The duo entered the final floor of the day, emerging from the winding stairway into a new corridor. The formation on the floor activated, pulsing once, twice, then projecting a translucent blue message that hung suspended in the air before them:

[Floor 6 - Special Effect: No light is visible.]

[Objective: Defeat the Floor Guardian.]

[Party Size: 2]

[Note: All loot is shared evenly among party members.]

"Oh, wow. Now we're even in complete darkness," Anny said, staring ahead past the corridor.

Beyond the thin blue membrane that marked the beginning of the floor, an absolute void waited. It was a blackness so complete it seemed to swallow even the concept of light itself. The stark boundary between the dimly lit corridor and that impenetrable darkness created an almost physical threshold, like standing at the edge of existence.

Nova studied the membrane thoughtfully. "You don't have any skills to let you sense things around you?"

"Well, some of my beast powers have darkvision," Anny replied, flexing her fingers as if contemplating a transformation. The blue light caught the subtle striping beneath her skin, making it shimmer momentarily. "But with absolutely no light, that won't work."

"What about a beast with extra good hearing?"

Anny frowned, considering the option. "...I guess that would help a bit. But I'd still be fumbling in the dark."

"Fine, I'll lead then. You can hold my hand as we walk, then I'll fight whatever comes our way."

Anny's eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn't seem entirely opposed. "...You have a spell for sensing your surroundings?"

"Yeah, one I made myself," Nova replied, with only a small hint of pride. He traced a small pattern in the air with his finger, leaving a faint trail of essence that faded almost immediately. "It's usually used in combat to sense what I can't see, but it works here as well."

"Can I learn it?" Anny leaned forward eagerly. Perhaps she was more opposed to the handholding than she seemed.

"Oh." Nova hesitated, then shook his head. "No."

"...Why?"

The word carried a challenging tone. It wasn't unexpected, but Nova had hoped she would see the limits of her own ability by now—especially when it came to learning magic.

"Well, compared to the Inner Blossoming Invocation, it's about a hundred times more complex." His essence formed in an intricate pattern, demonstrating the level of complexity. Hundreds of runes appeared between them in a complex web of magic.

Anny stared at it defiantly for a moment before looking away with a sigh. "...Magic just really isn't my thing, huh?"

He wasn't quite sure what tone to take, but decided on a soft one. "I've had centuries to train, and Millie is a system-made prodigy. You're far above average, but you've still only been practising on and off for a few weeks."

"Yeah, yeah..." Anny sighed again, but sounded less disappointed this time. "Fine, take my hand, then."

Nova extended his arm, and their hands met in the dim blue light. Her fingers intertwined with his, soft and warm.

Together, they approached the shimmering blue membrane. It parted around them as they stepped through, cool and tingling against their skin—and then they were engulfed in absolute darkness. The transition was jarring, like being suddenly submerged in ink. The blue light behind them seemed to be cut off by a knife, leaving not even the faintest glow to orient themselves.

Nova activated his skill, Cloak of Nova, feeling the familiar essence flow through his body and outward. The wind whispered to him, mapping the contours of the corridor in exquisite detail. Stone walls, floor, ceiling, a small recess ahead, the slight curve of the passage—all became clear to his enhanced perception.

It only worked in a radius of about ten meters, but that was enough to navigate confidently. Monsters would hopefully make some noise before attacking, but if not, he could still react in time.

Beside him, Anny stood motionless. Though he couldn't see her, he could sense her head turning frantically as she tried to see through the darkness. Her breathing quickened slightly, betraying at least some level of discomfort. Whether that was from the darkness or her hand turning sweaty was hard to say.

"This will take some getting used to," she whispered. "I feel so vulnerable."

"I'll do my best to protect you from attacks," Nova replied softly, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "But I doubt you'd be hurt either way."

"Well, look at it like practice for protecting Millie, then," Anny suggested. Without visual cues, her voice became more expressive, compensating for the loss of facial communication. "We're going to have to keep her safe through whatever floor we find her on."

"I'll just tell her to stay in the starting corridor while we clear the rest." Nova began moving forward carefully, guiding Anny with gentle pressure on her hand. Each step he took was sure and measured, while Anny's were hesitant, slightly dragging against the stone floor.

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Anny chuckled lightly. "Surely she will listen to that and not follow us."

Nova paused, and though neither could see it, a small smile played across his lips. "...I'll put up a barrier."

"I think we will have to figure it out when we find her. Either way, I'm Millie now."

"You will need to be cuter, then."

Nova swiftly dodged a flat palm headed for the back of his head. It would have hurt.

He smiled, sensing the frustrated expression on Anny's face. "That was cute, but in an Anny kind of way."

"Oh, let me sneak after you into a dangerous dungeon, then." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm in the darkness.

"Yeah, that was quite cute of her. Stupid, but cute." Nova guided them around a corner, feeling the wall curve beneath his fingertips.

"...Yeah, that's true. Knowing her reasoning, it was cute." Anny's grip on his hand tightened a bit as they moved deeper into the darkness.

"Shh, I think a monster is coming." Nova stopped abruptly, pushing against her hand.

A short, high-pitched scream suddenly sounded from the rounded path up ahead. The noise bounced off the walls, making it hard to pinpoint exactly where it came from. And shortly after, the sound of large wings flapping through the air filled the corridor, approaching their position fast.

'Okay, I'm guessing it's some type of giant bat-creature based on the sound. At least they're easy to hear coming,' Nova thought, already preparing his essence.

Another scream pierced the darkness, and suddenly they started coming out much more frequently. The pitch rose and fell in an almost rhythmic pattern, like some kind of echolocation.

'Guess it spotted us.'

Nova immediately set up a barrier in front of them, strong enough to stop several cannon blasts. The formation took shape in a fraction of a second, invisible except for the faint essence shimmer that only he could detect in the complete darkness.

Immediately, a blast of wind smashed into it, making it bend slightly. The impact sent vibrations through the floor beneath their feet..

"What's going on?!" Anny yelled from behind.

"Bat monster, I think, attacking from a distance! I'll go deal with it!" Nova gave her hand a quick squeeze before letting go.

He passed right through the barrier in full sprint, leaving Anny safely inside the barrier. He didn't have to run far before finding the enemy, and it was exactly what he expected.

A humanoid bat-monster, with leathery skin and fur in patches around its body, floating in the air. Nova could sense its form through his skill—bulky torso, massive wings, and a face that was a nightmare mix of human and bat features.

It sent another air bullet toward him, which Nova dodged rather easily. The projectile whooshed past his ear and crashed into the wall behind him, sending stone fragments flying. He sent a piercing magic missile in return, and it was too fast for the monster to dodge. It pierced its torso with relative ease before continuing past and into the darkness.

The bat fell to the ground with a dull thud, already dead. Its wings twitched once, twice, then went still.

But the missile continued forward through the tunnel, eventually hitting the side and setting off a blast. It was much too loud. The sound exploded through the corridor like a thunderclap, echoing wildly off the stone walls.

"Oh, shit. I should have made it softer." Nova winced at the noise, knowing exactly what it meant.

"What?!" Anny yelled, still standing behind the barrier. Her voice sounded tiny compared to the explosion.

"Ehm, I might have alerted its friends! Just stay there for a while, I'll come get you when it's clear!" Nova called back, already preparing another spell as his senses picked up multiple wing beats in the distance.

"But Nova, it's so dark! I'm scawed!"

"That's not how Millie sounds..." he mumbled as he turned to the front.

He readied a set of runes on his arms. The formations glowed faintly blue, inspired by the one he showed Millie earlier that day. A rapidly firing spell with piercing magic missiles. The runes pulsed with energy as they activated, sending small ripples of light across his skin.

'This will cost me a fair bit of essence, but that's to be expected at this point. Unless I want to use the unification skill and just clobber them... Nah, too violent.'

Sure enough, the cave ahead soon filled with multiple screams of humanoid bats. The shrieks bounced off the walls, creating an unsettling chorus that echoed through the darkness. The sound grew louder with each passing second.

'Oh, silly me. I can obviously use life detect to see them at a distance.'

Nova activated the spell, sending the essence into his eyes. Just like that, all the monsters ahead of him showed up in his mind. Each creature appeared as a bright point of light against the darkness.

They were nicely gathered, and in a straight line, about forty meters ahead of him. The tunnel narrowed at that point, funneling them into a perfect target.

Nova took a deep breath. The runes on his arms flared brighter, reaching their peak power. He thrust his hands forward.

The missiles burst forward at an impressive rate, reaching the group in seconds. They streaked through the darkness like shooting stars, leaving Nova's sphere of perception. It was a bloodbath. Probably.

All Nova could see were the lights suddenly disappearing from his senses, each signaling a dead bat. One after another, they winked out like candles in a storm. The shrieks turned from aggressive to panicked, then quickly faded to nothing.

'Ohh, we might be getting a lot of Soul Power from this level! It's annoying to fight here, but I don't mind if there are thousands of bats hiding in this darkness.'

After about ten seconds, all the lights were gone. And so was nearly a quarter of Nova's essence. The runes on his arms dimmed and faded as he lowered them.

The tunnel fell silent again. Only the echo of the last missile hitting the wall remained, slowly fading into nothingness.

"That's all of them. For now."

"What?!" Anny's voice called from behind the barrier.

"I got them all!" Nova shouted back, his voice bouncing off the walls of the tunnel.

"Yay! Nova is the bestest!"

Nova sighed as he walked back to her. He removed the barrier as he passed it, letting it dissolve into motes of light that quickly faded in the darkness.

'You're determined to act like Millie, huh? Let's see how you like it if I do the same.'

"I really am. Now, be a good little girl and take my hand, won't you?"

Anny had a pained expression on her face as she replied. "...I surrender. I'll talk like normal now."

Despite the pitch blackness, Nova could swear he saw a light blush through the wind.

'...Cute.'

His hand found hers in the darkness. Despite being unable to see anything, he couldn't help but smile. Her fingers intertwined with his, warm and familiar in the absolute blackness.

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