Jared backed off, but before he left, he shot Ethan and the others a vicious look—pretty clearly convinced this was all their idea.

Ethan shook his head. He’d basically just spotted the biggest problem with Grace’s compound.

Their management style was too soft.

If Grace and her group could keep overwhelming everyone with pure strength, fine. But the second they couldn’t maintain absolute dominance, things would go sideways—fast.

"Sorry," Grace said awkwardly. "That was embarrassing."

"If this were Fallen Star City," Ethan said flatly, "he’d already be dead."

"..."

Grace frowned. "Jared’s contributed a lot to this compound. We wouldn’t be where we are without him. And I just announced we’re merging into another compound out of nowhere—his reaction is normal. It was just an argument. He doesn’t deserve to die over it."

"Up to you." Ethan shrugged.

He couldn’t be bothered with internal politics. Once they got to Fallen Star City, Miles would handle this kind of thing the way it needed to be handled.

Not long after, the food arrived.

Nobody had really eaten a proper meal on the road, so they dug in and ate like it was a holiday. Afterward, everyone went off to rest.

Early the next morning, they were up again. Grace led the group out toward the Void Realm entrance.

As he watched them leave, Jared’s face darkened.

I worked my ass off for them, he thought, grinding his teeth. And they never once took me to that place. These people show up and she brings them immediately?

Why?

There has to be some "wild man" she’s after in there. Now she even wants to throw the whole compound away for him. Not happening.

His eyes sharpened, cold and resentful.

If you’re going to be unfair, don’t blame me for playing dirty.

Jared turned to a man behind him. "You’re sure that tiger on the mountain is already Tier 11?"

"Positive," the man said quickly. "Last time we ran into it up there, over a hundred of us went in and only a little over ten made it back. Everyone else died in its jaws. Based on its power, it’s Tier 11 for sure."

"Good." Jared leaned in and whispered several instructions into the man’s ear.

The man’s eyes widened. "T-that... Grace and the others would be in danger too!"

"Relax." Jared’s voice was calm. "I’ll warn them ahead of time."

"...Alright."

Meanwhile...

Under Grace’s guidance, Ethan and the others headed toward a mountain range.

These mountains were even more tangled and rugged than the ones in Redwood County. And because almost nobody came out here, the path was swallowed by grass taller than a man. There wasn’t even a real trail—just wilderness.

"Damn," Big Mike said, staring around. "A place like this... how the hell did you even find it?"

"We were originally out hunting mutant beasts," Grace said. "Then we ran into a pack of wild wolves. They chased us deep into the mountains, and we stumbled into the Void Realm entrance by accident. We were basically cornered at that point, so we didn’t think—just dove in."

"Uh..." Big Mike blinked. "That’s... insanely lucky."

Grace nodded. "Yeah. I know."

They kept going for two more hours. Finally, they reached a narrow ravine.

Ethan’s gaze snapped upward almost immediately.

Above the ravine, the air itself twisted—like heat shimmer, except wrong. A warped patch of space, subtly rotating, bending the light.

"That’s it," Grace said, pointing. "Right there."

"Yeah," Ethan said. "I see it."

Grace didn’t hesitate. "Let’s go."

She led them beneath the distortion and stepped in first, vanishing into it.

One after another, the others followed.

The world flipped.

And when their vision settled, a bleak, lifeless landscape spread out in front of them.

Just like Atlas City’s Void Realm—and the one Ethan had first encountered—there were no plants. No animals. Nothing living at all.

After running into several Void Realms like this, Ethan’s confusion only deepened.

These places were nothing like the Void Realm in Clearford City. That one had felt like a complete world—massive, with plants and animals, an actual ecosystem.

But these?

They weren’t big. They felt like broken-off fragments. Like a corner ripped out of something larger.

And everything about them suggested people had once lived here.

It was like some terrifying force had come through and smashed the whole world to pieces, wiping out every living thing inside. And after time passed, it had rotted into this empty ruin.

What kind of power could destroy an entire world like that?

Ethan couldn’t even begin to picture it.

Ethan shook his head and forced himself to stop thinking about it. Whatever had destroyed worlds like this... wasn’t something he could touch yet.

This Void Realm was also on the small side. Bigger than the first one he’d ever entered, but smaller than the one near Atlas City.

The first thing that hit them was a collapsed grand hall not far away.

Just from the rubble piled up like a mound, it was obvious the building had once been magnificent—towering, imposing, the kind of place you’d feel small just standing in front of it.

Beneath the ruined hall was a stone staircase, starting from the ground and climbing up toward the wreckage above.

Ethan counted automatically.

Ninety-nine steps. Exactly.

"That’s the Celestial Stairway you were talking about?" Ethan asked, pointing.

Grace nodded. "Yeah. This one’s weird. The second you get close, it’s like there’s infinite pressure crushing down on you. You can’t even jump."

"Let’s take a look." Ethan’s interest spiked immediately.

The group walked up to the base of the stairs. The moment they entered the area around it, everyone felt their bodies sink, as if some invisible mountain had just landed on their shoulders.

Even though Grace had warned them, actually feeling it was something else.

Everyone stared, startled.

Henry’s eyes narrowed. "Ritual circle."

Ethan glanced over. "You’re sure?"

"Yeah," Henry said firmly. "There’s definitely a ritual circle here—something extremely profound."

"Can you tell where it is?"

Henry gave him a flat look. "Ethan, you’re seriously overestimating me."

"Fair." Ethan tried hopping. Nothing. His feet barely left the ground.

He looked back at Grace. "So you’re saying climbing this staircase gives you benefits?"

"Mm." Grace nodded. "If you climb up and hold your position on a step for two minutes, energy starts flooding into your body from all directions. Your strength jumps like crazy. The higher the step you reach, the more energy you get."

She gestured toward herself. "I was a few steps higher than them, and my strength ended up way ahead of theirs."

"And I think it doesn’t just raise your Tier," Grace added after a moment. "It also increases the speed your body can absorb mysterious energy. After that, our growth rate was noticeably faster than before."

"That good?" Ethan’s eyes lit up.

Then he asked, "So the stronger you are, the higher you can climb?"

"No." Grace shook her head. "The stronger you are, the heavier the pressure becomes. The end result doesn’t really change. I think it’s about willpower. The stronger your will, the higher you can go."

"We tested it. When I was Tier 9, I could reach a certain step. After I hit Tier 10, I tried again, and I still couldn’t go higher."

She hesitated, then said, "And it seems like each person only gets one chance to receive the energy. Once you’ve gotten it, if you try again later, you won’t get anything—doesn’t matter if you climb higher than last time."

"Really?" Ethan smiled. "That’s interesting."

He nodded toward the staircase. "How far did you get back then?"

"I made it to step forty-two," Grace said. "The other three reached forty. The higher you go, the worse it gets. And it’s not just pressure on your body—it feels like it’s crushing your soul too. It makes your head feel like it’s splitting open. I hit forty-two and I just couldn’t move anymore."

She took a slow breath. "But when I reached forty-two, I went from Tier 9 straight to the peak of Tier 10. Jumped more than a full Tier. The other three also reached Tier 10 from it."