Chapter 69 – Whispers Above

The battle against the Rift Beast became the beginning of a new rumor.
Not in the Tower.
In the real world.
Stories traveled strangely among climbers. A single witness became two. Two became ten. Ten became an entire guild discussing events they had never actually seen.
By the time the story reached the lower floors, Team Snail had somehow transformed into a group that had defeated a legendary monster while barely trying.
Naturally, the story was completely wrong.
The actual fight had been exhausting.
Aerin had nearly emptied his stamina.
Mira had used so much healing energy that she had fallen asleep the moment they established camp.
Even Kael’s arms had remained sore for an entire day afterward.
But rumors never cared about facts.
They only cared about surviving.

Three days later, Team Snail finally reached the entrance test for the twenty-ninth floor.
Unlike previous tests, there was no monster waiting.
No puzzle.
No guardian.
Only a massive stone arch standing alone in the middle of a field.
The structure was ancient.
Covered in symbols none of them could read.
Mira stared at it suspiciously.
“I don’t like this.”
Aerin nodded.
“I agree.”
The mysterious man looked almost amused.
“Interesting.”
Kael immediately noticed it.
“You know something.”
The man glanced toward her.
“A little.”
“Tell us.”
“No.”
Mira immediately pointed at him.
“See? This is why I don’t trust you.”
Aerin sighed.
“One day you’re going to accuse a tree of being suspicious.”
“If the tree acts suspicious, yes.”
The mysterious man actually laughed.
A real laugh this time.
Short.
Quiet.
Unexpected.
It startled all three of them.

When they approached the arch, a voice echoed inside their minds.
Not their ears.
Their minds.
Only one question.
Only one answer.
Proceed.
The four of them immediately froze.
Mira grabbed Aerin’s arm.
Aerin looked equally alarmed.
Even the mysterious man seemed surprised.
Kael frowned.
The voice felt familiar.
Not because she had heard it before.
Because somehow it felt close.
As if she should recognize it.
The sensation disappeared before she could understand it.
Then the question appeared.
Not spoken.
Simply known.
What would you sacrifice to continue climbing?
Silence filled the field.
Nobody answered immediately.
Because the question felt wrong.
Not difficult.
Personal.

Aerin spoke first.
“Comfort.”
The answer came naturally.
Without hesitation.
The arch flashed.
A gentle light surrounded him.
Accepted.
Aerin blinked.
“That’s it?”
Nothing happened.
He remained exactly where he was.

Mira stared at the stone.
Then crossed her arms.
“I’ll sacrifice being afraid.”
The light appeared again.
Accepted.
Mira looked relieved.
“That wasn’t so bad.”

The mysterious man remained silent for several moments.
Long enough for even Kael to notice.
Eventually he answered.
“Freedom.”
For the first time—
The arch reacted differently.
The light appeared.
Then flickered.
Almost uncertain.
Before finally accepting his answer.
Kael noticed.
So did the man.
Neither mentioned it.

Then came her turn.
The question repeated.
What would you sacrifice to continue climbing?
Kael thought.
Longer than the others.
Because she wasn’t sure.
She wasn’t climbing for glory.
Or wealth.
Or strength.
She wasn’t even climbing for adventure.
She was climbing because Riven was missing.
Because she had found a shard.
Because she needed answers.
Eventually she spoke.
“Nothing.”
The field fell silent.
Mira’s eyes widened.
Aerin blinked.
The mysterious man slowly turned toward her.
The arch did not react.
Several seconds passed.
Then—
The entire structure trembled.
A faint pulse spread through the stone.
The symbols covering its surface began glowing.
Not rejecting her.
Not accepting her.
Something else.
Something none of them understood.
Kael immediately regretted answering honestly.
Maybe she should have lied.
Then the voice returned.
For her alone.
Honest.
Her heart skipped.
The voice wasn’t loud.
It wasn’t threatening.
If anything…
It sounded pleased.
The arch suddenly released a brilliant light.
Far brighter than the others had received.
Then everything returned to normal.
The path forward opened.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.

Mira was the first.
“What was that?”
Kael immediately answered.
“No idea.”
“That wasn’t normal.”
“I know.”
“Should we be worried?”
“Probably.”
Mira looked offended.
“That’s not helping.”
“It wasn’t supposed to.”
The mysterious man watched Kael carefully.
Again.
Too carefully.
Yet once more, he said nothing.

The twenty-ninth floor greeted them with endless mountains.
Towering peaks stretched beyond the horizon.
The terrain was rough.
Steep.
Dangerous.
Even traveling became difficult.
For the first time in months, physical endurance mattered as much as combat.
Aerin loved it.
Mira hated it.
Kael tolerated it.
The mysterious man somehow walked through mountains as if they were flat roads.
Which irritated Mira immensely.

On the second day, while climbing a narrow mountain path, Aerin suddenly stopped.
“What?”
Mira asked.
He pointed.
Far below.
Smoke.
A campfire.
Human-made.
Someone else was here.
Kael narrowed her eyes.
The distance was enormous.
Yet she could still see movement.
A camp.
Several people.
And strangely—
A flag.
A guild flag.
Investigation climbers.
This high.
The realization surprised all of them.
The missing climber investigation had reached much farther than expected.
Aerin looked toward Kael.
“What do we do?”
Kael stared at the distant camp.
Then at the mountains beyond it.
Then higher still.
Toward the unseen upper floors.
Toward wherever Riven might be.
A strange feeling settled inside her chest.
A feeling she couldn’t explain.
Because for the first time since entering the Tower—
She felt close.
Not physically.
Instinctively.
Like a traveler recognizing a road they had never walked before.
She hated that feeling.
Because it made no sense.
And lately, too many things inside the Tower made no sense.
The glowing symbols.
The strange voice.
The impossible creatures.
The crystal shards.
The way the Tower sometimes seemed to notice her.
Or guide her.
Or test her differently than everyone else.
None of it made sense.
Yet all of it was happening.
Kael looked away from the distant camp.
“We continue.”
Nobody argued.
And far above them, beyond the thirtieth floor, beyond the fortieth floor, in a place no ordinary climber had ever seen—
Something ancient stirred.
Not awake.
Not asleep.
Waiting.
For someone to finally reach it.