The tower loomed like a crooked finger pointing at the rotten heavens, its silhouette jagged and broken against the red sky. The green light pulsing at its peak was steady, rhythmic, like the heartbeat of a colossal beast. Every pulse sent a shiver through the air, making the ruins tremble faintly under Alex's feet.
He had no map. No compass. Just the certainty that if he stayed still, he would die. The fountain's trickle had given him strength enough to move, and his wound had clotted, though it still burned like acid beneath the skin.
Alex pressed a hand to his side and set his jaw. "One step at a time," he muttered. "Just keep walking."
The ground shifted beneath his boots from black stone to cracked earth, scattered with skeletal remains of creatures too alien to name. Some bones were larger than buildings, others were tiny, like brittle bird skulls, but all of them shared the same feature: teeth marks. Something had gnawed them clean.
The silence grew oppressive. No wind. No birds. Only the crunch of his footsteps and the faint throb of the tower's green light.
Then came the whispers.
At first he thought they were the ruins again, their symbols twisting in his mind. But these whispers were closer. They slithered just beyond hearing, a dozen voices overlapping, each one sharp as glass.
He froze. "Who's there?"
The answer was laughter. Soft, hollow, and everywhere at once.
[System Notice: Field Hazard Detected.]
[Designation: Whisper Veil.]
Do not answer when it calls.
Alex's throat went dry. His question still hung in the air, and the whispers surged in reply, growing louder, sharper. The ground quaked beneath his feet.
From the cracked earth ahead, something rose.
A figure—no, a collection of figures, their bodies stitched together by strands of shadow. Faces overlapped on its surface, mouths muttering, screaming, grinning. Dozens of arms jutted at odd angles, reaching, clawing, beckoning.
[Enemy Identified: The Many.]
[Threat Level: Moderate.]
The Many lurched forward, dragging its mass toward him. Its voices overlapped in a chorus: Join. Join. Join.
Alex stumbled back, heart pounding. He clenched his fists, trying to summon the Defiance, but his body was still weak from the last battle. His chest ached, his wound flared. He couldn't waste energy here—if this was only "moderate," he wouldn't survive burning himself out.
Think.
The System had warned him: Do not answer when it calls.
So he stayed silent.
The Many screeched, dozens of mouths gnashing. Arms shot outward, grasping for him. Alex darted sideways, sprinting across the cracked earth, dodging bones and fissures. The monster followed, faster than its size suggested, dragging itself with its countless limbs.
A skeletal ridge rose ahead. Alex scrambled up, slipping on brittle bone, hands tearing against jagged edges. The Many slammed into the ridge behind him, shattering it, spraying shards across the plain. One fragment sliced Alex's arm, blood dripping down his sleeve.
He bit down a scream. If he answered, he was finished.
The tower loomed closer now, its crooked walls catching the green light. If he could just reach it—
The ground split open before him. Another figure clawed its way up. Not Bonewraiths this time. This one had a human shape, but its skin was parchment-white, stretched tight over bones. Its eyes burned red, and its mouth split open unnaturally wide.
[Enemy Identified: Ghast.]
[Threat Level: Minor.]
The Ghast lunged at him with inhuman speed. Alex barely rolled aside, pain flaring in his ribs. The Many shrieked behind him, closing the distance.
Trapped.
The Ghast hissed, crouching low, while The Many dragged itself forward in a wall of limbs and voices. Alex's chest tightened. He couldn't fight both. Not head-on.
He glanced at the fissures in the earth, the broken bones scattered across the field. An idea sparked.
He sprinted toward a narrow crack in the ground. The Ghast followed, shrieking. The Many roared, surging closer.
At the last moment, Alex veered aside. The Ghast, too fast to stop, leapt straight into the fissure—screaming as it fell into the abyss below.
The Many surged forward, but the fissure was too wide. It slammed against the edge, clawing, its voices screeching louder. Alex spun, slamming his fist into the cracked earth. Light burst from his hand, widening the fissure.
The ground crumbled beneath The Many's bulk. With a final wail, the stitched mass of faces and limbs toppled into the abyss, swallowed by the dark.
Alex collapsed to his knees, gasping. His arms shook violently, the Defiance flickering out.
[Enemies Eliminated.]
[Exp Gained: 50.]
[Level Up: 3.]
The notifications blurred in his vision, but the pain dulled once more. His body steadied, his breath leveled.
He looked up at the crooked tower. It was closer now—so close he could see the cracks in its stone, the way its surface writhed faintly as though alive.
Alex pushed himself to his feet.
"One step at a time," he whispered again, forcing his legs forward.
The whispers faded behind him, swallowed by the fissures. The only sound now was the steady pulse of the green light.
And somewhere deep inside the tower, something waited.
Watching.