Ninsun and Kairos walk following the flame until they reach Arachne. When they find her, another person is with her, a man with long, straight gray hair, the hair passing over his shoulders, tall, probably over 6 feet tall, blue eyes, wearing gym clothes, not dressed appropriately for the tower. Ninsun doesn't know this person, never heard of them before.
- Who is this person? - asks Ninsun.
- Hello, I'm Jongmae, I'm a rank B adventurer. - responds Jongmae.
- He comes with us, he sold us the location of the chest, he knows a shortcut to the 12th floor that leads directly to the chest's chamber. We won't even need to face any danger. - says Arachne.
- Nice to meet you, I'm Ninsun. This guy sold information about a valuable item to Arachne? Even though she's part of one of the strongest and richest families in the city of Cruz, it doesn't make sense for adventurers to sell information about an item that someone of Arachne's level is interested in. Anyone would take the item for themselves the moment a high-ranked adventurer is interested. - says Ninsun.
- You know... I've never heard of any known shortcut on the 10th floor. From what I know, it's a floor in a straight line where its peculiarity is to affect your mind through darkness. - says Ninsun.
- Many people are afraid of the 10th floor, since even talented and strong-minded people have succumbed to its darkness. So, many don't even try to explore. - says Jongmae.
- Explore? But it's not just a straight line. - says Ninsun.
- They say that because when they enter the portal, they rush at maximum speed in a straight line to reach the next floor. But, in reality, there are several things to explore. - says Jongmae.
- Even knowing we'll be walking through the 10th floor, how will we avoid the darkness? I doubt her flames will last long enough for us, even being from the Embera family. - says Kairos.
- Don't worry, the portal is not far. Her flames will dissipate the darkness long enough until we reach the portal. It's in a chamber, there are torches with flames that prevent the darkness from entering the place. - says Jongmae.
- I hope so. - says Kairos.
- Ok, enough talking, let's go to the 10th floor. Stay close to me, Ninsun. - says Arachne.
After both of them cross the portal, upon crossing the portal, Ninsun, upon stepping on the ground, feels a strange sensation, as if she were underwater, even with gravity being normal. As she looks ahead, she sees a small gap of light that illuminates only the road they need to follow forward. All sides, except for the straight road, are completely dark. The smell in the air is of burnt things, as if an entire block had been burned. She hears voices from the darkness trying to lure her, there are so many voices that she can't identify words, but she knows what they want to say. She approaches the darkness, her eyes tear up until she starts crying, tears with anguish, rancor, and hatred.
"NINSUN WAKE UP!" She hears a scream, but it's her own voice, as if her subconscious wants to save her from herself.
As she looks back, she sees Arachne staring at her with a cold and hopeless gaze. Jongmae smiles at her, Kairos stares at her with a sad and guilty gaze. In the blink of an eye, everyone is normal.
- Let's go, Ninsun. Jongmae will guide us. - says Arachne as she creates a flame to protect them from the darkness.
"Huh? I could swear they were... I guess it was just my imagination".
Everyone follows Jongmae until they reach a door that leads to the stairs below. Everyone moves forward, descending the stairs. Purple torches start lighting up quickly, illuminating all the way to the end of the stairs.
Wow, so there really is a lot to explore on the 10th floor. But because of the darkness, many just keep moving forward and miss out on several things because of the darkness. I wonder what kind of treasures are still hidden - Ninsun thinks.
- The initial floors almost never have anything, since over the years they are explored, so there's almost nothing left. - says Ninsun.
- Well, this tower has been here for about 800 years. There's no way the initial floors would have anything. But I know what you mean, after all, this floor is so dark that no one has the courage to explore. I'd say this is the most dangerous floor in the tower. - says Jongmae confidently.
- I didn't think there would really be something here. - says Ninsun.
- What? Were you suspicious of me? - says Jongmae.
- Well... you can't judge me. You were a bit suspicious, but I was wrong about you. - says Ninsun.
- No, you'll soon discover that you were right. - whispers Jongmae.
- What did you say? I didn't understand. - says Ninsun.
- I said I appreciate you trusting me. - responds Jongmae.
In this short moment of conversation, they arrive at a room. There is a fountain pouring out a bright purple water, where the water falls and reaches the wall and rises to the ceiling, where there is water that flows back over the fountain, where a purple chest with golden details is already located.
- There's only one chest here, where's the portal? - asks Ninsun.
Arachne walks calmly to the chest, observes it, and looks at Ninsun.
- Ninsun, this chest is what we've been looking for. - responds Arachne.
- This is the chest? But weren't we supposed to go to the 12th floor? - says Ninsun confused.
- 12th floor? There's nothing there, there's nothing on the initial floors, you know that. - says Arachne.
Jongmae approaches Ninsun and puts his hand on her shoulder and says:
- Tell me Ninsun, how is a chest opened? - asks Jongmae.
Ninsun looks at Kairos. Kairos, upon noticing Ninsun's gaze, looks away to avoid eye contact. Ninsun starts trembling while crying, but still responds:
- K-killing a Boss... or having the necessary key. - responds Ninsun.
- Oh, come on Ninsun, you know exactly what kind of chest this is. - says Jongmae while squeezing Ninsun's shoulder tightly.
Ninsun screams desperately while crying:
- Please, don't do this. - says Ninsun.
- THIS IS A CURSED CHEST, NINSUN, AND THE ONLY WAY TO OPEN IT IS WITH A LIFE! - says Jongmae with a devilish smile on his face.
- Hey! Cut the crap! Just do what you have to do already! - shouts Kairos.
- Don't interfere, you idiot. - responds Jongmae.
While Kairos and Jongmae argue, Jongmae momentarily lets go of Ninsun. Ninsun takes advantage of this opportunity to flee. She runs as fast as possible to the stairs while hearing Arachne yelling at the two.
- YOU LET HER ESCAPE, YOU IDIOTS! - shouts Arachne.
- Relax, she won't go far. She'll give up following us to the shadows, where we are, you can't see the "light". - says Jongmae.
Ninsun, upon reaching the outside, sees the darkness and hesitates for a moment to continue. The voices of the darkness are becoming clearer. She hears Jongmae shouting her name while his footsteps echo on each step he climbs. Ninsun is crying desperately, without believing what happened. When she finally found people she thought she had bonds with, memories to share, when she thought she would become part of something bigger, this dream was shattered by pure greed and dishonesty.
The footsteps of Jongmae are getting closer. The voices from the darkness are now clear: "Run, run, you have to save yourself so you can save us from him. We want to be free, free, free". Free, the last word she hears from the darkness, repeated times without stopping. Ninsun no longer cries and trembles. The words from the darkness continue to echo in her head, until finally Jongmae is behind her.
- What's wrong Ninsun, don't make things complicated. It'll be quick. You don't want to face the darkness, do you? - says Jongmae.
Ninsun doesn't respond, just walks towards the darkness. Jongmae is surprised to see her choose a destiny that no one would choose, to have her mind and soul shattered by the abyss, just because she doesn't want someone to benefit at her expense. Jongmae gives a small laugh and thinks what anyone would think: "Haha, crazy".