Light swallowed them completely, and then the world settled around them with the soft rustling of leaves. Ethan opened his eyes to find himself standing on a stone path surrounded by tall hedges.
The Fourth Floor was a labyrinthine garden, bright and peaceful at first glance—sunlight filtered through floating motes of gold, flowers lined the walls, and a warm breeze carried a scent like honey and citrus.
But the garden whispered.
Soft voices.Distant murmurs.Words that faded before they could be understood.
Selene folded her arms. "Nope. Absolutely not. This place screams 'trap.' And I do not like plants that talk."
Lyra seemed enchanted rather than afraid. "It's beautiful… but the magic here is old. Strange."
Aeloria walked ahead, running a hand lightly across one of the hedges. "This is illusion magic… but it's alive. Be careful what you listen to."
Ethan steadied himself. "Let's stay close. No wandering."
As they followed the winding path, the whispers grew louder—soft, enticing, like distant friends calling their names. Ethan felt a faint tug in his mind, urging him toward a side path. A gentle, familiar voice whispered:
"You don't belong here…""Come home…"
He clenched his jaw. It sounded like someone from his past. Someone impossible.
Selene noticed his expression. "Hey. Don't zone out on me. I'm not carrying you again."
He forced a smile. "Don't worry. I'm here."
The garden shifted subtly as they walked. Paths that had not existed minutes ago appeared; others vanished. Flowers turned their heads to follow them. A low hum vibrated through the air, like a heartbeat beneath the soil.
Aeloria pointed forward. "There. The center of the floor."
A small clearing opened before them, with a circular pool of crystal-clear water. Floating above it was a glowing orb—soft, smooth, and pulsing like a living thing.
The System notified them:
[Floor 4 Trial: Guarded Reflection][Condition: Overcome the garden's illusions and claim the Heart of Clarity.]
Lyra stepped forward. "Reflections again… but different."
Something stirred beneath the pool's surface.
A face.
No—many faces, shifting rapidly, one after another. Ethan's. Selene's. Lyra's. Aeloria's. Then strangers. Then figures from Ethan's old world—teachers, classmates, people he hadn't seen in years.
He froze.
Aeloria grabbed his wrist. "Do not look directly into the water. It feeds on familiarity."
But it was too late.
The water surged upward, forming a towering figure of shimmering liquid. Its surface rippled with constantly changing visages—people Ethan remembered and people he feared he'd forget.
Selene drew her claws "Okay but seriously—WHY does everything in this tower want us to face our trauma?"
Lyra laughed nervously. "It's… character development?"
Ethan exhaled sharply, steadying himself. "Let's do this."
The illusion creature lashed out with tendrils of water that morphed into hands, faces, and symbols from their memories. Lyra nearly faltered as a childhood friend appeared in front of her, crying. Selene screeched when her reflection multiplied into dozens of cat-eared mirrors. Aeloria grimaced as ghostly ancestral figures whispered harsh judgments.
Ethan saw something different.
A door.His old bedroom door.The last thing he saw before this world swallowed him.
He tightened his grip on his sword. "No more illusions!"
Ethan charged first, slicing through one of the water-tendrils. The creature shrieked—a sound like a thousand voices layered together. Selene dashed behind Ethan, shredding through the distortions with raw ferocity.
Lyra countered with bright pulses of holy light, each blast clearing away a patch of corrupted illusion. "Keep attacking! Its magic can't stabilize under pressure!"
Aeloria leaped gracefully onto a hedge wall and unleashed a hail of enchanted daggers, each one crackling with anti-magic force. "Focus on its core—right behind the face morphing!"
Ethan saw it: a small sphere of concentrated mana hidden within the creature's shifting forms.
He sprinted forward.
The landscape warped around him, illusions trying to drag him into memories, into fears, into comfort. But he pushed through. With a shout, he plunged his blade straight into the core.
Light burst outward.
The creature collapsed, falling apart into harmless sprays of water.
Silence followed—pure silence.The whispers vanished.The air grew still.
The orb above the pool lowered itself into Ethan's hands.
[Floor 4 Cleared][Reward: Heart of Clarity — strengthens resistance to mental interference]
Selene shook out her hair, drenched from the battle. "If the next floor involves brain stuff, I'm rioting."
Lyra smiled weakly. "Actually… I think we handled it well."
Aeloria turned to Ethan with a serious expression. "Your illusions were stronger than ours. Whatever this tower sees in you… it's watching you closely."
Ethan looked at his reflection in the water—clear, still, unbroken.
But for a moment, the water rippled on its own.
A new whisper brushed against his thoughts.
"Closer…"
Before Ethan could react, the world began to glow again.
They were being pulled toward the Fifth Floor.