The world did not shake.
It yielded.
Kaito felt it the moment his foot touched the surface—before sight, before sound, before thought. The air thickened instantly, compressing around his body like invisible iron bands tightening with merciless precision.
His knees slammed into the ground.
Stone shattered beneath the impact.
— Gah…!
His hands struck next, palms scraping against the fractured floor as his body was forced down. Every muscle screamed in protest, yet no movement followed. It was as if gravity itself had doubled—no, aligned, focused entirely on him.
Beside him, Jun collapsed violently, his body driven face-first into the stone. The breath was ripped from his lungs in a dry, broken gasp.
— Kaito—!
Jun's fingers twitched, clawing uselessly at the ground. His arms shook, veins bulging against his skin, but he couldn't lift even an inch.
The pressure was absolute.
And then—
He arrived.
There was no portal.
No flash.
No distortion large enough to announce something so fundamentally superior.
Reality simply corrected itself.
A figure stood several meters ahead of them.
Tall.
Still.
Wrapped in layered black fabric that swallowed the surrounding light. No face was visible—only a smooth, shadowed veil where eyes should have been.
No weapon.
No aura.
And yet the space around him bent subtly inward, as though the world itself leaned toward his presence.
Kaito's blood turned cold.
— …A Ten.
The word never left his lips.
It didn't need to.
The pressure intensified instantly.
Jun cried out, his arms forced flat against the ground as the stone beneath him cracked deeper, fractures spreading like veins.
— I— can't— move…!
Kaito grit his teeth. His vision blurred, darkness creeping in at the edges. He forced his head up, neck screaming as tendons strained against impossible weight.
The figure did not look at them.
He observed.
Not as individuals.
As outcomes.
As variables within a system already decided.
Kaito understood it instinctively.
This being did not need to attack.
If he wished, they would simply stop existing.
Jun coughed violently, blood spotting the stone beneath his mouth.
— …So this is… what a Ten feels like…
The figure took a single step forward.
The ground sank.
Jun screamed as the pressure multiplied, his body driven deeper into the floor, bones protesting under the sudden force. His chest burned, breath reduced to shallow, panicked gasps.
— Jun! Kaito shouted.
Kaito forced one hand beneath him.
Pain exploded through his arm—microfractures tearing through muscle and tendon—but he pushed anyway. His body shook violently as he rose to one knee, blood spilling freely from his mouth.
The figure's attention shifted.
Just slightly.
The pressure on Jun eased—not mercy, but recalibration.
Kaito locked his gaze on the void where the Ten's face should have been.
— If you're here to kill us… then do it.
Silence.
A weight heavier than sound pressed down on his mind.
Then, without a voice, intent pressed directly into Kaito's consciousness.
"You persist."
Kaito's jaw tightened.
— I'm not stopping here.
The pressure shifted again—this time toward Jun.
Jun's body was slammed flat once more, stone splintering beneath him. His arms shook violently, muscles threatening to tear as he resisted the crushing force.
His vision blurred.
His lungs burned.
And yet—
He did not scream again.
Instead, Jun clenched his teeth and forced air into his chest.
— …I won't… be a burden…!
Kaito's eyes widened.
Jun dragged himself forward.
Barely an inch.
Then another.
Each movement tore pain through his body, but he continued, sweat pouring from his face, blood streaking down his chin.
— I won't… slow you down…!
The pressure froze.
The figure stopped.
The silence changed.
This was no longer evaluation.
It was consideration.
The Ten shifted his stance, the oppressive weight redistributing across the space. The pressure eased—only slightly, but enough to breathe.
Kaito remained on one knee, shaking violently, refusing to fall.
— We're not here to challenge you, he said through clenched teeth.— We're climbing.
The Ten moved closer.
Each step forced the stone to bow inward, as though the floor itself recognized authority.
"Then you will face him."
Kaito's heart skipped.
— …Face who?
The Ten turned his head—just enough.
"The First."
Jun's breath caught.
— Ten… Number One…?
The air darkened.
Kaito felt a cold certainty settle into his bones.
"The First Floor belongs to him.""His name is Gōrin no Ō."(The King of Foundations.)
The pressure intensified briefly—enough to make the warning unforgettable.
"He does not test.""He does not hesitate.""He breaks those who descend."
Kaito clenched his fists, knuckles bleeding.
— Then we'll get stronger.
The Ten's attention returned to Jun.
For a moment—just a moment—something shifted.
Not approval.
But acknowledgment.
Without looking down, the Ten extended a hand.
A minimal motion.
Jun felt it before he saw it—something warm slipping into his jacket pocket.
He gasped softly.
— …What… is this…?
The Ten withdrew his hand.
"You will need it."
Jun swallowed hard.
— Why… me?
The Ten's presence sharpened subtly.
"Because you advance despite knowing your weakness."
The pressure vanished completely.
Gravity returned.
Kaito collapsed forward, catching himself on his hands. Jun rolled onto his side, gasping violently as sensation flooded back into his limbs.
The Ten stepped back.
"Reach the First Floor.""Gather your allies."
His presence began to recede—not fading, but withdrawing, like a tide pulling away from shore.
"Survive Gōrin no Ō."
And then—
He was gone.
The world snapped back into alignment.
Kaito lay still for several seconds, staring at the shattered stone beneath him.
Jun slowly sat up, trembling, clutching his side where the object rested.
— …That was insane.
Kaito laughed weakly, wiping blood from his mouth.
— Yeah.
Jun looked down at his hands, then clenched them tightly.
— I meant what I said back there.
Kaito met his gaze.
— I know.
Jun's eyes burned with resolve.
— I won't be the one you have to protect.
Kaito stood, swaying, then reached down and pulled Jun to his feet.
— Then walk with me.
They turned toward the descending path ahead.
Toward the First Floor.
Where something ancient had already begun to watch.