The moment Cain crossed the gate, a blinding light engulfed his vision. When sight returned, he found himself suspended inside an endless ocean of golden liquid, stretching infinitely in every direction. Confusion filled his eyes. He didn't know where he was or what was happening. But before he could think further, those questions faded like dust in the wind, replaced by something else, a peace so profound it silenced the very notion of thought.

It was warmth. It was calm. It was the embrace of a mother's womb.

There was no pain.

No fear.

No gnawing hunger to grow stronger.

No whisper of destiny demanding more blood, more struggle, more sacrifice.

For the first time in his entire life, Cain felt complete.

Then his body began to dissolve. Slowly, his form melted into countless rivulets of golden light, each strand flowing into the infinite sea around him. His awareness expanded far beyond the limits of flesh, his consciousness stretching and merging with the boundless current. He could feel everything: the pulse of creation, the breath of the cosmos, the songs of countless souls that made up existence itself.

There was no war here. No need for struggle. No reason to be anything other than what he was, a fragment of eternal peace.

Cain didn't know how much time passed; in this place, time meant nothing. He drifted freely in that golden ocean, his mind emptied of ambition, his heart cleansed of sorrow.

And then, a voice broke the stillness.

"Wake up. Return from the Flow. Access the Ninth Ring. Close your eyes. Lose yourself in it, and never leave."

It was the same ancient voice that had spoken to him at each of the gates, solemn, commanding, absolute. Its echo stirred Cain's will, piercing through the veil of serenity that clouded his thoughts. Suddenly, he realized the truth. This was no illusion.

This was reality.

His body had truly dissolved into The Flow, the eternal current that connected all existence. And if he did nothing, he would be trapped here forever, his soul diffused into eternity, his will erased.

Panic clawed at the edges of his fading consciousness. He summoned every fragment of strength, every shred of defiance, and tried to rise from the current. But no matter how fiercely he fought, his essence would not separate. The Flow held him like a mother's arms, and like a grave.

The dread reached the point that he even considered sending his True Name back to the Nine Empyrean Suns Universe, but it seemed that even that was not possible.

Then came the temptation.

The peace surrounding him was seductive, intoxicating. With every passing second, the urge to surrender, to stop resisting, grew stronger. A part of him began to crave oblivion, and it was growing stronger by the second.

"No... no, no, no,"

The words echoed in his mind, weaker each time. His thoughts began to unravel. His will frayed and fell apart, consumed by the golden tide. His last coherent feeling was regret, then even that vanished.

Cain had become part of the Flow.

His consciousness gone, his will dissolved.

He had failed to endure the Eighth Ring.

If he were anyone else, that would have been the end. The Sacred Dimension of the Red King had no mercy for failure.

But Cain was not anyone else.

From within the infinite current, something stirred, a faint flicker of red light. Then, from that light, a small red crown emerged, rising above the ocean of gold. The same crown that had first appeared above his head when he entered the Sacred Dimension.

As it glowed, power beyond comprehension rippled through the Flow. Even the infinite current trembled under its presence. Streams of golden light recoiled and twisted, drawn toward the crown. The scattered fragments of Cain's existence began to converge.

In the blink of an eye, the Neo-Demon reformed, body and soul whole once more.

Cain gasped for air, trembling violently. Horror filled his eyes as he stared down at the golden sea below. Every instinct screamed that what he had just escaped was worse than death itself. His hand rose shakily to touch the crown upon his brow. It pulsed faintly with power, and he knew that if not for it, he would have been lost forever.

His gaze returned to the golden ocean, his fists tightening. The crown had not only saved him, but it had preserved everything he experienced while merged with the Flow. The knowledge, the feeling, the understanding of how existence itself connected. He now held the keys to a revelation that could transform his mastery of the Flow beyond any mortal boundary.

But with that knowledge came dread.

Cain realized that to advance further, to elevate the Flow to its ultimate form, he would have to do it again. He would have to merge with the current willingly.

And he doubted even his indomitable will could endure that peace a second time.

Taking a long breath, he steadied his heart and looked around, searching for meaning, for direction. That was when another crown appeared, not far from him. A burst of crimson light followed, and the Crimson Exarch emerged from the golden current, his form reconstituting from shards of light just as Cain's had.

The Neo-Angel's eyes widened with the same terror Cain had felt moments ago. His breath was ragged, his body trembling. But after a few seconds, he regained his composure. A complicated, almost rueful expression crossed his face as he let out a weary sigh.

"It seems," he said quietly, "we still have a long way to go before our existence can truly merge with the Flow."

Cain met his gaze, saying nothing. He merely nodded, his expression grim. He knew the other was right. Whatever came next, neither of them was ready for it.

Then the world itself began to shake.

"RUMBLE!"

Cain looked around in alarm. "What's happening?"

The Crimson Exarch smiled faintly, though exhaustion shadowed his features.

"It seems we're being expelled," he said. "Our journey through the Sacred Dimension... is over."

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