Neo froze.

It lasted less than a second, but it happened, and that alone annoyed him.

The question had landed too cleanly. His first reaction had not been empty enough, and with Snot’s class, that kind of slip was probably worse than saying too much. Lying to someone who could read the changes in a person’s blood sounded like the sort of idea that only worked for the people writing stories, not the ones stuck living inside them.

Snot did not move.

He sat across the fire with his hands loose around one knee, watching Neo with none of the pressure Nep had carried around him.

’Strange person.’

Neo glanced toward Alice first.

She was asleep. Properly asleep this time, curled near the roots with borrowed warmth from the fire and enough exhaustion in her body to keep her there. Once he was sure of that, he turned back to Snot and kept his voice low.

"How do you know?"

Snot exhaled softly, as if he had expected the question.

"Being honest? It wasn’t hard to put together." He lowered his own voice as well. "When you two went off to piss back then, I noticed a change in your blood after a while. Nep felt different too when he came back. Not enough to prove anything on its own, but enough to stick in my head."

Neo said nothing.

Snot kept going.

"In the fight with the Lich, I noticed another small change. You were beside him in the middle of that mess, and you hid it well. Better than I’d expect, actually." A faint smile touched his mouth. "The real confirmation came later, though. The Soul Relic."

Neo’s face stayed still, though his attention sharpened immediately.

Snot tapped one finger lightly against his knee.

"I’m the only one in the group who knew Nep had it. When you sold it, that was enough." His expression thinned, though not in suspicion. More like resignation. "A relic doesn’t move from one person to another by accident. Either they hand it over, or they die and it drops. Nep wasn’t the type to give anything away."

The fire cracked between them.

Snot looked at him for another second, not pressing, not accusing.

"So why?" he asked. "You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. It had to be a logical move, and I can tell that much. I just didn’t understand it." He paused briefly. "And if I’m being honest, I wasn’t exactly fond of him either. I was already thinking things I didn’t like."

Neo held his gaze a moment longer before answering.

"He tried to control me."

Snot’s expression did not change.

Neo added the rest without dressing it up.

"Blackmail."

That was enough.

Snot fell quiet for a short stretch, and when he finally spoke, his voice carried none of the curiosity from before.

"Alright." He gave a small nod. "Thanks for telling me."

Neo studied him, mildly surprised at how little of a performance came after that. He just accepted it.

He let the silence die on its own and changed the subject.

"You think Max and Marika are alright?"

Snot rolled one shoulder and glanced past the fire into the dark.

"I’ve got a feeling they are." His mouth curved faintly. "So for now, we keep moving toward the tower and hope the world feels generous for once."

Neo almost snorted at that.

Snot shifted a little closer to the fire.

"I need a favor before we move in the morning."

Neo lifted a brow. "What."

Snot reached into his jacket and pulled out two Soul Cores, both cloudy yellow and dimly lit from within.

"The two from those bodies." He tilted them lightly between his fingers. "If I consume them, I should break through into Vein Core. During that little window, I’ll probably be vulnerable. Guard me."

Neo stared at the Soul Cores in Snot’s hand, but there was no surprise in it.

He already knew Snot was close.

Soul Reader had shown him that much before. What he was looking at now was not the number itself, but the fact that Snot was willing to do it in front of him without hesitation. Either he trusted Neo enough to expose that vulnerable moment, or he simply had no better option.

Maybe both.

Before Neo could say anything, Snot had already consumed the first core.

The light drained out of it at once.

Neo clicked his tongue softly and summoned his sword, pale metal forming in his hand while he shifted into a better position by the fire. If something came, it would find him ready.

Snot consumed the second core right after.

For a few breaths, nothing obvious happened.

Then the change began.

It was not dramatic from the outside. His shoulders drew tighter, and something in the way he held himself changed, as if his body were making room for more of itself. The pressure around his soul sharpened just enough that even Neo, without Snot’s class, could feel the difference.

Snot closed his eyes while it happened, jaw set, one hand digging into his own knee hard enough to whiten the knuckles.

Neo kept watch and said nothing.

The jungle remained quiet. Firelight moved over roots, stone, and dark leaves. Alice slept through all of it.

A little later, Snot opened his eyes.

Neo glanced at him.

"How do you feel?"

Snot grinned at once.

"Like I’ve been reborn!!"

Neo’s face flattened. "Don’t shout. You’ll wake Alice."

Snot raised both hands in apology.

"Sorry. Got excited."

Neo kept the sword across his lap.

"So just better?"

Snot gave a low laugh and shook his head.

"No. Stronger. You can tell when it happens. The body changes with it." He flexed one hand, studying it briefly. "Everything feels easier. Lighter in the right places. Heavier in the right ones. I’m definitely stronger than I was."

That was good news.

Neo nodded once. "That helps."

"It does," Snot said, rolling one shoulder as if testing the change in his own body. "I can tell the difference already. Things will be easier from here on."

Neo watched him for a moment before asking, "By the way... you haven’t run into any Heart Core Soul Beasts?"

Snot frowned. "No. Why?"

The confusion on his face deepened almost at once.

"This Breach was supposed to be for beginners," he said. "A Heart Core beast doesn’t fit that. Something like that should be for people way above us." He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Why are you asking?"

Neo held his gaze for a second.

"Because Alice and I did."

Snot went still.

Neo gave him the short version after that. He told him how he had heard Alice scream in the night, how he followed the giant spider without rushing in like an idiot, how it had dragged her to the abandoned church, and what he had seen through the broken stained-glass window. The eggs. The webbed nest. The size of the thing. The fire. The chandelier. How he pulled Alice out and how everything inside burned.

He left out the awkward part where she had been naked and he had been standing there in his underwear trying not to look at her while throwing his shirt over her.

That part could die with him.

Snot listened without interrupting. The more Neo spoke, the more his expression changed. It was strange seeing someone like Snot go that serious, but this time there was no joke waiting behind it.

When Neo finished, Snot let out a slow breath.

"...The Breach closed."

Neo frowned. "Closed?"

Snot nodded.

"Yeah. It has to be that." He leaned a little closer to the fire, voice lower now. "If the Breach closes, nobody can enter and nobody can leave until the core problem gets solved. That also means the difficulty goes up. A lot."

Neo stayed quiet, absorbing the weight of that.

That explained too much.

The giant spider. The dead sections of jungle. The strange lack of weaker Soul Beasts in some areas. Everything fit too neatly once that was put on the table.

"Fuck..."

Snot gave a dry laugh with no amusement in it.

"Yeah. Fuck is a pretty good word for our situation."

Neo stared into the fire, jaw tight.

So that was it. They were trapped in a Breach that had already changed after swallowing them, and the only way out was forward.

Snot continued, "We need to find Max and Marika as soon as possible. If the Breach really sealed, splitting up any longer is just stupid." He glanced at Alice, still asleep. "And with what you told me, we need to get stronger fast. You should reach Vein Core if possible. The others too."

Neo nodded faintly.

"How much do you need?" Snot asked.

"About four hundred souls."

Snot tilted his head. "Hm. That’s not that much."

Neo said nothing.

Snot kept going. "When Alice wakes up, we ask her too. Whoever is closest gets priority. All the Soul Cores go to that person until they break through."

Neo did not argue.

"Fine by me. If that raises our chances of getting out of here, good."

Snot let out a quiet breath and leaned back a little. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Can I sleep, Neo?" he asked. "I haven’t really rested. Not with those two around me knowing what they wanted to do if I lowered my guard."

Neo gave a small nod.

Snot smiled faintly. "Thanks. I mean it."

A little while later, he had already closed his eyes.

That left Neo alone by the fire, sword across his lap, watching the roots, the dark between the trees, and the false sky of the Breach visible through a narrow opening above the jungle.

Now he knew one thing for sure.

This place had stopped pretending to be simple a long time ago.