Ahead.
Endless stretches of white buildings formed the landscape of the entire world.
The buildings were completely sealed.
They could not be opened at all.
No one knew what was inside them.
A man in a leather jacket stood on a white tombstone, a cigarette between his lips, looking down over the cliff.
He soon finished his cigarette and flicked the butt away, letting its flickering ember fall into the distance.
Click.
His lighter lit a second cigarette.
The man took a deep drag, narrowed his eyes, and blew smoke rings in utter contentment.
"Stop smoking."
A voice rang out.
A woman landed nearby, dozens of Sword Artifacts of varying lengths hanging at her waist. She folded her arms, her face full of displeasure.
"You ran off for a smoke halfway through the fight. Does that count as setting an example by slacking off? Is your craving really that bad?"
Her tone was reproachful.
"Don't blame me, Sword Maiden. I'm thinking about something very important," the man said.
"Oh? Then put out your cigarette," the Sword Maiden sneered.
The cigarette gave a faint crackle, its ember brightening-
Clearly, he had taken a hard drag.
"I was actually wondering why White Night Spirit Wang appeared once at the beginning, then never showed himself again."
Sure enough, this diverted the Sword Maiden's attention.
"The White Night Demon Cage... certainly lives up to its name. The farther underground we go, the stronger the monsters get."
"But we've fought for so long and defeated so many monsters, yet White Night Spirit Wang still hasn't appeared."
"That's truly strange."
The man nodded. "If he doesn't show up soon, we'll have conquered this place completely."
"You mean-perhaps he's hiding, preparing something big?" the Sword Maiden asked.
"I can't think of any other reason," the man said.