The darkness slowly dissipated as Wain and Marlis found themselves on a long, wide road that was lit by massive white crystals around the edges. The road led simply forward, there were no buildings, special territories, or anything else.

"What a strange area... Even for Purgatory, this is too unusual..." Marlis muttered with confused looks while pacing the ruined path.

"Well, I feel about the same as you, however, this is the end of the path anyway. I guess... we'll just have to keep moving forward, won't we?" Wain uttered in a calm voice with an unemotional look.

"Yeah... You're right. This is the last area, so there's definitely got to be something here that leads us to Death Shore, however, we still don't know what it is..." Marlis spoke in a slow voice as she looked up.

The clouds in the area were dark, with hundreds of spirits with eerie auras flying nearby. They weren't paying attention to Wain or Marlis, they were just doing their job as part of the system. Instead of the sun, there was a massive, white moon whose bright light barely illuminated the dark, lifeless lands.

Step. Step. Step.historical

Wain moved forward until suddenly a thick, dark fog appeared in his path. It slowly morphed into a monster that looked very much like a Third Rank Dimension Guard.

"Hmm? What is that...? Is it an imitation?" Wain muttered with a puzzled look as he tilted his head.

"Yeah, it looks like it. It's not the real Dimension Guard, but something tells me it is just as strong. This zone wants to test us." Marlis uttered in a serious manner as she prepared for battle.

The Dark Dimension Guard looked at her and shook his head as if refusing her a duel, then it glanced at Wain and pointed a finger at him.

"Huh, this area has definitely figured out which one of us needs to get into Death Shore." Wain grinned as he extended his hand in front of Marlis, "Step aside. Your power here is still limited to the Fourth Chronicle, so let me deal with it. After all, this is my way."

Marlis wanted to object, but for some reason, she couldn't say anything, so she just took a few steps back with a focused look.

"I'm ready. You may begin." Wain said with a sly smile on his face as he released his aura.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Powerful pressure fell on the Dark Dimension Guard as the crystal road beneath it cracked, but the Dimension Guard reacted in no way. It just puts its hand forward as its white eyes shone brightly.

Whooooooooosh.

On its palm appeared a small white sphere that contained a tremendous amount of energy. The weight of the sphere made the space around it warp what looked like a swirl. Then, the sphere opened and transformed into a white laser, instantly reaching Wain.

Wain's pupils narrowed as his palms were covered in a dense layer of energy. He stepped forward and swung his arm, knocking the laser aside. The laser flew up as it hit one of the hovering spirits and caused a powerful blast of white flame.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The massive shockwave sent a shiver through the ground, dispersing the nearby clouds and knocking the tops of the unstable crystals away.

Whooooosh.

At the same time, Wain rushed forward as the seal on his arm glowed brightly.

"That wasn't bad, but clearly not enough to handle me, was it?" Wain uttered with an ice-cold look while the dark sword cut through the Dark Dimension Guard.

The Dimension Guard was split in two as the halves of its body turned to darkness and fluttered apart. Only a small, palm-sized Soul Pearl remained in its place.

"Damn... It used to be impossible for me to get a Soul Pearl like that, but now... They make no sense at all." Wain muttered while shaking her head as he headed further out.

Crackle.

Soul Pearl beneath his feet shattered into tiny shards as pure energy flew out.

"Huh... How wasteful... He's right, though. Like for me, Soul Pearls are of little or no value anymore." Marlis said with a slight sadness in her eyes as she followed Wain.

...

They encountered several more monsters of darkness along the way, but Wain dealt with each one with ease. Each fight was more difficult than the last, but in the last fight, Wain received only a few scratches, which healed in a few minutes.

"Looks like we're in position, doesn't it?" Wain muttered with a slight smile on his face while looking at the altar floating in the air.

Around the altar were several sharp crystals that filled the altar with energy. On the altar was an unusual symbol in the form of a ruined crown and an unfinished path.

Whooooooosh.

Several threads flew out of the altar that headed toward Wain. He braced himself for a fight as he thought it was a trap, but the threads just froze in the air, in front of him. They swayed from side to side as if asking him for help.

"Hmm? Do you want something from me...?" Wain muttered with a confused look as he tilted his head.

Thread didn't respond to his question in any way, they just continued to sway.

"Well, I have no other choice anyway." Wain shrugged as he extended his arm and released some energy.

The threads felt his energy and trembled, then they coiled around his arm and pulled him down the aisle. The threads didn't have enough strength to move Wain, but he answered to their call as he stepped forward, walking to the altar.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

The lid of the altar cracked as a white glowing disc, a little bigger than his palm, emerged from it. The threads tried to point his hand exactly there.

"Okay, I understand what you need. Though I don't know why it's definitely quite interesting." Wain grinned as he placed his hand on the disk and released some of his energy.

Powerful energy filled the disc as the entire altar glowed brightly. Then, the crystals nearby collapsed and bit by bit turned into a staircase that led directly to the massive, white moon.