Silence swallowed the world.
Lucifer floated in empty white for a heartbeat, lungs burning. The floor around him was cracked and shattered. There was no sign of Damaris—just a fading shadow where his last strike had landed.
He coughed once, then braced himself on a fractured pillar, chest heaving. For a moment, it felt like he'd fallen out of time. Only the soft, familiar sound of the system humming back to life kept him grounded.
A single line flickered before his eyes:
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: TOWER CLEARED – FLOOR 100 COMPLETE]
The world snapped back. Lucifer landed gently on his feet, body trembling but steady. All around, the last fragments of the tower began to dissolve into drifting motes of red and black light, like fireflies caught in a gentle breeze.
Then came the flood.
[SYSTEM: RETROSPECTIVE REWARD PROCESSING – FLOOR 1 TO FLOOR 100]
The first notification appeared, a list of hard-won prizes scrolling before his eyes—more vivid than ever.
[FLOOR 1: Bloodforged Ring]
