Tower 1 — Floor Ten, Chamber of the Fallen Crown
They expected screams.
They expected monsters.
They expected traps.
They did not expect silence.
The moment the passage from Floor Nine sealed behind them, the air became unnaturally still—
as if sound itself refused to exist here.
Ragnor whispered:
"…this place is wrong."
His voice barely traveled a foot.
Lyra shivered.
"No echoes… even though this chamber is huge."
Aetherion walked forward slowly, cosmic aura flickering.
"The Tower is suppressing sound.
Not by magic…
but by authority."
Iris clung to Lyra's arm.
"W-Why would it do that…?"
Aetherion swallowed.
"To force us to listen."
Ragnor blinked.
"Listen to what? It's silent—"
Then they all heard it.
A breath.
Not theirs.
Not human.
Not monster.
Something ancient.
Tired.
And angry.
The chamber lit up with a faint crimson glow.
Massive pillars rose from the ground, carved with murals of countless bodies kneeling before an unseen ruler.
At the center stood a throne.
Shattered.
Blackened.
Empty.
Lyra whispered:
"The Fallen Crown…"
A system message appeared, heavy and slow:
[FLOOR TEN: THRONE OF THE FALLEN CROWN]
[BOSS: THE KING WHO LOST HIS NAME]
[WARNING: DO NOT SPEAK HIS NAME]
Ragnor frowned.
"How do we avoid speaking a name we don't know?!"
Aetherion answered softly.
"Exactly."
The Boss Appears
The temperature dropped.
The crimson glow dimmed.
A faint shape materialized on the throne—
A tall figure.
Wearing broken armor.
Crown split into three jagged shards.
Eyes hollow, filled with flickering embers.
A man who once ruled a Tower.
Aetherion inhaled sharply.
"A fallen climber.
One who reached the top but…"
He stared at the figure's hollow chest, where a hole burned through the ribcage.
"…died before claiming the throne."
Iris trembled uncontrollably.
"T-then why is he here…? Why Floor Ten…?"
Lyra whispered:
"He guards the Tower…
because he was rejected by it."
The fallen king rose slowly.
Bones creaking.
Armor grinding.
His shadow stretched unnaturally long across the floor.
Then the figure rashed a trembling hand toward them—
and every pillar screamed.
Ragnor staggered.
"WHAT—THE—HELL—?!"
The screams weren't sound.
They were pressure.
Emotional pressure.
Rage.
Loss.
Betrayal.
Loneliness.
And ache—
unending ache.
Iris collapsed instantly.
Lyra knelt beside her, shielding her with her bow.
Aetherion's cosmic aura shattered like glass.
Ragnor held himself upright by sheer force.
"What is this?! A despair attack?!"
Aetherion gritted his teeth.
"No… this is his domain…
the domain of the unacknowledged king…"
The fallen king stepped down from the throne—
each footstep bending gravity.
And DRM?
He stood still at the back of the group.
His red eyes glowed faintly behind the mask.
Unbothered.
Unimpressed.
Ragnor shouted:
"DRM!! DO SOMETHING—!!!"
DRM tilted his head.
As if thinking.
As if calculating.
As if deciding whether this opponent was even worth his time.
The fallen king raised a hand.
A hollow whisper escaped his throat:
"Who… kneels…?"
Lyra gasped.
"He wants us to submit…"
Aetherion's eyes widened in horror.
"No—he wants to bind us.
Anyone who kneels becomes his soldier."
Iris sobbed, clutching Lyra's sleeve.
"H-He's too strong—!!"
The fallen king's domain surged—
And Ragnor's knee buckled.
"No—NO—NOT KNEELING TO THIS GUY—!!!"
Lyra shrieked as gravity crushed them downward.
"Ragnor—!! Aetherion—!! Iris—!!"
Aetherion's hands shook violently.
"He's breaking our spines—!!"
Lyra forced out:
"DRM—!!! PLEASE—!!!"
The fallen king turned his hollow gaze toward DRM—
and froze.
The chamber dimmed.
The crimson glow flickered.
The king's domain…
recoiled.
As if it recognized something older.
Something higher.
Something that should not exist in this Tower.
The fallen king whispered:
"…no… not you…"
Aetherion's breath stopped.
"…did… did he just FEAR DRM…?!"
Ragnor shouted:
"WHAT IS HE—?!"
DRM slowly stepped forward.
Walking through the crushing domain as if stepping through shallow water.
Each step made the floor tremble.
Lyra stared, wide-eyed.
"H-He's OVERPOWERING a FLOOR BOSS'S DOMAIN—???"
Iris whispered:
"H-How…? He's just a child…"
Aetherion shook his head.
"No.
He's not.
He never was."
DRM raised a hand—
His aura flickered.
Stage 2.7 — Aura Pulse: Kingkiller.
Not a full flex.
Not even a serious one.
But enough.
The air cracked like lightning.
The fallen king convulsed violently, choking on phantom breath.
He whispered:
"…I remember… your shadow…"
DRM tilted his head slightly.
Aetherion's eyes widened.
"…the king recognizes him…
from BEFORE death…?!"
Ragnor yelled:
"THEN FINISH HIM OFF—!!"
But DRM didn't kill him.
He simply lowered his hand.
And pointed.
The fallen king understood the gesture.
He knelt.
The only being in the Tower who resisted kneeling…
kneeled to DRM.
The boss's voice shook with terror.
"…p-pass…"
The throne behind him cracked open—
revealing the path upward.
DRM turned away without interest.
Lyra, trembling, whispered:
"W-We don't have to fight him…?"
Aetherion nodded slowly.
"…he's letting us go."
Ragnor wiped sweat from his face.
"I don't care what just happened—
LET'S LEAVE—RIGHT NOW."
Iris clung to Lyra.
Terrified.
Broken.
Barely conscious.
As the group crossed the chamber, the fallen king whispered one last line:
"…your shadow follows… masked one…"
Iris froze.
Ragnor looked around.
Lyra's breath hitched.
Aetherion's eyes widened.
DRM didn't turn.
But a faint, distorted system ping appeared—
visible only for a moment:
[Shadow Presence Detected]
[Name — ████]
[Threat Level: Variable]
[Observation Continues]
And then it vanished.
Leaving only silence.
And a shadow retreating deeper into the darkness—
laughing quietly.
The shadow of a boy.
CHAPTER 21 — STATUS REPORT
Ragnor
Level: 16
EXP: +500
Physical: Moderate spine strain
Mental: Overwhelmed
Notes: First exposure to a boss-level domain
Lyra
Level: 14
EXP: +430
Physical: Stable
Mental: Heightened alertness
Notes: Deeply shaken by DRM's display of dominance
Iris
Level: 11
EXP: +380
Physical: Collapsing
Mental: Near-trauma
Notes: Fear echoes resonating harder; shadow sight amplifying
Aetherion
Level: 16
EXP: +520
Physical: Heavy strain
Mental: Horrified understanding
Notes: Now certain DRM predates the Towers
Boss — The King Who Lost His Name
Status: Submitted
Power: Domain-class
Notes: Kneeling to DRM created Tower shockwave
DRM
Level: ERROR
Mask Sync: 92%
Aura: Stage 2.7 — "Kingkiller Pulse"
Emotional State: Indifferent
Notes: Recognized by boss as an ancient entity