Into the unseen darkness of the abyss.
We’re falling endlessly. The dark shadows on either side of us pass by, completely ignoring us as they ascend toward the light above, as if compelled to stain that light with their own color.
*Blink. Blink.*
**[Floating Status]**
**[Duration: 9 seconds]**
A timer for the floating potion flickers in my vision. Its duration is shorter than I’d hoped. I’d only used it once before, during the world boss fight against the Green Dragon, but never in a descent this deep.
Feeling the warmth of Chris’s hand in mine, I whispered just loud enough to be heard over the rushing wind.
“Chris, the floating potion... it’s running out.”
“Yeah, I think we’re almost there. I can see the ground.”
Chris’s calm smile and reassuring words helped ease my mind.
Facing the unknown, especially from my solo-play days, often brought a certain tension, an unease. But not today.
Today, I felt good.
Maybe because it reminded me of being with my comrades back then.
---
*Tap.*
Chris and I landed at the bottom of a long, vertical chasm carved into the earth.
The width between the cliff walls was wider than expected. Thankfully, light filtered in just enough to distinguish our surroundings through the dense, dark mist.
Looking around, I realized we had entered from the southernmost point of this rift.
Our path was clear: we needed to head north.
For now, no monsters were in sight; it seemed that any nearby creatures had already rushed out.
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*Step. Step.*
“It’s deep here.”
“There are similar places on Earth, right? You know, sinkholes or blue holes in the ocean.”
“Oh, yeah, I’ve heard about those.”
I nodded. Holes formed by groundwater erosion or the dissolution of underground rocks, leaving vast cavities.
“But this hole...”
“Yes, this one’s man-made.”
“...I need to know.”
Steeling myself, I tightened my grip on her hand.
I had been too embarrassed to ask before, but now I needed to know how Chris came to understand the continent’s past.
*Chris, just what did you see?*
As we walked forward, Chris started telling me her story. As she continued, my eyes widened, and soon, I couldn’t help but cover my face with my hands.
“B-Bern kept those records...”
“They must have admired you even as kids, huh?”
“...I only gave them a bit of strength because they were bold little kids.”
A faint smile spread across my face.
*Leonel, Bernhardt... you didn’t forget me.*
And even my teacher hadn’t.
Though past heroes had faded from memory, the deeds they left behind continued to influence this world.
Their nation, too, endured over a thousand years later.
I brought my hands together over my chest, savoring this warmth passed down over centuries.
There had been memories I’d wanted to forget—wounds left by the final fight against the Demon King, the unsettling distance between my memories from another life and my younger self’s mind.
If only I had been a bit stronger, a hero in both body and soul.
So many regrets.
But somehow, now, I felt ready to face those memories.
Had I grown enough?
Even back then, I’d had the will to overcome my timid nature. I had wanted to live as a girl my age, unburdened by the past.
Maybe that’s why I’d said things to Bern and Leon like, “When this fight is over...” Now, looking back, it all felt a little embarrassing.
The reasons for my extreme personality, though, stemmed ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ from those painful memories at the end of my life in this world.
Chris watched me quietly for a moment before clearing her throat and speaking in a casual tone.
“Ahem, you met a lot of people in this world, didn’t you?”
“Hmm... I suppose so.”
“So, uh... what did you think of the princes?”
“The princes? Bern and Leon?”
I tilted my head, wondering why she’d bring them up now. There were so many other things she could be curious about.
I thought back for a moment.
“They were impressive friends. Even in desperate times, they rose up and saved humanity. They succeeded, and here we are, looking at the two empires they built.”
The two great nations of *Astraea Online*, the Alpharion Empire and the Betarion Empire—their will had carried on for a thousand years.
Then Chris shook her head vigorously.
“No, not like that! Ugh, never mind!”
“...?”
Chris seemed suddenly flustered, almost hopping in frustration.
“Ah, whatever. Maybe this is fine. Even the princes seemed to give up in the end... So, what about your other comrades? The dwarf Ainar was kind of like an uncle, and I already know about Queen Igraine... especially Melissa, or Eleanor.”
“...Queen Igraine?”
Chris swallowed hard, her face turning serious, as if she was set on asking everything while she had the chance.
“My comrades.”
I held my slightly flushed cheeks.
Now, with Chris here, it hurt a little less to remember them.
Every time I thought of them, there was a bittersweet ache in my chest, along with warmth.
Quietly, I said, “I loved them... just as much as I love you, Chris.”
“...I see. S-Sorry, I was just so curious.”
“It’s okay.”
Seeing my reaction, Chris seemed to snap back, her expression showing a hint of guilt.
My wounds would never fully heal. But now, I had Chris, someone I cared about as much as my old party.
And that feeling for her continued to grow, little by little. It was different from how I felt about Queen Igraine, who had been like a mother to me. This was more about the beauty and personality of a woman I admired—a feeling I was only beginning to grasp as I tried to live fully as Yuseulbi.
I smiled, squeezing Chris’s hand as I reassured her.
“Why are you apologizing? I’m okay now.”
“Sniff.”
With her eyes slightly red, Chris sniffled, and I ended up comforting her. I scratched my cheek, a bit embarrassed, but we continued forward, hand in hand.
Eventually, we noticed something up ahead through the widening path between the cliffs.
---
“Oh.”
“What is that?”
The cliff walls had widened significantly, easily spanning tens of meters now.
And in the middle of this vast space stood a massive, skeletal structure made of white bones. Or rather, the bones of a gigantic creature?
“Rain, do you know what this is?”
“It looks like... a dragon’s bones.”
“Ah, you’ve taken down a few, haven’t you?”
Chris crossed her arms, nodding.
The world boss of the Berbaya Forest, the Green Dragon.
The first named boss of the *Tree of the Abyss*, the Black Dragon.
Both were large enough to crush a human underfoot.
“This place must have drawn creatures and monsters to their deaths, lured by negative energy and miasma.”
In other fantasy tales, dragons are ancient beings of endless wisdom, but on the Astraea continent, they were simply massive lizards.
What kind of dragon had this one been?
The poison-emitting Green Dragon of Berbaya? The darkness-wielding Black Dragon of the Tree of the Abyss?
As Chris and I took a step toward the dragon’s skeletal remains—
A sound echoed.
“...?”
I thought I heard something.
*Clink. Clack.*
“Hold on, Chris.”
“Huh?”
I suddenly drew my sword and stretched out my arm to stop Chris’s advance. She looked at me, surprised.
We weren’t heading toward some side path in this zone.
If this was part of the *Resting Place of the Blue Tyrant King*, the raid dungeon itself, then thanks to Eleanor’s support, we’d essentially skipped the first mob section at the entrance.
Which meant that this figure we were now encountering was...
“A named boss.”
*Rumble.*
The cliff walls began to tremble as boulders and stones fell from above.
The giant bones scattered throughout the area started moving, pulled together.
*Scrape, scrape.*
A bizarre sight.
Proof that a creature had once died and decayed here.
The bones, now lifeless, began to move, as if drawn by the power of the miasma.
In the *Celestial Basin*, we’d seen nightmare fusions.
The miasma’s energy could animate even inanimate objects.
So, what kind of being would it revive?
The fractured spine dragged itself across shattered blades, while sharp ribs thrust up from the earth like teeth.
*Clink, clink, clank.*
Small bone fragments gathered within a split skull, and knee joints slowly rose.
In the whirlwind of tangled bones—
A flash.
The dragon opened its eyes.
Its empty eye sockets stared into the void, an ominous aura emanating from their depths.
This colossal undead dragon radiated a terrifying presence, even as a lifeless entity.
*Clack.*
Its enormous jaws creaked open, the grinding of bone echoing off the cliff walls.
At last, the trembling ceased, and the skeletal figure took on its complete form.
---
*---!!*
The ground shook violently as the creature let out a silent roar.
The interface confirmed it as the first named boss.
But when Chris and I checked its HP, we both stood there, stunned.
“A billion...!”
---
**[First Named Boss]**
**[Level 58 Bone Dragon]**
**[HP 1,000,000,000 / 1,000,000,000 (100%)]**