Kael didn’t move.

  The words were still echoing.

  Eat me.

  His chains trembled.

  His jaw tightened.

  And then he understood.

  The trap.

  The Tower had never said how to finish the trial.

  Only one had to remain.

  The simplest solution… was this.

  Devouring.

  Nausea rose.

  A bitter taste clung to his tongue.

  He clenched his fists.

  No.

  Not like that.

  Never.

  A spark appeared.

  Small. Sharp.

  Thana burst forward.

  Her wings sliced the air.

  She circled Kael’s head.

  A sharp tap —

  Her tiny fist hit his forehead.

  Kael didn’t react.

  — Idiot! Didn’t you learn anything?!

  Is Umbra here just to look pretty?

  He’s your partner!

  You’re linked. Everything he devours… can be yours. If you both want it.

  A heavy silence.

  Kael didn’t answer.

  His eyes stayed on his double.

  His jaw trembled.

  Thana sighed.

  Her brows tightened — frustration, fatigue.

  She understood.

  She knew what it meant.

  But Kael stayed silent.

  With a harsh beat of wings, she vanished.

  The void returned.

  Kael inhaled.

  His chains rattled.

  — Umbra. Come back.

  The shadow turned slowly.

  Its jaws were still full.

  A demon’s leg hung from its teeth.

  It flinched.

  Bit down clean.

  The piece vanished.

  As if no one had seen anything.

  Kael narrowed his eyes.

  His breath turned rough.

  He raised his hand.

  — Umbra. Eat him too.

  — And give me everything.

  The shadow stepped forward.

  Its jaws widened.

  A low rumble rose from the ground.

  The entire chamber vibrated.

  The Doppelg?nger smiled.

  His lips trembled.

  A bitter smile.

  Almost peaceful.

  — I knew it. Since we’re the same.

  A simple ending… is impossible for us.

  His eyes locked onto Kael.

  Deep. Tired.

  As if he’d known from the start.

  — In a way, I’m proud.

  Proud to be one with you.

  Silence.

  His breath uneven.

  Each word scraping out of his throat.

  — Take care of our sister.

  His fingers twitched.

  His chains hung loose.

  He smiled again.

  — And don’t forget… this is only the beginning of your suffering.

  His tone shifted.

  Lower.

  Heavier.

  Each syllable landed like a sentence.

  — You already know it.

  Since I am you.

  His eyes dimmed.

  His lips stopped moving.

  Silence.

  Then Umbra moved.

  Its jaws opened.

  Slow.

  Mechanical.

  Inevitable.

  A low rumble.

  A sharp crack.

  Final.

  The double was severed.

  His body split clean in two.

  Two crimson pieces hit the floor.

  While Umbra chewed the first half, its eyes were already fixed on the second.

  A starving beast.

  A malnourished predator.

  Its teeth clicked in the air, impatient.

  Thana used the brief pause.

  She returned in a flash.

  Her wings buzzed.

  Her voice snapped:

  — Prepare yourself.

  Kael didn’t react.

  She insisted.

  — The fusion you’re expecting… what you experienced in the Temple of Truth?

  That was nothing.

  Feathers. Soft wind compared to what’s coming.

  Her eyes shone.

  She pointed at Umbra.

  — I can take twenty percent of your pain.

  Umbra will take thirty.

  But the remaining fifty… you’ll carry alone.

  Silence.

  Kael clenched his jaw.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  Thana’s voice softened, then hardened again.

  — And even those fifty… will be nothing like anything you’ve known.

  She hovered right in front of him.

  Her wings trembling.

  Her gaze burning.

  — You can blame me.

  — You can resent me for hiding things.

  — Just not now.

  — Don’t act wounded.

  — Your life depends on it.

  A short silence.

  Her tone grew razor sharp.

  — Prepare.

  — Listen.

  — Hate me if you want.

  — But don’t ignore me.

  — I don’t want to lose you.

  — Listen.

  She backed away.

  Then vanished.

  Kael stayed still.

  His fingers gripped the chain’s handle.

  His eyes searched the bloodied double.

  His breath was short.

  The world felt far away.

  Umbra swallowed the rest.

  A wet sound.

  A click.

  Flesh slid. Saliva dripped.

  Then the shadow folded into itself.

  It contracted.

  Its mass grew heavy.

  As if swallowing the night itself.

  Kael inhaled.

  A taste of iron rose.

  His throat closed.

  — Umbra.

  — Go into the mark.

  — Return. Transfer everything.

  The shadow obeyed.

  It dissolved.

  A black slide.

  It slipped along his thigh.

  Upward like living ink.

  It tightened.

  Then disappeared under Kael’s skin.

  Sank deeper.

  The mark burned.

  Pale blue. Then white.

  A cold wind tore through him.

  His spine shook.

  A cruel fire climbed his neck.

  His nerves screamed.

  He didn’t even have time to cry out before a greater pain opened.

  Images burst behind his eyelids.

  Memories that weren’t his.

  Echoes of hunger.

  Heartbeats that weren’t his.

  Umbra returned what it had taken.

  A black flood.

  A rain of shredded souls.

  Everything rushed toward the mark.

  Everything tried to force its way in.

  Kael fell to his knees.

  The room spun.

  His hands clawed at his spine, burning.

  A deep fire.

  A rising tide.

  He felt something slide inside him.

  A heartbeat.

  Then another — trembling — beside his own.

  The pain rose.

  Higher.

  Wider.

  He wasn’t ready.

  No one could be ready for that.

  The blood pool began to turn.

  A thick, red vortex.

  It lifted slowly.

  Every splash falling like blades.

  Then the flow wrapped around Kael.

  Circle after circle.

  A tightening spiral.

  A cocoon.

  The blood obeyed something ancient.

  Something intimate.

  As if trying to protect him.

  The cocoon tightened.

  The blood whispered.

  Then the fire erupted.

  Bone density.

  His skeleton of black ?ther refined.

  Bones tightened.

  Every mesh sealed.

  Sharp cracks.

  Deep fractures.

  Pain rose from the bones.

  A harsh fire scraping his spine.

  He felt the matter shifting under his skin.

  Harder.

  Colder.

  A denser frame.

  The marrow opened.

  Storage expanded.

  The spine accepted the load.

  And not only that.

  Other marrow centers awakened.

  Reservoirs within the bones.

  The black Magia found new chambers.

  Dark slides along the spine.

  Nerves screaming.

  The pain was alive.

  Precise.

  Acid.

  Alchemic flame of the heart.

  +1.

  A flame lit.

  Another one beside it.

  The density of the black Magia changed.

  From 2:1 to 3:1.

  The Magia thickened.

  Heavier.

  Every pulse hotter.

  As if his heart compressed blood into molten iron.

  His soul reshaped.

  Two Relic-class hearts formed.

  Two beats.

  A stagger.

  An echo slamming into the old rhythm.

  His consciousness cracked for a moment.

  Then reforged.

  Heavier.

  Two relics.

  Two pulses ready to crush each other.

  His stats rose.

  Already at the maximal ceiling—

  yet they climbed further.

  A “+” beyond the cap.

  More.

  Stronger.

  A sudden surge.

  Every fiber felt the change.

  And something else shifted.

  Deep. Hidden.

  A dull burn inside him.

  A heavy tremor behind the bones.

  He gritted his teeth.

  Not now.

  Not here.

  Each enhancement hurt.

  A clean pain.

  Sharp.

  Singular.

  Bones burning.

  Spine screaming.

  Heart tearing open like a wound.

  The soul crying in two voices.

  Kael collapsed.

  Both hearts beat.

  Black Magia pulsed through his marrow.

  Heavier. Denser. Three times stronger.

  The room vibrated around the cocoon.

  A silence thicker than a scream fell.

  ? Hidden Objective: VALIDATED ?

  The window dissolved.

  Kael staggered.

  His legs buckled.

  A tremor ran through his fingers.

  His movements grew heavy, misaligned.

  He no longer had total control.

  Needles appeared.

  First in his arms.

  Then his chest.

  Then everywhere.

  Every pore burned.

  A rough breath escaped him.

  He looked down.

  His clothes disintegrated.

  Thread by thread.

  Ash falling to the floor.

  To the naked eye, nothing explained it.

  But his body knew.

  The pool vibrated.

  A heavy, red pulse.

  Kael felt his pores open.

  One by one.

  Like hungry mouths.

  The blood rose.

  He was pulled into it.

  Drop by drop.

  Stream by stream.

  The liquid sunk into his flesh.

  Flowed under his skin.

  Spread through his veins.

  Hunger rose.

  Not his.

  A foreign hunger.

  Ancient.

  Cruel.

  Something inside him awakened.

  A silent entity — hiding in his bones? his veins?

  It saw a feast.

  It didn’t hesitate.

  It devoured.

  Then the entity went silent.

  Instantly.

  As if full.

  No roar.

  No clawing.

  Just… gone.

  A calm so abrupt it felt unreal.

  Kael froze.

  Breath suspended.

  He expected a death struggle.

  Expected to dive into his veins, to fight the blood demon tearing him open.

  But nothing came.

  Nothing.

  A void.

  A void almost suspicious.

  His eyes narrowed.

  A chill ran down his neck.

  Something was wrong.

  — Why…?

  The question echoed with no answer.

  Had he done something unknowingly?

  Broken a rule?

  Or… had the entity chosen to withdraw on its own?

  He dove inward.

  Searching for the dark presence, the foreign heartbeat.

  Nothing.

  No tremor.

  No whisper.

  The demon had vanished.

  Fallen into a sleep too deep to trace.

  As if the echo of its existence had been sucked out of him.

  Yet the power remained.

  His fingers twitched.

  His muscles vibrated with strength he hadn’t felt in a long time.

  The same as after Floor Six…

  No.

  More.

  Denser.

  Rooted.

  A cruel paradox:

  the enemy disappeared, but the power stayed.

  Without explanation.

  Kael inhaled.

  His lungs burned as if the air resisted him.

  Cold sweat slid down his temple.

  Too many questions.

  Too many doubts.

  No answers.

  But he had no luxury to fall into them.

  Not now.

  Not here.

  The path didn’t end with this mystery.

  The Tower had its rhythm.

  He tightened his fists.

  His veins pulsed — alive — demanding release.

  A golden flicker passed through his eyes.

  No.

  Not now.

  Too much left to break.

  Too many floors ahead.

  Silence stretched.

  Then a pulse lit before him.

  System Window.

  [ Trial of the Vacillant Throne – Main Objective: Completed ]

  [ Secondary Objective Completed: You surprised your Double ]

  [ Hidden Objective: Two begin, one ends – Completed ]

  A low rumble vibrated in his chest.

  Those words…

  that validation…

  It confirmed what he feared.

  He wasn’t alone inside himself.

  Maybe he never had been.

  Kael looked away.

  One last time, he stared at the blood-soaked floor.

  Then he stepped forward.

  And the floor’s door closed behind him.

  Without a sound.

  As if nothing had happened.

  Transfer light rose.

  A heartbeat.

  Silence.

  When he opened his eyes…

  He wasn’t in the mirror chamber anymore.

  The ground had changed.

  Smooth tiles.

  Plain walls.

  That artificial white used in Rest Chambers.

  A neutral place.

  A sanctuary.

  A place meant to reassure.

  But this time… nothing was reassuring.

  Kael staggered.

  His clothes, shredded by the fight or dissolved by the blood, hung in tatters.

  His torso, streaked with dried blood, radiated unstable heat.

  Every breath pulsed an immense black aura that crushed the room.

  He lifted his head slowly.

  His eyes glowed with a hungry light.

  Not golden.

  Not human.

  A light that didn’t belong to this world.

  The chamber seemed to shrink.

  A murmur rippled.

  Then a strangled cry.

  Figures stiffened.

  The other Conquerors — the ones who had survived the previous floors — were there.

  Some pale.

  Some frozen.

  They stepped back.

  One step.

  Another.

  Pure instinct.

  Primal fear.

  As if facing a predator no weapon could touch.

  Kael inhaled deeply.

  A harsh breath, soaked in bloodlust.

  And that bloodlust spilled from him like a scent of death.

  One Conqueror dared to look up.

  Their eyes met.

  He went pale instantly.

  Stumbled.

  Backed away.

  Kael didn’t smile.

  Didn’t speak.

  Barely moved.

  He didn’t need to.

  The Rest Chamber — meant to be a haven — had become a cage.

  And everyone knew…

  the real danger wasn’t the Floor.

  It was him.

  Thank you for reading ??