Tower 1 — Floor 22 Exit Passage, After the Eldritch Event
The path ahead was too quiet.
A silence not earned by rest or safety—
but one carved by something powerful passing through.
Lyra led with her bow drawn.
Ragnor limped behind her.
Iris clutched her spellbook against her chest.
Aetherion monitored the air currents like a scientist trying to measure danger.
Rio…
stayed in the middle of the group, eyes lowered.
He looked small.
Fragile.
Shaken.
Like whatever remained of his borrowed identity was cracking.
But no one noticed.
Everyone was too focused on the aftershock of the eldritch wanderer's presence.
Ragnor rubbed his face and whispered:
"If that's what Floor 22 does…
I'm not stepping foot on Floor 23."
Lyra didn't turn around.
"You're stepping. And you're staying quiet."
Ragnor groaned.
Iris tugged her sleeves nervously.
"A-Aetherion… what exactly was that thing?"
Aetherion responded without looking back.
"A being older than the Tower."
Ragnor scoffed.
"Older than the Tower? How old IS the Tower?!"
Lyra gave a short, humorless laugh.
"Ask a historian."
Aetherion added:
"…or a god."
The hallway lights flickered.
Rio flinched.
Nobody else did.
Lyra noticed.
"Rio?"
He quickly shook his head.
"N-nothing."
But inside?
His thoughts weren't nothing.
Not even close.
Why did the Memory Devourer target me?
Why did it call me a false one?
Why did the wanderer feel familiar?
But Rio swallowed it down and kept walking.
The Hidden Passage
The exit corridor split into two paths:
Left — Safe Route (Scout Approved)
A typical climbing route.
Small monsters.
Predictable traps.
Right — Restricted Route (Closed to Public)
Runes flickered with warning symbols.
"DESTABILIZED."
"NOT CLEARED."
"DEVIATION ACTIVE."
"APEX ENTITY DETECTED."
Ragnor pointed at the right path.
"That's the stupid path."
Lyra nodded.
"We're not taking it."
Iris clung to her book, terrified.
Aetherion calmly said:
"…we have to."
Everyone turned to him.
Ragnor threw his hands up.
"Why?! WHY do we ALWAYS have to go deeper into nightmare paths?!"
Aetherion pointed at the flickering runes.
"The safe path is congested. Too many climbers. If something happens, we'll be trapped."
Lyra nodded slowly.
"That's true… if the Tower collapses behind us—"
Iris whispered:
"We'd be crushed."
Rio stepped forward.
"…I vote we take the right path."
Everyone blinked.
Ragnor crouched to look Rio in the eyes.
"You OK, buddy? You sure you didn't breathe some of that silver eyeball gas?"
Rio winced.
"No. I'm… I'm fine. I just… feel like the right path is the correct one."
Lyra frowned thoughtfully.
"Instinct?"
Rio nodded.
Aetherion watched him carefully.
Too carefully.
Like he was studying the boy.
"Then we follow your instinct," Aetherion said.
Ragnor threw his hands up.
"WE ARE GOING TO DIE."
Lyra smacked the back of his head.
"Shut up and walk."
Right Path — The Deviated Hall
The temperature dropped.
Light fractured.
Colors twisted.
The stone under their feet felt like it pulsed faintly, as if remembering every step taken by things before them.
Iris whispered:
"Everything feels wrong…"
Aetherion nodded.
"This is a deviation zone. Reality shifts. The Tower's rules break here."
Ragnor exhaled sharply.
"Oh good, reality is breaking. I LOVE this place."
Rio's eyes focused ahead.
He whispered:
"…someone's here."
Everyone froze.
Lyra aimed her bow.
Aetherion's aura spiked.
Iris prepared a chrono-lock.
Ragnor cracked his knuckles.
"Show yourself!"
Footsteps echoed from deeper in the corridor.
Slow.
Lazy.
Casual.
Someone emerged from the shadows—
A man with silver hair tied back, mismatched eyes, and robes marked with ancient runes.
He wasn't masked.
He wasn't armored.
He looked almost human.
But his aura—
His aura felt like a storm wrapped in a smile.
Ragnor whispered:
"Another wanderer…?"
But Aetherion shook his head.
"No."
The man smiled politely.
"Hello, little climbers."
Lyra's bowstring tightened.
He continued:
"Don't be afraid. I'm not here to devour you."
Ragnor whispered:
"Please be lying…"
The man chuckled.
"I'm not a Devourer. I'm something far worse."
Aetherion stepped forward, calm but tense.
"You are a Scholar of the Deep."
The man's eyes heated with amusement.
"Aetherion, was it? Your senses are sharp."
Lyra whispered:
"What's a Scholar?"
Aetherion replied:
"A being that studies anomalies.
Wanderers.
Devourers.
Things even the Tower fears."
The Scholar smiled at Rio.
"Especially… incomplete ones."
Rio froze.
Iris grabbed his hand.
Lyra stepped protectively in front.
Ragnor raised his fists.
Aetherion extended both hands, ready to distort gravity.
The Scholar sighed.
"Relax. I'm not interested in hurting you. Not yet."
He stepped past them—
through them—
his body shifting like smoke.
And whispered to Rio alone:
"Find your missing pieces before someone else does."
Rio's blood ran cold.
The Scholar walked into the darkness.
And vanished.