Floor 33.
The mont the three of them stepped out of the staircase, the atmosphere changed. It wasn’t like the previous floors. There were no monsters, no oppressive aura pressing down on their shoulders, no environntal hazards or shifting terrain or signs of imminent battle. Instead there was silence.
Wang Hao took two cautious steps forward, his boots echoing lightly against the smooth floor. "...Where are the monsters?" His voice sounded louder than expected.
Su Qinghan didn’t answer imdiately. Her gaze swept slowly across the space. The room was vast, far larger than any of the previous floors, its walls smooth and almost reflective yet producing no clear reflection. The air felt still, as though ti itself had slowed. And at the very center stood a throne. On that throne sat a girl.
Wang Hao froze. "...There’s no way..." His voice dropped to a whisper. "...That’s the boss?"
The girl looked no older than ten. Long black hair flowed unbound down her back, her small figure resting comfortably against the throne as though she had always belonged there. She wore a simple white robe, untouched by dust or fla, pristine in a way that didn’t match the tower’s brutal nature. Her legs swung lightly off the edge of the throne, back and forth, back and forth, as if she were bored. As if she had been waiting.
Su Qinghan’s grip tightened around her weapon. "...Be careful." Her voice was low. "...This floor isn’t normal."
Lin Yi stood still and watched, his gaze fixed not on the girl’s appearance but on sothing deeper. Because the mont he stepped into this room he felt it. A faint yet unmistakable presence. A radiance. Not the blazing violent energy of the Phoenix, not the dense pressure of the Executioner. This was different. Calm. Ancient. Boundless. It didn’t press down on him. It simply existed. And yet it felt heavier than anything he had encountered so far.
"...Celestial." The word left his mouth quietly.
Su Qinghan turned to him imdiately. "...What?"
Lin Yi didn’t answer.
His mind had already moved elsewhere, to sothing he had almost forgotten.
The Celestial Emperor Note. Stored quietly in his inventory. A fragnt of sothing far beyond his current understanding. And now that sa feeling was here. In this room. On that throne.
The girl tilted her head slightly. Her eyes, clear and bright and impossibly deep, t his. Then she smiled.
"Finally."
Her voice was soft and light, yet it echoed throughout the entire chamber as if the space itself carried her words.
"You took your ti."
Wang Hao blinked. "...Is she talking to us?" The girl didn’t look at him. Her gaze remained on Lin Yi.
"You’re slower than I expected."
Lin Yi stepped forward. One step, asured and calm. "You were expecting ?"
"Mhm." The girl nodded lightly, her legs still swinging. "I’ve been watching." She tapped her finger against the armrest of the throne. "From the beginning. Floor one. Floor ten. Floor twenty." Her eyes curved slightly. "You’re quite interesting."
Wang Hao imdiately took a step back. "...Nope. I don’t like this."
Su Qinghan didn’t move, but her stance shifted slightly. "...Lin Yi." Her voice lowered. "...This isn’t a projection."
"I know," Lin Yi said. Because projections did not speak like this.
The girl leaned forward slightly, resting her chin on her hand. "You figured it out quickly." She studied him for a mont.
"Who are you?" Lin Yi asked, and for a mont she didn’t answer, simply watching him.
Then she smiled again, a little wider this ti. "You already know."
Lin Yi’s expression didn’t change, but sothing in his eyes sharpened. "...Say it."
The girl giggled softly. "You’re no fun." She leaned back against the throne, her legs swinging once more. "Fine, I’m m the gatekeeper of the celestial way."
"...What?" Su Qinghan narrowed her eyes.
The girl’s gaze flicked briefly toward her, then returned to Lin Yi. "...Fate."
Wang Hao blinked. "...I’m sorry, what?"
The girl ignored him entirely. "You’re carrying sothing," she said, her voice softening. "...Sothing that doesn’t belong here."
Lin Yi didn’t respond, but his hand moved slightly, not toward his weapon, toward his inventory.
The Celestial Emperor Note.
The girl’s smile deepened. "There it is."
Su Qinghan’s eyes widened slightly. "...Lin Yi?"
Wang Hao looked between them. "...What are we talking about?"
Lin Yi spoke calmly. "A fragnt."
The girl nodded. "Yes. A fragnt of sothing far greater."
She then leaned forward again, and this ti her eyes changed. "You shouldn’t have it."
The words were soft but absolute.
Wang Hao imdiately stepped forward. "...Hey. Whatever this is, you don’t get to just—"
"Be quiet."
The girl didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t even look at him. But the mont the words left her mouth, Wang Hao froze completely, his body locked in place, his mouth slightly open with no sound erging.
Su Qinghan’s pupils shrank. "...What did you just—"
"Don’t interrupt."
The girl’s gaze flicked toward her briefly, and for a split second Su Qinghan felt it. Pressure. Not overwhelming, not crushing, but absolute. Like a command that could not be disobeyed. Her voice stopped. Silence returned.
The girl looked back at Lin Yi. "...Now. As I was saying." She tilted her head. "That fragnt. Where did you get it?"
Lin Yi t her gaze, unmoved. "...A drop."
The girl blinked once. Then laughed, a soft and amused sound that echoed gently across the chamber. "A drop?" She covered her mouth lightly. "That’s what you call it?"
Her eyes curved. "That’s... adorable."
She leaned back again, still smiling. "You don’t understand what you’re holding. You think it’s a reward. A treasure. A lucky find." She shook her head slowly. "...It’s not."
The room seed to grow quieter. "He left it behind."
Lin Yi’s eyes sharpened. "...Who?"
The girl’s gaze deepened. "The one you just nad."
A pause.
"The Celestial Emperor."
********
A/N: Today will be only one Chapter, I’m not feeling so good. I will appreciate any gift or power stones
User Comments
0 comments from readers