Tower 1 — Approaching Floor Two Entrance
The corridor leading into Floor Two was wrong.
Not dangerous, not horrifying—just wrong in a way the human mind wasn't made to understand.
The walls bent at angles that shouldn't exist.
Paths twisted into each other without touching.
Ceiling and floor traded places whenever one blinked.
Ragnor rubbed his temples.
"Okay. I'm gonna say something wild."
Lyra glanced at him.
"What?"
"I think… this floor hates geometry."
Iris hugged her book tightly.
"This is a spatial labyrinth. It changes based on who walks inside… and what they fear."
Aetherion ran his fingers along a floating rune.
"It's unstable. Even the structure is undecided. DRM probably walked right through, but for us…"
He trailed off.
Ragnor squinted.
"…wait. Where IS DRM?"
The masked child was nowhere in sight.
No footprints.
No aura trace.
No visual flicker.
Lyra stepped forward slowly.
"He's still on this floor. But… farther. Much farther."
Iris whispered:
"O-or he's already on Floor Three…"
This thought alone made everyone shiver.
Aetherion turned to the group.
"Listen carefully. If this floor responds to fear, then any hesitation could reshape the path."
Ragnor snorted.
"So what? Just be brave?"
Aetherion shook his head.
"No. Just don't think about fear."
Iris gulped loud enough for the Tower to hear.
"GREAT advice…"
Lyra smiled faintly.
"Let's stay together. No one breaks formation."
The walls pulsed.
And the trial began.
The Labyrinth Reconfigures
The moment all four stepped inside—
CRACK
THUD
WHIRL
FWOOM
The hallways twisted like a living organism.
Paths split into dozens.
Shadows elongated into impossible shapes.
Floating lights appeared—tiny, soft, faintly glowing.
Guiding them.
Or misleading them.
Ragnor frowned.
"I hate mazes."
Aetherion corrected him.
"This isn't a maze."
He pointed at the ground.
Their reflections were warped.
Distorted.
Smiling back at them.
"This is a reflection test."
Iris froze.
"N-no. Not that. Anything but—"
Her reflection blinked.
The real Iris did not.
First Threat — "Mirrorborn"
The reflections climbed out of the ground.
Each one a warped version of the squad:
Mirror-Ragnor
Twice as muscular, eyes cracked like glass.
Mirror-Lyra
Bow of bone, arrows of black fog.
Mirror-Iris
Clockwork chains binding her arms.
Mirror-Aetherion
A hollow body filled with a swirling void.
The real Iris stumbled back.
"W-we can't fight them! They're stronger reflections of our weaknesses—"
Ragnor roared:
"Then we beat them before they can USE those weaknesses!"
He lunged at Mirror-Ragnor.
Fist met fist—
and Ragnor was thrown into a wall so hard the stone cracked.
Aetherion reacted instantly.
"Lyra—swap targets!"
Lyra fired at Mirror-Iris instead of her own copy.
The arrow hit—but bent midair, deflected by time-warp chains.
Iris cried out:
"M-my reflection has access to my abilities too!"
Mirror-Aetherion fired a void blast—
Aetherion dodged—
But the shot still clipped his arm, warping space around the wound.
He hissed through clenched teeth.
"These copies… are evolving."
Ragnor punched his own reflection again—
only for Mirror-Ragnor to mirror his movement perfectly.
Lyra whispered:
"They're perfect mirrors…"
Iris shook violently.
"Th-then we can't win. We can't beat a perfect copy—"
Aetherion's eyes widened.
"No… not perfect. There's something missing."
He looked at the group.
"At their feet."
Lyra blinked.
"They… don't have… shadows."
Ragnor's eyes lit up.
"…they're NOT reflections. They're Echoes."
Iris gasped.
"Echoes can't replicate everything—they can't replicate EMOTION."
Aetherion nodded sharply.
"Right. Hit them with emotions they can't copy. Confusion. Sarcasm. Anything."
Ragnor smirked.
"I got something for that."
He charged at Mirror-Ragnor again—
but instead of swinging…
He hugged him.
Hard.
The reflection froze.
Lyra burst into laughter mid-fight.
"WHAT are you doing?!"
Ragnor shouted:
"FEELINGS. HUGGING. TAKE THIS POSITIVITY."
Mirror-Ragnor glitched violently.
Then shattered.
Lyra saw her chance.
"Alright… reflection of ME—let's see you copy THIS."
She fired a Void Arrow—
but aimed it at herself, letting it graze her cheek.
Blood dripped.
She smirked at her copy.
Mirror-Lyra hesitated—
Could not replicate the self-inflicted move—
And shattered.
Iris's copy bound her in temporal chains—
but Iris smiled through fear and whispered:
"I forgive you."
Mirror-Iris jolted.
Time fractaled.
Chains unraveled.
It shattered into dust.
Aetherion faced his Echo.
"You can't mirror what you don't understand."
He activated Microcosm Blast—
but shifted its frequency at the last second.
His echo attempted to copy—
but unmatched attunement caused a cosmic recoil.
It shattered.
Ragnor wiped sweat.
"Hell… I hate emotional puzzles."
Lyra laughed weakly.
"You hugged yourself to death."
Iris giggled nervously.
Aetherion smiled faintly.
"We passed."
The labyrinth stabilized.
Paths merged into one.
A faint ripple came from ahead—
And DRM stepped out of the shadows.
Silent.
Still.
Watching.
Ragnor pointed aggressively.
"HEY. Where did you go?! We almost died!"
DRM tilted his head.
Then lifted a small hand…
…and pointed behind them.
They turned.
The shattered reflections were gone.
But their shadows remained on the ground—
pulsing like faint black hearts.
Aetherion's expression hardened.
"…he's showing us something."
Lyra swallowed.
"Our shadows… changed."
Iris trembled.
"They're… darker."
Ragnor frowned.
"What does THAT mean?"
Only DRM knew.
But he didn't explain.
He simply walked forward.
The Tower groaned.
And Floor Two opened further.
CHAPTER 6 — STATUS REPORT
Ragnor
Level: 8
EXP: +540
Skills:
Earth Strike (Stable)
Ground Pulse (Improving)
Physical Status: Bruised
Mental State: Confident, annoyed
Notes: Emotional creativity increasing
Lyra
Level: 7
EXP: +260
Skills:
Constellar Mark
Void Arrow (Basic)
Aura: Stable
Physical Status: Slight cut
Mental State: Resilient
Notes: Emotion-based tactic successful
Iris
Level: 5
EXP: +300
Skills:
Temporal Bind
Chrono Sense
Aura: Distorted but focused
Physical Status: Fatigued
Mental State: Calmer
Notes: Emotional strategy breakthrough
Aetherion
Level: 8
EXP: +580
Skills:
Microcosm Blast (Harmonic Shift Variant)
Aura: Expansion rippling
Physical Status: Spatial bruise
Mental State: Sharpened focus
Notes: Recognized echo vulnerability quickly
DRM
[UNREADABLE]
Level: ERROR
EXP: Unknown
Aura: Stage 1.7 — Silent Nightmare (Deepening)
Domain: Slight fluctuation detected
Mask Sync: 66%
Emotional State: Unknown
System Note: "Subject observed the Echo Trial but did not intervene."