Kael lay still for a long time.
Cold stone pressed against his back, and the faint hum of the dungeon gate echoed beside him like a wounded beast struggling to breathe.
His fingers twitched first.
Then his chest rose in a shallow breath.
"…I'm alive," he whispered hoarsely.
Every part of his body hurt. Not the sharp pain of fresh wounds, but the deep, exhausting ache of someone who had pushed far beyond their limits and been broken for it.
His mana felt hollow, like an emptied well scraped clean.
Kael turned his head slowly.
The dungeon gate loomed beside him—cracked, scorched, and partially collapsed. The symbols carved into its surface flickered weakly, some already fading away.
Level Thirty.
His jaw tightened.
"Level thirty…," he murmured. "I will come back."
Kael forced his arms under him and pushed.
He looked around.
No Yumi.
No white-eyed Saber.
No trace of the battle beyond the shattered gate.
"…So it is only me?" he said softly.
