Epic Of Caterpillar

Chapter 2890 - 2891: The Key Was Within You

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The three instructors from Chaos Gate were people Kireina recognized.

The first was Mirabilis, the Shoggoth in service to her father.

The second was a black-haired, young-looking man with a perpetually sleepy face, carrying a pillow—Nagumo.

The third was a white-haired man in yellow sunglasses and a white suit—Sakamoto.

Takamura was too erratic and unreliable for such duties, so he had been excluded, while the youngest of the trio, Nagumo, had been included.

The reason for Nagumo's presence would soon become clear in this particular trial.

"Alright, gather here, everyone," Mirabilis said, her long blonde hair swaying in the wind. "Before we begin, I want to congratulate you all for making it this far! If you survived the path here, you have proven yourselves competent."

"As you may already know, this is a special trial granting entrance to the Chaos Gate, our most prestigious organization," Sakamoto explained. "Unfortunately, we do not accept frauds or weaklings. Only the most talented, experienced, and promising assassins can become members."

"Um... and..." Nagumo yawned. "Well, uh, do your best."

The participants had expected far more intimidating figures—perhaps even Lord Chaos himself. Instead, these three rather ordinary individuals appeared. One of them was a sleepy young man who could barely speak without yawning.

"The trial consists of three different challenges," Mirabilis continued with a warm smile. "The number of winners is not limited; everyone here could succeed if they work hard enough!"

"The first challenge is called Dream Dungeon," Sakamoto explained. "You will enter a Dungeon made of Dreams containing countless rooms. You must collect two Dream Key fragments and then advance to the final gate."

"Dream Key Fragments are dropped by Nightmares inside the Dream Dungeon... they're scary, so please be careful," Nagumo added with genuine concern.

Aside from those Kireina knew, the others began murmuring among themselves, confused about how a "Dream Dungeon" could even exist.

"Now, please, go ahead," Mirabilis said, gesturing toward the cave entrance.

Though puzzled, the first few participants stepped inside, followed by the rest. Kireina counted fifty-three remaining from the original hundred-plus.

It seemed many had killed one another to thin the competition, yet a considerable number still endured.

Her maids served as invisible supervisors, watching over the exam and ensuring no external forces interfered.

Thus, when Kireina entered alongside her aunt, cousins, and Frank, the maids followed closely, observing everything.

Matsuo's team entered last, after casting sharp glances at the three primary supervisors. They used magic to conceal their identities, but Mirabilis and Sakamoto saw through the disguise clearly.

Nonetheless, they pretended ignorance and allowed them in—they cared little as long as the exam remained undisturbed.

Noah's family had entered just before Kireina's group. When she reached the Dream Dungeon like everyone else, she found herself standing directly in front of his team.

"Huh. To think we would meet here."

Kireina's appearance had shifted to that of an ordinary Japanese woman, as had her family's, but Noah recognized her instantly.

"Indeed. Well, we came here not to join, but because of what might happen here."

"So you can feel the flow of Fate, Noah?"

"Indeed."

Noah gazed upward into the sky of the Dream Dungeon.

Their entry had been almost instantaneous—one moment they stood outside, the next they arrived in this bizarre realm.

Countless colors, landscapes, buildings, and fragments of entire worlds floated everywhere.

This was the Dream Dungeon—a chaotic, complete mess of everything and anything.

It had been created using a Special Abyssal Formation powered by Mirabilis' abilities and Nagumo's magic.

Nightmares roamed the land and immediately began attacking the participants.

Many of the weakest died without understanding what was happening.

Meanwhile, the more experienced or quick-reacting ones fled, hid, or fought back against the Nightmares.

However, the number of Nightmares at the Entrance Level was limited. Participants would need to either steal fragments from one another or venture deeper to find more.

"..."

"..."

Kireina and Noah stared at each other, as did their respective families.

Their first impression had never been good. Noah and Kireina had fought to the death before.

And Noah had won multiple times. If not for Kireina's ability to revive, she would have died long ago.

Now, strangely, there was no killing intent from him.

In fact, his Heart Intent radiated a willingness to cooperate.

"Noah..." Kireina said. "Do you intend to help us?"

"I... have pondered it for a long time," he replied. "I can tell you've grown very powerful since the last time we met. This world... I am ashamed to admit I have grown attached to it. I want to save it from this imminent catastrophe—this gigantic misfortune weighing over everything. But at the same time, I must save my clan. Those lost here... I have yet to find any."

"I see. Any clues?" Kireina asked.

"The Azure Moon..." Noah said. "I think they might be trapped there. And a path toward it may only reveal itself once we find the key—that boy."

"..." Frank remained silent as he faced Noah, completely unfazed by the presence of his former teacher.

"You've spent all this time with him, and you haven't taken the key?" Noah asked.

"It isn't something that can be taken by force," Kireina sighed. "It will only emerge when Frank decides to."

"Then why hasn't he decided?" Noah pressed.

"This world has a powerful Cosmic Law that makes it harder to reveal what lies outside," Kireina explained. "But now that we are inside this Dream, we can speak freely. That is one of the reasons I suggested this trial to my father."

"...!" Frank stared in awe. "So... those dreams I've had—what are they?"

Kireina and Noah looked at Frank and revealed the truth.

"Those dreams of the future you've been having this entire time are not dreams—they are your past," Kireina said. "At one point, we fell into a world named Abyss and its surrounding Nebula of Chaos. Outer Gods captured you and placed you somewhere, under orders from someone else."

"...!" Frank was stunned as the truth sank in. "Then who... what am I? What are these memories? So I was... I didn't return to the future. Is this world an illusion?"

"No," Noah said firmly. "It is a special cosmic world—an Origin World manufactured by Great Beings beyond the boundaries of Dimensions. For what purpose? That remains unknown to me... but you are part of what makes this world, Frank."

"Oh..."

"But at the same time, it feels different, right?" Kireina asked. "Noah, I think... this Frank is not exactly the one we knew before."

"...?!"

"...!"

Everyone was taken aback by Kireina's words.

"Frank, I believe you are yourself. So please, never doubt that," Kireina said warmly, smiling. "What you lived in your past life... doesn't mean you have to abandon this one. The other Frank was probably lost somewhere through Time."

"...How... do you know this?!" Noah asked in disbelief.

"...?"

"The Frank we are seeing right now is a Fragment of him," Kireina explained. "One that is independent from the one who formed this Dungeon, yet at the same time its only connection. The original Frank... fell through the River of Time. I know this because... I saw him..."

"...!!!"

Kireina recalled the memories that had been deleted from her mind before she was assimilated into this world and merged with her parallel self.

When she ascended to the Nascent Soul Realm and saw through all her memories—even those that had been erased—they resurfaced.

There, she had witnessed Frank falling through an endless cosmos. The River of Time flowed close to this Labyrinth, distorting its internal time flow.

"So my original self is lost..." Frank said quietly. "Ah... I don't know what else to think or say..."

"So he's not the key?!" Noah demanded angrily.

"He is," Kireina replied. "But not in the way you think. He is not a physical key. He himself possesses the power to open the Dungeon or close it. And you already know this, right, Frank? The reason you couldn't move to other worlds using your system... until it unlocked after you ascended to Nascent Soul and saw the full truth of your existence."

"..."

Frank closed his eyes and nodded slowly. "Yeah..."

He opened his palm. A glowing sigil shaped like a key appeared there.

Noah's eyes widened in shock as he realized the path to his clan members had always been within reach.

"However, there's a problem," Frank sighed. "Even though I can open the Path, a Force prevents me from advancing. I cannot access them."

"If you need the power to shatter a dimension, I can help," Noah said. "However... is this really the right thing to do right now? With this imminent misfortune..."

"The misfortune is directly tied to this dungeon," Kireina said. "If we can seize complete control through Frank, we can stop it from ever happening. The problem could be solved without even starting a battle."

"As if things could ever be so easy..." Iris muttered. "What's the trick?"

"There's no trick," Kireina replied. "Now, Frank, why don't we try right now? But once it's open, only you and your family may go, Noah. I must find my family as well."

"...I see. That's fine with us," Noah nodded. "If we can destabilize their control over the dungeon, we will be able to help regardless."

"Then, Frank... it's time," Kireina said.

"...I guess this was my purpose," Frank replied with a bitter smile, nodding.

His palm opened wider. A portal of cosmic light manifested, blocked by an invisible wall that even Frank's strength could not pierce.

Noah nodded. Iris, Dante, and Eleanora followed him as he channeled his power into his fists and struck the barrier.

BOOOM!

In an instant, the barrier shattered into countless pieces. The entire dungeon trembled violently.

As he had suspected, it was connected to the entire Dimensional Labyrinth in the same way Abyss was.

If he destroyed the labyrinth, Abyss would likely collapse as well.

However, this gate had been forcibly sealed by a wall. Destroying it did not destroy the labyrinth.

Still, cracks spread across the planet, though the Soul of Earth quickly began repairing the damage.

"Here we go. We will return as quickly as possible."

"Go for it."

Kireina and Noah nodded at one another, both resolved to defy the plans of those controlling this Dimensional Labyrinth.

As they departed, Frank closed the gate.

"Will they be alright?" he asked quietly.

"They will," Kireina said with confidence. "It's Noah and his family, after all. He's the Son of Azathoth."

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