Suddenly, the suffocating cold vanished.

The air grew warmer. Softer. The fog thinned. Light filtered through from below.

"What the…? My Force… it's back?"

Axel felt the familiar energy surge through his veins again. Without hesitation, he activated Cloud Chasing Boots, launching a burst of energy downward to slow their fall.

Boom!

Even with that reaction, the impact on landing was brutal.

Stone cracked in a web beneath his feet. Axel's legs plunged half a meter into solid ground, and Millers' limp weight nearly tore his arms from their sockets.

"F-fuck…"

It took several moments before Axel could breathe again.

Gritting through the pain, he pulled himself free from the fractured ground. The first thing he did was check Millers.

Still breathing—but unconscious.

"Millers."

Axel pressed a hand to his chest and used Abundant, flooding his body with gentle Force to relieve his injuries.

Still, Millers didn't wake. Then he heard a rustling.

"Squeak."

A squirrel scurried past his foot, chittering harmlessly. Ahead of him, a crystal-clear stream gurgled through the forest floor. Above, thick fog still blanketed the sky, but somehow, this hidden world glowed with light and life.

Axel stared in disbelief. "The bottom of the Infinite Cold Cave… is a fucking paradise?"

He had no time to marvel.

"ROAR!"

The ground trembled. Heavy, thunderous footsteps echoed through the trees.

A pack of massive beasts emerged from the trees—dozens of them. Towering five meters tall, with thick, brown-yellow fur and arms that nearly dragged along the forest floor. Golden Apes.

Axel's entire body tensed.

Golden Apes were some of the most dangerous fourth-tier mutants in existence. Born brawlers, their strength and toughness were no joke.

Compared to the Blackleaf Monkey he fought in Mirabelle, these beasts were monsters.

Still, the apes didn't attack. They kept their distance—watching, curious.

"…What the hell is going on?"

Axel remained still, wary. The pressure of being surrounded by a dozen towering apes was immense.

After a few seconds, he bent down to pick Millers up—and took a single step forward.

All the apes stepped in unison with him.

"Okay… what the actual fuck?"

He glanced at the unconscious man in his arms. If anything went wrong now, Axel wouldn't be able to fight at full power—not while protecting someone else.

He sighed under his breath.

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Just then, a snow-white rabbit emerged from a crack between the Golden Apes' feet, its crimson eyes studying Axel and Millers with clear intelligence.

Axel froze.

That… wasn't a normal look. It wasn't animal curiosity—it was sentient.

And then the rabbit turned its head and let out two sharp, alien-sounding chirps.

Immediately, the towering Golden Apes—each a fourth-tier beast capable of ripping a man apart with a flick—turned away and wandered off like obedient pets.

Axel's heart nearly stopped. A hare… commanding Golden Apes?

What kind of twisted hierarchy is this?

He was still trying to make sense of it when the rabbit turned back, blinked at him, and said: "Bring him here."

Axel's jaw slackened."…Did you just talk?"

"What, you think you're hallucinating? Don't just stand there like a moron—bring him." The rabbit rolled its eyes and hopped away like this was the most normal thing in the world.

Axel, carrying Millers in a daze, followed without protest.

He'd fought monsters, seen men mutate, and just survived a three-on-one ambush. But none of that prepared him for a talking rabbit that could control apex predators.

"What the hell is going on down here…?"

The rabbit finally stopped in front of a quaint little treehouse nestled beneath an enormous root arch. Its white fur looked pristine against the earthy backdrop.

"Put him in there."

Inside the treehouse, the space was simple—wooden bed, one chair, and a small cabinet.

Axel gently laid Millers onto the bed and turned to ask the creature something—anything—but was cut off.

"Not bad. You fed him just in time. Any later, and he'd be a snarling freak by now," the rabbit muttered, a note of relief in its voice as it rummaged through the cabinet.

Axel blinked, stunned. "You know about the Heavenly Spirit Fruit?" he asked, his voice low with disbelief.

The rabbit gave him a sideways glance. "Of course I do. Even you managed to hear about it. That little brat must've blabbed the secret already. Is the infection over now, huh?"

It pulled out a few odd-smelling herbs and began mixing them with the efficiency of a seasoned alchemist. Without missing a beat, it started stuffing the concoction into Millers' mouth.

Axel was stunned all over again. "Wait… that little brat… are you talking about Ronan?!"

The rabbit paused, licked its paw, and tilted its head. "Ronan? Liorael? Eh, something like that. You two know each other?"

Axel nodded solemnly. "He's my dad."

"…Oh shit." The rabbit spun around. That got its attention.

In the next instant, Axel felt a force brush over him—like a gust of wind that wasn't wind, like fingers pulling through the threads of his soul.

It disappeared just as quickly as it came.

The rabbit's red eyes narrowed. "Not bad… Very not bad. You're not even twenty, are you? I remember your father saying his kid was still in school. And you're already tier four?" It chuckled. "So the kid must've cashed in big once he left here."

It kept talking while preparing more herbs.

"That kid had serious talent with medicine. He stayed here for ten days. Didn't just figure out how to use the Heavenly Spirit Fruit—he and I developed a whole batch of pills together. Enough to make him rich. I guess that makes you a… what do they call it now? A trust fund baby?"

Axel wasn't listening anymore.

He just stood there silently, watching the rabbit work. His eyes were gloomy, clouded with worry and something deeper—sad.

Millers twitched, groaning faintly. Even unconscious, he instinctively resisted the bitter taste of the rabbit's medicine.

"Stop squirming." The rabbit raised a paw and slapped Millers—twice—on the cheek. "You whiny bastard."

Millers coughed and, surprisingly, swallowed the mixture. Color slowly returned to his face, and the red scales on his arms began to retreat, fading like a nightmare after sunrise.

The transformation halted. His body stabilized.

The rabbit gave a satisfied grunt.

Then it glanced back at Axel—who hadn't said another word. The kid just stood there, tense and quiet.

The rabbit tilted its head slightly, watching Axel in silence.

Then, in the blink of an eye, it morphed. White fur receded. Bones lengthened. Flesh reshaped.

Standing before Axel now was a short, slightly overweight old man, his white beard trailing down to his chest, his expression gentle and full of quiet wisdom.

Axel's eyes widened. "You're… a Beast King?"

The old man chuckled. "Beast King? Please. I'm human—just a human who's lived far too long and seen too much."

He peered at Axel. "Now, answer my question."

Axel's lips tightened. He knew this old man held answers—maybe *the* answer he had been chasing for years.

So he didn't dodge. "My father is dead."

The old man froze.

The warmth in his smile evaporated. For a long moment, he said nothing. Just looked at Axel like he wasn't seeing the young man in front of him, but a ghost from the past.

"How…?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

How could this happen? Axel let out a breath that felt like glass dragging across his throat. His mouth twisted into something between a sneer and a grimace.

"You know how. He thought like you. That if he brought the Heavenly Spirit Fruit back, if he perfected the cure, the infection would be over."

The old man closed his eyes.

"Instead," Axel continued, his voice low and hollow, **"he was labeled a traitor to humanity. Said to be the cause of the infection. The cure was declared the poison. The Heavenly Spirit Fruit tree was destroyed by the exploration team this time—burned to ashes."

The air between them turned heavy.

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