In the labyrinth city of Orario, Aston arrived five years in the past.
At that time, the city was still engulfed in the Dark Age, with the Dark Faction wreaking havoc unchecked. Despite the unified efforts of Orario to combat the Dark Faction, they were unable to quell the boldness of the Dark Faction, who continued to launch terror attacks sporadically, plunging Orario into turmoil.
On the eve of Aston's projected arrival, the Astraea Familia had already descended to the lower levels of the dungeon. To escape their enemy, the Rudra Familia, the Astraea Familia ventured into the lower levels, only to fall into a trap set by their foes, which involved a widespread random bombing using a large quantity of flame stones.
However, a member of the Familia, Lyra, with her keen senses, detected the trap and warned everyone, enabling the Astraea Familia to narrowly escape disaster.
Despite their escape, the trap left the chamber in ruins: walls were blasted open, the floor was gouged with several large pits, and the maze was shrouded in darkness, similar to nightfall, as the phosphorescence was extinguished by the destruction.
"Is everyone okay?"
"That was close!"
"Definitely a trap... They actually tried to bury us alive with bombs!" Voices of Alise, Lyra, Kaguya, and other members of the Astraea Familia could be heard. Some were injured in the commotion, but all were safe.
All members gathered at the center of the pit, while members of the Rudra Familia looked on from the edge with a mix of shock and anger, soon to be tinged with fear.
"Why are you still alive, you damned women of the Astraea Familia! Do you have any idea how many flame stones we used here?" Jura Halmer, a member of the Rudra Familia, who had not lost an arm or an ear, looked down at his despised enemies, filled with rage and loathing, which soon would turn into fear.
To prevent any unexpected incidents, they had scattered over a hundred flame stones throughout the dungeon. This trap, considering its scale of explosion, was essentially the Rudra Familia exhausting their last efforts.
Yet, it failed to eliminate the Astraea Familia, not even causing a single casualty among them. Was all their effort in vain?
Both Rudra Halmar and the rest of the members were engulfed in immense rage at this outcome.
On the contrary, the Astraea Familia members were relieved and even pleased. They now had the opportunity to eradicate a significant number of their adversaries from the Rudra Familia.
As the Astraea Familia members were about to speak amidst their good spirits, a radiant light silently appeared in everyone's field of view, attracting the attention of both the Astraea and Rudra Familia members.
The dazzling light soon dissipated, revealing a hazy figure within. The figure's presence was intermittent, sometimes visible and sometimes fading into nothingness, puzzling everyone present.
"I can't sense any aura from it!" Observing the sudden appearance, Alise, the leader of the Astraea Familia, furrowed her brows, about to question this unexpected apparition.
However, before she could speak, an anomaly suddenly occurred in the dungeon. It wasn't the sound of monsters being born or a precursor to an abnormal state; it was an unnatural, high-pitched sound as if a blade had slashed across a tightly strung wire, undoubtedly signifying the dungeon's lament.
This abrupt change petrified the members of the Astraea Familia on the spot, their faces painted with terror.
Their fear wasn't caused by the anomaly itself but by the scenes that suddenly invaded their minds.
They envisioned the total annihilation of the Astraea Familia, with only Ryuu surviving by the collective effort of the remaining members...
The next moment, the visions in their minds materialized, causing all members of the Astraea Familia to instantly direct their gaze towards the ceiling, to the location in their premonition where the monster appeared.
Indeed, a terrifying creature they had never seen before emerged.
"Everyone, be careful!" Upon witnessing the birth of this unknown monster, Alise's pupils reddened with sheer terror, and she yelled a warning.
But even with the forewarning of a fleeting, unreal future in their minds, the Astraea Familia members couldn't react in time.
They only saw a flash of light, and the next moment, the monster vanished from their sight.
Its disappearance sent a chilling shock through Alise and the others, as they were haunted by a dire premonition, remembering the scene from their vision where their comrade was instantly torn apart as the monster's first act of violence.
That moment of dread was when everyone instinctively looked towards Noin, the comrade who, in their vision, was killed before they could even react.
In that envisioned moment, Noin was torn to shreds by the beast instantly, leaving them no time to even see her remains.
However, to everyone's astonishment and joy, Noin survived. The monster that was supposed to kill all but Ryuu was blocked.
"What exactly is happening!" Alise and the others, looking at the luminous figure standing in front of Noin, were filled with confusion and disbelief.