The Obsidian Spire did not sit upon the desert; it pierced it. A monolithic needle of volcanic glass, it hummed with the vibration of the Master Valve deep within its bowels. As Kenji, Elara, and Bjorn approached the base, the 5x gravity made every step feel like they were wading through hip-deep lead.
[LOCATION: THE OBSIDIAN SPIRE - ENTRANCE]
[CURRENT PRESSURE: 25 ATM]
[STATUS: COMPRESSION STAGE 2 ACTIVE]
"The doors... they aren't opening," Bjorn wheezed, his World-Root Splitter trembling in his grip.
"They don't have handles," Kenji noted. He looked at the seam in the glass. It wasn't a door; it was a Pressure-Gate. "It only opens when the internal and external pressures are perfectly balanced. The Sultan is keeping the inside at 1 ATM while we're out here in the crush."
Kenji didn't reach for his sword. He placed his glowing, red-hot Steam-Core palm against the obsidian.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: THERMAL EXPANSION (RANK 1)]
He pumped a massive surge of stored heat into the glass. The obsidian groaned, expanding at a rate the structure wasn't designed to handle. Simultaneously, Elara pressed her hands to the sides, flash-freezing the edges.
CRACK-SHATTER!
The "indestructible" pressure-gate disintegrated, not from force, but from molecular stress. The air from inside the Spire whistled out in a violent decompression gale, and for a moment, the gravity felt lighter.
They stepped inside.
The interior was a jarring contrast to the desert. The walls were lined with silk tapestries, and the floors were polished marble. Hovering in the air were the Clockwork Nobles beings of intricate gold filigree, their hearts replaced by glowing rubies that pulsed with "Optimized" mana.
[TARGET: CLOCKWORK BARON (RANK 55 - ELITE)]
[CLASS: PRECISION LOGICIAN]
"Scavengers in the sanctum," one Baron sneered, his voice a series of melodic chimes. "You smell of oil and desperation. Do you really think your 'Scrap' can survive the elegance of the Sultan's new world?"
The Baron raised a slender, golden rapier. With a flick of his wrist, he didn't strike Kenji; he struck the air.
[SKILL: VACCUUM SLASH]
The high-pressure air of the Spire was suddenly sucked into a single point, creating a localized implosion. Kenji was thrown against the wall, his Steam-Core armor denting under the sudden atmospheric vacuum.
"Kenji!" Elara cried, launching a flurry of [Frost-Silk Spikes].
The Baron parried them effortlessly. "Cold is slow. Heat is chaotic. We are the Golden Mean. We are... Efficiency."
Kenji stood up, spitting a mouthful of copper-tasting blood. He looked at the Baron's ruby heart. It wasn't a mana-core; it was a Regulator.
"You talk a lot about efficiency," Kenji said, his voice dropping an octave as the violet light of the Hunger began to bleed through his Steam-Core. "But you're still running on a System that needs a Sultan to turn the valve. That's a single point of failure."
Kenji activated [Combat Recycling: Momentum Siphon].
As the Baron lunged for a second "Vacuum Slash," Kenji didn't dodge. He moved into the implosion. He allowed the vacuum to pull his heavy, armored form forward, multiplying his speed by the very force meant to crush him.
He appeared in the Baron's personal space.
"Efficiency is just another word for 'Limited'," Kenji whispered.
He grabbed the Baron's golden arm. Instead of breaking it, he used [Micro-Forge: Friction Weld]. He fused the Baron's intricate joints together in a split second, turning the Noble into a static statue of gold.
[TARGET DISABLED: CLOCKWORK BARON]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 30,000]
"The Sultan... will compress... your soul..." the Baron chimed as his ruby heart flickered and died.
[LEVEL UP: 51 -> 54]
"We don't have time for the subordinates," Bjorn shouted, swatting away a group of clockwork servants with a wide sweep of his axe. "The floor is vibrating! Stage 3 is coming!"
Kenji looked up at the central shaft. Far above, a golden throne was rising toward the ceiling, where the Master Valve sat a device that looked like a heart made of brass and steam.
"Mateo! Can you hear me?" Kenji yelled into his comms.
"Barely!" Mateo's voice was distorted. "The Scrap-Venture is pinned to the sand by the gravity, but I've hacked into the Spire's internal sensor net. Kenji, the Sultan isn't just compressing the sector. He's using the pressure to forge a Rank 70 Void-Engine! If he finishes, he'll have enough power to jump straight to the Third Layer, leaving everyone else to be crushed into scrap!"
"Not on my watch," Kenji said. "Elara, Bjorn we're taking the express route."
Kenji grabbed a fallen noble's rapier and hammered it into the wall of the central elevator shaft. He didn't use it as a ladder. He used his [Binary Blade] to cut into the Spire's main steam-vein.
"Hold on!"
A geyser of high-pressure mana-steam erupted. Kenji used his armor's [Radiator-Burst] to create a directional shield, and the three of them were rocketed up the shaft by the very pressure the Sultan was trying to harness.
[NEW ZONE: THE THRONE OF COMPRESSION]
[CURRENT RANK: 54]
As they burst into the throne room, they saw him. Sultan Midas-V, a giant of brass and obsidian, his hands literally fused to the handles of the Master Valve.
"Welcome, Scrapsmith," the Sultan boomed, his voice vibrating the very glass of the Spire. "You are just in time for the Final Squeeze."
[BOSS DETECTED: SULTAN MIDAS-V (RANK 60)]
[INITIATING: COMPRESSION STAGE 3]
The room began to glow a blinding white.