Chapter 109 — The Unnamed Trial
The staircase seemed longer than before.
Azrael walked beside Seraphina.
Caelan, Lyanna, and Orin followed closely behind.
Nobody spoke.
The System’s warning remained in their minds.
Remain together.
After several minutes, the staircase finally ended.
They stepped forward.
Nothing happened.
No monsters.
No environment change.
No System announcement.
The five stood inside a vast white chamber.
The floor was perfectly smooth.
The walls were completely empty.
There wasn’t even a visible exit.
Orin looked around.
"...Did the Tower forget to create the rest of the floor?"
Lyanna shook her head.
"Probably not."
Caelan examined the walls.
"There has to be something."
Azrael activated Origin Perception.
Nothing.
He activated Resonance Sight.
Still nothing.
Seraphina tried sensing life.
Nothing.
She frowned.
"I can’t sense anything either."
Azrael looked at her.
"Neither can I."
That was unusual.
The Tower had always contained something.
Even the empty floors had energy.
This place had none.
It was as if they had stepped outside the Tower itself.
Then—
A voice spoke.
Not from above.
Not from below.
From everywhere.
"Why do you climb?"
Everyone froze.
The System appeared.
[Floor 28]
[Trial Type: Purpose]
[Question: Why do you climb?]
[There is no incorrect answer.]
[There is no correct answer.]
[Your answer will determine the trial.]
Orin stared at the message.
"That’s it?"
The voice responded.
"Answer."
Orin scratched his head.
"To become stronger."
The chamber remained silent.
Nothing happened.
Caelan stepped forward.
"To reach the top."
Again, nothing.
Lyanna thought for a moment.
"To discover what awaits us."
Still nothing.
Seraphina looked toward Azrael.
"And you?"
Azrael was quiet.
Why was he climbing?
At first, the answer had been simple.
Strength.
The Tower had been an opportunity to become stronger.
But after everything they had experienced...
His answer had changed.
"To understand myself."
The chamber remained silent.
Seraphina smiled.
"Then I know my answer."
She stepped forward.
"I climb because I want to protect the people I love."
The white chamber suddenly changed.
Golden light appeared beneath her feet.
The System responded.
[Answer Accepted.]
[Purpose Identified: Protection.]
[Personal Trial Assigned.]
Seraphina disappeared.
"Seraphina!"
Azrael immediately stepped forward.
The System appeared.
[Warning]
[Interference prohibited.]
[Each participant must face their own answer.]
Azrael stopped.
His hands tightened.
He hated it.
But he understood.
This floor wasn’t asking them to fight together.
It was asking them to understand why they were climbing.
Seraphina
Seraphina opened her eyes.
She was standing in a city.
Fire covered the streets.
Buildings were collapsing.
People were running.
Children were crying.
She immediately moved forward.
"Where am I?"
A System message appeared.
[Protection Trial]
[Save everyone.]
[Restriction:]
[You cannot use Genesis.]
[You cannot ask for assistance.]
[You cannot prevent every death.]
Seraphina’s expression hardened.
"No."
She looked around.
People were trapped beneath rubble.
She began pulling stones away with her bare hands.
One person.
Then another.
She carried an injured man to safety.
She helped a mother find her child.
She guided people away from collapsing buildings.
But there were too many.
Far too many.
A building collapsed in front of her.
Seraphina froze.
She had arrived too late.
The sound of crying came from beneath the rubble.
She immediately began digging.
Her hands became bloody.
She kept digging.
Eventually, she reached the child.
Alive.
Barely.
Seraphina pulled her free.
"You’re safe."
The girl began crying.
Seraphina hugged her.
"I’ve got you."
Then the System appeared.
[People Protected: 17]
[People Lost: 42]
[Trial Status: Failure]
Seraphina stared at the message.
"No."
The scene reset.
Again.
The city burned.
Again, she tried to save everyone.
Again, she failed.
Twenty people saved.
Thirty lost.
Reset.
Thirty saved.
Twenty lost.
Reset.
Forty saved.
Ten lost.
Reset.
She kept trying.
Hours passed.
Days passed.
The city continued burning.
Seraphina eventually collapsed to her knees.
"I can’t..."
Her hands trembled.
"I can’t save everyone."
The voice spoke.
"Then why continue?"
Seraphina looked up.
"Because they’re still alive."
"You know you cannot save them all."
"I know."
"Then your efforts are meaningless."
Seraphina slowly stood.
"No."
She wiped the blood from her hands.
"Saving everyone isn’t the only reason I help."
The voice became silent.
Seraphina looked toward the burning city.
"I can’t control everything."
"I can’t stop every tragedy."
"I can’t protect everyone from every danger."
She clenched her fists.
"But if someone is standing in front of me..."
"...I’ll do everything I can."
The city stopped burning.
The System appeared.
[Purpose Understood.]
[Protection does not mean preventing all suffering.]
[Protection means choosing to stand beside others despite knowing you cannot control everything.]
[Trial Complete.]
[Genesis Bloom Understanding: 67%]
[Life Resonance: Level 7]
[New Trait Acquired:]
Guardian’s Heart
Increases the effectiveness of Genesis abilities when protecting another living being.
Seraphina smiled.
"I understand now."
The world disappeared.
Azrael
Azrael appeared in a completely different place.
He stood in a battlefield.
Thousands of warriors surrounded him.
Everywhere he looked, people were fighting.
The System appeared.
[Purpose Trial]
[Why do you seek strength?]
[Restriction:]
[No weapons.]
[No skills.]
[No supernatural abilities.]
Azrael looked at the battlefield.
A warrior attacked him.
He dodged.
Another came from behind.
He blocked the strike.
Another.
Another.
He continued fighting.
But the System kept asking the same question.
Why do you seek strength?
Azrael didn’t answer.
Because he wasn’t sure.
He had once thought strength itself was the answer.
But it wasn’t.
Strength had never satisfied him.
Every time he became stronger, another obstacle appeared.
Another enemy.
Another mystery.
Another limit.
So why?
A warrior knocked him to the ground.
Azrael stood.
Another attack came.
He dodged.
Then he finally understood.
"I don’t seek strength because I want to dominate others."
The battlefield became silent.
"I seek strength because I refuse to be powerless."
The warriors disappeared.
Azrael continued.
"I’ve seen what happens when you’re too weak to protect someone."
His fists tightened.
"I don’t want to experience that again."
The System appeared.
[Purpose Understood.]
[Strength is not your destination.]
[It is your means.]
[Trial Complete.]
[Aetherion Resonance: 27%]
[Combat Insight: Level 12]
[Instinctive Combat: Level 4]
[New Trait Acquired:]
Unyielding Will
Resistance increases when protecting a chosen objective.
Azrael stared at the notification.
Then he smiled faintly.
"So that’s why."
The battlefield disappeared.
One by one, the others returned.
Caelan appeared first.
He looked exhausted.
Orin appeared next.
He immediately sat down.
"I don’t want to talk about mine."
Lyanna laughed weakly.
"Same."
Seraphina returned.
Azrael immediately looked toward her.
"You okay?"
She smiled.
"Yes."
He nodded.
"Good."
The five stood together again.
The System appeared.
[Floor 28]
[Individual Purpose Trials Complete]
[Group Condition Fulfilled]
[All Participants Returned]
[Trial Complete]
[Special Reward Granted]
The chamber began changing.
The white walls disappeared.
A massive circular platform appeared beneath them.
At its center stood five statues.
Each statue represented one of them.
Azrael.
Seraphina.
Caelan.
Lyanna.
Orin.
Behind the statues was a staircase.
The number 29 was carved into it.
Orin looked at the staircase.
"Please tell me the next floor isn’t another psychological trial."
Azrael smiled.
"We’ll find out."
Seraphina looked at the five statues.
"These trials were different for everyone."
Caelan nodded.
"Because our reasons are different."
Azrael looked toward the staircase.
"That’s probably what the Tower wanted us to understand."
Seraphina stepped beside him.
"We don’t have to climb for the same reason."
"Exactly."
The five walked toward the staircase.
Before they reached it, the System appeared one final time.
[Floor 28 Complete]
[Party Synchronization: 100%]
[Individual Growth Recognized]
[Next Floor: 29]
They began climbing.
This time, the Tower didn’t feel like a place that was simply testing their strength.
It was testing the people they were becoming.
And for the twins, that mattered more than another increase in power.