The transition into the Fifth Floor felt heavier than the others. Instead of a gentle shift of scenery, Ethan and the girls landed hard on solid stone, the ground trembling beneath them like a heartbeat.
The air was cold.Dry.Still.
The Fifth Floor looked like the ruins of an ancient cathedral—broken pillars, cracked marble, torn crimson banners hanging like shadows from above. The ceiling was far too high to see, swallowed in darkness. Moonlight that had no source illuminated patches of the floor.
Selene rubbed her arms. "Okay, officially creeped out."
Lyra's voice trembled. "There's sadness in the air… like someone crying."
Aeloria drew her daggers. "Stay close. This place is wrong."
Ethan stepped forward cautiously. A faint sound echoed through the massive hall—metal dragging against stone.
Clink…Clink…Clink…
And then a voice—soft, feminine, but hollow with exhaustion.
"Stop… don't come any closer…"
A figure walked out from behind a fallen pillar.
She was a young woman in knightly armor, though it was battered and cracked, stained with dirt and dried blood. Her long silver hair fell in messy strands around her face. Shackles bound her wrists and ankles, connected by broken chains that scraped across the floor.
Her eyes were piercing blue—but dim, as if the light within them had almost gone out.
Selene whispered, "Whoa… who is she?"
Lyra clasped her hands. "She looks injured—we should help—"
A heavy shockwave slammed into them.
Not from her.
From the System.
[Warning: Suppressed Challenger Detected][Name: Seraphine Vaelheart][Rank: Tower-Chosen][Status: Bound by Trial][Threat Level: HIGH]
Selene jumped back. "Why does every cute girl we meet want to kill us or traumatize us?!"
Aeloria narrowed her eyes. "She's powerful. Even bound, her mana is overflowing."
Seraphine raised a trembling hand. "I told you… stay back. The more you approach me… the more the chains react."
Ethan took a careful step forward. "We're not enemies. We can help you."
The chains rattled violently, glowing with a sickening red light. Seraphine clenched her jaw in pain.
"You don't understand… this floor—this cursed floor—binds one Challenger as its prisoner. I failed my trial. Now anyone who gets close will be forced to fight me."
The ground cracked beneath her.The cathedral trembled.
[Floor 5 Trial: Break the Bindings][Condition: Free the Bound Challenger without killing her.]
Aeloria hissed. "A non-lethal fight. Difficult."
Selene cracked her knuckles. "I'm good at not killing people. Mostly."
Seraphine lifted her sword—not by will, but because the glowing chains forced her arm upward.
"I'm sorry… I can't stop it…"
With a scream torn from deep within her chest, she lunged.
Ethan barely blocked her downward strike. The impact sent vibrations through his entire body. She was unbelievably strong—far stronger than anyone bound by chains should be.
Selene jumped in from the side, claws flashing, but Seraphine moved with knightly discipline, parrying each strike with precision despite her restraints.
Lyra cast a barrier around Ethan. "Her strength… it's unnatural. The chains are amplifying her!"
Seraphine slashed at Ethan again, tears streaming down her face. "Please… end this… break the runes… on the chains…"
Aeloria dashed behind the knight, trying to slice through a glowing red sigil etched into the metal. The moment her dagger made contact, a blast of force knocked her away.
"Damn it," she growled, sliding across the marble. "The runes reject direct attacks."
Ethan gritted his teeth. "Then we need to restrain her long enough to shatter the flow of mana powering them!"
Selene grinned. "Say no more!"
She leaped onto Seraphine's back, wrapping her arms and legs around her like a very angry, fuzzy octopus. "Got her! Kind of!"
But the chains reacted instantly, flaring with mana that threw Selene off like a cat tossed from a sofa.
Ethan suddenly remembered something.
The reflection on the Third Floor.The whisper on the Fourth.
"Closer…"
He stared at the glowing chains.Same mana signature.
The Tower was testing him.
"Lyra! Purification magic—can it disrupt the runes?"
Lyra looked terrified but nodded. "I—I can try!"
She placed her hands together, channeling light that flickered uncertainly. "Sanctis… Lux… Liberare!"
A burst of white radiance shot forward, striking the central chain around Seraphine's torso. The red glow sputtered like a dying flame.
Aeloria reacted instantly. "Now!"
She leaped forward, slicing through the rune while its power wavered. The metal cracked.
Seraphine screamed as the chains lost control for a moment.
Ethan dashed in, grabbed her wrist, and met her desperate eyes. "We're freeing you. Not fighting you."
He raised his sword and struck the weakened chain.
CRACK.
It shattered into light.
The remaining chains fell limp.
Seraphine collapsed to her knees, gasping violently, tears dripping onto the marble floor.
The System chimed.
[Floor 5 Cleared][Bound Challenger Released][New Ally Acquired: Seraphine Vaelheart]
Selene lay on the ground, groaning. "New rule… if a floor looks haunted, we leave."
Lyra hurried to heal Seraphine. "Are you okay?"
Seraphine wiped her eyes, looking up at Ethan with a soft, exhausted smile.
"You… saved me. Why?"
Ethan offered his hand. "Because no one deserves to be trapped alone."
She hesitated—and then took it.
As the light of teleportation enveloped them again, Seraphine whispered:
"I will fight at your side… Ethan."
They were pulled toward the Sixth Floor, with a new ally by their side.