When Lucien stepped through the gate of Floor B95, the world changed not with a flash, but with a whisper.
Paper. Ink. Dust.
Endless shelves stretched in every direction, vanishing into shadow and silence. Towering spires of books, scrolls, parchments—none labeled. All breathing.
Some tomes fluttered open on their own. Others glared shut like they held secrets too heavy to share.
There was no wind, yet the pages rustled.
[Welcome to Floor B95 – The Library of Truths.]Within these walls lies the total record of all falsehoods.Every lie ever told by any being within the Tower is written here.Should another read your truths… the lies you wield will shatter.Survive. Or be unmasked.
Lucien felt the tension wrap around his throat like a leash.
His lies were his power. His armor. His truth.
Here, they could become his execution.
He walked in silence.
Footsteps muffled by old stone, eyes scanning for traps, patterns, clues.
A book glowed faintly on a nearby pedestal. No title. Just a sigil: a snake biting its tail.
Lucien touched it.
It opened on its own.
Lie #001: "I didn't know she was going to die."Context: Cassandra. Floor B99. Spoken to Naia to avoid suspicion after the engineered conflict.
He snapped it shut.
Cold sweat ran down his back.
Another book, another shelf:
Lie #207: "You can trust me."Context: Calen. Floor B97. Spoken to provoke voluntary sacrifice.
Another:
Lie #212: "I feel nothing."Context: Internal denial.
He turned away.
But the books kept appearing.
They weren't passive.
They were watching.
Elsewhere in the library, Naia moved quietly.
She had entered just seconds after Lucien—he hadn't noticed.
And that suited her fine.
She'd followed him since Floor B96. Watched him manipulate. Watched him kill, with words sweet as silk and sharp as razors.
She hadn't said a word since Calen vanished.
Now she crept through the labyrinth of knowledge, her rage quiet but growing.
Then she saw it.
A glowing red tome, labeled in gold:
"THE BOOK OF LIES – LUCIEN VALE"
It pulsed like a heart.
She hesitated.
The system message had warned: knowing another's truth was dangerous — but was it more dangerous than ignorance?
She opened the book.
It whispered.
"Naia was never supposed to survive.""She is useful only as a mirror to reflect my humanity.""If she ever ceases to believe in me… she becomes irrelevant."
Her hands trembled.
"I was there when her brother died. I let him die. Easier that way."
She dropped the book.
But it clung to her.
Pages fluttered around her like moths, clinging to her skin, chanting softly:
"He lied.""He lied.""He lied."
Naia screamed and tore the pages off—but they burned into her hands, into her mind.
The Tower gave her one final message:
[You have seen his Truth.]Your belief in him has been nullified.You are now immune to his lies.Warning: Those who have seen too much truth may never return to who they were.
Naia staggered forward.
Face pale.
Eyes cold.
Her blade no longer shook.
Somewhere far below the Library… something stirred.
In a sealed floor not yet open to Lucien.
Floor B90 – Dormant Trial Entity: Incomplete
The room was nothing.
No sky. No ceiling. No time.
And yet, there was a presence.
A flicker.
A heartbeat.
A voice whispered:
"You gave yourself… for belief."
"Now believe… in pain."
From the darkness, a boy stirred.
Not quite alive. Not quite dead.
His name was…
"…Calen."
And the voice continued.
"You were betrayed. Remember."
His hands twitched.
Flashes of memory danced:
Lucien smiling.
Lucien saying, "You're brave."
Lucien guiding him toward the orb.
Then—
Nothing.
Then—
Fire.
Pain.
Cold.
Calen screamed.
And his eyes snapped open — glowing with white-blue light.
His voice, once soft and scared, now echoed with steel.
"I remember now."
"He used me."
Lucien found the central archive: a great circular hall filled with floating orbs of text.
He reached out to one.
The moment his fingers touched it, his own voice echoed:
"I believe in nothing."
It was his declaration on Floor B97.
It had become real then.
It would kill him now if exposed.
He turned—and found Naia standing in the doorway.
Sword drawn.
Eyes filled with clarity and hate.
"You lied," she said.
"I always do," Lucien replied.
"No more."
She stepped forward.
Each footstep louder than the silence.
"You said Calen's death was necessary."
"It was."
"You said you felt nothing."
"I did."
"You said you wouldn't betray us."
Lucien tilted his head.
"I lied."
She lunged.
Their blades met.
Naia moved with fury, but also precision.
She wasn't reckless.
She wasn't grieving anymore.
She was awake.
Lucien ducked, twisted, and kicked her back.
"Stop this," he growled.
"You killed a boy who believed in you."
"He chose to believe."
"And you let him die for it."
She stabbed. He dodged. Her sword scraped his coat.
Blood.
The library began to hum.
Truth and falsehood collided.
Then Naia shouted:
"I saw your Book."
Lucien froze.
Naia grinned savagely.
"Your system won't work on me anymore."
Lucien's face darkened.
"Then I'll just have to kill you honestly."
They clashed again — brutal, fast, personal.
Lucien's deception failed him.
His system's lie-based abilities couldn't bend her perception now.
She was free of him.
But he was still faster.
Smarter.
And he'd fought knowing she might turn — ever since B96.
The duel ended with Lucien's blade at her throat.
Naia breathed heavily.
Unmoving.
Lucien didn't kill her.
Not yet.
He leaned close.
"You think you're immune."
"But that's just another kind of belief."
He stepped away.
Left her alive.
"I need you to watch, Naia."
"So when this Tower falls—when I'm at the top—you'll know it wasn't lies that got me there."
"It was truth. The truth that everyone else was too weak to accept."
He walked to the final orb.
Touched it.
The Tower shuddered.
[Floor B95 Cleared.]Trait Upgraded: Liar's Paradox – Truth may now be weaponized.Next Floor: The Mirror of Choices.Caution: Personal timeline instability increasing.
In the darkness of B90, Calen's eyes glowed brighter.
Armor formed on his body — stitched from memory and regret.
His name was no longer Calen.
[Trial Entity Awakened – B90 Boss: "The Last Believer"]
He stood.
And smiled bitterly.
"Lucien... I still believe in you."
"But this time... I'll make sure the world knows what that costs."