# Chapter Fourteen: Threads of the Past and Riddles of the Present
## Secrets by Candlelight
In the depths of the "Tower Sages Café," where dim rays of light danced between walls adorned with ancient magical inscriptions, three figures sat around a circular brass table. The air was thick with the scent of incense and spiced coffee, and the silence carried the weight of secrets yet to be unveiled.
Rashad broke through the barrier of silence with a low voice filled with mystery, his words flowing like threads of smoke:
"Since we found Iyas as an infant in that cursed forest, I haven't seen any real change in his behavior or appearance. He just... develops in a strange, incomprehensible way, as if something within him grows in the shadows."
Leila raised her eyes, a mysterious gleam dancing in her pupils:
"I believe the secret of Iyas's uniqueness lies not in his body or mind... but in his very soul."
Rashad and Asia sank into profound silence, as if confronting a truth they had feared to face all these years.
Leila added with an even more mysterious tone, playing with her cup:
"And what about his memory? He's been asking me for more books lately."
Asia sighed and answered with evident confusion:
"I don't know how to diagnose this condition of his. He's a rare genius, I can say he's a natural-born scholar... but since he turned ten, we've noticed he forgets the simplest information about the state and the tower."
Rashad continued with a voice heavy with memories:
"Yes, so after numerous failed treatment attempts... we decided to give him rare books to read. Through my observation of him, I noticed something suspicious: when he receives information, he enters deep contemplation, his personality changes slightly... as if he has a dual personality."
---
At that moment, their conversation was interrupted by the appearance of an elegant robotic waiter, his eyes glowing with a calm blue light:
"What would you like to order, ladies and gentlemen?"
Rashad smiled with light cheerfulness:
"Ladies first!"
Leila responded with a playful smile, tilting her head:
"Well then, dear Rashad, I won't refuse such courtesy."
Asia interrupted with friendly sarcasm:
"He means me, not you, you cunning one!"
A light argument broke out between them, until the waiter cut it short with a decisive statement:
"Order or leave, please."
Rashad ordered calmly:
"Tea with magical southern tree sugar."
Leila said:
"Magical yellow pomegranate juice."
As for Asia, she requested:
"Alpha coffee without sugar."
---
## A Glance Toward the Shadows
While the waiter was walking away, Asia turned toward Leila with an inquisitive look:
"So, after you saw Saman... what's your real opinion of him?"
---
## Alone in the Darkness
The scene suddenly shifted to the depths of a dark region, where Saman stood alone like a lost shadow. His body bent in a meditative position, his mind diving into an ocean of complex strategies like a scientist decoding the universe.
He spoke to himself in a voice hoarse from fatigue:
"After analyzing and translating the goblin's words, I found shared linguistic evidence in the previous floors. I have only this final plan left."
He paused for a moment, then added with a dreamy voice:
"As the ancient saying goes: Stars are not points of light... but holes in the body of the sky."
He raised his eyes toward the glowing system screen:
"Only one goblin remains from the commander level... ten hours is all I have."
---
## Dance with the Spirits
Saman suddenly rose with an abrupt movement, climbed the tallest tree in the area with cat-like agility, and settled on the highest branch. He closed his eyes and sank into deep silence.
He began gathering the magical energy of the dead spirits scattered in the area, as if communicating with forgotten ghosts of the past.
He entered his mental library - a virtual space covered with strange symbols and encrypted texts dancing in the air:
**Ввдрожу)#&+##фшхцш вас^=€™}**
**Зггзц(-#:#{€€°€°®**
**Нщзггхы702#-#)^{€{×÷`π**
The translations flowed through his mind:
*"Even the air in this place tastes of betrayal."*
*"The earth remembers our footsteps more than we ourselves remember."*
*"The light is not pure here... it's tainted with secrets."*
He repeated these phrases like one reciting an incantation, merging into the depth of terrifying understanding.
He opened his eyes suddenly, with the gleam of awakening in them:
"It's as if I understood something by instinct... The punishment here is unnatural. Excessive difficulty... a twenty-four-hour survival mission? This is truly strange."
---
## A Gamble with Fate
He made an insane decision with a savage smile:
"I won't kill the last goblin of commander level. I'll endure the punishment... and prove my strength."
He spent the next ten hours preparing, readying himself mentally and physically to face the coming flood of monsters.
---
## The Hour of Reckoning
After ten exhausting hours, he opened his eyes and stared at the red, blazing system warning:
**"You have failed to complete the eighth floor. Prepare to receive punishment in ten seconds."**
He rose with rocky steadiness, the countdown beating like the clock of death:
9... 8... 7...
He smiled with defiant confidence:
"I'm ready with all my strength... 3... 2... 1... Zero!"
---
## The Flood of Hell
The earth and sky shook with a terrifying earthquake, but it wasn't a natural earthquake - it was the sound of hundreds of goblin monsters' footsteps approaching like the legions of hell.
They emerged from every direction: east, west, and south... except for the north, where a single narrow passage was left for escape - a carefully calculated trap.
The number was terrifying: from normal to captain rank, and two from the dreaded commander level.
Even Saman trembled for a moment at the horror of the sight, but he quickly regained his composure.
He calculated their advance speed and arrival time with the precision of a mathematician: fifty-three minutes.
---
## Dance of Death and Fire
He waited until they came closer, closed his eyes in a moment of calm before the storm, then released a light exhale:
"Hooofff..."
Without warning, he leaped onto the nearest tree with lightning speed that couldn't be seen.
He summoned the power of wind and fire spirits together, used the wind to enhance his speed and flames to create rocket propulsion from beneath his feet. His body began radiating frightening heat, and he launched like a fiery bullet, leaving behind destruction and remnants of a glowing aura.
He headed west first to scatter the monsters, then led them in a wide arc south then east. Sweat poured from his body like summer rain, but his determination never broke.
---
## The First Trap
With superhuman effort, he gathered all the monsters in one direction: north, where he had set his tight traps.
While running tirelessly, he suddenly jumped over a hidden gaseous mud pool. Most of the monsters fell into the sticky swamp.
Half of them drowned in the gaseous mud, and while they continued running, they stumbled and collided with each other. The mud spread among them like a deadly contagion.
---
## Rain of Fire
Saman leaped with an acrobatic movement toward the sky, charged a massive fireball like a miniature sun, and launched it toward the crowd of monsters.
A goblin captain tried to deflect it, but Saman was faster. With just a movement of his eyes alone...
The sphere exploded in the sky like a falling meteor, raining fire on all the monsters.
Thanks to the gaseous mud, the fire's effect was doubled with destructive force.
The first half of the lower-level monsters died burning, and the rest suffered from serious burns that gnawed at their strength.
Saman was pleased with this achievement, but he said while still running:
"This isn't enough... I must continue."
---
## Dance on Water
He increased his speed even more, with the monsters chasing him like a rushing torrent.
With an agile acrobatic spin, he directed them toward a clear lake. He charged water spirit power and walked on the lake's surface with amazing speed that defied the laws of nature.
The monsters stopped on the other shore, panting from accumulated fatigue. Their endurance had severely decreased due to continuous running and the damage they had sustained.
Their eyes carried blind thirst for victory.
---
## The Ice Trick
The goblin leader wanted to retreat, having realized the trap, but Saman from a distance, using winter spirit, sent a football-sized snowball.
It hit the goblin leader's head as he was turning his back.
The goblin was stunned, and Saman looked at them mockingly, sending snowball after snowball in a scene of dark comedy.
He addressed them with biting sarcasm:
"Is this all you have? If I had known, I wouldn't have tired myself."
He muttered to himself: "I don't think this provocation will work... do I have to go to them myself?"
---
## Rage and Madness
The goblin leader became furious, his eyes reddened like embers, and he screamed a terrifying scream that split the sky.
All the monsters became agitated and jumped into the lake to chase Saman. Some couldn't swim well, so they began drowning one after another.
---
## The Final Storm
Before they reached within ten meters, Saman activated a mixture of rare abilities:
**"Spirit Power - Winter Spirit + Wind Spirit + Water Spirit"**
With acrobatic movements, his hands created a rhythm like cosmic symphony.
A massive whirlwind of violent winds formed a water tornado that gathered all the monsters, with some drowning in the heart of the storm.
The goblin monsters lost their leader and their might... the atmosphere among them became tense.
Without preamble, he activated winter spirit power.
A cold blue and white aura surrounded him, and cold white sparks flew around him madly.
With one glance from him like a swift lightning bolt, he froze the lake and the whirlpool over a twenty-meter area.
Everything became frozen as if it had been solid for ages... a terrifying yet breathtakingly beautiful scene.
---
## Temporary Rest
Saman fell exhausted, sweat pouring down his face as if he had bathed. After all this exhaustion, he rested to gather the power of dead spirits and recharge his abilities for the second round.
Fifteen and a half hours had now passed out of twenty-four hours.
While Saman was resting... the frozen whirlpool cracked with small fissures.
The goblin leader opened his eyes, black with an ominous aura.
---
## Laughter in the Shadows
"In this tense atmosphere, sounds of laughter could be heard in another place"
In a warm room inside Rashad and Asia's house, where enthusiasm and curiosity filled every corner, Rojin was staring with glowing eyes and a wide smile at Selin.
Selin - the girl with golden hair that shone like threads of morning sun, her red eyes like a bright sunset, and lips a warm mixture of red and pink. Her body reflected maturity and vitality that couldn't be hidden.
Rojin shouted with increasing eagerness:
"When did you return from exploring outside, Selin?! Why didn't you tell me about your return? Come on, tell me everything! What did you eat? What did you do? Quickly!"
Selin replied in surprise, raising an eyebrow with a sweet smile:
"Let me breathe a little, Rojin... I can't answer all at once!"
Rojin took a deep breath, but without backing down:
"Fine, fine! But first tell me, when did you return?"
Selin smiled with tenderness mixed with reproach:
"I returned just moments ago! And you're still the same as you were: curious and impatient! You haven't changed since last time! You didn't even ask about my health despite that punch!"
Rojin mocked:
"Why should I worry about you, you rock? I almost broke my hand! If I called you a 'boulder,' I would be insulting the rock itself!"
Selin burst out laughing:
"I think your tongue has become sharper... have you been hanging out with Saman and Iyas a lot?"
Rojin sighed with feigned disdain:
"Let's forget about those idiots, especially Iyas! If I got my hands on your spoiled brother, he wouldn't survive!"
They exchanged friendly words for seconds, before Rojin said honestly:
"I missed you, Selin... you know how lonely I was without you?"
Selin replied with a warm voice:
"I missed you too."
---
## A Mischievous Moment
A brief silence prevailed, broken by Rojin with a mischievous smile:
"I haven't played with these two huge melons for so long! I want to devour them!"
Her gaze was brazenly drawn to Selin's chest, and Selin's face turned red with extreme embarrassment.
Rojin approached teasingly...
Selin warned her bashfully:
"Don't even think about it..."
But the warning was useless. With a sudden leap, Rojin found herself in Selin's embrace, trying to mess with her.
Selin tried to push back, but an involuntary feminine sound came from her... a moment of embarrassing silence, and her face had clearly reddened.
Rojin looked at her as if she had achieved victory.
Selin said with anger mixed with laughter:
"You think you won? You troublemaker! I'll punch you like you punched me!"
A playful chase began between them, full of laughter and fun, like two children in an endless playground.
---
**[End of Chapter Fourteen]**