Ugh… Kaia struggled, gritting her teeth as the monstrous tentacles coiled tighter around her, squeezing the air from her lungs.
Pain shot through her ribs, sharp and unrelenting, while her fingers trembled, grasping at nothing but empty space. If this kept up, she was going to be crushed like a bug.
Then—she felt it. A slow, creeping pull. It was faint at first, almost unnoticeable amidst the suffocating pain, but then—her fingers started sinking. Into the core. Her pupils dilated as realization struck.
Wait… what the hell?
A sharp gasp left her lips as her fingertips disappeared inch by inch, swallowed by the core's eerie, pulsating surface. It wasn't just dragging her in—it was consuming her. Her heart pounded violently against her ribs.
Is it… eating me!?
[Mysterious Guy: My connection is fading. Goodbye, youngster.]
Kaia's head snapped up, rage flashing in her eyes. "Wait, wait—why now of all times, you bastard!?" Her breathless voice echoed, but there was no response. The tentacles tightened further, suffocating her, while the core pulled harder, dragging her deeper into its abyssal grasp. "He left? Just like that?!"
Her muscles strained against the crushing force, but it was useless. "OI! OI! DON'T JUST CUT OFF LIKE THAT, YOU COWARD—!" No answer. Silence.
Kaia's jaw clenched, fury bubbling beneath her skin. Figures. She was on her own now. Not that they had been much help in the first place.
Her breath came ragged, each inhale feeling like knives slicing through her chest. Just then, a voice cut through the air—smooth, condescending, and drenched in amusement.
"That's what you get for meddling in things that don't concern you."
Kaia's head jerked toward the sound.
Solomon.
He stood lazily by the doorframe, arms crossed, his posture relaxed, as if she were nothing more than an amusing sideshow. His golden eyes, half-lidded but sharp, flickered over her with a calculating glint.
"Now," he mused, tilting his head slightly, "tell me—where are the other two?"
Kaia's chest rose and fell in rapid, uneven breaths. I can't even breathe, and this bastard wants me to talk?
A flicker of irritation crossed her face, but deep inside, an unsettling dread took root. No, this is bad… If I get sucked into the core—
Her eyes darted downward. There's literally nothing I can do. She tried to move her arm, to reach for the feather, but it was useless. Her hands were trapped, her wrists bound by the core's grip.
The pull was getting stronger, dragging her deeper. Damn it… I'm losing hope.
Then—something clicked. A detail buried deep in her memory resurfaced. The castle's layout. She had seen it twice. Each time, she had noticed something off. There were no exits. Not a single way out. But there was something else.
An end. A void.
A section of the corridor cut clean off, leading straight into a gaping, endless abyss. Not just in one place, but in several. Like pieces of the structure had been severed.
Kaia's eyes widened. The castle isn't whole. It was just a fragment. A piece placed within Luminara Domain.
But why?
And why did the edges look like that? Was it the same with Roula?
No.
Even if Roula had similarities, there had still been people.Monsters. But here? Yona and Zareth had vanished without a trace. The monsters aren't there to begin with. They hadn't just left. They had been erased.
Kaia's pulse quickened. And then—another memory struck her. The walls. Strange scriptures. Symbols. She had dismissed them earlier, thinking they were part of the library's decorations. But now—her mind pieced it together. The markings weren't just decorative. They meant something.
She recalled one particular image—a detailed sketch of an open book, labeled like a diagram. The words were not in the language she knew. The pages were blank, but there were labels beside them. Symbols etched into the stone, near the descriptions.
One page had a throne symbol next to it.
Another had a playing card.
And others? More markings. More symbols.
It looked like a map.
As if each page wasn't just part of a book—it was a place.
A realization slammed into her.
'Luminara Domain is different.'
Those words—she had seen them before. On that letter to Varyon. Her lips curled upward, a slow smirk spreading across her face.
"I see…"
Solomon's gaze lingered on the core, his brows furrowing. It had been eerily silent for a while now. No more struggling. No final words. No screams. Just… nothing.
A sigh escaped his lips. "Tch. What a letdown." He tilted his head, disappointed. "I wanted to at least hear her scream. Some final words. What a dumb way to die."
But before he could turn away, the air shifted.
A sudden, repulsing energy burst outward, sending a shockwave rippling through the chamber. The force of it slammed against Solomon, making him instinctively raise an arm to shield his face. His coat flapped violently under the pressure.
"What the—?" His voice was lost beneath the howling wind.
The tentacles unfurled, still tethered to the core, writhing wildly as if caught in a storm. In the eye of it all—Kaia. Her body trembled, but she hadn't been swallowed. Not yet. One of her hands was still inside the core, gripping onto something deep within.
Her breathing was ragged. Sweat dripped down her forehead, but her narrowed eyes remained locked on the core, her grip unrelenting. Come on… just a little more.
(Somehow, my powers… they triggered again. And before they did, I felt it coming. I'm becoming more aware of them—stronger, sharper. But if they go out of control again…)
She clenched her teeth, shaking the thought away. There was no time for doubt. Not when she was so close.
The raging wind pushed back the tentacles, giving Kaia the momentum she needed. Her fingers dug deeper, pulling at whatever was buried inside the core.
"She's using wind manipulation?" Solomon's eyes widened, his coat billowing violently around him. "Urgh… Why the hell is it this strong?"
(A core… within a core?)
Kaia's fingers brushed against something solid. Smaller. Different. This had to be the main core. But the moment she grasped it, pain exploded through her hands.
A searing, burning sensation tore through her nerves. It felt like her skin was being peeled away, her bones melting from the inside. Her instincts screamed at her to let go, to yank her hand out before it was too late.
But she refused.
Her fingers curled tighter around the scorching mass, even as the pain clawed through her flesh. The smaller core finally began to move, inching toward the surface.
A glimpse of it—a grotesque, pulsing chunk of flesh.
"Got it."
Without thinking, Kaia snapped her head forward—her teeth sinking directly into the core.
The moment her lips touched it, blistering agony shot through her mouth, her tongue burning as if she had bitten into molten lava. But she didn't stop. With a sharp jerk of her head, she ripped the core free from the larger mass, yanking it out with her teeth.
"Wait—" Solomon had to blink through the chaos, barely registering what had just happened. Even in the midst of the raging wind, his mind caught up to the impossible sight. "Did she… just bite the damn core out?"
The whirlwind began to die down.
Kaia stumbled back, core still in her mouth, chest heaving. It's out… Her fingers tingled with lingering pain, but she barely felt it over the overwhelming rush of mana coursing through her body.
Her eyes flickered to the tentacles. They were already recoiling, their movements sluggish, weak.
Good. That gave her a window.
Kaia slammed both palms against the floor, pouring every ounce of her power into the ground beneath her.
(Those pictures… those descriptions… that map of the book…)
The realization hit her like lightning.
Luminara's structure—its entire existence—was built like a…
A book.
The void-like endings, the way locations seemed disconnected, the fact that there were no real exits. It all made sense now. This castle, this domain… they weren't separate places.
They were pages.
A pop-up book, suspended in an endless void.
Which meant—if she was right—then the ground itself wasn't a foundation. It was the point of transition. The place where the page could be turned.
Kaia's lips curled slightly. Then let's turn it.
Power surged beneath her fingertips. The air rippled, the floor beneath her trembling. Solomon staggered as the walls around them shifted, folding in on themselves, warping like ink spreading across a page. The entire landscape peeled away, revealing something new.
The castle vanished.
An open, barren wasteland stretched endlessly before them.
Solomon took a slow step forward, lowering his arm from his face. His blue eyes swept across the unfamiliar terrain, astonishment flickering in their depths.
"What the…?" His voice was hushed.
Kaia exhaled sharply, exhaustion finally creeping up her spine. "Did it…?"
A pause. Then, her own voice startled her. Wait…
Her eyes widened. Horror dawned on her face.
"Wait, am I talking?" She stiffened. Why is my mouth—?
Memories flashed.
The core.
The realization slammed into her.
Her hands shot up to her mouth, her face twisting in sheer, unfiltered horror.
"I ACCIDENTALLY ATE THAT TENTACLE CORE!"
Her scream echoed across the empty land.
Solomon barely spared her a glance, too absorbed in the unfolding scenery. His fingers brushed against his lips, hiding the growing grin that spread across his face. And then, to Kaia's bewilderment—he laughed.
A low chuckle at first, before it escalated into something deeper, something genuine.
"I can't believe it…" His blue eyes gleamed with amusement and awe. "We thought we knew everything about Luminara, but this… this is something else."
Kaia's expression twisted in annoyance as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Tch. Looks like he lost his damn mind." She shook her head, turning away. "Whatever. I don't have time for this. I need to find her—"
Her steps faltered.
Something in the distance made her freeze.
Her breath caught in her throat, her heart nearly stopping as her eyes locked onto two figures in the distance.
One stood tall, six wings stretching behind them, a foreboding silhouette against the bleak backdrop. The other…
A person lay motionless on the ground.
Blood matted their blonde hair.
Kaia's pupils shrank.
Her throat tightened. She knew that person.
She knew exactly who she was staring at.
"Yona…"
A shuddering breath escaped her lips. Her eyes burned, a single tear threatening to slip free.
Her fists clenched.
I did it again.