Tower 1 — Between Floors
Darkness swallowed them.
Not normal darkness—
thick, liquid-like shadow that dragged at their limbs.
Lyra screamed as the floor vanished beneath her.
Iris clung to her, sobbing.
Ragnor tried to stabilize their fall, slamming Earth aura into the void—
But there was nothing to hit.
Nothing to push from.
No air.
No weight.
Aetherion twisted midair, trying to create a gravitational anchor—
The void ate his magic like a starving god.
"It's absorbing EVERYTHING—!!!" he yelled.
Lyra's voice broke.
"We're going to die—!!"
Then—
A faint glow.
Not ahead.
Not below.
Above them.
A small silhouette descending slowly through the void.
DRM.
Falling the same as them…
…but not touching the darkness.
Not swallowed.
Not slowed.
As if gravity itself refused to claim him.
His mask tilted downward toward the group—
Red eyes glowing faintly in the void.
Ragnor screamed upward:
"HEY!! DO SOMETHING!!"
Lyra grabbed him.
"Don't yell—!! He'll—"
But DRM raised a hand.
A small gesture.
As if reminding the void…
"They're with me."
The darkness recoiled violently.
Their fall slowed instantly, like invisible hands caught them.
Aetherion gasped.
"He—he commanded the void—"
Iris whispered:
"He saved us…"
The darkness parted below.
A floor revealed itself.
Then—
They hit stone.
Softly.
Too softly for such a fall.
Ragnor rolled into a crouch.
Lyra helped Iris to her feet.
Aetherion stabilized himself with cosmic force.
DRM landed last.
Silently.
Effortlessly.
Iris whispered in awe:
"He… floats…?"
Aetherion corrected her softly.
"No."
He narrowed his eyes.
"He decides how gravity treats him."
Floor Eight Reveals Itself
A pale violet glow filled the chamber.
Dozens of enormous pillars rose into the darkness above them, carved with ancient runes—each depicting humanoid silhouettes with elongated limbs and hollow eyes.
Lyra exhaled shakily.
"This place… doesn't feel like a floor."
Aetherion walked closer to the nearest pillar.
"It's a vault. An atrium."
Ragnor cracked his knuckles.
"Great. What's stored here? More nightmares?"
Aetherion's throat tightened.
"No."
He pointed at the carvings.
"This is worse."
On every pillar, the runes read the same phrase:
"DO NOT FREE IT."
Lyra's voice trembled.
"What is 'it'…?"
A deep rumble echoed from the darkness above.
Dust drifted from the ceiling.
Ragnor stepped back, fists raised.
"Oh hell no—someone PLEASE tell me we're not about to fight some ancient—"
Before he could finish—
A system message slammed into existence:
[FLOOR EIGHT: THE BLACK ATRIUM]
[PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE]
[SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: DO NOT WAKE THE SEALED ONE]
Lyra's heart dropped into her stomach.
Iris whimpered.
"A-a sealed one…?"
Aetherion's voice was cold.
"Every floor before this tested the mind, the will, the memories…"
He looked up at the looming darkness above.
"This floor tests survival."
The rumble came again.
Louder.
Closer.
Ragnor shouted:
"WHAT IS THAT SOUND?!"
Aetherion's aura spiked.
His voice was almost a whisper.
"Breathing."
The entire chamber trembled.
Iris screamed.
"IT'S AWAKE—!!!"
Lyra raised her bow.
Ragnor stepped forward.
Aetherion summoned cosmic force.
DRM simply looked upward.
His head tilted.
Red eyes shining brighter.
Ragnor yelled:
"DRM!! DO SOMETHING—!!!"
But DRM didn't flex.
Didn't move.
Didn't defend.
Didn't react.
His body simply relaxed.
Almost bored.
Aetherion felt his heartbeat spike.
"…why isn't he reacting…?"
The rumble became a deep growl.
Then—
Silence.
A massive slit opened in the darkness above.
Not a ceiling.
Not a crack.
An eye.
An eye the size of a house.
Violet.
Reptilian.
Full of death.
Lyra whispered through shaking lips:
"…that… that's not a monster…"
Aetherion nodded slowly.
"No."
Ragnor swallowed hard.
"What is it…?"
Aetherion whispered the truth:
"A deity fragment."
Iris collapsed.
"A w-what—?!"
Aetherion clenched his fists.
"One of the ancient beings that existed before the Towers. A broken piece of its will is sealed here."
The deity's eye scanned the chamber.
Then focused on DRM.
The ground vibrated.
The air shook.
Space itself bent.
Ragnor fell to one knee.
Lyra's bow wavered.
Iris couldn't breathe.
Aetherion's cosmic protection shattered like glass.
The deity fragment spoke—
Thousands of overlapping voices cracking through the darkness:
"YOU."
"MASKED ONE."
"VOID-BORN."
The pillars trembled violently.
Dust cascaded.
The deity's massive pupil contracted—
And it whispered one word:
"BOW."
Ragnor screamed—
Lyra fell—
Iris blacked out—
Aetherion gasped—
And DRM?
He tilted his head.
Confused.
Not intimidated.
Not impressed.
Just confused.
Aetherion whispered, horrified:
"…he… he doesn't understand submission…"
The deity growled.
"BOW…"
DRM took one step forward.
The deity's eye dilated in shock.
He raised one small hand.
Red aura flickering faintly around his fingers—
Just a spark of Stage 1.
The chamber cracked.
The deity's eye widened.
Its breath hitched—
As if afraid.
Aetherion stared in disbelief.
"Oh my god…
even THIS thing fears him—"
The deity retreated.
Screaming.
Stone collapsed all around.
The massive eye shut itself violently—
And the darkness above sealed shut.
The entire chamber went silent.
Lyra gasped.
Iris sobbed.
Ragnor began laughing hysterically from adrenaline.
Aetherion fell to both knees, hands shaking.
"…this… child…
scared… a god fragment…"
DRM lowered his hand.
Then walked toward the exit archway forming at the far end of the atrium.
Iris whispered:
"W-we're… following him… right?"
Lyra nodded weakly.
"…we don't survive without him…"
Ragnor cracked his neck.
"Hell, we don't even survive WITH him—"
Aetherion stood slowly, still trembling.
"…that wasn't a boss…
that was a warning…"
They followed the small masked child out of the Atrium—
as the deity fragment trembled in the darkness above,
refusing to open its eye again.
CHAPTER 18 — STATUS REPORT
Ragnor
Level: 15
EXP: +390
Physical: Shaken
Mental: Extreme fear spike
Notes: First exposure to a deity fragment; mental strength increasing
Lyra
Level: 13
EXP: +315
Physical: Exhaustion
Mental: Shock
Notes: Developing instinctual awareness of divine beings
Iris
Level: 10
EXP: +480
Physical: Almost unconscious
Mental: Broken, terrified
Notes: Divine pressure caused time-flutter (latent evolution incoming)
Aetherion
Level: 15
EXP: +410
Physical: Trembling
Mental: Numbed
Notes: Began realizing DRM's scale is not mortal or tower-bound
Deity Fragment — "The Watcher of Violet Breath"
Status: Retreated
Power: Immeasurable
Reaction to DRM: Fear
Notes: First deity in the series to acknowledge DRM's true nature
DRM
Level: ERROR
Mask Sync: 84%
Aura: Stage 2.3 — "Crackling Dread (friction pulse)"
Emotional State: Mild confusion
Notes: Recognized by deity fragment; caused emergency retreat