Tower Arc | The Trials of Heart
Location: Verdant Maze of Grief – East Path
The petals here were no longer white.
They bled.
Dripping red sorrow. Crimson vines curled like thorns, wrapping the ancient trees as if trying to strangle them into silence.
Ankit led his team down the eastern path. The others had fanned out as planned, exploring their own corridors—but Ankit had chosen this one for himself. Not because it was safer. But because something in his gut told him this path was meant for him alone.
He felt his Soulmark pulse once.
And then the mist deepened.
💭 Illusion Triggered: "If You Hadn't Survived…"
The trees faded.
Suddenly, he stood in the familiar fields of his childhood village in Haryana—sunlight flickering through neem trees. He could smell rain on dry soil.
He saw himself—twelve years old. Standing with his father, sword raised.
"I'm proud of you, beta," his father said.
The real Ankit's eyes widened. That voice was exact. That warmth.
His father placed a hand on young Ankit's head.
"But you shouldn't have survived. It should've been your sister."
Thunder cracked.
Lightning split the sky.
And the illusion twisted.
He was now staring at a grave. His sister's. Her picture smiled back. A younger version of her. He hadn't seen this photo in years. Maybe never.
The inscription read:
"Here lies Arti Kumar. Died in the awakening storm, saving her brother."
"No…" Ankit whispered.
That never happened. She was alive. She was alive, right?
The grave cracked. From the soil, a hand reached out.
A girl rose, blood trailing down her temple, eyes empty.
"You weren't strong enough to save me… Why do you get to climb?"
Ankit stumbled back.
His sword vibrated in its sheath. His Soul Weapon, Twin Talwar of Oaths, felt heavier than ever.
"I made my oath to protect those I love. You're not real. This guilt—this illusion—isn't mine to carry."
He drew his blade.
The illusion lunged.
He slashed it apart with a clean arc—but not before it whispered one last word:
"You will need them. Or the tower will eat you."
🌓 Scene Shift – Group 2: Riya and Kaido
Elsewhere in the maze, Riya and Kaido moved cautiously. The corridor was strangely quiet—no illusions, no traps, just… fog.
"I don't like this," Kaido muttered, his massive hammer strapped tight. "The tower doesn't skip traps."
Then it hit them—not with sound, but with silence.
Riya froze. Her lips moved, but Kaido couldn't hear her. No sound. No voice. Just her terrified expression.
Then Kaido tried to shout—and realized he couldn't hear himself either.
Their ears were bleeding.
The mist here didn't use voices—it muted them. Disconnected them.
Kaido grabbed her arm, yanked her behind a thorned pillar, and slammed his back against hers. A signal. A heartbeat sync.
Riya's eyes flared—then she unleashed a storm of electricity that vaporized the mist within a ten-meter radius.
The silence broke. They panted in the shockwave aftermath.
Kaido growled, "This maze wants us isolated. Easy to manipulate. It's not grief—it's division."
Riya nodded. "And Raunak is already deep in it."
🌪️ Scene Shift – Raunak's Trap Begins
In another part of the maze, Raunak stood with a stranger—a climber who had gotten separated from his own party.
"Your team abandoned you," Raunak said softly. "Typical of weak leaders. You deserve better."
The boy, barely seventeen, looked down. "I… I don't know why they left me."
Raunak offered a hand.
"Join me. I'll take you farther than any guild."
The boy hesitated—then took it.
Raunak smiled, venom sweet on his lips.
Another piece moved into place.
🕯️ Scene Return – Ankit's Location
Ankit stood alone, panting, after severing the illusion.
But something had changed.
A petal floated down, and when it touched the ground—it shattered like glass.
Illusions breaking.
That meant…
The Memory Core—the heart of Floor 3—was awakening.
The final trial was near.
But Ankit's eyes narrowed.
He could feel it now. A second pulse inside the maze. Not from the tower.
From Raunak.
A player. A manipulator. A serpent within the garden.