"Why can't we leave early?"

The adventurer let out a wail, suddenly pushing aside the soldiers in front of him and running forward recklessly, occasionally swinging the Dark Sword to clear the enemies blocking his path.

Making intense movements would increase the release of spiritual power. Although the adventurer wasn't aware of this, he had heard from other adventurers about a folk remedy: if you want to leave the Painting World as soon as possible, you can try strenuous exercise.

Moreover, he couldn't count this as simple desperation; he had a theory he wanted to test.

That theory was to rush into the most magnificent building in Little Londo that he had never reached before, which was likely where the kings of Little Londo resided.

Finding the king of the Soul-sucking Ghosts and asking for their protection might allow him to survive!

As he made up his mind to flee, he suddenly found the path ahead much easier to navigate. The ordinary soldiers couldn't keep up with his pace, and even the knights couldn't stop a Soul-sucking Ghost determined only to escape.

When he reached a place where he had died countless times before, the familiar sense of threat emerged. This time, he fought through the trembling caused by fear and ran relentlessly towards the distance!

Whether by luck or not, this time the formidable enemy was a battle-hardened Silver Knight. The adventurer sighed with relief at his luck, unleashing all his strength to shake off the Silver Knight as he rushed towards where the kings resided.

The closer he got, the more the ground was covered in indescribable black sludge, identical to what spread within Fran Fort, a product of the Abyss's corruption.

The Soul-sucking Ghost's body grew more excited as he neared the location, indicating the Abyss was getting closer, soon to be within reach!

If this had happened at the very beginning, the adventurer would have been thrilled alongside his body, but now it was different. The more excited the Soul-sucking Ghost's body was, the more cowardly he felt. Every step forward might plunge him into an endless Abyss, and who knows what horrors awaited ahead?

He finally arrived in front of the magnificent building, surrounded by all manner of corpses—enemy soldiers, knights, Soul-sucking Ghosts from his side, and even innocent civilians who met brutal ends; the carnage made his stomach churn.

The adventurer was grateful the Soul-sucking Ghost couldn't vomit. He raised his hand to push the tightly closed door in front of him, but it didn't budge. Only then did he realize his hands trembled too much to exert strength.

Was he afraid?

Just the thought of opening the door and possibly witnessing the Abyss caused his soul to shiver uncontrollably, where fear and anticipation coexisted. He couldn't even understand his true feelings anymore, but one thing was crystal clear to him.

He was courting death.

"Well, after all, we're in Sain Dungeon."

He had always believed this Dungeon existed to accommodate people's self-destructive tendencies!

"Boom——"

The adventurer suddenly exerted himself to push open the heavy stone door, towering several times above him.

No light came from the gap between the northern wind and the door.

When he looked inside, filled with both trepidation and expectancy, he saw nothing—or rather, he saw an absolute darkness devoid of a single ray of light.

He saw darkness churning; he saw twisted Humanity struggling within, he saw...

"Splash!"

Just then, his ears picked up an extremely noisy sound, like a bathroom faucet gone berserk, yet thousands of times louder.

The Abyss within the building surged towards him like a tide!

The adventurer instinctively retreated a few steps, then gritted his teeth and stepped forward to embrace what was coming from the Abyss.

However, the situation seemed somewhat different from what he had imagined.

He suddenly realized the Abyss wasn't actively surging towards him; it seemed to be forcibly pushed by some power.

He looked up at the sky, bewildered.

Wait, it wasn't the Abyss being pushed.

The entire building was collapsing towards him!

"Splash!!!"

Water splashed onto his face.

A deluge, a catastrophic flood, swept over the top of the most magnificent building, crashing down like a world-ending wave on all life within Little Londo!

The entire Little Londo would be submerged in the flood triggered by the breach; no one could escape!

The armies attacking Little Londo unleashed the flood.

"So that's why the Little Longde Ruins came to be...."

The adventurer mumbled in a daze, crashing into the falling structure.

...

In the midst of chaos, the adventurer felt his consciousness drifting, like journeying within a rushing current.

It was a sign he would soon leave the Painting World and return to the real world—a rare piece of good news for his exhausted body and mind. Finally, he could escape that haunted place.

An Abyss and such; at least for a while, he didn't wish to encounter them again!

Just as the adventurer felt he could peacefully close his eyes, a massive head larger than his entire body emerged in the dark before him, its big teeth bared.

"Aaargh——"

The adventurer suddenly screamed like a girl in terror.

That thing suddenly appearing in front of him was hideous!

This bizarre creature's body resembled a huge black serpent, yet its face bore a semblance to a human's, pushing its fanged teeth into his face—a sight literally capable of scaring someone to the point of fainting.

This creature was so....monstrous.

The great serpent emerging from the darkness suddenly opened its mouth wide, the adventurer clamped his face and squealed in fright.

Just as he thought the creature opened its mouth to consume him, a low yet strangely compelling voice came from the serpent's mouth.

"Come, Undead Warrior, come to the Abyss in Little Londo. The World Snake will reveal the truth of the world to you, and Kas, who calms the dark, will guide you...."

What the heck, this guy can even talk!? 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The adventurer was in shock while the serpent's voice continued.

"What the weak Gwyn fears, he will never tell you—the true secret of the world...."

"You were born to be a king; why listen to the deceitful words of the vile king and throw yourself into the flames...."

What gibberish was this guy spewing?

The adventurer felt utterly confused, scratching his head in incomprehension. He understood every word but failed to grasp them strung together—these were things he'd never heard before.

Was Gwyn associated with weakness?

And the content of these words....telling the Starfire Church would get you killed on the spot, wouldn't it?

"Come, find me. I'll reveal the true fate of the Undead to you...."

The Dark Great Snake opened its colossal maw, endless suction instantly pulled the dumbfounded adventurer into the stinking abyss of its enormous mouth.

Only when the mouth snapped shut, did the engulfed adventurer belatedly utter a wretched scream.

Nothing was more despairing than being swallowed alive by a foul mouth.

After an unknown period, the adventurer finally awoke, teeth chattering, cold liquid drenching his face at the first blink of his eyes.

"Ahhh!"

He thought he was still drowning in Little Londo, screaming and jumping up, but it turned out his two companions were splashing chilled water onto his face.

"You're finally awake," said the other companion, "so, did you find anything good?"

"...."

The adventurer stared intently at his companions for a few seconds before collapsing to the ground as if exhausted. Without waiting for others to help him up, he pointed weakly at the painting and said:

"Don't go....it's a source of pain..."

As he spoke this, he trembled like a newborn lamb.