The hum of the Tower grew louder as Eren pressed forward, the vibrations in the walls reverberating through his bones. It was as if the entire structure was alive, breathing, pulsing with a rhythm he couldn't understand. The air felt heavier now, charged with a strange energy that made every step more deliberate, more cautious.
Eren's mind raced. What had he just witnessed? The tendrils of dark energy that had appeared and retreated into the walls—they weren't just an anomaly. They were something much worse, something deliberate. The Tower was reacting to his presence, changing in ways that no one could have predicted.
He paused, his gaze scanning the cavernous room ahead of him. The environment was eerily quiet now, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching him. It was the same sensation he'd felt earlier—when he had first entered the floor and the silence stretched on too long. But now it was deeper, more unsettling. Whatever was watching, it was patient, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Eren's hand instinctively reached for the hilt of his blade, though he knew he was far from ready for whatever might come next. He didn't even know what he was fighting against. The system had warned of corruption, but it didn't specify what it meant. What had been corrupted? The Tower? Himself?
No, that didn't make sense. The Tower was a place, a system. Corruption would imply that something fundamental had been altered, but the Tower itself should be invincible. The system was designed to keep climbers under control, to guide them. If there was corruption, it was from within. Something had infected the heart of the Tower.
But why? What was the Tower hiding?
Eren's thoughts were interrupted by a faint sound, a scraping noise in the distance. He tensed, his senses sharpened as he turned toward the source. For a moment, nothing happened. The silence returned, heavy and oppressive.
Then, the floor beneath him shifted, and the scraping grew louder. The walls groaned as though they were being strained from within, a deep, guttural sound like something ancient was stirring. The ground trembled beneath his feet, the very foundation of the Tower beginning to warp and crack.
He didn't wait to find out what came next.
Eren sprinted toward the nearest doorway, the air thick with a sense of urgency. He didn't know what was causing this chaos, but he couldn't afford to stand still and wait for the Tower to collapse around him. The door slid open, revealing a dimly lit hallway lined with flickering lights. He darted through it, the sound of his footsteps echoing in the narrow space.
As he rounded a corner, something moved ahead of him—fast, silent, and barely visible in the shadows. His heart skipped a beat as he instinctively raised his blade, the cold steel humming in his grip.
A figure stepped into the light, its silhouette barely distinguishable from the darkness.
"Who's there?" Eren called, his voice steady despite the adrenaline surging through him.
The figure didn't answer immediately, its form flickering like a mirage before becoming more solid. It was humanoid, but distorted—its proportions wrong, its movements jerky and unnatural.
Eren's grip tightened on his weapon. "Show yourself."
The figure stepped closer, its face obscured by a mask-like covering, its eyes glowing faintly in the dim light. It didn't speak, but a strange sense of recognition washed over Eren. It was like staring at something he should know, but couldn't place.
The figure raised its hand, palm open, and a voice—low and distorted—filled the air.
"Flux," it rasped. "The key… the answer."
Eren's breath hitched. "What do you mean?"
The figure didn't answer, its head tilting slightly as though considering the question. Then, it turned, walking slowly down the corridor without a word.
Eren stood frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do. His instincts screamed at him to follow, to understand what the figure knew. But something about the situation felt wrong, too wrong to ignore. Whoever—or whatever—it was, it wasn't an ally.
With a determined breath, Eren moved to follow, his mind already racing. The Tower had just shifted again, and now it seemed to be playing a game he didn't understand. But he would play, whether he liked it or not.
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