Regression: Reclaiming the End

Noel let the silence linger for a moment more before finally speaking again. His tone was calm, but there was tension in his jaw.

"So... what now?"

I turned to look at him, eyes steady. "I’ll keep going."

He blinked. "Through the Rift?"

I nodded. "Until the 10th Floor."

Noel frowned. "You’re not even going to take a breather?"

"No point," I said, standing up and stretching my arms slightly. The weight of Astral Overdrive had faded, but the echoes still lingered in my bones like faint tremors.

"Things are escalating too fast. That troll shouldn’t have had a shard. Floor 7 wasn’t supposed to throw that at me."

"And if something’s accelerating the Rift’s evolution... then we’re running out of time."

Noel looked down at the floor, processing. He knew I was right.

"You really going in again today?" he asked, raising a brow.