Chapter 262: Swef Ashi of the Astoria Race

Tall, very black skin, crimson tattoos that glow in the dark, long, blood-red hair, crimson eyes, tusks below his chin... Swef Ashi was a monster made flesh.

He stood in the darkness beneath the tower, completely motionless.

Around him were enormous structures that looked nothing like anything built by humanity. Black metallic pillars stretched into the darkness, covered in strange symbols that pulsed with a dim crimson light.

Behind him stood several figures, and they were not human. Some were tall and thin, while others were hunched over, with elongated arms and mouths filled with rows of sharp teeth.

All of them had the same predatory look. They were Astoria, and every single one of them was waiting.

Swef slowly raised his head.

"The human has reached the fourth stage."

One of the Astoria stepped forward.

"Should we intercept him?"

Swef's crimson eyes narrowed.

"No."

The creature hesitated.

"But-"

"I said no."

His voice was quiet, yet the entire chamber went silent. Swef turned toward the enormous structure behind him, the tower, something humanity had discovered without ever understanding what it truly was.

"They still believe this is their tournament." A faint smile appeared on his face. "Let them."

His gaze shifted toward the ceiling, passing through it toward Silas.

"The boy is the problem."

Another Astoria tilted its head.

"The pink-haired human?"

Swef's expression hardened.

"Do not call him human."

"Then what is he?"

Swef did not answer, because he did not know, and that irritated him. He had seen humans, studied them, and watched them awaken.

He had watched them evolve, and watched them desperately cling to their tiny understanding of the world while believing themselves to be its masters.

But Silas was different. The first time Swef had sensed him, something inside the tower had reacted. Something that should have remained dormant. And now, it was awake.

Swef slowly clenched his fist.

"The tower recognized him."

The surrounding Astoria became restless.

"That is impossible."

"It has never recognized a human."

"Perhaps the tower is malfunctioning."

Swef turned, and his crimson eyes flashed.

"Then explain why it changed the stages after his arrival."

Nobody answered.

"Explain why its internal pathways are shifting."

Silence.

"Explain why the tower has begun opening sealed areas."

Still nothing.

Swef smiled. "Exactly."

He turned back toward the enormous structure.

"The tower knows what he is."

A strange vibration passed through the chamber, and the black walls pulsed- then a deep sound echoed through the underground complex.

Swef's smile disappeared.

"They're moving."

One of the Astorias looked toward the massive gateway.

"Who?"

Swef's eyes narrowed.

"The humans."

He could feel them. Swef closed his eyes- he could sense the strange power surrounding the boy. Threads, something resembling divinity, a monster, a fae- something that should not have existed within one person.

And beneath all of it... there was something else- apresence Swef could not identify.

"The tower is bringing him closer."

"Then we should kill him."

Swef laughed. It was a low, almost amused sound.

"No." He turned toward the Astoria. "We need him alive."

"For what?"

Swef's expression became unreadable.

"To open the door."

***

Far above them, Silas suddenly stopped walking. The rest of Valecrest had already begun moving through the forest.

Chloe looked back.

"What happened?"

Silas didn't answer. His eyes were fixed ahead- something felt wrong. It was more like something had noticed him. He felt it again.

Silas slowly looked around, but there was nothing- only trees, the sound of leaves, and the distant footsteps of his teammates. Yet his instincts were screaming.

'Someone is watching me.'

Silas's expression slowly became serious.

"The Astoria..."

The system continued.

[The tower is already connecting the world of Cansita to Earth.]

Silas's eyes widened, fingers slowly tightening.

"So that's what's been happening."

"Silas." Chloe approached Silas. "What's wrong?"

Silas stared at her for a moment. Then he looked at the rest of his team.

His eyes hardened. The system was right. There was no time. It was now or never.

"Change of plans."

Alpha immediately noticed his expression.

"What happened?"

Silas raised his hand, and the pink threads around his fingers disappeared.

"We aren't reaching the central sanctum anymore."

Damien frowned.

"Then what are we doing?"

Silas looked toward the distant horizon.

"The tower." A pause. "We're destroying it."

Everyone stared at him, while Neil's face went pale.

"Destroying..." He pointed upward. "The entire tower?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because it's not a tournament." His voice was quieter now. "It's a gateway."

Chloe's expression changed.

"A gateway to where?"

Silas looked down at the system window.

"Cansita."

Nobody recognized the name, but somehow, the word itself made the atmosphere heavier.

"And what's on the other side?" Alpha asked. He'd lived with Silas long enough to understand that he never joked about such stuff.

Silas's crimson system window flickered.

[WARNING]

[ASTORIA PRESENCE DETECTED]

Silas looked toward the forest, and his Fate Thread Vision suddenly activated. The thousands of threads around him trembled.

Then he saw something. Far beneath the ground, a massive network of crimson threads stretched through the tower, but these weren't his threads. They were connected to countless foreign presences- hundreds, maybe thousands.

Silas's eyes widened.

"Fuck."

Chloe looked at him.

"What?"

Silas slowly lowered his hand.

"There are a lot of them."

"How many?"

"I don't know."

His eyes continued scanning. Then he saw something deeper- something so enormous that made even his Fate Thread Vision struggle to comprehend its size, and at the center of it was a single crimson presence watching him.

Silas froze. For one brief moment, his vision connected with something else- a monstrous face staring directly back at him through layers of stone and darkness.

The connection broke, causing him to stagger backward. Alpha immediately caught his shoulder.

"What did you see?"

Silas breathed heavily.

"A monster."

"What kind?"

Silas looked toward the ground.

"The kind that thinks it's already won."

***

Deep beneath them, Swef Ashi smiled because he had seen him too, and for the first time since entering the tower... Silas felt something that had been missing from every battle so far.

Fear.

Just a little, but it was enough.

Silas slowly smiled.

"Good."

Chloe stared at him.

"Good?"

His pink eyes narrowed.

"If the tower wants to kill us..." The threads around him began glowing. "...then I'll kill the tower first."

And somewhere beneath the earth, the ancient relic began to awaken.

Silas read the final message. Then laughed.

"Finally." His grin returned. "Something worth killing."