###: ASCENSION THROUGH CARNAGE**
The air within the Chrono Spire trembled as Seun stepped forward, his boots sinking slightly into the cracked obsidian floor. The moment his weight settled, the ground beneath him pulsed—once, twice—before the very atmosphere seemed to tear open.
From the jagged fissures in the stone, from the swirling void above, from the shadows that clung too thickly to the walls—**they came.**
A hundred beasts.
Two hundred.
Three hundred.
More.
The numbers swelled like a rising tide, a living, snarling wave of fangs and claws and gnashing teeth. Razorfang Wolves, their maws dripping acid that hissed against the stone. Stoneclaw Bears, their massive paws cracking the ground with each thunderous step. Thunderwings, serpentine bodies coiled with crackling electricity, their wings slicing the air like blades.
Seun did not wait for them to reach him.
He moved.
His body became a blur, a streak of darkness cutting through the first line of wolves. Acid splashed against his arms, searing flesh, but he did not slow. A dagger flashed—left, right—and two wolves collapsed, their throats opened to the bone. A bear swung, claws gleaming, and Seun pivoted, letting the momentum carry the beast past him before driving his blade through its spine.
The air hummed with the sound of wings.
He looked up just as the Thunderwings dove, a storm of feathers and lightning. Seun exhaled, and his mana surged.
**"Break."**
A pulse of shadow erupted from him, a shockwave that ripped through the flock. Feathers blackened. Wings snapped. The serpents fell, writhing, and Seun was already among them, his daggers finding gaps in scales, piercing hearts, severing tendons.
But they kept coming.
Four hundred now. Five hundred. The floor shuddered under the weight of them, a living, breathing mass of hunger and rage.
Seun grinned.
Blood slicked his arms, his clothes torn, his skin scored with burns and gashes. But his eyes—his eyes were alight with something colder than fury, sharper than pain.
He was not fighting to survive.
He was fighting to **ascend.**
---
The second floor greeted him with a storm.
Not of wind, not of rain—but of **lightning.**
The moment his foot touched the cracked stone, the sky above—if it could be called a sky—split open, and the Thunderwings descended. Not dozens. Not scores.
**Hundreds.**
Their wings blotted out what little light existed in this place, their shrieks piercing the air like nails dragged across glass. Between them, lumbering forward with earth-shaking steps, came the Ironhide Boars—massive, tusked monstrosities, their hides gleaming like forged metal, their eyes burning with mindless fury.
Seun did not hesitate.
He sprinted straight for the nearest pillar, his boots barely skimming the ground before he launched himself upward, fingers finding purchase in the pitted stone. The Thunderwings shrieked, diving after him, their talons outstretched.
He waited until the last possible second—until he could feel the rush of air against his back—before twisting, driving a dagger into the first serpent's skull. The creature spasmed, its body going rigid, and Seun used its falling weight to hurl himself higher, onto the next ledge.
A boar charged beneath him, tusks gouging the pillar. Stone shattered. The entire structure groaned, tilting—
Seun leapt.
For a single, breathless moment, he hung in the air, suspended above the swarm. Then gravity took hold.
He fell like a blade.
His knee drove into the boar's skull with a crack that echoed across the battlefield. The beast crumpled, its legs buckling, and Seun was already moving, already spinning, already cutting through the next, and the next, and the next—
But they did not stop.
They did not **falter.**
Six hundred now. Seven hundred. The air itself seemed to thicken with their presence, their stench, their hunger.
And then—
The ground **exploded.**
A massive shape erupted from beneath the stone, sending shards of rock flying like shrapnel. Seun barely had time to register the gaping maw, the rows of teeth like shattered glass, before the **Leviathan Queen** rose, her bulk blotting out the sky.
Her roar was a physical force, a wave of sound that sent Seun skidding back, his boots carving furrows into the stone. Blood trickled from his ears.
She was **titanic.**
Her scales gleamed like oil on water, shifting between black and violet with every movement. Her tail, thick as an ancient tree, lashed out, crushing a dozen beasts in a single swipe. Her eyes—her eyes were voids, pits of endless hunger.
Seun exhaled.
Then he **smiled.**
And charged.
---
The third floor was fire.
Not metaphorically.
**Literally.**
The moment Seun stepped through the archway, the heat hit him like a fist, sucking the breath from his lungs. The air shimmered, warped by the unbearable temperature, and the ground beneath his feet was cracked and glowing, veins of molten rock pulsing beneath the surface.
And the beasts—
**Flamewraiths.**
They drifted like living bonfires, their forms flickering between corporeal and not, their touch enough to sear flesh from bone. Between them, massive **Magma Golems** stomped forward, their bodies made of molten stone, their fists capable of turning a man to paste with a single blow.
Seun did not pause.
He moved like a shadow, darting between the wraiths, his daggers flashing. But steel passed through flame without resistance. The wraiths laughed, a sound like crackling kindling, and lunged.
Seun twisted, narrowly avoiding a gout of fire that would have cooked him alive. His mind raced.
**Incoporeal.**
**Fire.**
His gaze flicked to the golems—to their cores, pulsing like miniature suns within their chests.
A plan formed.
He feinted left, drawing a pair of wraiths after him, then pivoted, sprinting straight for the nearest golem. The massive creature swung, its fist trailing molten rock, and Seun ducked, sliding beneath the blow before driving his dagger upward—
Into its core.
The explosion sent him flying, heat licking at his skin, but he twisted midair, landing in a crouch. The golem collapsed, its body crumbling into slag, and in its death throes, the flames that wreathed it **detonated outward.**
The wraiths caught in the blast **screamed.**
Their forms, usually untouchable, flickered—solidified—
Seun was already moving.
His daggers found throats, hearts, spines. The wraiths died like any other beast, their flames guttering out into smoke.
But the floor was not done with him.
From the molten rivers, from the cracks in the earth, more came.
**More.**
Four hundred now. Five hundred.
A **Hellfire Phoenix** burst from the largest pool of magma, its wings shedding embers like rain. Its cry was a challenge, a promise of annihilation.
Seun met its gaze.
And **laughed.**
---
The fourth floor was a nightmare of chitin and venom.
The moment Seun stepped through, the ground **moved.**
Not the earth itself—but what covered it.
**Venomspore Spiders.**
Thousands of them. Their bodies were the size of hounds, their legs needle-thin and razor-sharp. They skittered forward in a wave, their mandibles dripping poison that smoked where it struck the stone. Above them, clinging to the ceiling like grotesque fruit, hung **Obsidian Scorpions**, their stingers glistening with something far worse than mere venom.
Seun did not flinch.
He **charged.**
His daggers became whirlwinds, carving through the spiders like scythes through wheat. Acid sprayed, burning his skin, but he did not slow. A scorpion dropped from above, stinger poised—
Seun caught it midair, his fingers crushing its carapace before hurling it into the swarm.
But they did not stop.
They did not **fear.**
Six hundred now. Seven hundred.
The **Broodmother** emerged from the shadows, her bulk filling the tunnel, her countless eyes gleaming with malice. Her mandibles flexed, and a torrent of acid spewed forth—
Seun rolled, the liquid burning the stone where he had stood. He came up running, his daggers finding the joints in her legs, severing them one by one. The beast shrieked, her body thrashing, and Seun drove his blade into her skull with a final, brutal thrust.
But the floor was not done.
The walls **shuddered.**
And from the darkness, more came.
**More.**
Eight hundred. Nine hundred.
A **thousand.**
Seun stood amidst the carnage, his breath ragged, his body scored with wounds.
And he **smiled.**
Because he was not done yet.
---
The fifth floor was **water.**
Not the gentle lapping of waves. Not the clear rush of a stream.
This was the **abyss.**
The moment Seun stepped through, the ground vanished beneath him, and he was plunged into freezing, suffocating blackness. The pressure was immense, crushing, and the things that moved within it—
**Voidshark Hydras.**
Their bodies were sinuous, their teeth like shattered glass. They circled him, their movements effortless, their hunger palpable.
And deeper—
Larger—
The **Leviathan Queen.**
She rose from the depths, her maw wide enough to swallow him whole.
Seun did not struggle.
He **sank.**
And waited.
The first hydra struck.
Seun moved at the last second, his dagger finding its eye. The beast thrashed, its blood clouding the water, and the others **reacted.**
They turned on their wounded kin, tearing into it with ravenous fury.
Seun did not watch.
He was already moving, already swimming deeper, already driving his blade into the next, and the next, and the next—
Until the Queen **struck.**
Her maw closed around him.
Darkness.
Pressure.
**Pain.**
And then—
**Light.**
Seun's dagger found her heart.
And the abyss **screamed.**
---
The sixth floor was the **sky.**
Not the open air. Not the boundless blue.
This was a **battlefield.**
Floating islands drifted in the void, their edges crumbling, their surfaces scarred by ancient war. And upon them—
**Skyrend Harpies.**
Their wings blotted out the false sun, their talons gleaming like daggers. Between the islands, massive **Storm Titans** strode, their fists crackling with lightning.
Seun did not pause.
He **leapt.**
From island to island, his movements precise, his strikes lethal. The harpies dove, their shrieks piercing, and Seun met them midair, his daggers flashing. Feathers rained like blood.
The titans struck, their fists crashing down with the force of thunder, and Seun danced between them, using their own strength against them. One misstep, one stumble—
And a titan's fist sent him flying.
Seun hit the ground rolling, his ribs screaming, but he was already moving, already driving his dagger into the titan's heel, severing tendon, sending the massive creature crashing to its knees.
He did not stop.
He could not.
Seven hundred now. Eight hundred.
The **Thunder Sovereign** descended from the storm, his presence shaking the very air.
Seun met his gaze.
And **charged.**
---
The seventh floor was **death.**
Not the end. Not the silence.
This was **necrosis.**
The air was thick with the stench of decay, the ground littered with bones. And from the shadows—
**Plaguebearers.**
Their bodies were rotting, their touch spreading disease. Between them, **Bone Reapers** strode, their scythes gleaming with stolen lives.
Seun did not hesitate.
He **cut.**
Through flesh, through bone, through the very miasma that sought to claim him. The plague burned his lungs, but he did not slow. A reaper swung, its scythe singing—
Seun ducked, driving his dagger upward, into its ribs, through its heart.
But they did not stop.
They did not **die.**
Nine hundred now. A **thousand.**
The **Lich King** rose from his throne of skulls, his eyes burning with cursed light.
Seun met his gaze.
And **smiled.**
---
The eighth floor was the **void.**
Not emptiness. Not absence.
This was **hunger.**
The moment Seun stepped through, the world **unraveled.**
**Voidspawn Behemoths** loomed, their bodies shifting between reality and nothingness. Around them, **Starved Wraiths** drifted, their touch draining life itself.
Seun did not falter.
He **fought.**
His daggers found flesh where there should be none, his will defying the void's grasp. A behemoth swung, its fist warping space—
Seun twisted, his dagger carving a path through its chest, through the core that bound it to this world.
The creature **screamed.**
And collapsed into nothing.
But the void was not done.
From the darkness, more came.
**More.**
The **Void Titan** emerged, its form blotting out the false stars.
Seun met its gaze.
And **charged.**
---
The ninth floor was **divinity.**
Not peace. Not grace.
This was **judgment.**
**Celestial Sentinels** stood in silent ranks, their spears gleaming with starlight. Above them, **Eclipse Drakes** circled, their wings casting shadows that burned.
Seun did not kneel.
He **raged.**
His daggers clashed against celestial steel, his body moving with lethal precision. A sentinel struck, its spear piercing his side—
Seun gripped the shaft, **yanked**, and drove his dagger into the creature's throat.
The drakes dove, their maws wide—
Seun leapt, his dagger finding an eye, sending the beast crashing to the ground.
But they did not stop.
They did not **yield.**
The **Solar Seraph** descended, its wings shedding light like blades.
Seun met its gaze.
And **laughed.**
---
The tenth floor was **hell.**
Not metaphorically.
**Literally.**
The moment Seun stepped through, the world **burned.**
Lava rivers cut through the cracked earth, their heat blistering. Lightning split the sky, each bolt leaving afterimages of pain. And from the chaos—
They came.
Not dozens. Not scores.
**Thousands.**
**Primordial Kaiju**, their bodies towering, their roars shaking the earth. **Eclipse Overlords**, their forms wreathed in antimatter, their touch erasing all they grasped.
And at their heart—
The **Eclipse Monarch.**
Its presence was a weight, a pressure that threatened to crush Seun where he stood. Its gaze was endless hunger.
Seun did not hesitate.
He **charged.**
Through fire, through lightning, through the very fabric of reality unraveling around him. His daggers flashed, finding gaps in scales, piercing hearts, severing spines.
Kaiju fell. Overlords died.
But they did not stop.
They could not.
The Monarch **moved.**
Its fist crashed down, and the earth **shattered.**
Seun rolled, his ribs screaming, but he was already moving, already driving his dagger into the beast's wrist, carving upward, through muscle, through bone—
The Monarch **roared.**
And the world **ended.**
---
When the dust settled, when the last beast fell, Seun stood amidst the carnage, his body broken, his breath ragged.
But he was **alive.**
And he was **stronger.**
The System's voice was a whisper in his mind.
**[RANK PROGRESS: A+ (50%)]**
Seun exhaled.
And **smiled.**