In shadowed corners lay remnants of forgotten lives - overturned carts, abandoned dolls, and books scattered with ash-cloaked pages. Ryoma approached one building, running his fingers along its charred walls. The rough texture seemed to whisper the city's tragic history to his fingertips.

His gaze drifted toward the horizon where a shattered tower stood sentinel over the dead city. Time appeared frozen here, the ruins standing as sole witnesses to whatever catastrophe had occurred.

The city's true horror lay in its emptiness - not a single human corpse, no nearby settlements. Only complete devastation, as if the inhabitants had fled before destruction came.

Ryoma began lifting rubble in search of books, his physical conditioning improving with each stone moved. He'd brought a sack for his findings, swiftly collecting any volume regardless of title.

Beneath a massive boulder, he discovered it - a radiant book pulsing with unnatural light. Remarkably pristine despite the surrounding ruin, its title inscribed in some alien script. Wrapping it in cloth from his garment, he carefully placed the glowing tome in his sack before returning home at dawn's approach.

The crimson moon rose as Ryoma leapt through the treetops toward the Gray Zone where his village lay. But arriving home, he found only eerie silence - his siblings gone without trace.

After a frantic, fruitless search through the woods, Ryoma collapsed to his knees, tears carving paths through the dust on his face. Then - a figure materialized before him, ghostly and indistinct.

"Who are you?" Ryoma demanded, hand instinctively moving toward his weapon. "What do you want?"

The specter raised translucent hands. "Peace. I mean no harm. I seek only the book you carry."

Ryoma's eyes narrowed. "How do you know of it? Speak quickly!"

"You may call me Kiel," the apparition replied. "As for why I want it - such knowledge is not yet for mortal minds."

When Ryoma produced the book, its glow intensified, casting an eerie halo. A grim smile touched his lips. "Why withhold truth from mankind?" he challenged, drawing his sword.

Kiel's form flickered in surprise. "Give it to me. Now."

"First tell me - where are my siblings?"

"They're safe," Kiel said hurriedly. "Here, yet separated in the void where none may interfere."

Ryoma's blade gleamed in the crimson moonlight. "Explain this power of yours."

"That I cannot do. The time is not-"

"Then you'll get nothing," Ryoma interrupted coldly.

With a snarl, Kiel lunged. The collision sent Ryoma sprawling as the book fused into his very flesh. When his vision cleared, Kiel had vanished - and Ryoma found himself suddenly standing before his astonished siblings.

Adam gaped. "How did you-?"

"A long story," Ryoma said with a weary smile that didn't reach his eyes. Somewhere in the darkness, he knew the glowing tome waited within him, its secrets coiled like a sleeping serpent.

Ryoma stood at the cliff's edge, muttering bitterly,"Every time I unravel one mystery, another takes its place. Just how many secrets does this cursed world hold?" Kiel's ghostly face flashed in his mind, sending a chill down his spine."He didn't want to kill me… but when he attacked, I thought it was over. Why retreat when the book merged with me? Could it be… the book protects me?"

He gripped the rock beneath him, resolve hardening."I need to understand Kiel's power. How did he obtain it? Why is he obsessed with this book? And how did it fuse into my body?" 

Pulling all the books from his sack, Ryoma desperately searched for any hint about the glowing tome—but found nothing. Frustrated, he whispered,"Book." 

The radiant volume materialized in his hands. Startled, he shoved it back into his body, glancing around for Kiel's specter. "It obeys my voice? Damn it—this world's secrets are endless."

The Tome's Secret

Returning home, Ryoma found Adam waiting. 

Adam:"How did you appear out of nowhere? Did you find something?"

Ryoma (evasive):"Not now. I'll explain later." 

Inside, Ryoma summoned the book again. Its pages bore an ancient, indecipherable script. When no revelation came, he hid it within himself—only to collapse as dizziness blurred his vision. 

Seven Days of Silence

For seven days, Ryoma lay unconscious. Adam, Clara, and Sylvas watched helplessly, their fear growing with each passing hour. 

Adam voice trembling:"Will I lose him too? After Carter… after everything?"

Kain's Underworld Hell

Meanwhile, in the Underworld Gateway Realm, Kain fought for survival. Monsters swarmed him—fang-eyed beasts emerging from the shadows, their claws glinting under the realm's bloody sky. His spear trembled in his grip, his body a canvas of wounds. 

Day 30:

Kain devoured monster flesh to stave off starvation, his mind fraying."Is this eternity? A loop of blood and teeth?"

A winged horror dove from above. Kain roared, driving his spear through its heart. But as it fell, three more emerged—larger, hungrier. 

Kain laughing madly:"Come then! I'll slaughter you all before I fall!"

Ryoma's Vision 

In his coma, Ryoma witnessed Kain's torment—blood-tears streaming down his face. 

Adam shaking him:"Ryoma! Wake up!" 

Ryoma jolted awake, screaming:"We must save Kain!"

Adam pale:"He's alive?"

Ryoma coldly:"Alive? No. He's trapped in a hell worse than death."

Kain gripped his spear's haft and hurled it skyward with a roar. The weapon pierced the heavens like a comet, its tip igniting mid-air. In a flash, he pivoted, driving the flaming spear downward—it struck true, impaling the beast's underwing and sending the creature crashing to the ground with a thunderous boom. But more monsters surged forward. Kain lunged for his fallen weapon, reclaiming it just as a scaled leviathan—a dragon cloaked in armored plates—charged. 

He struck with desperate strength, but his trembling hand betrayed him. The spear wobbled in his grip. 

A Dance with Death

Claws raked Kain's side. Blood soaked his shredded clothes, each wound a cruel reminder of his fading stamina. The nightmare realm amplified the horde's ferocity—teeth gleamed in every shadow, every step a battle against despair. 

Monsters encircled him. As he parried one attacker, another struck from behind. Their shrieks drowned his labored breaths. His balance faltered; fresh gashes wept crimson. Yet pride steeled his resolve—he would not kneel. 

A blur of fangs tore into his flank. Kain staggered, spear raised defiantly. Blood streamed, but he fought on, each ragged breath fueling his rage. 

Baptized in Darkness 

Exhaustion clawed at him. His body, a tapestry of wounds, screamed for respite. But then—a revelation. The hellscape's energy pulsed through his veins, merging with his flesh. His vision sharpened; agony became fire in his blood. Survival was no longer the goal—dominance was. 

Unyielding 

Kain surged forward, a tempest of vengeance. His spear plunged into the dragon's heart—a bitter victory, for three more horrors took its place. Yet with each kill, his strikes grew fiercer. Fatigue faded; the underworld's darkness fed him. 

Creatures of every abomination emerged—winged terrors, clawed behemoths. But Kain adapted. His weary muscles found renewed strength, each blocked blow hardening his will. When collapse seemed inevitable, he rallied, spear whirling in a final, furious dance. 

He fought not to live, but to conquer.

With every slain beast, Kain’s strength grew—but so did the horde. As the last monster fell, new horrors emerged from the shadows. He sank to his knees, body shattered, heart pounding like a war drum. The underworld watched, indifferent, as if each battle were but a step toward some grander torment. Now alone in the suffocating dark, Kain understood: this was no longer survival. It was a ritual.

Yet even in hell, hope flickered. "Can I endure?"

 he wondered, bloodied hands tightening around his spear. Then, laughter erupted from his ravaged throat—a sound equal parts madness and defiance. "Come, beasts! I’ll stand till the end! Slaughter me, but I’ll drag half your wretched kind to the abyss first!"

Blood-Vision  

Thirty days passed. In the mortal realm, Ryoma’s unconscious form wept tears of blood. Adam shook him desperately.  

Adam:"Ryoma! Wake up!"

Ryoma jolted awake, eyes wild. "We must save Kain."

Adam (pale):"He’s… alive?"

Ryoma (coldly):"Alive? No. He’s trapped in a hell where death would be mercy." 

Adam:"You saw him? Why wish him dead?!"

Ryoma (roaring):"A month of endless fighting! His body’s a corpse! He eats those monsters to survive! You call that living?!"

The Argument

Adam (tearful):"Even if we find the gateway, you’d enter that nightmare?" 

Ryoma:"Would you have me abandon him?!"

Adam (shouting):"You’ll die there too!"

Ryoma (voice breaking):"And if I do? At least I tried!" 

Silence fell. Adam’s resolve crumbled. "He’s gone, Ryoma. The moment he stepped through… his fate was sealed."