The doors opened slowly.
No grinding gears.
No ancient mechanisms.
They simply unfolded from the marble walls like petals responding to sunlight.
Beyond them waited a staircase—wider than the previous ones, its steps carved from pale stone that shimmered faintly under the star-lit ceiling.
For a moment, none of the six candidates moved.
They had just survived a trial the tower itself had designed to divide them.
Instead, they had synchronized.
That alone felt strange.
Nova finally broke the silence.
"Well," she said, exhaling. "That was terrifying."
Helia laughed softly.
"Terrifying? I thought it was exciting."
Nova looked at her like she was insane.
Albert stepped toward the staircase.
"The tower doesn't repeat tests," he said calmly. "Floor 4 will be different."
Haru slipped his hands back into his pockets.
"That's assuming Floor 4 is even a test."
Yuna glanced toward him.
"You think it's something else?"
Haru looked upward.
The stars above shifted slowly.
"The tower is watching us now."
Souro felt it too.
Not pressure.
Not hostility.
Expectation.
His crescent mark pulsed faintly beneath his sleeve.
Still cracked.
Still unstable.
Still at 14%.
Selene noticed his expression.
"You're feeling it again."
Souro nodded.
"Something changed after the synchronization."
Albert looked over his shoulder.
"Of course it did," he said. "Sun, moon, and stars resonated simultaneously."
Helia tilted her head.
"That's not supposed to happen this early."
Nova groaned.
"Can someone explain things in normal language?"
Yuna answered calmly.
"It means we broke the tower's expected progression."
Nova blinked.
"…That sounds bad."
Haru shrugged.
"Or very interesting."
Without another word, Albert began ascending the staircase.
The others followed.
The Fourth Floor
The staircase ended beneath open sky.
Real sky.
Warm sunlight spilled across their faces.
After the dark chamber of Floor 3, the brightness felt almost blinding.
Souro lifted a hand to shield his eyes.
When his vision cleared—
He froze.
They stood at the entrance of an enormous valley.
Rolling green hills stretched far into the distance.
Forests rustled in the breeze.
Crystal rivers wound through fields of glowing flowers.
Birds circled lazily in the sky.
Nova stared in disbelief.
"…We climbed a cosmic death tower and ended up in a vacation resort?"
Helia smiled.
"I like this floor already."
But Yuna wasn't smiling.
Her eyes moved carefully across the valley.
"No enemies visible," she said quietly.
"That's the problem."
The system activated again.
[Floor 4 Initiated]
Environment: Garden of Convergence
Primary Rule: Growth
Secondary Rule: Survival
Hidden Variables: Active
Nova frowned.
"That's the vaguest thing the system has ever said."
Albert stepped forward slowly.
The grass beneath his boots shimmered with faint golden light.
"This isn't a battlefield," he said.
"It's a cultivation ground."
Haru nodded.
"That explains the energy."
Souro finally noticed it.
The air itself felt different.
Every breath carried faint power.
Not mana.
Not aura.
Something deeper.
Selene whispered softly.
"The moon energy here… it's stronger."
Helia knelt briefly, touching the ground.
Radiant light flickered across the grass.
"This floor is feeding us."
Nova blinked again.
"Okay. That sounds suspicious."
Yuna stood straight.
"The tower wants us stronger."
Souro looked across the valley.
Something about the peaceful scenery felt wrong.
Too perfect.
Too quiet.
"Stronger for what?" he asked.
No one answered.
The Garden Moves
They walked for nearly an hour.
The valley stretched endlessly.
Strange animals appeared occasionally—creatures made of crystal feathers, glowing antlers, or liquid-like fur.
None attacked.
None even approached.
They simply watched.
Selene stopped walking first.
"The moon is moving."
Everyone looked up.
The sky held both sun and moon at once.
The moon was drifting slowly across the daylight sky.
Helia frowned.
"That's… not normal."
Haru's expression darkened slightly.
"Something is aligning again."
Souro's crescent mark burned.
The crack pulsed painfully.
He gripped his wrist.
Albert noticed immediately.
"Instability increasing?"
Souro nodded.
Before he could answer—
The ground trembled.
The peaceful valley rippled like water.
Trees bent unnaturally.
The rivers froze.
Then the sky shattered.
Not literally.
But visually.
The illusion peeled away.
The valley dissolved.
What replaced it made Nova gasp.
They were not in a valley.
They stood on a floating island.
One of hundreds.
Thousands.
Massive islands drifted through an endless sky filled with glowing currents of energy.
Below them was not ground.
It was an abyss of swirling light.
Helia looked genuinely impressed.
"Now this is more like a tower floor."
The system spoke again.
[Hidden Rule Revealed]
Candidates Must Claim Territory
Islands: 1000
Active Candidates: Unknown
Dominance Determines Ascension
Nova slowly turned in a circle.
"Did it just say… unknown candidates?"
Haru's eyes narrowed.
"We're not the only ones on this floor."
Yuna's hand moved closer to her blade.
"That means the tower expanded the trial."
Albert looked across the floating islands.
In the far distance—
Lights flickered.
Other powers.
Other candidates.
Other survivors.
Selene whispered softly.
"…There are so many."
Souro felt it too.
Dozens.
Maybe hundreds.
Authorities awakening across the sky.
The tower was no longer testing individuals.
It was testing armies of potential gods.
The system chimed again.
[Special Notice]
First Territory Claimed: Unknown Candidate
Location: Eastern Sky Cluster
Helia grinned.
"Well."
She cracked her knuckles.
"The race has started."
Albert stepped forward to the edge of the island.
Golden sunlight gathered faintly around him.
"Then we claim ours."
Souro stood beside him.
His shadow stretched unnaturally beneath the bright sky.
Selene stepped forward.
Silver light shimmered softly around her.
Haru looked toward the distant sky clusters.
Stars flickered faintly in his pupils.
Yuna rested her hand on her blade.
Nova sighed dramatically.
"I miss monsters."
Far above them—
Beyond the sky.
Beyond the tower.
The observing presence stirred again.
Not curiosity this time.
Excitement.
Because something unprecedented had begun.
Six candidates.
Three cosmic authorities.
And a battlefield of a thousand floating worlds.
The climb had only just begun.