[Tower of Trial – Second Floor – Global Teleportation]
—DING—
> System Announcement:
[All Awakened Participants have cleared Floor One.]
Initializing Mass Teleportation to Second Floor.
Number of Awakened: 10,000,000+
New Challenge: Survive and Conquer the Second Floor.
Warning: Combat Initiates Immediately.
The world blinked.
Ten million Awakened from every continent—soldiers, civilians, kings, commoners, the broken, the brave, and the insane—vanished in an instant from their homes, camps, cities, and bunkers.
And reappeared into mist.
An endless field of white fog stretched in every direction. Towering ruins jutted out from the fog like broken teeth of forgotten giants. Strange whispers echoed from unseen places, and the ground trembled underfoot with every breath.
The Tower's Second Floor had begun.
---
[Tokyo, Japan – Kaito & Aya's Location]
Kaito felt it first—a pulse of static through the system. He jerked upright, the laziness vanishing from his eyes.
"They're gone. The whole world…"
Aya appeared at his side. "All ten million. We're on the second floor now."
They looked out the window, but Tokyo had fallen silent. Empty streets. No people. Every Awakened soul had been summoned.
Even them.
—FLASH!—
Their bodies dissolved into light.
---
[Second Floor – Starting Zone: Shattered Plains]
BOOM!
Kaito and Aya reappeared midair—immediately diving as a Skorn Lurker lunged from the mist. Its claws missed Aya's throat by inches.
She spun in midair, unsheathed her twin blades, and sliced it clean in two.
"Ambushes right from spawn?!" she spat.
"Guess we're skipping intros!" Kaito shouted, already forming glowing spheres in each hand.
They landed hard beside Dev Rajan and Meera Sharma, who had already regrouped with UR and SSS-ranked elites.
The battlefield was chaos.
All around them, Awakened from every country were dropping like flies—screams, blood, lights, and death filled the air.
Gharn Wolves howled and tore through weaker duos.
Drava Gnashers ripped vehicles apart and hurled them into formations.
Above, Nefir Serpents dropped like lightning, their venom spreading hallucinations.
An entire French team began attacking each other, confused by illusions.
The sky cracked open with thunder.
"Zharak the Bonecaller has appeared."
A skeletal giant emerged from the mist, bones of children and beasts tied to its back. It raised a crooked staff, and thousands of corpses rose across the plains.
Dev took Meera's hand. "Stick close."
Meera nodded, her UR energy glowing like a golden phoenix. "Together."
They charged into the field—beheading undead, cutting down Lurkers, clearing a path for survivors.
---
[Mid-Battle – 2 Hours In]
The battlefield had stabilized into faction lines.
The top duos and elites coordinated with military precision, forming safe zones, barriers, and teleport beacons.
But the death toll kept rising.
Already, over 1.4 million Awakened had died.
The Inkras Witches took over the northern sector—drawing weak minds into webs of illusion. The Vorak Titans crushed tanks and created lava traps beneath entire squads.
Aya landed beside Dev and whispered, "They're not just monsters. They're designed. Strategic. This is war."
"More like a cleansing," Kaito muttered, eyes tracking energy signatures. "They're weeding out the weak."
---
[Boss Announcement – System Message]
—DING—
> WARNING: Boss Presence Detected
Boss: KALYGRA, THE EATER OF REALMS
Origin: Multiversal Essence
Power: Illusion, Fear, Soul Consumption
Objective: Slay the Devourer
Location: Heart of the Mist
The sky ruptured like paper.
From the heavens, a creature descended—a centipede the size of a skyscraper, its segments plated in metallic gold and cursed obsidian. Hundreds of clawed legs moved in perfect rhythm. On its head, a crown of screaming human faces.
Kalygra had arrived.
It screeched—and half the Awakened collapsed instantly, paralyzed by fear or overwhelmed by visions of their worst memories.
---
[Cliffside – Strategic High Ground]
A global command team of UR and SSS duos rallied.
Elijah Voss and Xenovia Kael (Vatican URs), Leonardo Takashi and Chloe Wu (Japan-China SSS), Dmitri Volkov and Anya Petrova (Russia), Aamir Khan and Faisal Rana (Pakistan), Dev and Meera (India), and finally—Kaito and Aya, standing slightly apart.
"This is the true test," Elijah said solemnly. "Not the Tower. Not the Gate. This is the Floor that decides the future."
"We fight," Meera said, holding Dev's hand tightly.
"And we win," Kaito added, cracking his knuckles.
---
To Be Continued…
Next: The War Against Kalygra Begins.