Night crept across the sky as their camp slowly took shape beneath fading light.

Fires were lit, tents secured, and the restless energy from earlier finally began to settle. The chaos of betrayal, battle, and revelation lingered in the air, but exhaustion dulled its edge.

Hayes approached Ethan, her face faintly flushed. Ethan glanced up from where he sat and flashed an easy grin.

She immediately shot him an irritated look in return.

Without saying a word, she grabbed Brock by the arm and dragged him away again. Brock clutched the watermelon Ethan had casually produced earlier as if it were a priceless artifact. Even while being pulled along, he refused to loosen his grip. Vale hovered nearby with his swollen, pig-like face, staring longingly at the fruit.

Vale clearly wanted a share.

So did Riley.

The small girl proved to be the worst offender. She repeatedly used tiny bursts of soul power to interfere whenever Brock or Vale tried to sneak closer to the watermelon, nudging them off balance or confusing their senses just enough to keep control of the prize.

Unfortunately for her, Ethan’s repair work on her Gate of Ascension was still fresh. Every small use of soul energy drained her rapidly, and after one particularly ambitious attempt she nearly fainted on the spot.

Not long after, footsteps crunched through the grass.

Hayes, Ginger, and Brock returned. Brock carried Onyx across his back.

The difference was obvious immediately. Onyx no longer groaned in pain, and though he still looked battered, his expression had changed the moment his eyes landed on Ethan.

He stared silently for several seconds.

Then he lowered his gaze.

"I... I’m sorry. I was wrong."

Ethan smiled casually, as if accepting an apology for a minor inconvenience rather than an attempted assassination. Brock and Vale barely reacted at all, already more interested in food and rest than lingering resentment.

Riley snorted.

"Zatan always said you were the sneaky one. Turns out he was right. I’m not playing with you anymore."

Onyx’s face turned bright red. Ginger immediately stepped in, smoothing over the awkwardness with practiced ease, and Onyx responded with an almost embarrassingly soft grin directed only at her.

Ethan rolled his eyes.

He did not hate Onyx. The man’s emotions were understandable, even predictable. Ethan simply disagreed with how he had handled things. Waiting, scheming, and sabotaging from the shadows felt inefficient.

If Ethan had been in his position, he would have confronted the problem directly and ended it cleanly.

The thought unexpectedly dragged him back to memories of his previous life.

Zachary. Ivy.

What once felt tragic now seemed almost absurd.

If not for them, he would never have died. Never have reincarnated. Never met Lyla, Amber, or Rainie. Strange how betrayal sometimes became the doorway to something better.

He realized he had been staring into nothing when Hayes suddenly appeared in front of him.

"We need to talk."

Her voice was unmistakably feminine now. She made no effort to disguise it.

"Talk?" Ethan blinked.

"Yeah. Come on."

She turned and walked away without waiting for agreement. Ethan sighed, pushed himself to his feet, and followed.

They stopped a fair distance from camp where the sounds of conversation faded into quiet wind and rustling grass.

Hayes turned sharply.

"Why are you really traveling with us?"

There was no preamble or politeness.

"Because I’m bored," Ethan replied with a shrug. "Will that work?"

Her eyebrow lifted immediately. She was not amused.

"Alright, alright," he said, raising his hands slightly. "Truth is, I’m not here for the trial itself. I just want to leave this place.

At first I thought you locals might know something useful, but you’re all first-timers too. Everything you know comes secondhand from your families. Not exactly helpful."

He paused before continuing.

"Then you mentioned the third layer entrance needs a trigger to open. And I want to meet Zatan. You said he’s the strongest of your generation."

There was no reason to hide it.

"That’s it?" Hayes asked skeptically.

"What, you think I’m here to steal your clan’s treasures?"

She rolled her eyes, the gesture entirely feminine despite the masculine clothing she still wore. The contrast remained oddly unsettling.

"Zatan is strong," she admitted. "But..."

Her words trailed off before she changed direction entirely.

"You said you’re not a trial participant. Then how did you get here?"

Ethan’s expression darkened slightly.

"I got set up."

"Set up?"

"I was planning an ambush. Walked straight into someone else’s trap instead."

"Who?"

"A Temple Lord."

Hayes’ voice jumped an entire octave.

"A Temple Lord?!"

Ethan winced and rubbed his ear.

"Would you keep it down?"

"Keep it down?" she hissed, still loud despite trying to lower her voice. "Do you understand what that means? You weren’t invited into a trial. Someone imprisoned you here."

Her frustration was obvious.

"And I thought you might..." She stopped herself.

"You thought what?" Ethan pressed. "Don’t stop halfway."

She hesitated before asking another question instead.

"Do you want to know what Zatan and I are actually fighting over?"

Ethan shook his head at first, then paused as realization dawned.

"Wait. You entered with around a hundred people, right? Don’t tell me it’s just the five of you competing against everyone else."

Hayes looked embarrassed, then she nodded.

Ethan stared at her.

"You’re serious? Five people planning to ambush a hundred? And Brock was talking about stuffing Zatan into a sack like it was a hunting trip?"

He genuinely could not believe it. Five people.

One healer. One speed specialist. One unstable powerhouse. One strategist who had just betrayed them. And Brock.

Hayes straightened stubbornly despite her flushed cheeks.

"What do you know? Zatan’s strong, yes, but I’m the only healer here besides my master. In the second layer, anyone who wants treatment has to come through me. Even Zatan."

"That amateur healing of yours?" Ethan snorted.

She looked seconds away from attacking him. He wisely changed the subject.

"So what exactly are you fighting over?"

Her expression became serious. "A pass. The key to the third layer."

She produced a jade token.

Ethan immediately recognized it. Earlier, when they were trapped by the illusion near the massive tree, she had attempted to use this very object to break through the formation before Riley intervened with her bloodwing moths and redirected them into the swamp.

Now Hayes claimed it was the true objective.

"Here."

She handed it to him.

"What is it?"

"The activation disc for the third layer entrance. Two survived. Zatan has the other."

"If this opens the entrance, why fight at all?" Ethan asked.

"Channel soul energy into it," Hayes said, watching him closely.

He frowned but complied. The moment his energy touched the disc, everything exploded.

BOOM.

Blinding light erupted outward. A violent shockwave flattened grass and bent nearby trees away from him in a widening circle.

Ethan staggered.

His face cycled through pale, red, and sickly green before stabilizing. He nearly dropped the disc as a horrifying realization struck him.

Nearly one third of his soul energy had vanished instantly.

The disc had devoured it.

"I knew it!" Hayes snatched the token back excitedly, inspecting it like a child who had finally confirmed a long-held theory.

"What was that?" Ethan asked flatly.

"The key we planned to fight over is guarded by a celestial beast with an incredibly powerful soul. The disc needs massive energy to activate."

Her grin widened.

"Now we don’t need to fight it. Zatan can waste his strength dealing with the beast while we open the entrance ourselves."

She spun toward camp.

"Pack up. We leave for the third layer tonight."

Ethan followed, still irritated but unable to deny that advancing faster aligned perfectly with his own goals.

The group packed quickly. Ethan stored the tents effortlessly. But one problem remained; nyx could not walk.

Brock and Vale alternated carrying him, slowing their pace significantly. Hayes attempted healing several times, but her techniques only stabilized his condition rather than restoring mobility.

Nearly an hour passed before Ethan finally spoke.

"Stop."

Everyone halted, confused. Ethan walked directly toward Brock.

"Give him to me."

Brock puffed out his chest stubbornly. "I’m fine. I can keep going."

Ethan ignored him and lifted Onyx off his back. Onyx gasped as pain flared through his body. Ginger’s expression tightened immediately, concern written plainly across her face.

Everyone assumed Ethan planned to carry him instead. Instead, Ethan dropped Onyx onto the ground.

"What are you doing?" Hayes hurried over, alarmed, convinced he was abandoning dead weight.

Ethan cracked his knuckles slightly.

"Best healer here, right? Watch."

He inhaled slowly as tree Form awakened within him.

’Rejuvenation. Healing Touch. Lifebloom. Wild Growth.’

Rather than releasing the spells individually, he compressed them together, layering technique upon technique within his palm.

Energy poured outward.

The grass beneath his feet withered instantly. Trees surrounding them dulled and browned as life essence drained from the environment itself.

He was drawing vitality from everything within nearly a hundred yards.

A swirling green sphere formed in his hand, dense with living energy, pulsing like a miniature heart.

"Go."

He pressed it onto Onyx’s chest. Hayes’ jaw dropped completely open.

Ginger grabbed her arm nervously. "Is he going to be okay?" Despite everything, she still struggled to trust Ethan after watching him shatter Onyx’s limbs earlier.

But the energy radiating from the sphere felt undeniable.

Pure life.

"He’ll be fine," Hayes murmured absently.

Her attention was no longer on Onyx at all.

This man possessed monstrous physical strength, overwhelming soul power, and now healing techniques far beyond anything she had ever witnessed, even surpassing her own master.

She watched Ethan carefully, a new thought forming in her mind.

’If I could convince him to treat my master...’

Her eyes gleamed quietly in the darkness.