**Chapter Seven: A Flame in the Heart of Darkness**
Rhein moved through the deep passages of the cave with a lightness possessed only by predators. Each step was silent and deliberate. He had transformed from an algae gatherer into a shadow stalking an unknown entity. The spiritual pressure in the air grew stronger, but in Rhein's mind, this noise created a perfect silence, allowing him to focus on his sole objective: understanding this new player on the board.
The faint sound led him to a vast cavern, larger than anything he had seen so far. Its walls were covered in crystals pulsing with a dim violet light, and at the center of this cave, he found the source of it all.
It wasn't a monster. Nor was it treasure in the conventional sense.
It was a girl.
She wore black leather armor—tight and efficient, clinging to her body and accentuating her slender yet powerful frame. Her long black hair flowed behind her like liquid ink in the darkness. She stood before a massive black crystal, the size of a bull's heart, throbbing with dark, chaotic energy. She was the true source of the spiritual pressure in the caves.
And in her hands, she held a massive sword, wider than her own body, emitting a frenzied pink glow, as if it were a fragment of a dying star. She wasn't fighting—she was doing something far more complex. She had plunged the tip of her sword into the black crystal and seemed to be drawing the chaotic energy from it, purifying it through the blazing edge of her blade. A faint sheen of sweat glistened on her forehead, and her eyes were utterly focused, indicating that this task demanded every ounce of her strength and concentration.
Rhein hid behind a rocky outcrop, watching her with cold eyes.
*"So, this is the wolf feeding in the heart of the rats' den,"* he thought, analyzing the scene. Her strength was evident, far surpassing his own—perhaps at the peak of the Golden Core stage, or even beyond. But what intrigued him wasn't just her power—it was her control. Her energy, that furious pink glow, was violent and destructive, yet she wielded it with surgical precision. *"Immense power and razor-sharp control. A dangerous combination."*
Then he did what had become instinct to him—he looked at her with the eyes of his soul.
For a moment, he was stunned. Unlike the others he had seen, whose souls were riddled with holes and cracks, hers was different. It was a pure, condensed flame of pink energy, exactly the color of her sword. There were no small gaps of vanity or fear—only one thing lay at the heart of that flame: an icy void of cold resolve and an unshakable purpose. She was like a piece of steel tempered a thousand times over.
*"Interesting,"* he whispered to himself. This was no simple tool to be easily exploited. She was a true player.
Suddenly, the black crystal violently trembled. It released a wave of dark energy in a fierce backlash against the purification process. The wave swept through the cavern in an instant.
Rhein, who had been watching intently, felt the wave coming. It wasn't a targeted attack, just a random outburst. He moved swiftly, retreating two steps deeper into the shadows to avoid direct impact. It was a simple movement, almost instinctive.
But it didn't go unnoticed.
The moment her energy stabilized after repelling the wave, the girl turned with lightning speed. There was no hesitation. She raised her glowing sword and pointed it directly at the shadow where Rhein hid. Her eyes held no surprise—only a cutting coldness and final judgment.
No words were exchanged. None were needed. He was a shadow whose cover had been blown, and she was the ruler of this domain.
Then, in a voice as quiet as the edge of a blade, her words pierced the silence of the cave:
*"Whoever is hiding there... show yourself, or perish!"