Tower 1 — Floor Seven, The Tribunal of Stone
The air tightened the moment they stepped through the archway.
Silence clamped over the group like iron hands.
The kind of silence that isn't empty—
the kind that listens.
Aetherion froze first.
"This… this floor has a consciousness."
Lyra swallowed.
"You mean like—awareness?"
Ragnor's fists clenched.
"Again with that creepy shit…"
Iris trembled violently, hugging her spellbook.
"N-no… this is worse…
T-the Tower isn't feeding… or watching…
I-it's… judging."
The floor beneath them glowed faintly.
Lines carved themselves across the stone—
circles, triangles, symbols—
until the entire ground became a massive tribunal sigil.
The walls shifted, rising around them like courtroom pillars.
Stone faces carved into the walls opened their eyes.
One by one.
All of them staring downward.
Staring at DRM.
Ragnor stepped back.
"Oh hell no—why are they looking ONLY at him?!"
Lyra's breath hitched.
"They… recognize him?"
Aetherion's voice shook.
"No.
They're evaluating him."
Iris tried to back away.
"I-I want to leave… I want to leave—"
A system message slammed into existence:
[FLOOR SEVEN: THE TRIBUNAL OF STONE]
[RULE: ALL SIN MUST BE WEIGHED.]
[RULE: ALL MEMORY MUST BE FACED.]
[RULE: ALL ANOMALIES MUST BE JUDGED.]
The carved stone faces blinked—slow, grinding, cracking.
The largest face in the center opened its mouth.
And a booming voice echoed:
"BRING FORTH THE ANOMALY."
Ragnor looked around wildly.
"A-anomaly?! Who are they talking about—?!"
Lyra gripped her bow with white knuckles.
"…DRM."
Aetherion's aura flickered violently.
"Yes.
They built this whole floor… for something exactly like him."
The tribunal faces leaned forward.
"CHILD OF THE MASK…
YOU MAY NOT PROCEED UNTIL JUDGMENT IS COMPLETE."
DRM stood in the center of the sigil.
Still.
Small.
Silent.
Unmoving.
His mask angled upward toward the tribunal.
No fear.
No reaction.
Just curiosity.
The Stones Speak
Lines of ancient runes lit up under DRM's feet.
Aetherion gasped.
"This is… this is pre-system magic… older than the Towers."
Lyra stepped closer.
"Will he be okay?"
The stones glowed brighter.
The tribunal roared:
"REVEAL YOUR SIN."
Iris nearly collapsed.
"H-he's just a kid—!"
Ragnor shouted:
"HEY! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
But Aetherion grabbed his arm.
"If you interrupt a judgment floor…
you don't just die.
The Tower erases you."
Ragnor froze in horror.
The sigil beneath DRM expanded—
spreading outward like a blooming flower of light.
Energy wrapped around the small masked child.
Past.
Memory.
Identity.
Existence.
All being read.
All being judged.
DRM tilted his head…
as if mildly annoyed.
The tribunal spoke again:
"YOU CARRY NO SIN."
Ragnor blinked.
"What—?"
Iris stared, confused.
"H-he's innocent?"
Aetherion's pupils narrowed.
"No.
They can't FIND his sin."
Lyra whispered:
"…because he has no readable past…"
Aetherion nodded.
"…or because whatever he did…
is outside the Tower's comprehension."
The tribunal murmured:
"YOU ARE NOT OF THIS AGE."
"NOT OF THIS ERA."
"NOT A MEMORY."
"NOT A CREATION."
"NOT A CHILD."
Ragnor gulped.
"…not a child…?"
Iris trembled.
"W-why do they keep calling him something else…?"
The stone faces spoke again:
"YOU ARE AN ERROR.
YOU ARE A VOID.
YOU ARE…"
They stopped.
Silence.
The entire floor vibrated violently.
Aetherion whispered:
"They can't pronounce him."
Lyra stared at DRM.
"…what ARE you…?"
The stone faces leaned closer, cracks spreading across their surfaces.
Then:
"THE ANOMALY MUST NOT PASS."
Ragnor stepped forward.
"Oh no you DON'T—!"
Lyra grabbed his arm.
"Ragnor, STOP—!"
Aetherion barked:
"Do NOT step onto the sigil—!"
But Ragnor ignored him, moving forward—
When suddenly—
A hand grabbed his shoulder.
A cold hand.
A small hand.
Ragnor froze.
DRM stood beside him.
When he got there, no one saw.
He lifted his head slowly.
Looking directly at the tribunal faces.
His aura pulsed.
Just a flicker.
Stage 1 — Silent Nightmare.
The sigil cracked.
The stone faces trembled.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Carvings screamed silently.
Aetherion whispered:
"He's flexing…
just a little…"
The tribunal howled:
"THE ANOMALY DEFIES JUDGMENT—
UNACCEPTABLE—
UNACCEPTABLE—
UNACCEPT—"
Cracks zigzagged across the walls.
Lyra stepped back in terror.
"They're breaking—!"
The tribunal shrieked until their stone mouths split open—
and the sigil shattered entirely.
A system message flashed:
[JUDGMENT FLOOR: BROKEN]
[ENTITY: DRM INTERRUPTED PROTOCOL]
[ESCALATING THREAT LEVEL]
[BEGIN EMERGENCY TRIAL.]
Ragnor groaned.
"Oh great.
THIS again—"
But before they could react—
The floor cracked open beneath them.
Blackness swallowed their feet.
Aetherion yelled:
"BRACE FOR FALL—!!"
Lyra grabbed Iris.
Ragnor grabbed Lyra.
Aetherion reached for all of them—
DRM stood perfectly still as the world collapsed.
And the group plummeted into the darkness.