Time went on, and the thudding sound of the Elder Crocdaemon’s approach never stopped.
Every passing minute, the dull thuds echoed like a ticking time bomb.
But the strange part?
It was slow. Painfully, awfully slow.
The sun had already set, and night had swallowed the skies whole. Even then, the monster still hadn’t reached the cavern.
Freya wasn’t stupid enough to peek out again. The sound was enough to tell her—yes, it was nearby. But still not right outside. Not yet.
Her arms, which were tightly wrapped around Cassius, slowly loosened. Her body trembled, exhausted from everything that had happened. At some point, her eyes grew heavier and heavier, and before she realized it—
When she woke up, it was with a jolt. Her heart hammered in her chest, and for a second she forgot where she was.
Her face had been resting against Cassius’s head.
Her arms were still around him, snug like a shield.
The moment she registered it, she immediately pulled away, flustered. Not too far. Just enough to not touch.
They were childhood friends, sure. But he was someone else’s fiancé now.
He belonged to someone else.
She shook her head and looked down at him again. Cassius’s face was still pale, but he was breathing slowly, rhythmically. His chest rose and fell in steady motions, and the blood had completely dried.
The red imprint of dried tears still clung to her cheeks, but a soft smile crept up to her lips.
He looked peaceful . Peaceful and... different.
So different from the Cassius she used to know.
No longer the cute crybaby who clung to her sleeves.
No longer the timid kid who got bullied by Lilith and Evelyn for being too kind, too shy, too quiet.
No longer the pacifist boy who hid behind Art and Zyon whenever things got tough.
Now he was strong. Mature. Confident.
Someone who ran towards danger to protect someone else.
Someone she could rely on now—fully, completely.
And that realization scared her more than she liked to admit.
She clenched her fists.
She had no strength left. No idea what to do next. The only real chance she had of surviving now—
Was waiting until he woke up.
That was her only shot.
But then a thought hit her like a brick. She had slept... but for how long?
The cavern was still pitch black. The faintest shimmer of starlight leaked in from outside, but it was night—definitely still night.
The thudding from the Crocdaemon hadn’t stopped. But it had... stabilized. Like it had stopped moving.
Her instincts screamed at her.
Something wasn’t right.
She gently leaned Cassius’s unconscious body against the cold stone wall. Then, with measured steps, she approached the boulder at the cavern’s entrance. Her breath was caught in her throat.
’Please don’t be there.’
She peeked out. Just a little.
And her breath froze.
The entrance was blocked.
Blocked by a massive, eerie, glowing amber eye.
It stared inside the cavern with an unnatural stillness, like a cursed torch that gave off no light.
A smoldering pit of lava that judged all it looked upon.
It was massive—bigger than her body. Slitted vertically like a reptile’s, glowing dimly like dying embers. It didn’t flicker. It didn’t blink.
Her blood ran cold the moment she saw the eye.
That slitted, amber stare.
It was too similar—eerily, terrifyingly similar to the Skyshadow Basilisk’s.
Her body instantly reacted. Her hands trembled. Sweat poured from her forehead, her palms, the soles of her feet. Her back was drenched. Her knees quivered.
The breath she didn’t realize she was holding came out in short, panicked gasps.
She could still see it.
That golden gaze that broke her confidence, shattered her resolve, and made her question her right to even exist.
She was reliving it again.
Its head towering high, those golden reptilian eyes locking onto her like she was nothing but prey—less than that, even. A nuisance.
Her heart thumped erratically. Her chest tightened.
She squeezed her eyes shut and slapped her cheeks lightly. Then harder. Then harder still. Just like before.
She forced herself to breathe.
She wiped the sweat off her brow with a shaky hand. Her voice was a whisper now, almost like a prayer.
"There’s still time left... until the examination ends..."
Her eyes flicked back to the unmoving creature outside.
Maybe that was the key. If they didn’t move—if they just stayed still long enough, if they made no noise and waited in silence—then maybe, just maybe, they’d make it out.
Teleportation would activate. The zone would close. They’d go back to the Academy.
"Yeah," she whispered, mostly to herself. "That’s what would happen... Definitely... Right, Cassius?"
Her voice cracked at the end, but she still smiled faintly. A small, half-joking comment thrown out to ease the tension.
She turned toward him—still unconscious. Still pale.
She didn’t expect a reply.
She didn’t expect anything.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Cassius’s eyes fluttered open.
"Cassius...?" she muttered, disbelieving.
A beautiful, radiant smile bloomed across her face, her eyes lighting up with a hope she thought she’d lost.
Because Cassius didn’t look at her.
He didn’t say a word.
His eyes locked straight ahead—past her.
Directly at the creature outside.
His body shifted in fluid, deliberate steps. Not staggering. Not weak. It was controlled—almost mechanical. Like his body knew exactly what it was doing.
"C-Cassius...?" she called again, confused, taking a step forward.
He didn’t turn to her. Didn’t blink. His gaze never left the glowing eye outside the cavern.
Freya’s heart began to race in panic now.
She rushed toward him, grabbing his hand tightly. Her fingers wrapped around his wrist, trying to stop him.
"Cassius! That monster—it’s not something you can fight! Come back! Hide!"
But he didn’t even flinch.
He just... kept walking.
And she—she was being dragged along with him.
Her heels scraped against the rocky floor. She struggled, pulled, dug her feet into the ground—but nothing worked. His grip was too firm. Too strong.
His steps, too certain.
Her panic exploded. "Cassius!! Are you listening to me?! You’ll die!! Stop!!"
But he didn’t say a word.
Didn’t even glance at her.
And before she knew it, they had crossed the edge of the cavern—mere inches from the eye that had been watching them the entire time.
Freya’s grip released.
Her arms dropped limp.
Her knees hit the ground with a thud.
She stared, wide-eyed, pale-faced, trembling.
Just... what had happened to him?
No, that couldn’t be. His movements were too sharp, too focused.
Or had he gone insane?
Why—why would he willingly walk up to a monster like that?
Her mind was a whirlwind of questions, but no answers came.
Pure, undiluted dread.
"Cassius!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Come back to your senses! What are you doing?! Come back!!"
But her words didn’t reach him.
Not even an inch of hesitation.
He raised his hand slowly.
And then—without fear, without hesitation—he placed it just a few centimeters away from the glowing eye.
A whisper. A command.