fuss."
Zeon clamped his mouth shut at Dayton's words. But confusion still clouded his face.
It was hard enough to believe gods actually existed, and now this unfamiliar word, Kurayan, had been dropped too.
He'd thought he knew Dayton pretty well by now, but in truth, he knew nothing.
Dayton's strength surpassed his wildest imagination.
Dayton spoke to him.
"You managed to survive without biting the dust. Impressive, considering there was no sand."
"I barely made it."
"Hmph! As long as you're not dead, that's what counts."
Tsssss!
Finally, the black light—the remnants of the god—was fully absorbed into Clayon.
Dayton gazed at Clayon with a satisfied smile.
"Now the minimum preparations are complete."
"What preparations?"
"..."
It was then.
Kukukuku!
Suddenly, the temple began to shake.
With the temple's master gone, the dungeon itself was collapsing.
Massive pillars toppled helplessly, and the ceiling crumbled down.
The space was devouring the temple whole.
An entire world was ceasing to exist.
Dayton watched in silence, while Zeon was overwhelmed.
Zeon took in the sight of the perishing world.
In that instant, a swirl of light enveloped their bodies, teleporting them away.
Moments later, they reappeared right in front of the stone gate where the dungeon entrance had first formed.
The stone gate vanished completely the moment it spat them out.
Zeon looked around, but there was no trace of it anywhere.
It had disappeared without a single remnant, as if it had never existed.
Going into the dungeon felt like a distant dream now. But it wasn't a dream or an illusion.
The Exion absorbed into his body proved it.
Having absorbed the Exion and advanced another step, his control had surged dramatically.
Dayton leaped out first, escaping the hundred-meter-deep sand pit.
Zeon unleashed Sand Step.
The sand naturally propelled him out of the massive pit.
Blinding sunlight greeted them as they emerged.
He had no idea how much time had passed inside the dungeon, but in the real world, it was morning.
Dungeons had their own unique time flows.
Some stretched a single real-world day into ten, while others matched reality exactly.
Without checking the time directly, there was no way to know precisely how long had elapsed outside.
But neither Zeon nor Dayton cared about that.
What mattered was that they'd conquered the dungeon hidden deep underground in the desert.
In this dungeon, Zeon had fully absorbed the Exion.
Now he had a basic means to protect himself even without sand around.
Fortunately, the rampaging Exion had stabilized after defeating Gigalein.
It was ready for use anytime.
As Zeon's rank rose, the Exion's power would grow too.
He glanced at Dayton.
He'd grown this strong himself—how much stronger had Dayton become?
Godslayer.
If he'd killed Gigalein, the guardian, then Dayton had slain a god.
A weakened one stripped of divinity, sure.
But Zeon knew full well how monumental that feat was.
'I thought I'd closed the gap a lot, but I'm still far behind.'
Still, Zeon wasn't discouraged.
Dayton was old, but he was young.
With years ahead of him, steady effort would let him catch up someday.
Following Dayton around had subtly shaped Zeon's mindset and personality in his image.
Dayton moved on without rest.
Zeon followed with Sand Step.
Reaching D-rank had exponentially boosted his sand manipulation. He could now keep pace with Dayton almost perfectly.
Dayton marched relentlessly toward the rising sun.
Zeon trailed silently behind.
After days of heading east, an alien landscape appeared.
He first thought it was a hallucination or mirage.
The sight before him shattered all expectations.
"My god! A forest?"
There was no doubt—it was a massive forest.
Right in the heart of the barren desert, an enormous woodland sprawled.
It was the first tree-made forest he'd seen since the world fell apart.
Neo Seoul had trees and woods too, protected perfectly from the desert's dry climate by barriers. But slum dwellers never saw them.
The towering walls between the slums and Neo Seoul blocked the view.
Zeon had only heard stories of trees and forests— this was his first time seeing one.
His steps quickened until he overtook Dayton.
He was that eager to see the trees up close.
But the closer he got, the stranger the forest felt.
Trees clustered to form it, sure. But there was no green vitality.
No leaves clung to the branches, and the trunks and limbs were all blackened.
Nothing like the trees from his childhood tales.
"This is a tree?"
"Carbonized husks, all that's left of their form. They died as trees long ago."
Dayton stared at the carbonized forest with cold, sunken eyes.
"People call this the Black Forest."
"People? Humans live here?"
"Fools who can't let go of their delusions."
Dayton spoke curtly and sat under a massive tree.
Though just trunk and branches remained, it cast enough shade to block the sun.
The black forest felt cool inside, shielded from the scorching heat.
"Whoa!"
The chill even drew an involuntary exclamation from Zeon.
Outside dungeons or underground, he'd never felt such coolness anywhere.
Zeon stared blankly up at the Black Forest.
Black trees blanketing the sky.
If only they were living trees, not charred relics, he thought wistfully.
It was then.
Whiiiing!
A faint sound reached Zeon's ears.
Something small beating wings.
Instinctively, he raised a sand barrier in front of him.
Boom!
Something flew in and slammed into it, exploding on impact.
Luckily, the blast radius was small, so Zeon took no damage.
Dayton spoke up.
"Don't go deeper. The Black Forest's interior is bomb bee territory."
"Bomb bees? Bees that explode?"
"Yeah. Invaders in their domain trigger them to rocket themselves and blow up."
Zeon looked at the ground.
Bomb bee remains littered it.
From the debris, he guessed their original size was about a child's fist.
"Is the whole interior their turf?"
"Yep. Stay this side of the line, and you're fine."
"Is that why no one lives here?"
"Sharp. Spot on."
"Just wipe out the bomb bees, then."
"If it were that easy, it'd be gone already. Kill as many as you want—while the queen lives, they breed fast and swarm back. Don't waste energy. Rest here."
"Got it!"
If Dayton said that much, they weren't just a minor nuisance.
It felt less like fear and more like "too much hassle."
Not his problem anyway, so Zeon sat under a nearby tree by Dayton.
For now, he wanted to forget headaches and enjoy the scenery.
Leaning against a carbonized trunk, Zeon gazed ahead.
Unlike the shaded Black Forest, the sun-blasted desert shimmered with intense heat.
Even Zeon knew crossing the desert bare-skinned was suicide.
'Need a new robe... Oh!'
He suddenly remembered the spare robe in his subspace.
When he'd looted the elf village destroyed by Dayton—bows and gear—he'd grabbed robes too.
Opening his subspace, he saw the elves' robes.
He draped one over himself.
Not as good as his sand wyrm leather, but it blocked some heat.
'This'll do for now.'
Dayton despised heteromorphs, but said nothing about Zeon using elf stuff.
Dayton stabbed Clayon into the ground again and murmured in low conversation.
Zeon was used to the sight by now.
He'd once strained to eavesdrop, curious what they discussed, but soundproofed waves blocked it.
He'd given up since.
Better to inspect his new abilities in that time.
'Exion's boosted my control even further.'
Testing outside confirmed: wielding Exion while channeling control made sand far easier to command.
Before, just ten meters radius; now dozens.
At this rate, he'd eventually dominate every grain in sight.
'Golem's rigidity countered me hard. Got lucky this time, but need deeper research.'
As Dayton said, if the temple god was weakened sans divinity, guardian Gigalein must've been too.
A full-strength Gigalein would've crushed him, even with Exion.
Zeon calmly reviewed the Gigalein fight, pinpointing flaws.
Post-battle analysis hugely aided his growth.
'Blink and Chain Lightning—both devastating. Against a flexible Awakener wielding them freely, I'd probably lose.'
Golems followed patterns; humans adapted on the fly.
Zeon specialized in monster-slaying now.
Tailing Dayton meant honing anti-beast skills.
Planning to return to Neo Seoul someday, he needed PvP focus from here on.
With the seed planted, ideas branched naturally.
'Hmm.'
Zeon crossed his legs fully and surrendered to thought.
He lost track of time.
When he opened his eyes, dawn was breaking far off.
He'd pulled an all-nighter.
"Whew!"
Zeon stood, shaking out his numb legs.
Sitting stock-still all night had his body aching.
"Hm?"
While loosening up, Zeon suddenly stared ahead.
Movement—life—stirred on the distant sands.
Not bomb bees; something else.
'A kid?'
Far off, a girl who looked about twelve huddled flat on the sand, peering at Zeon and Dayton.
Dayton spoke.
"Goya clan's mongrel."
"Pardon?"
"Filthy half-breed from fools chasing the impossible. She's grown since then. Should've killed her back then."
Dayton's face twisted in deep contempt as he eyed the girl.
"She's no mongrel. She'll be this land's future."
A calm voice accompanied a middle-aged man appearing beside the girl.
A large bow and quiver hung from his back—classic hunter garb.
Dayton didn't flinch at the sudden arrival, just growled curtly.
"Still spouting sophistry. Did that bitch teach you?"
"She died recently."
Sadness filled the man's face as he answered. But Dayton's gaze remained ice-cold.
"Dead? Should've done it myself."
"You haven't changed a bit, Dayton. How long will you despise them, treat them like enemies? This land's ruin wasn't their—"
"Enough. One more word, and I'll slaughter you, your mongrel brat, and your whole clan."
Dayton unleashed terrifying killing intent.
Exposed to it, the girl bolted up and hid behind the man.
That's when Zeon saw it.
Her ears—different from a normal human's.
"Elf?"