NOVEL NEXT Chapter 345: Return to The Pit
Zain and the girls finally stepped into the core area of the Devil Nest.
As soon as they entered, the atmosphere changed completely.
The red mist was thicker and heavier and felt more alive than before.
Zain stopped walking for a moment and closed his eyes.
He took a slow breath, letting the dense ether around him enter his body.
His eyes opened again, glowing faintly.
"It's just like I expected…" Zain said calmly. "The ether here… is even more corrosive. But also stronger."
He clenched his fists, and his body began to glow softly.
The [Heavenly Demon Ether] around him started flowing into his body like a river.
"The purity…" he continued. "It's 99% the same as mine now. This place is… almost perfect."
Small injuries and exhaustion from earlier vanished instantly.
His body recovered just by standing there.
Meanwhile, Zelia and Savra looked around with caution.
Their barrier was still active, protecting them from the ether's harmful effects.
But even with protection, they could feel the pressure.
Savra narrowed her eyes and looked behind them.
"Good thing we rushed in," she said. "I can sense multiple people near the hole already."
She folded her arms. "And… some of them are stronger than us."
Velra nodded. "Yeah. I felt them too. Not just guards. At least one Supreme Rank… maybe more."
Zelia looked at Zain. "So what's the plan? Are we hiding? Resting?"
Zain gave a tired smile. "No need to hide. They can't sense us anymore from this distance."
He leaned against a large black rock and sat down, his hands resting on his knees.
"I'm just a bit tired," he admitted. "That punch earlier took more out of me than I thought."
The girls gathered around him, standing watch as he focused on healing.
Savra stretched her arms and looked around the strange, twisted land.
"This place really is like a dead world," she said. "Dark skies, broken ground, red mist everywhere,"
Velra smirked. "But for us? It's the perfect place for a base."
Zain nodded slowly. "Exactly. That's why we're here. Just a little more rest… and then we'll go deeper."
The three girls nodded with him.
After a short moment of silence, they stood up one by one, ready to continue.
Zain stretched his arms, letting out a deep breath.
Velra handed him a flask of water, and he drank it quickly before giving it back.
"Let's move," Zain said.
They began walking once more across the cracked, dark ground.
At first, everything seemed normal.
But after some time, Zain slowed down.
He stopped walking.
The girls noticed right away.
"Zain?" Velra called out as she walked to his side. "What's wrong?"
Zain stood still, eyes scanning the terrain.
His eyebrows were furrowed, and there was a strange look on his face.
"…I don't know," he said quietly. "Something's wrong."
Savra tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
Zain's eyes narrowed. "This place… feels familiar."
Zelia frowned. "Familiar? But… you've never been to this core area before."
Zain nodded. "Exactly. That's why something feels off."
"I shouldn't recognize anything here… but I do. Not the whole area."
"Just… something about the way the land looks. The scent. The wind."
He paused again and looked around.
"It's not normal."
The girls shared glances with each other, slightly worried.
Velra asked, "Do you want to turn back?"
Zain shook his head. "No. I have a guess. I want to check something."
Without waiting for more questions, Zain turned and walked in another direction.
The girls didn't hesitate and followed him closely.
They walked for nearly ten minutes in silence.
Eventually, the path opened up into a wide, uneven clearing.
But it wasn't just a clearing. Something massive had once existed here.
There was a massive hole in the middle of the ground.
The ground around it was scarred. Marked by deep lines, like from claws, chains, and tools.
Zain stopped walking and stared at the hole.
His expression changed.
"…Impossible," he muttered under his breath. "How can this… be here?"
The girls finally caught up and looked down at the same thing.
Savra raised an eyebrow. "What is this place?"
Zelia stepped closer, her eyes serious. "Zain, do you know this place?"
Zain didn't answer right away.
He took a few slow steps closer to the edge of the hole, then knelt down.
He placed one hand gently on the ground. He stayed there in silence.
"This is it," he finally said. "This place… I know this place."
He stood up slowly and looked at the girls.
"This hole... is The Pit."
Velra blinked. "The Pit?"
Zain gave a slow nod. "Yeah. The Pit. The place where I was thrown into as a child. The place where I was forced to fight others just to survive."
The air grew quiet. Even the red mist swirling around them seemed to pause for a moment.
"I've told you before," Zain continued.
"About my past life. How I lived in a cruel world filled with sects and cultivators. This place… was the start of it all."
Zelia stepped forward slightly. "But Zain… wasn't that world completely different from this one?"
Savra crossed her arms, looking puzzled. "Yeah. That place had qi, sects, and cultivation, right? Not ether, heroes, and classes like here."
Zain nodded slowly. "Exactly. That's why I'm confused. This world should have nothing to do with my old one."
"But this pit... It's the same. The shape, the size, the markings on edge… It's not just similar. It's exact."
Velra looked around carefully, her expression serious now. "You're sure?"
"I lived here for years," Zain said. "I climbed these walls. I bled in this dirt."
The girls fell silent.
Savra's eyes narrowed. "Then… what if your old world and this one aren't as separate as you think?"
Zelia looked at her. "You mean… maybe they're connected?"
Savra nodded. "Or maybe... they're actually the same world."
Zain frowned. His hands clenched slightly as he looked at the cracked ground beneath his feet.
"That's what I've been starting to think," he admitted.
"At first, I thought this world was something new. A second life. A clean slate."
He looked up again, his eyes sharp.
"But now… with this pit here, exactly like I remember it... I can't ignore it anymore."