"Lord True Magus!" One of the Sacronan's soldiers shouted. "I am afraid these two are beyond us. If you were to aid us we could continue exploration without interruption!"

"Huh? Why? I want some amusement", the True Magus replied casually with a smile.

Kaden wasn't willing to wait for his games so he shot another Fire Beam while the soldiers from Sacronan were distracted. This time it hit the soldier that had been speaking with the True Magus. Kaden leaped forward right after to make sure the work was finished. The other one tried to stop him, but Emina also acted quickly and used her quitar to blast a spell towards him and force him to defend instead.

While at this, Kaden had ample time to sink his talons into the soldier who was probably already dead. Around that time, as Kaden was tearing out the soldiers innards, the True Magus started to laugh and clap.

"Haha, how brutal. A mutant that acts like a beast, yes, yes", the True Magus clapped his hands together as if he was enjoying some show. "Reminds me of the arena fights where I pitted some people against beasts for some amusement. No quarter given. Act to kill. Wonderful!"

"Please, lord True magus!" The final soldier shouted in desperation. "I cannot win."

"So what? You all will die anyway", the True Magus replied. "I might as well create some enjoyment before I follow orders that I have been given. That is to kill everyone below True Magus level that I encounter on these lower levels."

That confirmed Kaden's original opinion he had before they even entered the great remnant. Basically no one was supposed to survive who went in. It was indeed even an order given to True Magi. They wouldn't be given random orders.

Emina looked rather concerned. Even if they killed the Sacronan's soldier, the True Magus wouldn't let them go. There had been a minor chance that the man would simply not care about them, if they provided him entertainment. Now? There was no way to run from the True Magus. He could turn them both into ash basically at any time he wanted.

Kaden's mind worked double time, but his thoughts were more direct and he knew exactly what he should do. The True Magus was sure death. There was one way that wasn't completely sure death. Survival chance was so low that it might as well have been zero, but it wasn't certain.

"Emina, wake up", Kaden said. "Get here and provide the True Magus his entertainment."

For a short moment Emina showed some confusion, but then decided to act. She was experienced enough fighter to know that there was no time to be confused. If you didn't have a plan, but someone else did, it was better to follow that someone else than stand about doing nothing.

Kaden was going to finish the last soldier. His plan didn't exactly require it, but it did give him excuse to perform some movements towards the remaining soldier and Emina.

The True Magus for sure wasn't fooled with any of it and he clearly could see and hear everything, but he was after entertainment. As long as the performance continued, he would sit there and watch with that smile on his face.

The remaining soldier concentrated on Kaden, but it was two against one. Not to mention, the soldier was weaker than either of the two.

Emina blasted another spell while the soldier was defending against Kaden. The sound based spell struck the man and Kaden observed from the close distance as blood vessels burst inside the soldier. Blood basically squirted out of his ears and whatever orifices were available. Kaden tore open the soldier's throat in quick move just before leaping towards Emina.

She looked somewhat surprised, but didn't resist as Kaden slammed against her... taking them both over the railing of the walkway and plummeting towards the depths of the remnants mana dense core area.

"Huh?" The True Magus reacted with some surprise.

Kaden looked at him coldly. The True Magus would absolutely be able to vaporize them midair, if he wanted to, but Kaden was betting on the possibility that he wouldn't. As for the chosen path? The core. Kaden had quickly determined the highest possible survival, even if it was close to zero.

The True Magus wouldn't follow them there. He would totally survive much longer than Kaden and Emina, but why? Just to kill some ants? No. That wouldn't happen.

Last thing Kaden saw before he fell into the mist below was the True Magus shrugging and floating away. After that moment the world seemed to twist and scream under the dense mana.

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...

...

...

Kaden suddenly regained his consciousness. He wasn't sure if he ever actually lost it and that he merely could not sense anything for a moment. At any rate, despite seemingly being in that state for a long time, it was probably short since Emina was similarly getting up right next to him.

"I am still alive", was the first thought Kaden had at that point.

"You have doomed us!" Emina shouted angrily.

"What? You wanted to fight the True Magus?" Kaden questioned Emina and looked around.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The mana was dense, but shouldn't it be more so? As in dense enough to crush their existence and smear it across... something? If it was safe to enter, why had no one ever returned? Pure chance?

By 'safe' Kaden meant that the conditions were livable and that he did not seem to be dying. Not that the surroundings would be anywhere normal. Everything lacked color, almost grayscale. The appearance was in general roughly what rest of the great remnant had been, but the mist was swirling around them. Almost as if they were in a eye of the storm. The mist didn't seem to be blocked by walls. You could see it always, even if you at times had to see it through objects, walls or anything else.

Also, it was somewhat hard to focus on anything since everything seemed to be comprised of several slightly different layers of the same thing and those layers were wavering like a cloth in a wind.

As for going back up. There seemed to be nothing up there. Only darkness.

"My gamble paid off", Kaden added to his previous statement. "We may have landed in a patch of lower density of mana."

"Which might collapse at any given time", Emina replied and then added with gritted teeth. "But yes, we are still alive. I can't see a way back either."

"We must look for an exit", Kaden agreed. "If we manage that, we might be the first ones to go down here and come back."

"Or, everyone who tried, encounters this and there is a reason why none retu...", Emina was suddenly interrupted.

*fooosh*

It came suddenly like a blast of wind. Force was enough to knock both of them on their knees, but there was seemingly no actual damage.

"What was that?" Kaden muttered.

"Look!" Emina shouted and pointed at a corner. "They look like... us?"

Indeed, in a corner there were huddled seemingly another Kaden and Emina, though in much worse shape. The 'copies' only glanced at Kaden and Emina.

"Speak", Kaden said. Whatever mana distortions they were, he wanted to see, if they could tell something.

The other Kaden shook his head said something, but no sound was heard. Then he did nothing else. The real Kaden then tried to touch and see, if he could dispel such useless illusion.

His hand passed through both of them like they were never there. His actions were ignored by the copy Kaden. The copy Emina seemed to be weaker and she didn't act in any way during the entire thing.

"They don't seem like illusions", Emina said. "The other you reacted to your questioning."

"Useless regardless", Kaden scoffed. "Illusion or not they don't..." Kaden continued.

*fooosh*

Kaden and Emina were knocked down again. This time Kaden quickly looked around and he saw yet another pair of themselves in other location. The previous ones were in much worse state. The copy Emina was clearly dead. Torn apart and by the damage, Kaden could tell the copy Kaden probably did it. The copy Kaden was also eating her, gnawing on charred flesh and bones. Even if such things were to be ignored, they were both in far worse state, like a lot of time had passed. The new copies were in roughly similar state as the first copies.

"What the ...", Emina shouted agrily and rushed to stop the copy Kaden from eating the copy Emina. The fake Kaden only bared his teeth slightly at Emina whose actions didn't cause anything. Then Emina took a few steps back, looking a bit nauseous. "You... that you... killed me and..."

"Yes, he is eating you", Kaden casually confirmed it. "From what it looks like they have been here for a long time. I'm guessing hunger took better of that me. The copy of you was already weak earlier. Strong survive and weak die as nourishment for the strong."

Emina was really angry, but there was nothing to do.

"We better not waste time or we end up like them for real", Kaden said.

"We have no choice", Emina agreed.

*fooosh*

Another blast, but this time Kaden was prepared and braced against it. He could see this time, if large amount of time passed in a moment. The first copy Kaden was now feral. He was glowing with mana, clearly with core fully activated. Clawing at walls, walking around on fours with a fiery glow in his eyes. He was malnourished and with bones showing through his skin. He clearly had not eaten anything for a long time. There were only charred bones scattered nearby.

Emina looked at that copy Kaden in horror. The real Kaden was unhappy that his secrets would be revealed to Emina in such manner, but it could not be helped. Then again, he wasn't sure if Emina was really paying attention to such details at that time.

The other, also new set of themselves, were in order in progressing to similar state.

The feral Kaden tried to attack Emina, but in similar manner he might have not even existed and passed through in futile manner and only wasted whatever remaining strength he had left.

"We must go... now!" Kaden said.

The direction didn't matter. They both didn't want to wait anymore. Yet, when they ran, they seemed to always stay in that ever present vortex of mist. Any path they took, they found themselves in the same place, but on opposite side. There had been several of the blasts and more copies of them appeared. The first few copies of Kaden had all devolved into that desperate rage and then died. Some strangely shaped skeletons were all that remained of them.

"Looks like we are doomed after all", Emina muttered in a slighly defeated voice.

"Thats why you are weak", Kaden told her. "Where you sit down and cry, I will keep my head cool and continue fighting. This is why those fakes always kill you."

Emina was going to reply to Kaden mocking, but he interrupted her.

"Make no mistake, those are fakes", Kaden pointed out. "With each blast, a new set is formed. From their appearance, they have been here for a very long time. They arent buried in some... illusory mountain of us. Those feral ones attack us, mostly you, not some fakes that are visible to them, but not us. We are real, they are fakes. If you stopped to think you would notice this."

Emina had really nothing to say to that. It was the truth.

"Also, the blasts have a direction", Kaden continued now that he could keep pointing Emina why she was weak and at the same time solve the problem. "I just confirmed it with the latest one."

"What?" Emina questioned.

"Not sure if it means something, but I suggest we follow it", Kaden said. "I'm not just sure which way. The one where it comes or where it goes. Either way might lead us back here anyway."

Emina frowned. She had always thought Kaden brutal and single minded, but not one to pay attention to things. Kaden had noticed something she had missed entirely.

*fooosh*

"It goes that way", Kaden said and chose the path. He didn't intend to see, if Emina had something to say. She had been useless this time. He was again contemplating whether or not to kill her, but he decided not to. She could still be useful elsewhere.

As for following the blast. It did seem to have an effect. They did end up in similar looking area where they had left, but there were no copies in it. With closer inspection it was only similar looking to the previous one. They had progressed.

Still, as they tried to continue to the same direction they found themselves back in the same room. That is until another blast came and they followed it, now clearly to entirely different area. A corridor.

"This is like riding a wave", Emina pointed out and Kaden had to agree.

If they were not on a wave, they wouldn't get anywhere, but with help of a wave, of something, they could move.

As they did several more of such waves, they noticed they got weaker and weaker and it was difficult to tell the direction, but now there was no need to know.

There was light at the end of the corridor and they could move towards it without a wave.

A possible exit?