Neo opened his Soul Window while the morning still clung to the jungle in damp layers.

[Soul-Window]

Soul Core: Ember

[657/1000]

A faint smile pulled at his mouth.

’Not bad. At this pace, I should be able to break through inside this Breach. That’s very good.’

He closed the panel and lifted his head again.

Alice had gone off for a moment to take care of her business, leaving Neo and Snot waiting near a patch of roots with the tower looming ahead of them through the trees. From this close, the thing looked even more absurd than before. It was not just tall. It was wide enough to feel impossible, a dark mass rising through the jungle and climbing so high that the upper sections vanished into the false sky of the Breach.

Neo stared at it for a moment and said, "We should reach it today."

Snot, seated on a root with one knee raised, followed his line of sight and nodded.

"Yeah. Looks like it." His expression softened a little after that. "We still haven’t found Max or Marika. I’m hoping they made it there and are doing fine. Honestly, the more survivors we find, the better. Numbers will matter if we want to get out of this alive."

Neo folded his arms loosely.

"Do you think the people who survived know the Breach closed?"

Snot let out a short breath through his nose.

"Not a clue. I doubt most of them even know what that means." He scratched lightly at the side of his jaw. "A lot of people hear stories about Breaches without understanding anything beyond monsters, Soul Cores, and whether they can make money off it. If this one really sealed, I doubt half of them understand how bad that is."

Neo was about to answer when movement between the trees caught his attention.

Alice was coming back.

She was not alone.

Neo and Snot both went quiet as three figures stepped out from the jungle and made their way toward them. Alice led the way with that same quiet step of hers, and behind her came Max and Marika.

For one beat, nobody spoke.

Snot recovered first.

"Well damn," he said, rising to his feet with a grin. "It’s good to see you two alive. Seriously. How’ve you been?"

Max did not answer with words.

He walked straight up to Snot and wrapped him in a brutal hug that lifted him half off his feet.

Snot wheezed immediately. "Good to see you too, but if you squeeze harder I’m going to die after surviving all this."

Max finally let him go, though not before nearly crushing the life out of him.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, still smiling like an idiot. "I got excited. It’s just good seeing all of you again."

Marika was the one who answered properly while Snot tried to recover some dignity.

"It hasn’t been easy," she said. "So I’m not going to pretend it has." She glanced from Snot to Neo. "I’m guessing it wasn’t exactly kind to you either." Her tone shifted slightly. "You know the Breach closed, right?"

Snot straightened and rubbed the side of his ribs as if checking whether Max had broken anything.

"Oh, we know." He gave her a look. "Actually, we were going to explain that, but if you already understand it, that saves me the effort. Also, Max, if you ever feel happy again, find a less violent way to express it."

Max raised both hands.

"Fair."

Snot exhaled once. "How did Alice even find you?"

At that, Alice’s face went red.

Marika saw it and answered for her.

"I was peeing," she said dryly. "Apparently that’s just my fate now. First time it got me Vivienne Mourne. This time it got me Alice and all of you." She rolled one shoulder. "I won’t complain. Though Alice nearly died of shock."

Neo snorted softly at that.

Alice lowered her head and muttered, "I wasn’t expecting anyone."

"No one expects company at a moment like that," Snot said. "At least not good company."

Neo cut in before the conversation drifted any farther.

"We should move. The tower is close."

Everyone nodded.

He was right. The reunion was good, but standing around talking in the jungle was still standing around in the jungle.

’They’ve been alright.’

Neo studied Max and Marika one more time while they started moving.

’That’s good. They’re strong.’

A moment later, he asked, "By the way... did either of you already reach the next Core?"

Marika glanced at him, mildly surprised.

"Yeah. How’d you know?"

Neo had already seen the answer before asking.

Max had grabbed his shoulder when they regrouped. Marika had touched his arm while shifting around Alice near the roots. Soul Reader had done the rest for those brief moments, their Soul Windows opening long enough for him to read what mattered.

He kept all of that to himself.

"Just guessing," he said.

Snot stretched his arms behind his head while walking.

"Good news, then. I reached it too not long ago." His tone became more practical after that. "Since all of us know the Breach closed, I’ll skip the dramatic explanation. We’ve decided the best move is to funnel the next Soul Cores into one person and push them upward fast. For now, that person is Neo."

Max and Marika both went quiet.

Which was fair.

A few seconds later, Marika said, "Fine. But when we get out, you’re buying me something expensive."

Snot placed a hand over his chest. "Done."

He gave her a sideways grin.

"I assume you’d still prefer getting out of here alive first."

"Yes," Marika said. "I’m generous like that."

Max nodded too. "No problem. We need someone stronger as fast as possible."

That made four.

Neo kept his expression flat, though inside the answer pleased him more than he would say out loud.

’That means I’ll rise fast now. Very good.’

What also stood out was this: everyone here except him and Alice had already advanced.

That meant more than he liked.

They had gone through more than the earlier Breach. More jobs. More combat. More exposure. They held a little more experience than he did, even if not enough to create a real gap. In the end, that was better for him, not worse. He did not need his allies weak just so he could feel superior.

The group moved together through the jungle after that, the tower growing larger with every stretch they crossed. With Max and Marika back, the formation felt whole again. Snot kept talking because that was simply what Snot did. Marika answered when she felt like it. Alice listened more than she spoke. Max occasionally dropped in with something simple and honest enough to keep the whole thing from becoming too dry.

By the time the tower truly began swallowing the view ahead, even Neo had to admit the difference.

Five moved better than three.

Five felt safer than three.

And now, at least, they were no longer scattered pieces wandering through the jungle hoping the others had survived.

They were together again.

For a Breach like this, that was worth more than comfort.