"There is no upward path without cost. But there is always a way forward."—
Inscription found on Floor 41, etched in Kael's own handwriting.
The Tower changed after Floor 40.
No longer were the stairs simple stone, nor the doorways predictable. Now, the corridors moved, reshaping themselves with every step Kael took. Tirien swore under her breath as another hallway looped back to where they'd started.
"This is floor 41?" she asked. "I thought it'd get easier once the echo was gone."
Kael didn't answer.
He could still feel the lingering residue of Alpha-Kael's echo in his chest. Not pain—something colder. Like remembering a dream that wasn't his.
They passed through a gate shaped like an eye. No enemies, no puzzles. Just whispers in the dark.
Kael heard voices:
"You shouldn't have left us."
"We believed in you, Kael."
"The cult is still watching."
He stopped. "Did you hear that?"
Tirien: "No. Just you."
Kael clenched his fists. Floor 41 wasn't a challenge of body.
It was guilt.
They arrived in a chamber lined with mirrors. Not reflections—but memories.
One showed a younger Kael—barely fifteen—kneeling in front of the Veil-Speaker in the ruins of the Hollow Temple. She poured red sand over his chest and whispered:
"Burn away your name. The Tower only accepts those who no longer carry a self."
Another mirror showed Kael leading his first successful rite for the Cult of the Glass Wound. The cultists cheered.
He wept silently after.
"This floor is a trial of memory," Kael said.
Tirien frowned. "How do we pass?"
Kael looked at a final mirror. It showed him now—older, scarred, standing atop the Tower. A crown of silver orbiting his head like a halo of broken moons.
Then it shattered.
Tower Challenge: Face the Past
The system didn't give options. No prompts. Just the single sound of chains unraveling.
Kael turned.
Standing in the center of the room was a boy.
Kael, aged thirteen. Wearing cult robes. Eyes full of hope—and fear.
"Why did you leave us?" the boy asked.
Kael stepped forward. "Because we were wrong."
"We wanted freedom. You ran away."
Kael's voice cracked. "No. I climbed to find truth."
The boy's eyes turned silver. "Then let's test it."
Battle Initiated: Echo-Kael (Age 13)
Skills: Memory Echo, Binding of Belief, Mirror Flame
Condition: Emotional Vulnerability x2
The room erupted in light. Flames shaped like glass serpents leapt from the mirrors.
Kael fought back—not with anger, but with acceptance. Every strike, he whispered the names of those he had lost.
He saw Tirien struggling to hold back more echo-shades. But she fought, teeth clenched, refusing to yield.
Finally, Kael disarmed the boy.
He knelt, looking into his own younger eyes.
"We were broken," Kael said. "But that doesn't mean we were wrong to hope."
The boy smiled.
And vanished.
System Notification:
Trial of Memory Completed
+1 Memory Core Unlocked
+100 XP
+New Passive Skill: Resonance of the Self I
Each time Kael faces a clone, echo, or mimic of himself, gain +10% resistance to illusion and mind magic during the encounter.
A staircase opened, carved from bone-white crystal.
Floor 42 awaited.
But Kael lingered a moment.
Tirien placed a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"
"No," Kael said. "But I remember now. And that's enough."
Kael's Status — After Floor 41
Name: Kael
Class: Towerbound (Awakened)
Titles:
Defier of Echoes
Firebrand of the 33rd Floor
Glass-Wound Initiate (Hidden)
Level: 21
XP: 740 / 850
Stats:
Strength: 18
Agility: 20
Focus: 27
Memory: 25
Willpower: 26
Ascension Affinity: 15
Skills:
Flame Suture II
Threadstep I
Ritebrand Slash
Resonance of the Self I (Passive)
Echo Denial (Passive – granted by "Defier of Echoes")
Inventory Highlights:
Sunfract Blade (Named)
Mirror-ink Vial (1 use remaining)
Fragment of the Hollow Veil (locked)