The unified zone did not remain still.
That was the first thing Arios confirmed as time passed. It was not dramatic movement, not sudden earthquakes or violent shifts, but constant, low-level change. The ground adjusted in increments too small for most to notice at first. Stone ridges subtly altered their angles. Shallow water channels redirected their flow. Forested patches thinned or thickened without warning, trees fading in and out of existence as if the dungeon itself were reconsidering their placement.
This was not a battlefield meant to be mastered quickly.
It was a space designed to exhaust.
Arios stood near the edge of the stone ridge they had claimed, eyes moving steadily across the terrain. Lucy sat a short distance behind him, legs folded, focusing on stabilizing her mana flow while keeping her senses open. Liza leaned against a rock formation with her arms crossed, her posture casual but her attention sharp.
No one spoke for a while.
