Vierd stood amidst the ruins of the Forgotten City, his breaths slow, his sword still warm from the previous battle. The shadowy creature he had fought was gone, but the air remained charged with an unnatural presence.

  This place wasn’t just the remnants of an ancient civilization. It was something dying—but not yet dead.

  He lifted his gaze toward the horizon, where broken stone towers loomed, some leaning precariously as if ready to collapse. But among them, one thing stood out.

  A faint blue glow pulsed within massive black pillars, like a dying heart still struggling to beat.

  Vierd didn’t need anyone to tell him.

  That was the Gate’s Core.

  If there was anything capable of sealing this place, that was it.

  He moved cautiously, his footsteps light against the fractured stones. The air carried an eerie sensation, as though unseen eyes still watched him—even after the shadowy entity had vanished.

  Silence in unknown worlds was never a sign of peace.

  Minutes passed before he began to hear them.

  Whispers.

  They were not words, not truly—just a mixture of murmurs and distant sobs, as if the souls trapped here were trying to speak to him. Warning him… or tempting him.

  Vierd stopped for a moment, his golden eyes glowing faintly as he tried to trace the source of the sound. He knew better than to trust anything here.

  But he didn’t expect to see what he saw when he turned toward a narrow alleyway.

  A corpse.

  But it was not entirely dead.

  A man, or what remained of one, sat slumped against a crumbling wall. His chest had been torn open, yet his eyes remained wide and vacant, staring into nothingness. His body was dry, drained—as if his soul had been completely absorbed.

  Then, suddenly—

  His mouth moved.

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  "Run..."

  The voice was barely a whisper, weak, almost swallowed by the wind.

  Vierd did not move.

  This was far from the strangest thing he had encountered.

  But before he could step closer, the corpse’s eyes changed.

  Once hollow… now filled with pure darkness.

  In the next instant, the dead man leapt forward, black claws erupting from his hands as he lunged at Vierd with inhuman speed.

  Vierd was not surprised.

  He moved effortlessly, his body bending backward to evade the lethal strike. At the same time, he lifted his sword and swung—without hesitation.

  One clean strike.

  The blade sliced through the man’s neck.

  But the body did not fall.

  Instead, a dead hand gripped the blade—even after the head had already separated from its shoulders.

  "Tch..." Vierd muttered, pulling his sword back, but he felt resistance—something unnatural holding it in place.

  The corpse twitched, its severed head still moving, its body shifting as if something inside it was controlling it like a puppet.

  He had to end this quickly.

  Vierd inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly, allowing his power to awaken.

  For a moment, the air itself trembled.

  Dark shadows began rising from his body, and his golden eyes burned brighter. His sword pulsed, as if resonating with his energy.

  "Burn."

  With one final strike, Vierd’s blade tore through the corpse—not just its body, but the soul clinging to it.

  A sharp, piercing scream filled the air—not from the corpse itself, but from whatever had possessed it.

  And then, in a flash of black dust, it was gone.

  Vierd remained still, watching the ash scatter into the wind, before lowering his gaze to his own hand.

  He could feel it.

  Another piece of his soul had burned away.

  But now was not the time to dwell on it.

  He lifted his gaze, looking toward the glowing Gate Core in the distance.

  If there were cursed creatures here, then something far stronger was controlling them.

  As he moved closer, he realized the blue light wasn’t just an ordinary energy.

  Something was inside the pillars.

  Something massive.

  It stood there, its body cast in shadows beneath the pulsating glow.

  It was tall, its form sculpted from black stone, its face featureless.

  But it was not a statue.

  Because the moment Vierd took one more step forward…

  It opened its eyes.

  They blazed with blue flames, pulsing like the very heartbeat of this place.

  "You... are not of this world."

  The voice was not human, not even an audible voice.

  It echoed inside Vierd’s mind, vibrating through his very being.

  "And you... should not exist."

  Vierd did not respond.

  This was no ordinary monster.

  This was the Gate’s Guardian.

  And if he wanted to destroy the Core…

  He would have to go through it first.

  Tightening his grip on his sword, his body braced for the battle ahead.

  He knew—this would not be just another fight.

  If he failed here…

  He would never leave this place alive.

  End of Chapter 5.