Chapter 50: A Trace That Shouldn’t Exist

By the time they crossed into the seventeenth floor, the Tower had already begun to feel different—not in the way the lower floors had changed, but in the way silence itself stretched.
It was not empty.
Far from it.
There were creatures everywhere—moving in packs, hunting in groups, adapting faster than before—but human presence had thinned to the point where it felt almost erased. The higher they climbed, the less they saw of others. Not because climbers didn’t exist here, but because the scale of each floor had grown so vast that finding another person required intent.
And most climbers at this level were not looking for others.
They were looking to survive.

For Team Snail, it worked in their favor.
There were no watching eyes.
No judgment.
No need to hold back.

Fights became cleaner.
Sharper.
More honest.

Aerin had stopped hesitating. Where he once calculated every move out of fear, he now stepped into battles with controlled confidence, facing creatures larger than himself without retreating. Herds no longer overwhelmed him the way they once did. Instead, he split them, broke their rhythm, and forced them into manageable patterns.
Mira had changed in quieter ways. She moved faster than before, her timing precise, her words less reckless. She still spoke more than the other two combined, but now she chose when to speak—and when not to. Her understanding of herbs and toxins had turned into something practical, something dangerous when needed.
And Kael—
Kael had stopped standing at the back.

She still observed.
Still calculated.
Still noticed what others didn’t.

But now—
She fought.

Not as the strongest.
Not as the fastest.

But as the one who ended things.

On the sixth day of the seventeenth floor, they finally slowed down.
Not because they were exhausted.
But because even they understood the need to pause.

They found a large tree—its roots twisted above the ground like natural seats, its shadow stretching wide enough to cover all three of them. The air here was calmer than most areas, the sounds of distant creatures softened by distance.
A rare quiet.

Mira dropped first, leaning back against the trunk with a sigh. “If I see another spider bigger than my head, I’m retiring.”

Aerin chuckled, sitting nearby. “You say that every time.”

“This time I mean it.”

Kael didn’t sit immediately.

She stood still for a moment, her gaze drifting—not toward them, but toward the ground.

Something—
Was off.

Not in a dangerous way.
Not like the shifting paths or changing creatures.

Something… subtle.

She stepped forward slowly, her eyes narrowing as she crouched near the base of the tree.

Aerin noticed first. “What is it?”

Kael didn’t answer.

Her fingers hovered just above the ground before finally brushing against it.

The soil here had been disturbed.

Not by creatures.

Too clean.
Too controlled.

Mira leaned forward slightly. “Another trap?”

Kael shook her head.

“No.”

She moved her hand slightly to the side, brushing away a thin layer of dirt.

Something faint revealed itself beneath.

Not an object.

A mark.

Barely visible.

Aerin stood up now, stepping closer. “What am I looking at?”

Kael didn’t respond immediately.

Because she recognized it.

Not clearly.
Not fully.

But enough.

It wasn’t a symbol.
It wasn’t a carving.

It was—
A habit.

Someone had scratched the surface lightly—not deep enough to be obvious, not intentional enough to be called a mark. It looked like nothing more than a passing motion.

Unless you knew what to look for.

Mira frowned. “That could be anyone.”

“Yes,” Kael said quietly.

But she didn’t move.

Because there was more.

She shifted slightly, scanning the area around the tree.

Then she saw it.

A few steps away, near the roots—
Another faint disturbance.

And another.

Not random.

Aerin followed her gaze. “Footprints?”

“Not exactly,” Kael replied.

They weren’t clear enough to be called that.
The ground had already begun to recover, the Tower’s nature slowly erasing what had been there.

But the spacing—
The direction—
The rhythm—

Mira tilted her head. “You think someone rested here?”

Kael stood up slowly.

Her eyes traced the path those faint disturbances formed.

A path that didn’t lead deeper into danger.

But away from it.

Calculated.

Controlled.

Like someone who didn’t wander.

Someone who chose where to step.

Someone who didn’t want to leave a trail—
But couldn’t completely erase it either.

Aerin looked at her carefully. “…You know who it is.”

It wasn’t a question.

Kael didn’t answer immediately.

But her gaze didn’t move from the ground.

Then, quietly—

“Yes.”

Mira blinked. “Wait—you’re serious?”

Kael exhaled slowly.

“He’s been here.”

Not guessing.
Not hoping.

Knowing.

Because Riven was not careless.
He didn’t leave marks.
He didn’t announce his presence.

But he did have habits.

Small ones.
Unnecessary ones.

Like dragging his fingers across surfaces when he paused.
Like shifting his weight in a way that left almost no trace—but not none.

Kael had seen it before.

Outside the Tower.

Back when he used to stand too long near her shop, pretending he wasn’t waiting for something.

Aerin looked around instinctively. “Then he could still be here.”

Kael shook her head.

“No.”

Her voice was calm.

Certain.

“He moved on.”

Mira stood up now, her expression sharper. “How can you tell?”

Kael looked ahead.

At the direction those faint traces led.

“Because he didn’t stay,” she said.

There were no signs of struggle.
No broken ground.
No irregular patterns.

Whoever had been here—
Left by choice.

Aerin let out a slow breath. “So… he’s ahead of us.”

Kael didn’t correct him.

Because that part—
She wasn’t sure about.

But one thing was clear.

Riven had reached this floor.

And if he had—
Then everything they believed about his disappearance needed to change.

Mira crossed her arms, a small smile forming. “Well… that’s good news, right?”

Kael’s lips moved—
Just slightly.

Not a full smile.

But close.

“Yeah,” she said quietly.

For the first time since entering the Tower—

It felt like they weren’t chasing nothing.

They weren’t searching blindly.

They had direction now.

Not from the shard.
Not from rumors.

But from something real.

A trace that shouldn’t exist—

But did.

And that was enough.

Kael turned away from the tree, her voice steady again.

“We move tomorrow.”

Aerin nodded immediately.

Mira smirked. “Finally. Took you long enough.”

Kael didn’t respond.

But as she walked ahead—

That faint curve remained on her lips for just a moment longer.

Because now—

She knew.

He wasn’t gone.

He was climbing.

End of Chapter 50