Chapter 7: The Silent Floor
The transition from the second to the third floor was not marked by a door or a gate, but by a sudden, oppressive silence. As Zayn stepped across the threshold, the humid, rotting air of the Sunken Crypt was replaced by a dry, sterile chill. The walls here weren't made of rough cavern stone; they were smooth, black obsidian, polished to a mirror-like finish that reflected Zayn's glowing amber eyes back at him.
This was the 'Silent Corridor', a place known in hunter legends as the graveyard of scouts. On this floor, sound was a death sentence.
[System: You have entered the 3rd Floor - The Obsidian Labyrinth.]
[Environmental Debuff: 'Vacuum of Sound' active.]
[Note: Any sound above 20 decibels will alert the 'Echo Hunters'.]
Zayn felt the pressure in his ears increase. He looked at his shadow, where Kael and the newly acquired General Ignis resided. He could feel their restless energy, but he kept them suppressed. Raising an army here would be like lighting a signal fire in a dark forest.
Ttap.
A small pebble shifted under Zayn's boot. The sound, though tiny, echoed like a gunshot through the obsidian halls.
Immediately, the shadows on the ceiling began to move. Dozens of pale, spindly creatures with no eyes and oversized, bat-like ears uncoiled themselves from the darkness. They were 'Echo Hunters', Rank-A predators that lived for the vibration of a beating heart.
Zayn didn't panic. He activated [Shadow Camouflage], but the system immediately flashed a warning.
[Warning: Echo Hunters do not use sight. Camouflage is ineffective.]
The creatures let out a silent, ultrasonic shriek that Zayn felt in his teeth. They dropped from the ceiling, their elongated claws reaching for his throat.
Zayn shifted his stance. If he couldn't use stealth, he would use absolute speed. He didn't wait for them to land. He lunged forward, his movements fluid and silent. He gripped the head of the first creature mid-air and crushed it. He didn't use a strike; he used a squeeze, minimizing the sound of the impact.
[Experience Gained...]
He moved like a ghost, weaving between the pale monsters. Every time he killed one, he immediately activated a small burst of [Absolute Predation] to pull the corpse into his shadow before it could hit the floor and make a sound. It was a macabre dance of death performed in total silence.
However, the more he killed, the more he realized the floor was a trap. The Labyrinth wasn't designed to kill him with these small creatures; it was designed to drain his stamina and keep him trapped in the silence until he made a mistake.
Zayn stopped, his back against an obsidian wall. He could feel a vibration deep within the floor—a heavy, rhythmic thumping that was getting closer. Something massive was patrolling the Labyrinth.
[System: Boss Signature Detected.]
[The 'Blind Behemoth' is approaching.]
The Behemoth was the ruler of the third floor. It was a creature of pure muscle and armored hide, possessing a sense of hearing so acute it could hear a drop of sweat hitting the ground from a mile away.
Zayn looked at his status window. His Mana was at 80%. He couldn't fight a Boss of that scale in total silence without making noise. But then, a dark idea formed in his mind. If the floor punished sound, he would give it a symphony.
He reached into his shadow and pulled out the [Heart of the Guardian] he had obtained on the second floor. It was a dense, mana-rich organ that pulsed with a faint light.
Zayn looked at the dark corridor to his left, then at the path leading deeper into the labyrinth. He threw the heart with all his strength toward the far end of the corridor.
BOOM!
The heart struck the obsidian wall and exploded in a burst of concentrated mana and sound. The vibration was so violent that the polished walls cracked.
The reaction was instantaneous. Hundreds of Echo Hunters shrieked and converged on the location of the sound. From the depths of the floor, a roar that shook the very air erupted as the Blind Behemoth charged toward the source of the noise.
"Now," Zayn whispered.
While the entire floor was distracted by the diversion, Zayn sprinted in the opposite direction. He wasn't running away; he was heading for the 'Control Core' of the floor. His [Monster Sense] had picked up a high concentration of mana at the center of the labyrinth—the source of the silence debuff.
He reached a circular chamber where a massive, floating crystal of black quartz hummed with dark energy. This was the heart of the 3rd floor.
[Objective: Destroy the Silence Core to unlock the 4th Floor.]
[Warning: Destroying the Core will alert every monster on the floor to your exact location.]
Zayn gripped his right hand, his void-claws extending. The runes of his [Abyssal Armor] began to glow with a fierce, violet light.
"Good," Zayn said, his voice finally breaking the silence. "I was getting tired of whispering."
He slammed his fist into the crystal.
CRAAAAACK!
The Obsidian Labyrinth screamed as its heart shattered. The vacuum of sound vanished, replaced by the deafening roar of a thousand monsters turning their heads toward the central chamber.
Zayn stood over the shattered crystal, his shadow expanding until it filled the entire room. From the darkness, Kael, the shadow hounds, and the massive, spectral silhouette of General Ignis emerged, their eyes glowing with a murderous hunger.
"The silence is over," Zayn announced, his voice echoing through the halls like thunder. "It's time for the feast."
The Blind Behemoth burst through the wall of the chamber, its massive, sightless face twisted in rage. But it stopped when it saw Zayn. For the first time in its existence, the predator of the 3rd floor felt a presence more terrifying than itself.
Zayn didn't wait. He pointed his clawed hand at the Behemoth.
"Eat," he commanded.
His shadow army surged forward, a tide of darkness led by a General of the Abyss. The 3rd floor wasn't a labyrinth anymore; it was a slaughterhouse.