Light swallowed Akira as he moved through the door to the Sixteenth Floor.
His body felt weightless, as if drifting between worlds.
For a brief moment, there was no sound, no ground beneath him — just an endless void of soft blue light.
Then—
THUD.
His feet touched solid stone.
Akira blinked rapidly, letting his eyes adjust.
He stood in a wide, circular chamber. The floor was carved from polished obsidian, reflecting him like a dark mirror. Strange blue symbols floated in the air, rotating slowly like constellations. Soft winds spiraled around him, carrying faint whispers.
Akira exhaled sharply.
"This place is different… again."
The Sixteenth Floor felt older than the others. Older and heavier, as if carrying centuries of memories.
Then, without warning:
DING.
A familiar voice echoed through the chamber.
"Welcome, Akira. You have reached Floor Sixteen: The Chamber of Inquiry."
It was the System.
Akira's face darkened instantly.
Good.
He needed answers.
He crossed his arms. "System."
"Yes?"
"When I first came here," Akira said slowly, carefully, "you said the tower had ten floors."
Silence.
Akira took one step forward.
"I fought through ten floors. I faced things that nearly broke me. But after the tenth, you told me to keep going. Then Seraphine appeared. Then the Stairway of Echoes. Then the Hall of Mirrors."
His voice grew sharper.
"And now I'm on the sixteenth floor."
The symbols floating in the air dimmed slightly, as if the tower itself was listening.
Akira narrowed his eyes.
"Explain.
Why did you lie to me?"
A long silence followed — longer than any pause the System had ever taken.
When it finally spoke, its voice was noticeably softer.
"Your question is valid."
Akira's jaw tightened.
"I want the truth."
The chamber trembled subtly, as though preparing itself.
Then—
"Very well… You have earned it."
The floating runes around Akira re-arranged, forming a glowing circle.
Lines of light extended from the circle, weaving into intricate patterns that stretched across the walls and ceiling.
Akira watched cautiously.
The System spoke again.
"When you awakened, you were not ready to hear the full nature of the Tower."
Akira scoffed. "I wasn't ready? I've survived everything this place threw at me!"
"And that is why you can hear it now."
The runes flashed.
Then the truth began.
The System's Explanation
"The Tower does not have ten floors."
Akira's eyes widened.
"The Tower has no fixed number of floors at all."
The room darkened.
A massive projection appeared in front of him — a towering spire of light stretching up into infinity, disappearing into clouds of gold.
Akira froze.
"That… that can't be real."
"The Ten Floors you were told about were merely the Initiation Floors. The beginning."
Akira felt something cold settle in his chest.
"Beginning? Then what are these new floors?"
The tower projection pulsated.
"The floors beyond Ten are not normal. They reshape themselves depending on the challenger. They test more than strength. They test identity, memory, willpower, and destiny."
Akira clenched his fists.
"So these floors… they were made for me?"
"Correct."
The answer hit him hard.
Akira took a step back, trying to process everything.
"You're telling me the tower changes itself because I'm climbing it? How? Why?"
Silence.
Then—
"Because you are marked."
Akira stiffened.
"Marked… by what?"
The air grew colder.
The walls around him rippled, shifting scenes like a living mural. He saw flashes — faint, unfinished images — a silhouette of a colossal being, a throne of shadows, an immense mechanical heart beating in the darkness.
The System finally answered.
"Marked by the Origin."
Akira frowned deeply.
"What's the Origin?"
The System hesitated.
"The First One. The one who forged the Tower. The one who vanished."
Akira's eyes narrowed.
"Why would something like that…"
He pointed at his own chest.
"…mark someone like me?"
The symbols flickered uncertainly.
"Unknown."
Akira gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Unknown?! You've been guiding me this whole time, and you don't know why I'm even here!?"
The System's voice wavered slightly.
"I am not the original System. I am a fragment… a lesser echo of the master program. My purpose was only to guide challengers through the Initiation Floors."
Akira froze.
The System continued.
"Once you passed Floor Ten, you reached territories that even I was not fully programmed to understand."
Akira ran a hand through his hair, exasperated.
"So I'm climbing a tower that even the System doesn't fully know?!"
"Correct."
Akira stared upward at the infinite projection of the Tower.
If the System was telling the truth…
If this really was just the beginning…
Then what was at the top?
What was waiting?
Who — or what — was the Origin?
And why him?
His heart felt heavy — not with fear, but with determination.
"System."
"Yes, Akira?"
"You said this is the Chamber of Inquiry."
"Correct."
"That means I can ask more than one question, right?"
"You may ask as many as you require. This floor exists solely for truth."
Akira exhaled slowly.
Good.
Because he had a lot more.
Akira's First Questions
He steadied his breath.
"Alright. Next question."
He raised his head.
"Is Seraphine real?"
The runes flickered.
"Yes. She is a Guardian-class entity. Independent from the System. Older than me."
Akira flinched.
"Older than you?"
"Much older."
"Then why does she help the tower?"
"She does not work for the Tower. She watches it."
Akira blinked.
"Watches?"
"There are beings who observe the Tower to ensure it remains… balanced. Seraphine is one."
Akira's grip tightened.
"Balanced how?"
"To ensure the Tower does not consume challengers. Or collapse into corruption."
The word corruption sent a chill down Akira's spine.
"What does corruption mean?"
Silence.
The System's voice softened.
"You encountered traces of it already."
Akira felt his stomach drop.
"The hallucinations… the shadows… the voices trying to provoke me?"
"Correct."
His heart thudded.
"So the Tower really is trying to turn my heart against me."
"Not the Tower… the corruption within it."
Akira's expression hardened.
"Fine. Then next question."
He took a step forward, eyes sharp.
"How many floors are left?"
The System did not immediately answer.
The runes dimmed.
The walls trembled.
A long, uneasy silence filled the room.
Finally:
"The answer depends… on you."
Akira felt anger spark.
"Give me something clearer."
"You could climb ten more… or a hundred… or a thousand."
Akira felt his mind spin.
"A thousand floors!? That's insane!"
"It is not the number of floors that matters… but what each floor reveals."
Akira took a deep breath.
"Then what's the end goal? What's at the top?"
The System hesitated again.
The chamber dimmed like a fading heartbeat.
Then—
"At the top of the Tower… is the Origin's Throne."
Akira swallowed.
"And what happens if someone reaches it?"
The System whispered,
"Their destiny is rewritten."
Akira froze.
Rewritten?
His hands trembled.
"Rewritten… how?"
"Unknown."
Akira gritted his teeth again.
Everything was unknown.
Everything was mysterious.
He was climbing an impossible Tower built by a vanished being, guided by a fractured System, while corruption tried to twist him from the inside.
"Why me…?"
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
The System answered immediately this time.
"Because you carry both light and shadow in equal measure."
Akira blinked.
"What?"
"You are the first challenger in centuries whose heart is not fully aligned to one side."
Akira stepped back.
"What does that even mean!?"
"Most challengers lean toward either purity or darkness. You do not. You stand on the line between them. And that makes you… unpredictable."
Akira stared at the runes swirling above him.
Unpredictable.
Marked.
Chosen.
It all felt too heavy.
Too big.
Too unreal.
He wasn't some destined hero.
He wasn't a chosen savior.
He wasn't anything special.
He was just a boy who climbed because he failed to save someone.
And yet…
The Tower — this infinite thing — was watching him.
The Origin had marked him.
Seraphine had guided him.
Corruption had targeted him.
Why?
What made him so different?
His chest tightened.
"System," he said quietly. "Last question for now."
"Ask."
Akira took a slow breath.
"If the Tower is infinite…
If corruption is spreading…
If the Origin is gone…"
He met the floating constellation of runes with sharp, unwavering determination.
"Then what am I supposed to do here?"
The runes pulsed softly.
Then the System answered,
"Climb."
Akira stared.
"That's it? Just climb?"
"Climb… until you find your truth."
His heartbeat steadied.
Truth.
His truth.
Not the Tower's.
Not the Origin's.
Not anyone else's.
His.
He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
"Alright then," he whispered. "If climbing is the only way forward—"
He drew his sword with a calm, steady motion.
"—then I'll climb."
The runes scattered like falling stars.
A doorway of pure white light appeared on the far side of the chamber.
"Proceed, Akira," the System said.
"Floor Seventeen awaits."
Akira nodded.
He stepped toward the doorway—
But before stepping through, he paused.
"System?"
"Yes?"
Akira smirked slightly.
"No more lies."
A soft hum filled the air — almost like the System hesitating.
Then:
"No more lies."
Akira nodded.
"Good."
He stepped into the light—
And the Seventeenth Floor began.