SeTa stood still, the weight of his recent victory heavy on his chest. He had shattered his own image—his greatest fear—yet the taste of triumph was bitter. There was no time to savor the moment. The scream echoed in his mind, like a distant cry for help, a desperate plea that cut through the chaos of his thoughts.
He glanced at the door he had just passed. A portal to the next trial. But he didn't feel ready. His heart wasn't in the fight ahead. The scream pulled at him, haunting the edges of his awareness.
Without a second thought, SeTa turned away from the door and headed toward the source of the sound. It came from deeper within Floor Zero—farther than where he should have been. The rules of the trial were clear: the challenges were designed for individuals. No one else could be here.
Yet, there was that scream again.
It felt real. More real than anything in the Tower. As if someone was truly suffering, as if their pain was bleeding into the very fabric of this twisted place.
SeTa's steps were deliberate, his movements calculated. The tower's trials had already twisted his mind enough, but this—this felt different. A fracture in the system, or something much darker?
As he moved deeper into the floor, the atmosphere changed. The walls around him rippled like water disturbed by an unseen hand. Shadows flickered in the corners of his vision, moving with a purpose. The air itself grew cold, unnaturally so, and the scream—the one that had haunted him since he first heard it—grew louder.
He turned a corner and found himself standing in front of a massive doorway, one he hadn't seen before. It was a simple door, plain and unassuming, but it felt like a gateway to something far more sinister. The scream came from beyond it.
A soft tremor ran through him as he reached for the handle, and the moment his fingers touched it, the door swung open on its own.
What he saw inside wasn't just another trial. It wasn't just a challenge set by the system.
It was a scene—a vision—or a memory, the kind that made his stomach twist.
A figure stood at the far end of the room, their back to him. The room was familiar—like the very ground he had stood on when the trial had begun, but now it was covered in twisted, black vines and broken stone, as if it had been abandoned long ago. The figure stood motionless, as though waiting.
SeTa stepped forward, his breath shallow, the scream now vibrating in his skull, pounding against his temples. The closer he got, the clearer the figure became, and soon, he could make out the details: a person, cloaked in rags, with their head down, long hair cascading over their face, hiding their identity.
For a moment, SeTa hesitated. The scream seemed to pulse with the figure's movements.
> [Warning: Unknown entity detected.]
[Objective: Investigate the Source of the Cry.]
"Who are you?" SeTa called out, his voice cutting through the silence.
The figure didn't respond. But the air around them shivered, as if the very atmosphere rejected their presence.
SeTa took another step forward, his instincts tingling. He was close enough now to hear the ragged breath of the figure, the soft gasps of someone in pain.
Then, just as SeTa reached out, the figure turned.
His breath hitched.
It wasn't just the face that caught him off guard. It wasn't the hollow, empty eyes staring back at him with nothing but anguish. No, it was the voice that followed.
> "I thought you were gone..." The figure's voice was weak, trembling, barely a whisper.
SeTa stepped back, his mind racing. He knew that voice. He knew that face.
The figure was… him. But different.
> [Trial Mechanism Detected: Illusion of Self.]
[Objective Update: Confront the Forgotten Echo.]
The figure before him spoke again, its eyes flashing with raw pain.
"Why didn't you save me?"
SeTa's stomach turned. "What are you talking about?" he demanded. "Who are you?"
The figure's lips curled into a twisted, pained smile. "You left me behind. You abandoned me... just like you always do."
SeTa's thoughts fragmented, splintering apart. He could feel something breaking inside him, but the system offered no comfort, no reprieve. Only the cold, suffocating presence of the figure—the echo of something he couldn't quite place.
Without warning, the figure lunged forward, a blur of motion. SeTa barely had time to react before a wave of pain shot through him, his body seizing in an unnatural grip. He gasped for air, struggling against the cold fingers that clutched at his chest, like tendrils of forgotten regret.
> [Combat Trial: Floor 0 – Illusion of Guilt]
[Win Condition: Break the Illusion]
[Failure Consequence: Mental Breakdown]
He fought against the overwhelming pressure, trying to force the vision back. He couldn't fall apart now—not here, not in front of… this version of himself.
Collapse.
He whispered the word in his mind.
For the first time, he felt the system's pulse—the threads of the world's code pulling together. He didn't need to overpower this illusion. He didn't need to destroy it. He needed to rewrite it, to shift the foundation of reality just enough to break free.
With a single thought, he twisted the world.
The figure's grip loosened, and the room around him shattered. The vines retreated, and the stone cracked open like a broken mirror.
---
The illusion vanished.
SeTa was standing alone once more, in the cold, empty space of Floor 0.
His breath came in ragged gasps. Sweat slicked his skin. His heart pounded in his chest as the reality of the trial set in.
> [Challenge 4/5 Complete]
[Achievement Points: +2]
[New Skill Unlocked: Memory Collapse] – Temporarily erase a painful memory or illusion.]
[Floor 0 Trial: Ended.]
SeTa stood frozen for a moment longer, his mind a whirl of conflicting emotions. He had defeated the illusion, but the feeling of that pain—the feeling of abandonment—clung to him.
Somewhere, deep inside, a part of him knew that wasn't the last trial.
And the scream he had heard before? It hadn't been an illusion.