The Raie monsters stopped.
With synchronized precision, the two creatures stepped back into formation, taking their places beside the towering stone wall. They didn't growl or threaten. They simply waited.
Aria didn't move.
For several tense minutes, he stood rooted in place, muscles coiled, watching them with narrowed eyes. He didn't trust their stillness. Not after the chaos of their battle.
Only after the silence lingered did he slowly lower his shoulders and lean forward to retrieve his sword. The blade scraped gently against the stone floor as he returned it to its sheath. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair and released a sigh—a mixture of relief and disbelief.
He hadn't expected the trick to work. But somehow, it had. Somehow, the voice—that ever-annoying voice—had dropped the right clue.
And it saved him.
Aria started forward.
"Yippee!"
The high-pitched cry came from nowhere and everywhere all at once. Aria grimaced, instinctively covering his ears.
"Father won! Father really won!"
"Damn it…" Aria muttered under his breath.
"Aha!" The voice snapped in mock offense. "Father, no swearing! I'm just a kid, you know!"
Aria stared forward, toward the Raie monsters, though the voice had no form to glare at. The monsters, curiously enough, seemed just as aware as he was—watching him, still and calculating.
Wonderful. Just great. Can I leave now?
"Leave?" the voice replied, sounding almost hurt. "But you haven't even met me yet!"
"I'd like to keep it that way," Aria muttered under his breath.
"You don't want to meet your future kid?" the voice said softly, clearly trying to sound heartbroken. "It was my fault, really… for hoping…"
A sigh escaped Aria's lips. Manipulative little gremlin.
He rolled his eyes and continued walking. The Raie monsters turned toward the wall, ignoring him. It was a dead end, Aria had noticed that during the fight. No paths, no openings—just sheer stone.
Then, without hesitation, the Raie monsters slammed their fists into the wall.
Crank.
Woove.
The entire floor trembled as the wall began to shift. Aria blinked, unmoving, face expressionless. At this point, nothing could surprise him.
"You sure about that?" the voice teased. "You haven't seen me yet."
Of course. He could practically hear the grin in the voice's tone.
The monsters raised the wall—only a few feet, just enough space for a person to duck beneath. They waited.
Aria eyed the precarious opening. It looked ready to collapse at any moment. Huffing, he darted forward and rolled under just as the wall came crashing down with a thunderous slam. Dust exploded from both sides, cloaking the air in a choking haze.
Behind the fallen wall, Aria coughed and waved the dust from his face. He pressed a hand to the wall, steadying himself, and pushed forward.
"Father, hurry up!" the voice called out, distant now. "I'll be waiting at the end!"
Then, silence.
Aria glanced down at his hand. A jagged rock had crushed it during the crawl. He clenched his jaw and activated his healing ability. A soft green glow surrounded his hand, the bones stitching and flesh mending before the glow dimmed and faded.
He stood up.
Pitch black. That was his new world. But… the path ahead shone.
A strange brown glow lit the corridor. The same color as his hair.
"Wasn't this supposed to be blue?" he muttered.
He touched the wall. He could still feel the faint blue aura of mana—the familiar energy from earlier—but it was invisible now. As though this was a different place entirely. Another world.
Only the brown-lit path remained.
He scowled. "Tsk."
And walked.
Darkness pressed in from all sides. He stubbed his toes more than once, cursed softly each time. This world may have changed, but the pain was very real.
All this trouble—for Lilac flowers. And a bounty on ogres. That was the deal.
But no. Of course it wouldn't go that smoothly.
Things never go the way they're supposed to—not for overpowered characters, and especially not for characters who aren't.
He groaned and ran a hand down his face, muttering, "This is why I stay low-profile…"
The corridor began to narrow.
What started as a walk became a crouch. Then a crawl.
Aria gritted his teeth. "Now I get it. The kid was stuck here because the place wanted to trap him."
A normal adventurer would be crushed. Suffocated. But Aria had been through worse. Tighter. More painful.
He sprawled flat, arms stretched ahead, gripping the floor. The passage closed in like a tomb.
His boots began to glow red.
With a smirk, Aria braced his feet, clenched his fists, and—
BOOM.
A violent burst of energy launched him forward. He drew his sword mid-flight.
From outside, the cave fell silent.
Then—squeak.
Slash.
BOOM.
A flash of light burst from the corridor's end. The sealed tunnel exploded outward as Aria shot through like a missile, landing upright with perfect balance.
The red glow faded from his boots. He casually dusted himself off.
And then he saw it.
A garden.
Not just any garden. The garden.
Glass ceilings let sunlight pour in like divine blessings. A gentle breeze rolled across the grass—not disturbing it, just swaying it with delicate grace. Red roses, sunflowers, orchids, and blooms he couldn't even name stretched across the expanse in a dreamlike sea.
It was divine. Impossible.
And utterly out of place beneath a cave.
Aria stepped forward, feet crunching softly on a stone path lined with ivy and lilies. He stared in awe. His hand reached out instinctively to brush a petal, just to make sure it was real.
"Father…"
The voice again.
Aria tensed. He looked around, scanning for the source.
"Father…"
There was no child. No form. Just sound.
Then, ahead—there it was.
A clearing surrounded by glittering jewels and strange glass vines. At its center stood a crystalline pillar of water, flowing endlessly upward and downward, defying gravity.
Atop it, nestled in a cradle of light, was something covered by cloth.
"Father…"
The voice was clearer now.
Drawn by instinct—or fate—Aria walked to the edge of the fountain.
He reached out.
And in one swift motion, pulled the cloth away.
A glow. A pulse. Silence.
"…You found me."
Aria's heart stopped.
He stared.
It was… an egg.
Smooth. Warm. Radiating soft golden light.
The Voice… was an egg?
He blinked once.
Twice.
Then, after a long pause…
"This is not my day."