Finally—
Ethan let out a slow breath.
He was standing upright.
Not because the environment had eased. Not because the energy had weakened.
But because—
He'd figured out how to stand in Purgatory.
"…You actually adapted."
Lily watched him, and for once, the look she gave wasn't just analytical—it carried rare, genuine surprise.
She'd seen plenty try to set foot in this place.
Most didn't make it past the threshold.
But Ethan—
He hadn't brute-forced his way through.
He'd learned. Adjusted. Found a way not to be erased by the rules themselves.
And then—
Hummmm—
The energy around them shifted.
Not an explosion, not a surge.
A response.
The chaotic flow of Infernal energy in the atmosphere suddenly changed direction, like it had been pulled by intention. Threads of force began rushing toward a single point ahead of them.
A few seconds later—
A figure began to form.
Roughly humanoid, but not flesh and blood.
