"The penalty ended.
The world around him began to dissolve—bit by bit. As if reality itself was breaking apart. Glitches tore through the environment, coloring everything in a sick, digital red. The glitch spread fast, warping the sky, the ground, even the air.
Then—
FLASH.
He was teleported.
Now standing atop a ruined skyscraper, Sho slowly opened his eyes to a world that looked nothing like the one he knew. It was wrecked. Scorched. Burned to the ground. Skies bled orange. Ash blanketed everything. Cities in the distance were reduced to skeletons of steel and smoke.
> "Where… am I?"
He squinted against the wind.
"Is this… Earth right now?"
A familiar flicker appeared beside him.
[System Activated.]
> "No," it answered flatly. "This is not your current world. This is the future."
> "Huh? Future of what?" Sho blinked.
The system responded—but glitched mid-sentence. Its voice distorted into static.
> "Tch… of course," Sho muttered, rubbing his temple. "The damn tower doesn't want to leak any spoilers, huh?"
But then… something clicked. A chill ran down his spine.
> The tower…
"Where's the tower?!"
He spun around wildly.
There it was.
Still standing.
Amid the ashes and collapse, that same black tower reached endlessly into the sky, untouched.
> "So the tower remains… but the world falls…"
That's when the ominous red panel appeared in front of him—glitching, buzzing, crackling, but still legible:
[This is what awaits should humanity fail to complete the Tower.]
[Destruction will come.]
[The Harvest will begin.]
Sho's eyes widened. His expression twisted into something darker. Grim... then amused.
> "Heh… come at me, you stupid tower."
He raised his hand—gestures "come at me"
The panel responded with laughter.
"HAHAHAHA."
Then—
His body broke apart.
Turned to dust.
Scattered into the wind.
Teleporting…
Sho vanished.
[Player transferred to First Floor.]
---END OF CHAPTER 4---