Tyler’s eyes snapped open, pain radiating through his entire body. The room was dim, shadows flickering on the walls, and he quickly realized he was still in the bathhouse. The battle's devastation was evident in the broken columns and cracked tiles. "If this is what winning feels like, I’d hate to see losing," he muttered under his breath, wincing as he took in the wreckage around him.

He forced himself to move, every muscle protesting. As he crawled towards Seraphina’s motionless form, he reached out, giving her a sharp slap on the cheek to test if she was truly unconscious. “You dead?” he asked, half-serious. When she didn't respond, an idea formed in his mind. “I’m going to need some space,” he grunted, rolling her massive form onto her side. “Son of a… you’re heavier than you look!”

His fingers trembling as he pulled out a sharp inscription tool and started drawing a complex illusion rune on the back of her armour where the breastplate offered some space.

He got the idea from the void wand he had given Elric earlier. The rune would blind, deafen, and remove all senses from her. He estimated he would need at least an hour. “If you would have been a little more reasonable, I wouldn't have to do this, but when has feelings ever cared about logic.”

With a final stroke, Tyler sat back, relieved as he inspected his work. The rune glowed faintly as it took hold, linking itself to her armour and his mana core.

Tyler collapsed back onto half a stone pillar behind him, his energy spent. “Let’s see you try something now your crazy bitch!” he muttered as he closed his eyes.

A few minutes later, her body seemed to stir, Seraphina was waking up. He sent a pulse of mana through the rune, triggering the illusion.

Seraphina's eyes snapped open, but she saw nothing. She couldn't hear the water dripping from the damaged lion statues, nor could she feel the cold stone beneath her, no pain, nothing. She stood motionless for a moment and then she panicked, her movements frantic as she tried to make sense of her surroundings.

In the void of her senses, Seraphina screamed, but she couldn’t hear her voice. She writhed, the lack of sensory feedback disorienting her completely. For a moment, she believed she might be dead or trapped in some eternal, senseless limbo. Then, as she began to lose hope, Tyler's voice echoed through the void, cutting through her fear.

“Seraphina,” Tyler called, his voice calm and controlled.

She froze, her serpentine body coiling instinctively. “Who’s there?” she demanded, now for the first time able to hear her voice.

“Answer my questions, free my friends and I might let you go,” Tyler said, amplifying his voice within the illusion.

Seraphina hesitated, then nodded, though she wasn’t sure if he could see her.

“Good,” Tyler continued. “First, where are my friends?”

“They’re safe,” Seraphina replied, her voice shaky. “I can bring them here, but you must release me.”

“You misunderstand, we are not bargaining. You do what I ask you, that’s it. Next question: How many floors does the tower have?”

Seraphina's eyes widened in genuine surprise before she burst into laughter. “Sure, I’ll play your game. Calling them floors is a convenient way your human minds have tried to rationalise entering a tower and moving from one challenge to the next. There is no tower. What you see on your plain of existence is a beacon that connects over vast distances to the realms you visit. For there to be floors you would need to be inside the building you call a tower.”

“So, it’s like a massive antenna” Tyler thought to himself and then said, “So how many different realms are there before you reach the end?”

“There are 64 basic realms, and every five realms are overseen by a realm boss whose sole purpose is to challenge explorers before they are allowed to move forward but the 65 realm is special, I don't know how many realms come after it. All I know is that the challenge changes significantly.”

Tyler absorbed this information, considering his next move. “What do you mean by 'changes significantly?”

Seraphina resisted, her face tightening. “I won't tell you more, I doubt your small mind could even understand concepts meant for gods” she hissed.

Without hesitation, Tyler activated the rune fully, plunging Seraphina back into the void. For what felt like an eternity, she writhed and screamed, though she could not hear her own voice. Eventually, her struggles weakened, and her will began to break. When Tyler finally brought her back, Seraphina was docile, her eyes wide with fear. “Please, no more,” she whispered.

“Then tell me,” Tyler demanded. “What happens after the 65th realm?”

Seraphina's voice trembled as she spoke. “The 65th floor is special, it exists outside of time. From most humans’ perspectives, they would enter the portal and be immediately teleported back to the safe zone with no memory of what happened but eventually they would enter and never return. Your theories are that you receive a challenge on the other side and if you choose not to participate you are sent back and if you do participate and fail you die. What’s really happening is that only a single version of everyone who has ever reached that floor is allowed to continue.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“When you enter the portal, you will be confronted with every version of yourself whoever entered in your lifetime. You must choose among yourselves who is the most capable to continue. Only the chosen version continues; the others lose their memories and are sent back to the 61st-floor safe zone.”

Tyler pondered the explanation. “So, if someone chooses a younger version of themselves to continue, doesn’t that create a paradox? What happens if that version fails?”

Seraphina was surprised by Tyler's insight. “It’s unlikely you’d choose a less experienced version, but even if you did, timelines adapt. The older versions would simply come from a timeline where you made a different choice.”

“So,” Tyler said, “someone who tries multiple times could face hundreds of versions of themselves?”

Seraphina nodded. “Yes, but if you’ve only attempted the portal once, there would only be one version of you. It’s straightforward for those who never tried again. But for those who kept trying... they could encounter countless versions of themselves.”

Tyler continued, “So every time someone’s sent back to the safe zone, the portal knows they’ll try again, and those who don’t return are considered dead?”

“Exactly,” Seraphina confirmed. “The portal operates outside of time. It knows if you’ll try again in any timeline. If you’re sent back, it’s because you’re destined to try again. But if you’re not sent back, it means you either succeeded or died, sealing your fate. The challenge filters out the weaker versions, ensuring only the strongest continue.”

“Fair enough, what happens after you choose?” Tyler asked trying to keep the conversation moving.

“After that, the countless challengers across the thousands of years are all grouped together to face a series of challenges that thins out the numbers. At this point, you either win or you die, but I don’t know what the challenges are or how many there are.”

Tyler's eyes narrowed. “What happens when you clear the tower?”

Seraphina shook her head frantically. “I don’t know. I swear. All I know is that it has something to do with the gods who created the tower.”

Tyler's patience was wearing thin. “You better not be lying to me, Seraphina,” he warned, his voice low and menacing.

“I swear, that’s all I know! Some say nothing, others say you become a god, but we don’t know for sure,” she pleaded, her eyes wide with terror.

Tyler took a deep breath, his mind racing with the new information. The tower was far more complex and dangerous than he had ever imagined.

“Now, I want you to think long and hard. Do you have any other information I could find useful?”

Seraphina’s eyes darted left and right as she desperately searched her memories. “I don’t know the specifics beyond the 65th floor,” she began, her voice trembling. “But there are whispers among the guardians. Rumours of a boss with the power to manipulate time itself. They say it can rewind battles, and trap you in endless loops until you make a fatal mistake. If you face it… you’ll need more than just strength. But these are just stories—no one really knows for sure.”

Tyler narrowed his eyes. “Is that all?”

Seraphina nodded; her fear palpable. “The tower becomes unpredictable beyond this point. Every guardian says the challenges are different, tailored thin the numbers. But the truth is, we don’t know what lies ahead. We only have rumours and speculation.”

Tyler’s expression hardened as he absorbed her words. He knew that while Seraphina’s information was limited, it was all he had to go on. The uncertainty of the tower’s future floors gnawed at him, but he couldn’t afford to waste this opportunity. He knew he needed to be prepared for anything if he wanted to survive and protect his friends.

“And my friends,” Tyler demanded, his voice cutting through the tension. “Where are they? What have you done to them?”

“They’re in stasis, suspended in the space between floors. Alive, but… in a state where time doesn’t touch them, as are we, when my power returns, I can dissolve this time space and you will appear on the other side of the portal.”

Tyler’s jaw tightened, there was still one final question that lingered in his mind.

“The tower—why was it built? Who controls it?” Tyler demanded, his voice steady but edged with tension.

Seraphina hesitated, fear flickering in her eyes. She shook her head slowly. “I don’t know who built it, or why. The guardians say it’s a test—a crucible to find the strongest, the worthiest. But for what purpose, none of us know.”

Tyler’s eyes narrowed as he absorbed her words. “Who are the guardians?”

Seraphina opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly, her breath hitched. Pain wracked her body, and she gasped as blood-red tears began to stream from her eyes.

“Stop!” Tyler shouted, realizing too late that something—or someone—was killing her to prevent her from revealing more.

Seraphina gasped for air, her body trembling with the effort. Relief washed over her as Tyler backed off, not pressing further. “Thank you,” she whispered hoarsely, grateful that he didn’t push her beyond the breaking point.

Tyler’s mind raced as he tried to gather any remaining information. “What happens when you die?” he asked, hoping this question wouldn’t trigger the same deadly reaction.

“Recycled… lose memories… retrained,” Seraphina managed to choke out, her voice barely above a whisper.

“By the guardians, I suppose,” Tyler murmured, piecing it together.

Seraphina gave him a look that confirmed his suspicion, her eyes pleading with him not to force her to say it aloud.

Tyler sighed as understanding dawned on him. “That’s why you were so angry when I killed Palin. It didn’t matter that I brought him back—he lost his memories. Your revenge wasn’t just for his death; it was for the loss of the love you shared.”

Her eyes filled with a mixture of sorrow and resignation. “You understand now,” she said softly. “I was so sure you would kill me, and I’d lose my memories of our time together. I thought… maybe the pain would finally go away.” Her voice cracked as she continued, “Palin was the only love I had ever known.”

They stood in silence for a moment, the weight of their shared understanding hanging in the air. Finally, Seraphina spoke again, her voice steady but resigned. “Kill me, so I might forget. Kill me, and I will return your friends to you unharmed. I’ve already made the modifications. The loss of my life will trigger the magic to extinguish my mana core and use that power to reunite you with your friends. It’s the only way.”

Tyler looked at her, weighing his options. He realized there was no other choice. If he refused, she would continue to come after him, driven by her need for release.

With a final, heavy breath, Tyler nodded.

Seraphina closed her eyes, a single tear slipping down her cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Tyler gripped his sword tightly, his mind clear as he raised the blade. With one swift motion, he brought it down, decapitating Seraphina in a single, clean strike. Her body crumpled to the ground as her mana core shattered, releasing a blinding flash of light.

The surge of power enveloped him as the world faded to white, pulling him into the unknown.