Rainey ran.
The chamber shook violently as the cracks beneath his feet widened, sending chunks of stone falling from the ceiling. The glowing symbols that had appeared moments earlier were gone, leaving only a growing sense of urgency in their wake. His mind raced as he clutched the sword, the blade light in his hand despite the chaos around him.
What was happening? What did the symbols mean?
The air felt heavy, thick with the strange energy that pulsed through the tower's underground labyrinth. Rainey had no answers—only questions that piled up faster than he could process them. His breath came in ragged bursts as he sprinted down a narrow passageway, trying to outrun whatever disaster was unfolding behind him.
The passage twisted and turned, the walls closing in as the air grew colder. The stone beneath his feet was slick with moisture, and the faint glow of more symbols lit the way. These symbols, etched into the walls, pulsed faintly, as though they were watching him—monitoring his every movement.
Rainey's head throbbed. The questions about his identity and where he came from swirled in his mind, colliding with the panic of his immediate situation. He couldn't remember anything, no matter how hard he tried. Only fragments of sensation—flashes of light, echoes of sound—none of it cohesive, none of it useful.
But there was something about the sword. The moment he had touched it, everything had changed. It had responded to him somehow, though it still didn't make sense. And then there were the glowing words, the messages that had appeared in the air. Entity Detected. Binding Initiated.
Binding? Binding to what?
The ground beneath him trembled again, snapping him from his thoughts. He needed to focus. The passage opened into another chamber, and Rainey stumbled inside, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. His legs ached, and his lungs burned, but he forced himself to keep moving.
The new chamber was larger than the last, its walls lined with more glowing symbols. In the center stood a tall, crystalline obelisk, pulsing with an eerie light. Unlike the dim, flickering glow of the symbols, the obelisk shone with a steady, rhythmic energy—like a heartbeat.
As Rainey approached the obelisk, he felt a strange pull, as if something inside it was calling to him. The sword in his hand hummed faintly, resonating with the obelisk's energy. He hesitated, his eyes narrowing as he tried to make sense of the connection.
Another flicker of light caught his attention.
More symbols appeared in the air, hovering just above the obelisk. They shimmered, shifting and rearranging themselves into words Rainey could understand.
"System Error. Entity Not Recognized."
The words hung in the air, and Rainey felt a chill run down his spine. Entity Not Recognized? Did that mean… him?
Before he could react, another message appeared.
"Attempting to Correct Error… Error Not Corrected."
The words faded, leaving behind an unsettling silence. Rainey's grip tightened on the sword as he took a step back from the obelisk, his mind racing.
He was a glitch. An error.
The system—whatever it was—had detected him but didn't know what to make of him. He wasn't supposed to be here, or if he was, the system didn't recognize him as part of it. The thought unsettled him more than the crumbling chambers he had just escaped.
But as he stared at the obelisk, he couldn't help but feel that it wasn't just the system that was confused. He didn't belong here either, not in this place, not in this battle-torn world.
A rumble echoed through the chamber, and the ground beneath him trembled again. The cracks in the stone floor began to spread, and Rainey's heart raced as he realized the entire structure was collapsing.
Suddenly, another message flashed before his eyes.
"Tower System Tutorial Initiated."
Rainey's confusion deepened. Tutorial? Before he could make sense of it, a surge of energy shot from the obelisk, and the symbols on the walls flared to life. The energy struck him like a wave, coursing through his body, filling his veins with a strange, powerful force.
His knees buckled as the power overwhelmed him, and for a moment, he thought his body would be torn apart by the sheer intensity of it. But then, just as quickly as it had come, the energy settled. The sword in his hand pulsed with newfound strength, and Rainey felt… different. Stronger.
The sword hummed, its dark blade shimmering with a faint glow. It was as if the tower itself had infused him with power, giving him the strength to survive what was coming next.
But before he could make sense of the change, a deep, guttural roar echoed through the chamber.
Rainey's blood ran cold as he turned to face the sound.
A massive, hulking creature stood at the far end of the chamber. Its body was covered in thick, matted fur, and its eyes gleamed with a predatory hunger. It was larger than the beast he had faced before, its muscles rippling beneath its dark hide. Its claws, long and jagged, scraped against the stone floor as it advanced.
The creature snarled, baring its fangs, and Rainey's pulse quickened.
This was no ordinary beast. It radiated power, the kind of power that made Rainey's newfound strength feel insignificant.
But there was no time to run. No place to hide.
He would have to fight.
The creature lunged.
Rainey barely had time to react, raising the sword just as the beast crashed into him. The impact sent him flying backward, slamming into the wall with bone-jarring force. Pain shot through his body, but he forced himself to stand, the sword still clutched in his hand.
The beast growled, its eyes glowing with malice as it stalked forward, readying for another attack.
Rainey's mind raced. The obelisk had given him power—he could feel it coursing through his veins—but he didn't know how to use it. He had no idea what he was capable of.
The beast lunged again.
This time, Rainey moved faster. His body reacted on instinct, fueled by the energy flowing through him. He sidestepped the beast's attack, narrowly avoiding its claws, and swung the sword with all his strength. The blade cut through the air, slicing deep into the creature's side.
The beast let out a howl of rage and pain, but it wasn't enough to stop it. It reared back, readying for another strike.
Rainey's breath came in short, ragged bursts. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up.
"System Error. No Skills Unlocked."
The message flashed in front of him, mocking him as the beast lunged once more.