The laughter continued echoing from behind the First Seal.
Ancient.
Distorted.
Wrong.
It sounded like something that had studied human emotion without ever truly understanding it.
The entire underground chamber trembled violently.
Stone cracked apart beneath the pressure flooding outward from the partially opened black door. Dust poured continuously from the ceiling while the remaining containment symbols across the walls flickered unstable one after another.
The gigantic carved eye at the center of the seal remained fully open now.
Watching.
Always watching.
Leo felt like his thoughts were being slowly peeled apart beneath that gaze.
The whispers inside his mind had become unbearable.
Not separate voices anymore.
A crowd.
Thousands of thoughts colliding together inside his skull endlessly.
"…THE KEEPER RETURNS…"
"…THE BLOODLINE REMEMBERS…"
"…OPEN THE LAST PATH…"
"…LET HIM SEE…"
Pain surged through Leo's head violently.
He staggered backward while gripping the side of his skull.
The black marks beneath his skin pulsed visibly upward across his neck now.
The instructor immediately stepped beside him.
"Focus on my voice."
Leo barely heard him.
His breathing had become uneven.
The pressure flooding the chamber no longer felt external.
It felt like something inside him was trying to answer the seal.
The silver-haired girl watched silently for several seconds before speaking.
"He's synchronizing faster."
The council member's face darkened immediately.
"That should not be possible at this stage."
"Clearly many things tonight are beyond your expectations."
Her cold response carried open criticism now.
Another violent tremor shook the chamber.
One of the massive pillars surrounding the seal cracked apart completely.
Blue energy exploded outward.
Several enforcers were thrown backward instantly.
The hand emerging from the opening behind the seal trembled again weakly.
Blood dripped slowly onto the ancient floor beneath it.
"…Leo…"
The voice sounded exhausted.
Desperate.
Human.
Leo looked toward the opening again instinctively.
The instructor immediately grabbed his arm harder.
"Do not approach it."
"There's someone trapped in there."
"And there may also be something pretending to be trapped."
That answer stopped Leo momentarily.
Because part of him had already started emotionally believing the voice.
Why?
Because it sounded afraid.
Lonely.
And somehow familiar.
The silver-haired girl slowly stepped closer to the seal while studying the opening carefully.
Unlike everyone else, her movements remained completely steady despite the crushing atmosphere filling the chamber.
That alone unsettled Leo deeply.
"How are you still standing normally?" he asked suddenly.
Her eyes shifted toward him briefly.
Then toward the giant eye.
"My family adapted long ago."
The answer created even more questions.
But before Leo could speak again—
the laughter behind the seal suddenly stopped.
Complete silence followed.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Wrong.
Then the ancient voice echoed directly into Leo's mind once more.
"…You continue resisting because you fear truth."
Leo's body froze.
"…But fear itself proves the door has already opened."
The whispers screamed violently afterward.
Darkness flickered briefly around Leo's fingers.
Several enforcers immediately raised their weapons again.
"He's losing control!"
"Prepare containment restraints!"
The instructor stepped protectively in front of Leo instantly.
"No one touches him."
The council member's patience visibly snapped.
"You saw what happened earlier! One more destabilization and the seal may fully rupture!"
Tension exploded between them.
The remaining enforcers looked uncertain now.
Fear had begun overriding discipline.
Leo barely noticed any of it.
Because the voice behind the seal suddenly whispered again.
This time softer.
Almost painfully human.
"…Please…"
The hand gripping the opening slipped slightly lower.
Weakening.
Leo's chest tightened sharply.
That voice no longer sounded manipulative.
It sounded tired.
Like someone who had suffered for an impossibly long time.
Then suddenly—
another memory flashed through Leo's mind.
A dark corridor.
Chains dragging across stone.
A child screaming somewhere far away.
And a voice saying softly:
"If synchronization reaches completion, he will no longer remember being human."
The vision vanished instantly.
Leo staggered.
Sweat covered his face now.
The silver-haired girl noticed immediately.
"You're seeing fragments now."
Leo slowly looked toward her.
"…What fragments?"
She hesitated briefly.
Then answered quietly.
"Residual memories."
The chamber became still again.
Even the instructor looked unsettled by that answer.
"Whose memories?" Leo asked.
Her expression darkened slightly.
"That's the problem."
Another deep metallic sound echoed throughout the Hall.
The giant black door moved slightly further open.
Only inches.
But enough for the atmosphere itself to change.
The darkness leaking from the opening spread farther across the floor now.
Ancient symbols decayed wherever it touched.
The air itself distorted unnaturally around it.
Several enforcers began retreating instinctively.
One whispered under his breath:
"This place is failing…"
The silver-haired girl slowly looked toward the council member.
"If the seal destabilizes further, evacuation becomes impossible."
"We are not abandoning the Hall."
"We may not have a choice anymore."
Fear briefly crossed the council member's face again.
And that terrified Leo more than anything else.
Because until now—
the council always acted like they controlled the situation.
But they didn't.
Not anymore.
The instructor suddenly turned toward the silver-haired girl sharply.
"You said your bloodline monitored vessels."
"Yes."
"Then tell me honestly."
His voice became heavier.
"Can he still be saved?"
Silence filled the chamber.
The girl looked at Leo quietly.
Not coldly this time.
Not analytically.
Carefully.
Leo hated that silence immediately.
Because it felt like she was deciding whether he was already dead.
Finally, she answered.
"I don't know."
The honesty in her voice hit harder than reassurance would have.
"Previous vessels eventually lost themselves completely," she continued quietly. "But Leo's synchronization pattern is different."
The council member frowned.
"How?"
Her gray eyes slowly returned toward Leo.
"The Watchers are not trying to consume him."
The whispers inside Leo's mind suddenly became quiet again.
Listening.
The girl's next words echoed heavily throughout the chamber.
"They are trying to wake him."
Cold silence spread instantly afterward.
Leo felt his heartbeat slow unnaturally.
The instructor's expression hardened.
"What does that mean?"
She answered without hesitation.
"It means the corruption may not be external."
The chamber trembled again.
But this time—
Leo barely noticed it.
Because her words had struck something much deeper.
Not external.
Then what was he?
The ancient voice behind the seal laughed softly again.
Not mockingly this time.
Almost affectionately.
"…Closer…"
Leo suddenly felt dizzy.
His vision blurred violently.
And for one horrifying moment—
the people around him no longer looked fully human.
Dark threads connected every living person in the chamber.
Flowing.
Moving.
Breathing.
As though reality itself had hidden layers he was only now beginning to perceive.
He saw fear.
He saw thoughts.
He saw the trembling instability inside everyone around him.
Even the instructor.
Even the silver-haired girl.
Then his gaze slowly shifted toward the giant black door.
And instantly—
his entire body froze.
Because behind the partially opened seal—
something enormous was staring back at him from the darkness.
Not one eye.
Hundreds.
And all of them were smiling.