The wind across the cliffside felt colder now.
Not because of the night.
Because the moment Ayan made his decision—
Everything around him seemed to recognize it.
The crimson pathway pulsed brighter beneath his feet, thin lines of red light spreading slowly toward the underground entrance while the corrupted humanoids surrounding the battlefield remained perfectly still.
Waiting.
Even the pressure rising from below the structure changed subtly.
Less oppressive.
Almost welcoming.
That alone made Ayan uneasy.
Aelira still held his arm tightly.
"…No."
Her voice remained quiet.
But firm.
Ayan looked toward her silently for a moment.
Moonlight reflected faintly across her silver hair while her crimson eyes stayed locked onto his, and for the first time since meeting her—
She genuinely looked afraid.
Not for herself.
For him.
The realization settled heavily in his chest.
Because now he understood something clearly.
Everything Aelira had done until now—
The secrecy.
The constant warnings.
The distance she tried maintaining—
Had never been about manipulation.
It was fear.
Fear that history would repeat itself again.
Ayan slowly exhaled.
"…I know."
Aelira's grip tightened slightly.
"…Then do not go."
The underground voice echoed upward softly before he could answer.
"…Avoidance changes nothing."
The crimson-eyed man stood silently near the entrance, observing the interaction carefully now rather than attacking.
Almost studying it.
Ayan noticed immediately.
Interesting.
Even this seemed important to the network somehow.
The voice below continued calmly.
"…The synchronization already began."
Ayan's eyes narrowed sharply.
"…I never agreed to anything."
"…Agreement was unnecessary."
The answer sent cold irritation through him instantly.
The crimson lines beneath the cliffside pulsed again.
Ayan immediately felt it.
That strange connection beneath his skin.
Thin.
Incomplete.
But real.
The network had been touching him since the beginning.
Every evolving creature recognizing him.
Every fragment reacting to him.
Every vision.
This entire time—
The synchronization had already been progressing slowly without permission.
Aelira stepped forward slightly.
"…He can still resist."
The underground voice fell silent briefly.
Then—
"…Perhaps."
Ayan noticed the wording immediately.
Not denial.
Not certainty.
Possibility.
Which meant resistance existed.
The crimson-eyed man finally spoke again.
"…The previous anomaly resisted as well."
Aelira's expression darkened instantly.
"…Stop speaking about him."
The man ignored her.
His crimson gaze remained fixed on Ayan.
"…At first, he believed returning home mattered more than understanding this world."
"…Then he saw the truth."
Ayan's heartbeat slowed slightly.
"…What truth?"
The crimson-eyed man looked toward the underground entrance beneath them.
"…That Earth was never separate from this place."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Even the adventurers froze.
Ayan stared at him.
"…What?"
The man's expression remained calm.
"…Did you truly believe dimensional convergence happened accidentally?"
Ayan's thoughts halted completely for half a second.
Because suddenly—
Everything felt larger.
Far larger.
The underground voice echoed upward again.
"…Both worlds were always connected."
The crimson lines across the structure illuminated brighter.
"…The network merely accelerated synchronization."
Ayan's chest tightened sharply.
Earth.
This world.
Connected?
No—
That didn't make sense.
But the certainty in their voices made doubt difficult.
The spear wielder muttered quietly nearby.
"…I officially stopped understanding anything."
Honestly—
Same.
Ayan's thoughts raced violently now.
If Earth and this world were connected—
Then what exactly was the network trying to achieve?
And why bring people here?
The underground voice answered almost immediately.
"…Humanity requires adaptation."
Ayan's eyes narrowed sharply.
"…Adaptation for what?"
Silence followed briefly.
Then—
"…What approaches."
A cold feeling spread through the cliffside instantly.
Even the crimson-eyed man lowered his gaze slightly at those words.
Ayan immediately noticed.
Fear.
Very faint.
But present.
The network feared something.
The realization hit harder than expected.
Because until now—
The system itself felt like the ultimate threat.
But if even it was preparing for something else—
Then what exactly was coming?
The underground voice continued softly.
"…Your world remains unaware."
"…This world was merely first contact."
Ayan's grip tightened painfully around his sword.
The corrupted humanoids surrounding the battlefield all whispered together softly.
"…First contact…"
"…Preparation…"
"…Evolution…"
The layered voices echoed endlessly across the cliffside.
Aelira suddenly stepped directly between Ayan and the underground entrance.
"…Enough."
Her crimson eyes glowed brighter than before.
"…You continue twisting fear into justification."
The underground voice remained calm.
"…And you continue mistaking emotion for reason."
The pressure beneath the structure intensified violently.
Ayan's instincts screamed again.
Not from immediate danger.
From scale.
Whatever existed beneath Sector Seven—
It wasn't simply a creature.
Or a person.
It felt massive.
Ancient.
Like a living intelligence spread through the entire underground network itself.
The crimson-eyed man slowly approached again.
This time—
No hostility.
Only certainty.
"…You already know you will descend eventually."
Ayan looked toward him sharply.
"…You sound pretty confident."
The man tilted his head slightly.
"…Because curiosity defines anomalies."
The answer irritated him because it felt true.
Ayan hated that.
The crimson-eyed man stopped several meters away.
"…You seek meaning."
"…Purpose."
"…Understanding."
His glowing eyes locked directly onto Ayan's.
"…The network offers all three."
A long silence followed.
Then unexpectedly—
Ayan laughed quietly.
Not happily.
Tiredly.
The sound surprised everyone slightly.
Even the crimson-eyed man paused.
Ayan shook his head slowly.
"…You know what the problem is?"
His eyes hardened gradually.
"…Everything you say almost makes sense."
The crimson-eyed man observed him silently.
Ayan continued quietly.
"…That's what makes this whole thing terrifying."
Because if the network had simply been evil—
Mindless destruction—
It would have been easier to reject.
But instead—
It believed itself necessary.
Protective.
A system trying to prepare humanity for something worse.
And somehow—
That made it infinitely more dangerous.
Ayan looked toward the underground entrance again.
The crimson pathway glowed steadily before him.
Waiting.
Calling.
Then slowly—
He removed Aelira's hand from his arm.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"…Ayan."
He looked toward her calmly.
"…I'm going below."
The silver-ranked adventurers immediately reacted.
The archer cursed under her breath.
The spear wielder looked like he wanted to argue.
But Ayan continued before anyone could stop him.
"…Not because I trust them."
His eyes shifted toward the underground darkness.
"…And definitely not because I believe their system."
Then he looked toward Aelira again.
"…But because if I keep running from answers…"
A faint silence followed.
"…I'll never understand what's happening to me."
The cliffside became still once more.
Aelira stared at him silently for several long seconds.
Then finally—
"…Then I'm going with you."
The underground voice immediately responded.
"…Unnecessary."
Aelira's crimson eyes sharpened dangerously.
"…That was not a request."
For the first time in a while—
Ayan almost smiled slightly.
Because somehow—
That sounded exactly like her.