Chapter 67 – A Name Carried Upward

The twenty-eighth floor was unlike the floors below.
There were still forests.
There were still monsters.
There were still rivers, cliffs, caves, and endless stretches of wilderness.
Yet everything felt… larger.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
As if the floor itself carried a weight that settled on the shoulders of everyone walking through it.
The air felt older.
The silence felt deeper.
Even Mira stopped talking as much.
Which was saying something.
The four of them walked through a valley surrounded by black stone walls. Strange silver flowers grew between cracks in the rocks, glowing faintly under the pale light of the artificial sky.
Aerin looked around.
“Doesn’t this place feel weird?”
Mira nodded immediately.
“It feels like somebody is watching.”
The mysterious man walking beside them glanced toward the sky.
“Someone always says that on this floor.”
“And?” Mira asked.
“And nobody has ever proven it.”
“That isn’t comforting.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be.”
Mira clicked her tongue.
Aerin laughed.
Kael ignored all of them and continued studying the map she had drawn.
The man glanced at her.
“You make maps of every floor.”
“Yes.”
“Most climbers don’t.”
“They should.”
“Why?”
Kael didn’t lift her eyes.
“Because memory lies.”
The man stared at her for a moment.
Then slowly nodded.
“That’s actually a good answer.”
Mira smirked.
“She rarely speaks. But when she does, she sounds smart.”
Kael looked up.
“I can hear you.”
“I know.”
The girl wasn’t even embarrassed anymore.

That evening they camped near a river.
Aerin was cleaning weapons.
Mira was organizing herbs.
The mysterious man sat near the fire sharpening a simple knife.
Kael watched all three.
For the first time in a long while, Team Snail felt… complete.
The realization annoyed her.
Because she knew it was dangerous.
People disappeared.
People died.
People left.
That was normal.
Getting used to someone was not.
Yet Aerin was already family in all but blood.
Mira was becoming the same.
And now even this strange man was slowly fitting into their routine.
That was dangerous.
Because losing people hurt.
She understood that now.
Perhaps more than before.
Her fingers unconsciously touched the crystal-like shard hidden beneath her clothes.
The warmth immediately answered.
A small pulse.
Almost alive.
Kael frowned.
The feeling vanished again.

Far away from Team Snail.
Near the entrance of the twenty-seventh floor.
Two climbing teams sat around a campfire.
One of them had recently crossed paths with Team Snail.
The discussion naturally drifted toward them.
“I still don’t understand them.”
A bearded climber shook his head.
“They should be much stronger than their rank.”
Another nodded.
“I thought so too.”
A woman sitting nearby crossed her arms.
“They move strangely.”
“What do you mean?”
“They don’t climb like normal teams.”
The others looked toward her.
She continued.
“Every team wants to move up.”
“Of course.”
“But Team Snail acts like they’re studying the Tower.”
The campfire crackled.
Nobody spoke immediately.
Because once she said it aloud…
It sounded surprisingly accurate.
Not climbing.
Studying.
Learning.
Observing.
Understanding.
That was exactly how Team Snail behaved.
“They’re weird.”
“Very.”
“But somehow…”
The woman stared into the flames.
“…I think they’ll go higher than most of us.”
Nobody laughed at her this time.

The next morning.
Team Snail encountered trouble.
Real trouble.
Not because the monster was stronger.
Because there were many.
Dozens of creatures resembling giant wolves emerged from the forest.
Their fur was dark gray.
Their eyes glowed blue.
Unlike normal monsters, they didn’t attack immediately.
They surrounded.
Observed.
Waited.
Aerin drew his sword.
Mira prepared medicine pouches.
The mysterious man remained calm.
Kael narrowed her eyes.
Something felt wrong.
The wolves weren’t behaving like monsters.
They were behaving like hunters.
Thinking hunters.
Then she noticed it.
A pattern.
Not in their attacks.
In their positions.
The wolves weren’t surrounding Team Snail.
They were slowly herding them.
Guiding them somewhere.
Her expression changed.
“Don’t attack.”
Aerin blinked.
“What?”
“Don’t attack.”
The wolves continued moving.
Mira stared.
“You want us to just stand here?”
“No.”
Kael pointed left.
“We go that way.”
The wolves immediately reacted.
Their formation shifted.
Trying to stop them.
Kael’s eyes narrowed further.
There.
Confirmation.
The wolves wanted them somewhere specific.
The mysterious man looked impressed.
“You noticed quickly.”
Kael didn’t answer.
The wolves suddenly charged.
The battle exploded.
Aerin moved first.
His skill activated.
The familiar glow spread through his body as his strength surged.
His sword cut through the first wolf.
Mira moved behind him, supporting and creating openings.
The mysterious man handled three wolves alone.
Effortlessly.
Meanwhile Kael watched.
Studied.
Adapted.
Within minutes she discovered the rhythm hidden inside the pack’s movements.
Every attack followed another.
Every retreat created another opening.
Every wolf relied on another wolf.
Once she understood the chain—
The fight ended quickly.
Much quicker.
The last wolf collapsed.
Silence returned.
Heavy breathing filled the clearing.
Aerin wiped sweat from his forehead.
“Those things were smarter.”
The mysterious man nodded.
“They were.”
Mira kicked one of the corpses.
“I hate smart enemies.”
“They usually hate you too.”
Mira looked toward the man.
“You actually make jokes?”
“Sometimes.”
“I thought you only stared mysteriously.”
Aerin burst into laughter.
Even the man smiled faintly.
A tiny smile.
But real.

That night they discovered why the wolves had tried to herd them.
Less than a kilometer away stood a massive canyon.
The entire ground beyond it had collapsed.
A natural death trap.
Had the wolves succeeded in guiding them there during battle, the fight would have become far more dangerous.
Aerin stared at the canyon.
Then slowly looked toward Kael.
“You knew.”
“No.”
“You guessed.”
“Maybe.”
Mira rolled her eyes.
“Same thing.”
Kael didn’t bother correcting her.
Because truthfully…
Even she wasn’t completely sure anymore.
Sometimes it felt like instinct.
Sometimes it felt like experience.
Sometimes—
Sometimes it felt like the Tower whispered warnings only she could hear.
The thought made her uncomfortable.
So she pushed it away.
Like always.
And continued walking.
Unaware that somewhere far above them—
Beyond the thirtieth floor.
Beyond the fortieth floor.
Near the highest reaches of the Tower.
A young man with dark hair slowly opened his eyes.
For a brief moment.
His gaze turned downward.
Toward the lower floors.
Toward a presence he had not felt in a very long time.
Then he smiled.
A small smile.
One filled with disbelief.
And hope.
“Kael…”
The whisper disappeared into the silence of the Tower.
And far below, she never heard it.