The pressure didn't ease.
It doubled.
Then tripled.
The world itself seemed to lean in, as though something massive had shifted its attention toward them. The unstable terrain beneath their feet pulsed violently, and the air thickened to the point where even breathing felt forced.
Marcus staggered back, barely dodging another strike.
"…Okay—yeah—whatever's coming, I vote we don't wait for it!"
One of the entities lunged again, its form sharpening mid-attack, adapting faster than before. An Alpha Killer intercepted, their clash sending a ripple through the space around them, but even that felt… delayed.
Like the world was slowing them down.
Dominic noticed it immediately.
"They're syncing with the pressure," he said.
The old man nodded grimly.
"And we're not."
That was the problem.
The deeper they went, the more the world aligned against them—and the more everything here worked together.
Including their enemies.
Another entity struck from behind, forcing Dominic to pivot mid-motion, his response precise but tighter than before. He could feel it now.
The resistance.
Not rejection.
Not exactly.
Correction.
This world was trying to force everything back into balance.
And they—
Were the imbalance.
Marcus ducked low, rolling to avoid another hit, then scrambled back up.
"…Yeah, I'm starting to feel like we're not supposed to win this one!"
Dominic didn't answer.
Because he wasn't trying to win.
He was trying to move forward.
And that meant—
Ending this quickly.
His shadows shifted again, tightening around him, refining further. The difference was immediate. The pressure didn't disappear—
But it bent.
Slightly.
Just enough.
The old man saw it.
"…He's forcing alignment."
Marcus blinked.
"…Is that good or bad?"
"Both."
That wasn't reassuring.
Dominic moved.
Faster than before.
Not by speed—
But by efficiency.
Every motion stripped down to what was necessary. No wasted energy. No hesitation.
He struck one of the entities directly, the impact clean and controlled. It shattered—not violently, but completely—its form collapsing inward before dissolving into the space around it.
Marcus stared.
"…Okay, that's new."
But there was no time to react.
The others adjusted instantly.
More aggressive now.
More coordinated.
They closed in from multiple angles, forcing Dominic into tighter space.
He didn't retreat.
He stepped forward.
Into them.
His movements changed again—less human, more… aligned. His body reacted before thought, his strikes landing with precision that felt almost unnatural.
Another entity broke.
Then another.
But the last two didn't attack.
They pulled back.
Marcus noticed immediately.
"…Why are they stopping?"
The answer came with a sudden shift in the world.
The pressure spiked—
Hard.
Everyone felt it.
Even Dominic.
The air compressed, the ground stilled, and for a brief moment—
Everything froze.
Then—
It came.
Not like the others.
Not emerging.
Not forming.
It was already there.
They just hadn't been able to perceive it.
Until now.
Marcus's voice dropped.
"…Nope."
A figure stood ahead.
Larger than the Hunter.
Not unstable.
Not shifting.
Completely still.
Completely present.
And far more dangerous.
The remaining entities retreated instantly, as if their purpose had ended.
"…Yeah," Marcus whispered, taking a step back, "I don't think we're meant to fight that."
The old man didn't respond.
Because he couldn't look away.
"…This is different," he said quietly.
Dominic stepped forward.
Of course he did.
The figure's gaze locked onto him immediately.
And unlike the Hunter—
There was no testing in it.
Only certainty.
You should not have come this far.
The voice didn't echo.
It pressed.
Directly into them.
Marcus grabbed his head slightly.
"…Yeah, I definitely don't like this one."
Dominic didn't stop.
"I didn't come to stop."
The figure didn't move.
But the space around it tightened.
Then you will end here.
The words didn't feel like a threat.
They felt like a fact.
The ground beneath Dominic cracked slightly as pressure pushed against him—harder than anything before.
But he didn't step back.
Didn't slow down.
Because behind all of it—
He could still feel her.
Closer now.
Clearer.
Leila.
And that was enough.
Far away, at the core, Leila felt the shift instantly.
Stronger than before.
Sharper.
Her connection to the gate trembled again, but this time—
It hurt.
"…No…"
Her breath shook slightly.
The Sovereign turned his gaze toward her.
"You feel it."
"That's not like the others," she said quickly. "That one—"
"Is necessary."
Leila's eyes widened.
"For what?"
The Sovereign didn't hesitate.
"To determine if he goes any further."
Back on the battlefield, Dominic stopped just short of the figure.
For the first time—
He felt it.
Not resistance.
Not pressure.
A wall.
Absolute.
Different from everything else.
This wasn't something he could push through the same way.
This—
Would require something more.
The figure raised its hand slowly.
And the world responded instantly.
Energy gathered.
Denser than anything before.
More controlled.
More final.
Marcus took another step back.
"…Yeah, okay, I'm officially saying this—if he survives this, I'm never questioning him again."
Dominic didn't move.
Didn't react.
Didn't hesitate.
Because he understood now.
This wasn't just another fight.
This was the line.
The one that decided everything.
And if he failed here—
He would never reach her.
The energy surged.
The attack forming.
The world holding its breath.
And Dominic—
Stepped forward anyway.