We got back to floor 49 with a new priority added to the list we were already barely managing.
"Let's descend to floor 50 and save our progress. Then get back to the surface and prepare food, water, potions, and anything else we might regret not bringing later."
No one argued. That alone said enough.
Keiji moved first, already pulling up raid schedules and cooldown rotations like this was just another day at work and not the prelude to whatever fresh hell awaited us.
Sometimes I forgot how terrifyingly competent he was when he slipped into that mode. Calm. Efficient. Unshakable.
By the time we reached floor 50, the Arachnid waiting for us barely registered as a threat.
No flares.
No dramatic openings.
No heroic poses.
Just movement, coordination, and silence. It went down like background noise.
We didn't celebrate.
We were racing time, and time was winning.
