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Journey to Become the Zenith

Chapter 360: Shadows Beneath the Ruins · Oct 23, 2026

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Chapter List (490)

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351 Chapter 351: The Flame Rekindled 2026-10-23
352 Chapter 352: A Promise Beyond Life 2026-10-23
353 Chapter 353: A Promise Beyond Life [Part -2] 2026-10-23
354 Chapter 354: The Soul’s Eternal Covenant 2026-10-23
355 Chapter 355: The Place Where Souls Rest 2026-10-23
356 Chapter 356: The Path to Saving Her Sisters 2026-10-23
357 Chapter 357: The First Thread of the Conspiracy 2026-10-23
358 Chapter 358: Echoes Buried Beneath Forgotten Memories 2026-10-23
359 Chapter 359: The Vanishing Fisherman 2026-10-23
360 Chapter 360: Shadows Beneath the Ruins 2026-10-23
361 Chapter 361: The Eyes Watching from the Dark (Part 3) 2026-10-23
362 Chapter 362: A Hero’s Heart in Turmoil (Part 1) 2026-10-23
363 Chapter 363: A Hero’s Heart in Turmoil (Part 2) 2026-10-23
364 Chapter 364: A Hero’s Heart in Turmoil (Part 3) 2026-10-23
365 Chapter 365: A Smile Before the Trap (Part 1) 2026-10-23
366 Chapter 366: A Smile Before the Trap (Part 2) 2026-10-23
367 Chapter 367: A Smile Before the Trap (Part 3) 2026-10-23
368 Chapter 368: The Cornered Rat’s Last Bluff (Part 1) 2026-10-23
369 Chapter 369: The Cornered Rat’s Last Bluff (Part 2) 2026-10-23
370 Chapter 370: The Cornered Rat’s Last Bluff (Part 3) 2026-10-23
371 Chapter 371: A Family Reunited, A New Enemy Revealed 2026-10-23
372 Chapter 372: The Curse That Bound Blood 2026-10-23
373 Chapter 373: A New Trail Toward the Elmhart Family 2026-10-23
374 Chapter 374: Seeds of a New Era 2026-10-23
375 Chapter 375: Seeds of a New Era [Part -2] 2026-10-23
376 Chapter 376: Seeds of a New Era [Part -3] 2026-10-23
377 Chapter 377: The Foundation of an Empire 2026-10-23
378 Chapter 378: The Foundation of an Empire [Part -2] 2026-10-23
379 Chapter 379: The Goddesses’ Invitation (Part 1) 2026-10-23
380 Chapter 380: The Goddesses’ Invitation (Part 2) 2026-10-23
381 Chapter 381: The Goddesses’ Invitation (Part 3) 2026-10-23
382 Chapter 382: The Goddesses’ Invitation (Part 4) 2026-10-23
383 Chapter 383: Echoes Within the Soul 2026-10-23
384 Chapter 384: The Gathering of Incarnations 2026-10-23
385 Chapter 385: Diana!!! 2026-10-23
386 Chapter 386: Echoes of Forgotten Bonds 2026-10-23
387 Chapter 387: Echoes of Forgotten Bonds [Part 2] 2026-10-23
388 Chapter 388: Echoes of Forgotten Bonds 2026-10-23
389 Chapter 389: The Contract Beneath the Eternal Moon 2026-10-23
390 Chapter 390: The Oath Beneath the Eternal Moon 2026-10-23
391 Chapter 391: The Oath Beneath the Eternal Moon [Part 2] 2026-10-23
392 Chapter 392: The Dragon’s Oath 2026-10-23
393 Chapter 393: A Promise Across Lifetimes 2026-10-23
394 Chapter 394: The One Waiting Beyond the South Gate 2026-10-23
395 Chapter 395: The Lioness’s Resolve 2026-10-23
396 Chapter 396: The Gathering of Spirit Rulers 2026-10-23
397 Chapter 397: A Dread Beyond the Soul 2026-10-23
398 Chapter 398: The Seventh Summoning 2026-10-23
399 Chapter 399: The Arrival of the Seventh Spirit 2026-10-23
400 Chapter 400: The Chaos Spirit Descends 2026-10-23

Shadows Beneath the Ruins (Part 1)

Clara lips were pressed tightly together.

Moisture shimmered faintly in her eyes.

She was trying with everything she had not to cry.

The closer she came to the place connected to those forgotten memories...

The stronger the pressure inside her heart became.

Victor didn’t comment.

He simply asked,

”So...”

”Where’s the old man?”

Clara couldn’t bring herself to answer immediately.

Instead...

She slowly raised a trembling hand.

Her finger pointed toward the empty stall.

”...There.”

Victor quietly walked forward.

Each step was measured.

Each movement carried deliberate caution.

The stall showed no signs of recent activity.

He crouched beside it.

His fingers lightly brushed across the weathered wooden counter.

Dust.

Faint traces of dried fish scales.

Old rope.

Nothing unusual.

No lingering curse.

No spiritual residue.

No mana signature.

It was...

Too clean.

Victor slowly stood.

His gaze swept across the surrounding shops.

Several merchants were busy serving customers.

An elderly woman arranged vegetables.

A baker removed fresh bread from an oven.

Life continued as though nothing had ever happened.

Victor approached the nearest merchant.

”I have a question.”

The middle-aged man looked up politely.

”Of course.”

Victor gestured toward the empty stall.

”Who usually sells fish there?”

The merchant frowned.

His smile gradually disappeared.

He looked at the stall.

Then back at Victor.

”...Fish?”

Victor nodded.

”The old man who owns that stall.”

The merchant remained silent.

Several seconds passed.

Finally...

He scratched his head.

”...Strange.”

”I...”

”I actually can’t remember.”

Victor thanked him and walked toward another nearby shopkeeper.

The answer was exactly the same.

Then another.

And another.

Every single person reacted similarly.

Confusion.

Long silence.

Then...

”I don’t remember.”

Victor stopped asking questions.

He quietly looked back toward the abandoned stall.

His golden eyes reflected neither surprise nor disappointment.

Only interest.

Interesting...

Someone didn’t merely erase their own identity.

They erased everyone else’s ability to remember it.

He glanced toward Clara.

Unlike everyone else...

She still retained fragments.

Small pieces.

Broken memories.

Enough to point them in the right direction.

Only someone with unusually strong mental resistance...

Or someone emotionally connected to the event...

Could preserve remnants of those memories.

Victor folded his arms.

”So that’s how it is...”

His gaze lingered on the empty stall.

Whoever had orchestrated this...

Was far more meticulous than he had first imagined.

Victor remained standing before the abandoned fish stall.

His gaze slowly swept across the surrounding street.

Although the city had begun to return to life, the scars of the undead invasion were impossible to ignore.

Entire buildings still stood half-collapsed.

Fresh wooden supports held up cracked walls that threatened to fall at any moment.

Burn marks stained the stone roads where flames had once consumed countless undead.

Workers carried timber and broken bricks from one side of the street to another while soldiers maintained constant patrols.

Several homes had become nothing more than piles of rubble.

Families quietly sorted through the remains of their lives.

Some searched for belongings.

Others simply stood in silence before the ruins of homes they could never rebuild exactly as they had been.

Small memorials decorated with white flowers rested along the roadside.

The names of those who had died during the invasion had been carefully carved into simple wooden boards.

The city was alive...

But its wounds were still fresh.

The lingering sorrow in the air mixed with the smell of dust, smoke, and freshly cut wood.

Victor quietly observed everything.

If someone wanted to disappear...

There couldn’t have been a better opportunity.

The chaos created by the undead attack would have hidden almost any movement.

Clara slowly approached him.

”Did... you find anything?”

Victor shook his head.

”No.”

”The stall itself is clean.”

”There isn’t even a trace of residual curse energy.”

Clara looked toward the empty stall.

”It really was him...”

Victor didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he closed his eyes for a brief moment.

His spiritual perception expanded naturally.

The flow of mana throughout the damaged district entered his awareness.

Broken buildings.

Repair crews.

Passing adventurers.

Citizens.

Nothing unusual...

Then—

A faint ripple.

Extremely weak.

Barely noticeable.

Victor’s eyes opened instantly.

Hmm?

A thread of mana had lightly brushed against his spiritual perception.

It lasted less than a heartbeat.

Almost like someone had cautiously reached out...

Only to immediately pull back.

Victor slowly turned toward the direction where he had sensed it.

There was no one.

Only damaged rooftops overlooking the street.

Children carrying buckets of water.

Workers rebuilding shattered walls.

Everything appeared completely normal.

Then...

The mana fluctuation vanished.

As though it had never existed.

Victor remained perfectly still.

Inside his mind, however, countless possibilities rapidly connected.

That wasn’t random.

Someone deliberately probed me.

His lips curved into an almost imperceptible smile.

Interesting...

So you’ve been watching us this entire time.

He didn’t pursue the source.

Instead, he calmly continued observing the surroundings.

The moment you realized I noticed...

You immediately withdrew.

Excellent discipline.

Victor folded his arms.

Another assassin.

Unlike Gian...

This one specializes in curses.

A troublesome combination.

Rather than annoyance...

A spark of anticipation appeared in his golden eyes.

His smile widened ever so slightly.

”So many rats...”

He murmured quietly enough that only Clara could hear.

”It seems it’s finally time to flush them all out.”

Clara looked at him in confusion.

”...Rats?”

Victor simply smiled.

”You’ll understand soon enough.”

He gave no further explanation on this topic.

Far away...

Several streets from the abandoned fish stall...

A lone figure stumbled into a deserted alley hidden between two damaged warehouses.

The old fisherman collapsed against the cold stone wall.

”Haa...”

His breathing was ragged.

Sweat soaked his worn clothes.

His entire body trembled uncontrollably.

He pressed one hand tightly against his chest as though trying to calm his racing heart.

”What...”

”...the hell...”

His breathing gradually steadied, but the fear in his eyes only deepened.

”What the hell was that...?”

His voice shook.

”That man...”

”...can’t possibly be human.”

”He’s a monster wearing human skin.”

Even now...

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