Minho stood amidst ruin on the battlefield, his breathing steady, yet hard. In front of him lay the remains of the Warden, the black ichor still oozing from the twisted core. Grotesque veins that pulsed life within the walls fell silent, withering and embrittling within the silence. The weight of the fight remained in the air, but it was over.
He had won.
Yet, victory felt strange. The pain in his body, the exhaustion clawing at his limbs—it all pressed down on him, demanding rest. But he couldn't afford to collapse here.
Then, the air in front of him *shifted*.
A faint chime echoed through the chamber, and a translucent window materialized before his eyes.
---
> **Congratulations for clearing the Special Floor Part 1 from???**
---
Minho frowned. The Tower rarely gave recognition, and this message was *different*. No specific name. Just *???*. The uncertainty sent a chill through him.
Before he could dwell on it, another message appeared beneath it.
---
> **Rewards granted:**
> - **Vitality Restoration** – Regenerating all injuries…
---
A wave of burning heat suddenly overwhelmed his body, first searing and oppressive. Then, all in the very next instant, it subsided into a mere warmth. Minho gasped, his wounds stitching themselves up with the intake of air.
The deep claw marks across his chest *vanished*. The bruises and fractures along his ribs faded as if they had never existed. The raw ache in his muscles eased and was replaced by a newfound lightness. Even the ragged breathing smoothed out.
Minho flexed his fingers. No pain. No weakness. He had been *healed*.
His gaze flicked back to the screen as the final prompt appeared.
> **Status Window Updated**
> **Name:** Unknown
> **Age:**???
> **Skills:**
> 1. **Shadow Dive**
> 2. **Knife/Sword Master**
---
Minho's gaze remained on the screen as it disappeared after several seconds. He had no skills, which changed nothing; on the other hand, the Tower had confirmed, or more rightly, verified what he knew well.
He had fought and survived and killed. And the Tower had *rewarded* him for it.
Why?
Minho exhaled, his grip on his sword tight. This wasn't about survival anymore. The Tower had given him something, and he needed to know *why*.
The chamber remained silent. The fight was over.
But the real battle had only just begun.
---
### **The Hollow Room**
The silence stretched thick and unnatural. Minho's gaze fell to what was left of the Warden's body. The heart of it-the pulsing that had sent off that terrible glow he'd punched out-no longer pulsed and glowed ominously. Even in death, it still *watched* him.
He stepped forward, cautious. Though his body had been healed, his mind still reeled from the battle. The Warden had been unlike anything he'd ever fought-an abomination of shifting metal, flesh, and bone. It was more than just a guardian. It had *spoken* to him, taunted him, tried to break him.
"You never had a choice," it had whispered.
A shudder ran through him.
Minho had fought his fair share of creatures since stepping into the Tower, but none of them spoke with such certainty. None tried to pull him into something greater—something wrong.
The pulsing walls cooled into cold stone, bereft of that particular living essence, whatever that may have been, which filled it. That passed. However, even so, the weight was still out in the air.
The Tower was always watching.
It always had.
Minho ran a hand through his hair, the motion grounding him. He needed to move-no idea what would happen if he stayed too long. The Tower had given him the reward-it didn't have a reason to let him stick around.
He turned toward the only way forward. The far end of the chamber had once been blocked by a wall of shifting metal and bone, an organic barrier that had pulsed with life. But now, it had *withered*, the structure collapsing inward, revealing a new corridor beyond.
Minho tightened his grip on his sword and stepped forward.
---
### **The Path Forward**
It lay long and curving before him now, a corridor. There was no sign of movement in the walls, no grotesque growths like those that had sprouted from some of the other chambers. It was almost… normal.
Too normal.
His footsteps echoed off of the stone as he moved forward cautiously, expecting changes around every bend. The Tower was never kind. Rarely did it let him rest long after a victory.
He walked further into the corridor, and a screen flickered on before him.
---
> **Special Floor Transition in Progress…**
> **Preparing for Next Challenge.**
---
Minho stopped.
The words "Next Challenge" sent a pulse of tension through him. The fight with the Warden had already pushed him to his limits. If another enemy of that level awaited him…
No. He wouldn't indulge in that thought.
*Couldn't*.
He had been healed. His skills had been identified, and the Tower had rewarded him—but it had also set him up for something *greater*.
The screen flickered out, plunging him into darkness once more.
Minho pressed onward.
---
### **The Endless Ascent**
The minutes ticked by in complete silence. Finally, the hallway opened up to a spiral staircase, curling upward into darkness. Minho stepped onto the first one; the stone beneath his boots was cool and solid.
As he ascended, weariness settled within his mind, the pain did not remain. But the weight of everything came down upon him. He'd fought against an unreasonable monster and nearly lost his sense of identity. Yet-the Tower had something to *give* him instead.
Yet-what could it have in return?
Minho's fingers brushed against the hilt of his sword. The weapon felt heavier now, not from its weight, but from the realization that it would never be enough.
Not against what awaited him.
He exhaled and kept moving.
---
### **The Door**
After what felt like an eternity, Minho reached the top of the staircase. A massive door loomed before him, carved from dark stone. Unlike the grotesque designs of the previous chambers, this door was *simple*. Unadorned. A single symbol was etched into its surface—a spiral, endless and consuming.
Minho reached out and pressed his palm against the cold stone.
The door shuddered.
And then, it slowly *opened*.
Beyond it lay nothing but *darkness*.
Minho took a step forward.
There was no turning back.