The skeletal ape woke Noah at the crack of dawn. The rain had stopped sometime during the night, leaving the air thick with the scent of damp soil and rotting wood.

Mercifully, Noah didn't dream during his slumber—or if he did, he couldn't recall it.

Noah didn't feel exactly better, as Silas had promised, but his mind was no longer spiraling. He could think clearly, yet he felt as if he had lost something. As though, after killing the members of the Order, he was somehow... less than he had been before.

Still feeling groggy and trying to make sense of his emotions, Noah suddenly found a chunk of smoked monster meat shoved in his face by the skeletal ape.

The undead simian was determined to feed Noah, and this time it refused to take 'no' for an answer.

"Alright, calm down already!" Noah exclaimed, grabbing the piece of meat after the skeletal ape repeatedly poked his face with it.

After taking a hesitant bite of the smoked meat, Noah realized just how famished he was and devoured it quickly. Before he could finish chewing the last bite, the skeletal ape handed him another piece of meat.

"Thanks, Harold."

The skeletal ape gazed at Noah, seemingly confused.

Harold the Gorilla is a main character in a popular cartoon show that teaches the children of Arcturus City about animals that went extinct during the Great Fall. In each episode, Harold and a group of kids travel in time to learn about a different animal. What made Harold the Gorilla so beloved was how much he cared for the kids.

Noah had no idea how a massive, ape-like monster ended up with such a nurturing personality, but it felt reassuring having some... thing looking out for him, even when he had given up on himself.

And since the skeletal ape reminded Noah of Harold the Gorilla...

"Yeah, your name is Harold now. Deal with it."

Harold tilted its head, staring at Noah for a moment before forcing another chunk of meat onto him.

After breakfast, while Harold packed up the camp, Noah took the time to infuse essence into Claws and Steve, mending the damage the two undead minions had sustained the previous day.

As for Noah, though he possessed enhanced regeneration compared to normal humans, he unfortunately could not heal himself using essence and still felt the effects of his injuries as he resumed his trek through the mountain slopes.

With the fog now dissipated, Noah had a clear view at the peaks, along with the outline of the spire.

The landmark looked nothing like Noah had imagined based on Jeffrey's description. The structure protruding from the mountains was as massive as the peaks surrounding it. Considering that most of the tower was buried within the mountain range due to the merging of worlds, Noah couldn't even begin to fathom its true size.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Today, marching was more difficult than in previous days, as the rain had turned the barren ground into mud. Though Noah was now powerful enough that wading through the muck on an incline posed no real strain on his muscles, it didn't mean he had gained a magical sense of balance to keep him from slipping face-first into the mud.

It worked well enough, though. By focusing on his footing, Noah steered his thoughts away from yesterday's horrific encounter.

As Noah continued on his march, he was able to discern more details of the spire. The roofing of the ancient structure had been lost to the ravages of time long ago, but the massive bricks forming the spire had largely survived, aside from a few that had crumbled, leaving gaps and exposing the vacant interior.

While concentrating on keeping his balance and catching glimpses of the spire, Noah began to notice the aroma of roasted meat.

'What the...'

At first, Noah thought he had stumbled upon the camp of another expedition, cooking meat for lunch. However, the smell was far too overwhelming, and besides, an expedition would bring field rations with them, instead of hunting for the vile meat of monsters.

The source of the scent came from farther up ahead.

In order to reach it, Noah began climbing over a rock formation, carefully selecting his grips on the still-slippery surface. Steve and Harold followed closely from behind, while Claws leaped from rock to rock, pausing occasionally to wait for the rest of the party with an air of swagger emanating from the undead reptile – or at least that was the impression Noah had.

When Noah finally popped his head over the top, the first thing he saw were corpses. Monster corpses.

They were partially singed, with some monsters missing limbs or heads, seemingly disintegrated.

'What the duck happened here...?'

Noah stood on the edge of a plateau, strewn with hundreds, if not thousands, of corpses. At the epicenter of the scene of carnage was a pile of scorched, still-smoldering monsters, stacked as tall as Harold.

From the monsters that were not charred beyond recognition, Noah could tell that there were many different species scattered here, which was rather odd.

"Kid, you need to run. Now!" Silas' voice was unusually urgent, which was making Noah very nervous.

"Why? What's going on?!"

"Run!"

Trying to imagine what could cause Silas to act so out of character sent Noah into a near-panic state, and so he took off, dashing through the killing field and hopping over monster corpses, with the three undead minions close behind.

"What's going on?!"

"Not now, turn right here."

Leaving the piles of slaughtered monsters behind, Noah had intended to ascend farther toward the spire. But, as he was too rattled to argue at this point, he heeded Silas' directions instead.

"Faster!"

"Turn here."

"Jump down."

Noah's heart was pounding as he followed Silas' instructions, believing that at any second, whatever had slain the monsters could catch up to him. Sprinting at full speed, Noah suddenly screeched to a halt in front of a cave entrance.

"No... No way! I'm not going back into the Hollowed Depths!"

"Oh, okay. Just wait here for Stormbinder to find you, then."

"S-Stormbinder...?!"

August Cassian, also known as Stormbinder, is the leader of The Vanguard and is widely regarded as the most powerful Touched in The Arc.

"Yeah, that's right. He's the guy who reduced me to a voice inside your head, and now he's here to finish the job. But hey, if you're up for it—by all means, stick around and see if he feels chatty. Or, you can let me guide you."

"Guide me? What do you mean?"

"It won't be like last time. I used this route often when I was out here. I can lead you to the other side of the mountains—and that much closer to The Arc."

Noah sighed heavily in frustration, even though he had already made up his mind. Trying to fight Stormbinder was out of the question, and attempting to reason with or explain to the leader of The Vanguard what had truly happened seemed equally suicidal.

Since this nightmare began, every single person Noah had encountered had tried to kill him. Well, aside from Jeffrey—though Noah still wasn't sure what he was. Taking a chance to see if the murderous streak continued with a man who could squash him like a bug? That was a hard pass.

And so, once again, Noah marched into the dark cave entrance, heading back into the hellscape that is the Hollowed Depths.