"The Architect's Shadow"
The light swallowed them whole.
For a heartbeat, there was nothing — no sound, no sight, no sensation. Then the world rebuilt itself, piece by piece, as though reality hesitated to remember what it was supposed to be.
Zero stepped forward first. The ground beneath his boots was not stone or soil but something living — a surface that flexed ever so slightly with each step. The walls pulsed faintly, translucent and webbed with veins of light, like the inside of a creature's heart.
Arven followed cautiously, his blade drawn. "What the hell is this place…?"
Zero didn't answer immediately. His gaze drifted across the corridor, where countless threads of light extended into the distance — some stretching upward toward the Tower's heights, others plunging into endless darkness below.
"This is the spine," he said at last. "The Tower's nervous system."
Arven frowned. "How do you even know that?"
Zero's eyes narrowed. "Because I've seen it before."
Echoes of the Past
The corridor opened into a vast chamber — spherical, boundless, and filled with suspended fragments of memory. Images flickered within them — moments from different climbers, flashes of death, triumph, betrayal.
Each memory orb pulsed when they passed, whispering voices from ages long gone.
"Don't look down…""We were promised ascension…""It lies."
Arven brushed one accidentally, and an image flared to life — a woman kneeling before a burning door, her body half-consumed by light.
Arven stumbled back. "That was—"
"—a failure," Zero finished. His tone was flat, but his eyes lingered on the fading image longer than they should have.
He reached out toward another memory. This one pulsed brighter, reacting to his touch. It showed him — younger, bloodied, standing before the same Gate they'd just crossed, surrounded by corpses of climbers who bore the same insignia as Arven.
Zero's hand froze midair.
Arven turned sharply. "That's you."
Zero's jaw clenched. "A life before this one."
"So the Guide was telling the truth…" Arven muttered. "You've climbed before. You failed."
Zero didn't deny it. He only said, "The Tower doesn't let you die. It recycles what it needs."
The chamber began to tremble as though their presence had awakened something ancient. The memory fragments dimmed, and a deep hum filled the air — rhythmic, deliberate, alive.
The Architect Awakes
From the center of the chamber, light coalesced — swirling into a humanoid shape draped in strands of energy. The figure had no face, only a smooth, reflective surface that mirrored whoever looked upon it.
When it spoke, the voice was layered — male, female, mechanical, divine.
"You've returned to the Root, Zero."
Arven's stance tensed. "Who are you?"
"Names are irrelevant here," the being said calmly. "But you may call me what your kind once did — the Architect."
Zero's gaze hardened. "You built the Tower."
"Built? No," the Architect replied, tone soft as silk. "I grew it. From your failures. From your wars. From your hunger to ascend."
It stepped closer. With every movement, the walls pulsed in sync, as if the entire floor moved with it.
"You climbed this Tower long ago, Zero. You reached the Root. You looked upon me… and you turned away."
Zero's hand tightened on his sword. "Then why am I here again?"
The Architect tilted its head. "Because you asked to be reborn. To erase the burden of what you did."
Arven looked between them. "What are you talking about?"
The Architect's faceless form turned toward him.
"The Tower feeds on souls who desire power. But it needed a mind — a will — to shape it. Zero was that will. He became the Tower's first heart."
Arven took a step back. "You're saying he created this?"
Zero's expression didn't change, but his silence said enough.
"He built each floor as a reflection of his sin," the Architect continued. "Blood, fire, memory, silence — each born from what he feared most. And when he could no longer bear what he'd made, he asked me to remove his memories… and climb again."
The chamber fell silent.
Arven shook his head slowly. "You're telling me he's the reason any of this exists."
The Architect's voice grew quieter, almost pitying.
"And you, Arven… are his echo. A fragment of his will given form — the piece he cut away when he asked for mercy."
Arven froze. "That's not—" He stepped back, shaking his head violently. "No. That's not possible."
Zero turned toward him, eyes unreadable. "That's why I recognized you. You fight the way I used to."
Arven's breathing quickened. "You're saying I'm… you?"
Zero's tone was calm but heavy. "A piece of me. The part that still hesitates."
Truth and Defiance
The Architect raised a hand, and the air thickened with radiant energy.
"You've reached the Root again, Zero. The cycle can end now. Merge with me. Reclaim what you are — and the Tower will ascend to its true form."
Arven drew his sword. "Don't listen to it!"
Zero stared at the Architect. "And if I refuse?"
"Then you will climb forever," it said simply. "Again and again. Until your mind decays and your soul is devoured by your own creation."
For a long moment, the silence was unbearable.
Then Zero spoke.
"I built this Tower once. I won't serve it again."
The Architect tilted its head, as if amused.
"Then you will destroy yourself."
"Maybe," Zero said softly, "but this time, I'll choose how."
He moved.
The Clash in the Core
The Architect's hand rose — and the world bent. The air warped into blades of energy, cutting through the floor like liquid glass. Zero darted forward, weaving between slashes, his movements a blur of precision.
Arven followed, unleashing a burst of energy that struck the Architect's chest. The impact sent ripples of distortion across its form, revealing glimpses of something beneath — an endless void threaded with circuitry and light.
The Architect retaliated.
A shockwave exploded outward, flinging Arven into the wall. Zero caught himself midair, landing in a crouch, sword humming.
The Architect's voice boomed across the chamber.
"You cannot kill me. You are me."
Zero's eyes burned with cold defiance. "Then consider this suicide."
He lunged.
Their blades met — one forged of steel and memory, the other of pure energy. The impact shattered the air, sending streaks of light spiraling through the void.
For the first time, the Architect staggered.
The Breaking Point
Arven rose, blood dripping from his lip. He charged again, channeling every ounce of his strength into his blade.
"Zero! If I'm your hesitation — then let me die here!"
Before Zero could respond, Arven leapt forward, plunging his sword through the Architect's chest. The light flared violently, blinding them both.
The Architect's voice fractured.
"Foolish… even in defiance, you complete the pattern…"
Cracks of white light tore through its form. The chamber began to collapse, the memory spheres bursting like glass.
Arven fell to his knees, fading as the energy consumed him. "Go… finish it…"
Zero caught him, but the body dissolved into light — merging with his own.
And for the first time, Zero felt whole.
The Door Below
The Architect's voice faded into static.
"You cannot destroy the Tower, Zero… it is you."
Zero looked up at the collapsing chamber. "Then I'll start by ending myself."
A single door appeared beneath the crumbling world — made of black light, humming with ancient power.
Zero walked toward it.
Each step left ripples in the air, each breath shaking the structure around him.
He placed his hand on the door.
"Let's see if gods can die."
The door opened.
And everything fell.