[Party member will not receive rewards for this floor.]

[Party member will be relocated to the correct floor.]

"NO!" Nova shouted. The word tore from his throat with raw emotion. He slammed his fist against the barrier, channeling his essence into the strike.

The sphere started lighting up with increasing intensity. The white glow brightened until it hurt to look at directly, transforming Millie into a silhouette within. Tears streamed down her face, visible even through the glare.

Nova activated his unification skill instantly. His body transformed, growing larger and more powerful as he channeled everything he had into breaking through. His skin glowed with an otherworldly light as he punched desperately against the surface.

It didn't even budge. The barrier absorbed each impact without showing the slightest sign of weakness.

On the other side of the sphere, Anny was shouting something Nova didn't register. She pressed her hand flat against the sphere's surface, trying to reach Millie from another angle. Her face contorted with desperate determination.

Inside, Millie stretched her arm toward Anny's outstretched hand, her fingers spread wide as if hoping to bridge the impossible gap. Her sobs were silent to them, but her anguish was written across her features.

The ball turned completely white, becoming a sphere of blinding radiance that forced them to shield their eyes. The light peaked, filling the entire chamber with its brilliance.

And then she was gone.

Silence.

Only silence, for several heartbeats that stretched into eternity.

Nova stood frozen in the middle of scattered pieces of armor that had burst apart during his transformation. The metal plates lay broken around him like the shattered remnants of his composure. Their clasps were ruined, bent at unnatural angles from the force of his desperate attempt to reach her. But they were fixable. Unlike this situation.

"What... What is this?" he whispered, his voice hoarse and unfamiliar to his own ears. His hands trembled at his sides, opening and closing as if still trying to grasp the girl who had vanished before his eyes.

So many emotions rushed through his mind, crashing against each other like waves in a storm—it was like a mental paralyzation spell had taken hold of him, rendering his centuries of experience temporarily useless.

Anger surged hot beneath his skin, threatening to consume him from within. Confusion clouded his thoughts, obscuring all logic and reason. Fear clawed at his chest—a sensation he rarely allowed himself to feel. Self-blame coiled around his heart like a serpent, squeezing tighter with each passing second. And beneath it all, an endless wave of urgency pulsed through his veins, demanding action.

He raised his face to the ceiling of the dungeon, eyes wild with a fury that had no proper target. The blue light caught in his white hair, making it glow like a corona around his anguished features.

"SYSTEM!" The word tore from his throat, echoing against the ancient stones. "God of order or whatever the fuck you are! BRING HER BACK!"

His voice broke on the last word, revealing a vulnerability he had carefully hidden for centuries. The sound reverberated through the chamber, bouncing back at him, mocking his helplessness.

As if to mock him further, a new message appeared in the air above them, glowing with serene blue light that seemed obscenely cheerful against the gravity of the moment:

[Congratulations! You've completed Floor 1!]

[The reward will be evenly split between both party members upon exiting the dungeon.]

[Do you wish to continue to the next floor?]

Nova stared at the floating text, so incredibly frustrated that he couldn't punch the entire system to smithereens.

"FUCK YOU!!!"

The curse echoed through the chamber, primal and raw. His fists clenched so tightly that small rivulets of blood trickled between his fingers where his nails bit into his palms.

Anny approached cautiously, her footsteps nearly silent against the stone floor. Her face remained composed, but concern showed in her eyes as she watched Nova wrestling with his emotions.

"Nova, we need to think," she said softly, her voice steady and grounding in the chaos of the moment.

He whirled toward her, doing what he could to keep his reply rational and calm. "No, we just need to run through the next floors so we find her before she dies!"

His words came fast and desperate. A vein pulsed at his temple as he gestured wildly toward the message still floating mockingly above them.

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Anny stood her ground, letting his words wash over her without budging. "We probably have some time."

"We can't know that!" Nova's voice rose again, breaking on the words. He ran his hands through his white hair, leaving it standing in wild disarray. "For all we know, she's on floor five or deeper, crying in a corner while the monsters are clawing at her!"

"No," Anny replied gently. She stepped closer to him, unafraid of the storm of emotions he was radiating. "I think each floor has that starting area before the effects start working, like where we found Millie. She's not dumb enough to leave that area if she's on a deep floor."

Nova's breathing slowed slightly as her words penetrated the haze of his panic. His shoulders, which had been drawn up tight with tension, lowered a fraction. The wild light in his eyes dimmed as reason began to reassert itself.

"...That's... That's probably true." He nodded slowly, trying to convince himself that she was right. Then another thought struck him, and anxiety flashed across his face again. "But even then, she won't have food or water."

A faint smile touched Anny's lips, and she reached for his hand, turning it palm up between them. She touched the ring on his finger, and he noticed hers were both gone. "I tossed my rings to her before she disappeared. They went through the barrier without issue." Her grey eyes met his, staring deeply into their blue color. "Which means she has enough food and water for three weeks, I'd guess. More if there's a fountain nearby."

The tension drained from Nova's body all at once, leaving him looking small and exhausted. He stood from the spot on the ground where he had been rooted, standing next to Anny. Without warning, he embraced her tightly.

"You're amazing," he whispered against her shoulder. It was an acknowledgment of her foresight, her steady presence, and her ability to stay calm in the most stressful situations. "Thank you for thinking clearly when I couldn't."

She returned the embrace, taking a deep breath next to his ear. But she quickly recovered, pulling back to look him in the eye. "We still need to find her. Can you sense the ring?"

Nova closed his eyes, concentrating on the magical connection that should exist between him and the Echo Ring's twin.

"...Nothing... I don't know if the floors are close to each other, but I doubt she's on the second one."

Anny nodded, already shifting her focus to action. "Then we can start diving further. Do you feel ready for it?"

Nova straightened, feeling some of his usual confidence returning.

"Ready?" A cold smile spread across his face. "The question is if the dungeon feels ready for me!"

"I figured you'd say that." Anny's lips curved into a smile of her own. "But we need to take breaks as well."

"We don't have much time. Like I said, the later levels will take a lot out of us. If she's further down than floor seven…" His voice trailed off. They both knew how quickly the challenge of the dungeon increased near the end.

'I can't imagine we would be able to beat the tenth floor. So, if she's any lower than the ninth… God, if she dies in this dungeon because of some system error, I won't just be destroying the system. I'll find you, and I'll make sure you regret that decision many times over before you die. And that's a promise.'

Anny frowned as she processed the situation. "...How is it possible she entered this place before?"

"No idea. I've been with her almost every day since I was born. The only reasonable explanation I can think of is that her mother carried her along while pregnant, but that's so unlikely." Nova shook his head, frustrated by the puzzle.

The blue lights of the dungeon cast shadows across their faces as they stood among the scattered armor pieces. The message still floated above them, patiently waiting for their decision.

"What are the unreasonable explanations, then?" Anny asked, crossing her arms.

Nova sighed. "Well, one is that she's like us. Someone with several lives, and at least one of them happened in this world. But if that was the case, why wouldn't she remember that? Are all humans here reincarnated from past lives? Wouldn't that make entering dungeons like this extremely dangerous, if this is what happens?"

"...Stranger things have happened. Like you and I." Anny's tone was measured, but her eyes remained fixed on Nova's face, gauging his reaction.

"...What, you think she's someone else I gave part of myself to in a previous life?"

"No, I'm just saying that incredible things have a tendency to happen around you." She shrugged, but her expression remained serious.

"Yeah…" Nova closed his eyes briefly, then opened them with renewed determination. "Well, whatever floor she's on, she'll be terrified. Let's get going."

The message still hung above them, asking if they wanted to continue. Nova glared up at it, his face hard.

"Yes, you bastard. Let us through to the next floor."

The back wall of the round room opened inward with a grinding of stone against stone, revealing a stairway that faced down into darkness. The blue light from the crystals barely reached the first few steps before fading into shadow.

Nova wasted no time, quickly gathering the armor pieces and running to the opening. The metal clinked in his backpack as he moved. Anny followed right behind.

The stairs descended steeply, each step worn smooth by countless adventurers before them. The air grew warmer as they went deeper, carrying a faint mineral scent. At the bottom of the stairway, they encountered another blue membrane separating the floors from each other. It shimmered in the dim light, rippling gently like water's surface.

They exchanged a quick glance before stepping through together. As soon as they passed through, the air resistance shifted back to normal. The transition was jarring after hours in the altered physics of the first floor.

A new message appeared from a formation on the floor, glowing with the same blue light as the previous one.

[Floor 2 - Special Effect: Sound waves are muted.]

[Objective: Find the two hidden keys and combine them.]

[Party Size: 2]

[Note: All loot is shared evenly among party members]

Nova studied the message briefly.

'Two hidden keys? Is it taking into account the fact that we're a group of two people?'

He turned to Anny. "Okay, we won't be able to communicate here. Let's split up whenever we can and take out any enemies, then search the place for keys. I'll use a skill for detecting items with essence, but they might not have any."

Anny nodded, adjusting her backpack. "This would be a perfect place to have the twin rings. Maybe you should make a new set during a break?"

"Maybe." Nova wasn't fully paying attention. His mind was already racing ahead, planning their search pattern. He took a deep breath and met Anny's eyes. "Are you ready?"

She nodded resolutely. "Yeah, let's go."

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