The sky was black, not with night, but with smoke.
Ash drifted down like snow over the ruins of the once-prosperous city of Caelvaris. Cracked towers leaned like dying giants, and molten streets hissed with the echoes of what used to be lives. In the center of the carnage stood a man—barefoot, shirtless, unmarred by the destruction around him.
Erevan.
His skin shimmered faintly, as though stars danced beneath it. Not a wound marred his body, yet the silence around him was deafening. Eyes like shattered galaxies scanned the wreckage, not with regret, but with calculation.
The system interface flickered to life in his mind.
[System Rebooting...]
[Adaptive Core Reestablished.]
[Scanning: No Threats Detected.]
[Current Location: Tower Periphery – Floor 0]
[Objective: Climb or Die.]
Erevan's lips curled, not into a smile, but something colder. Ironic, how the system that once tried to contain him was now his only guide.
Not a word passed his lips. He began walking—toward the Tower.
The monolithic structure stretched beyond the clouds, veins of light pulsing along its impossibly smooth surface. Each floor was a world unto itself, designed not just to test, but to break those who dared enter. Those who survived were blessed with power.
But Erevan was not here to survive. He had already died once.
Three years ago, he had been just another climber—reckless, ambitious, and full of hope. Back then, he'd climbed not for vengeance but for glory. But everything changed on Floor 17, when she died.
Elira.
Even now, fragments of her laughter tried to echo in his mind, but they were buried under a steel wall he'd forged himself. Feelings were weaknesses. The Tower had taught him that. The Tower had killed her. And he would destroy it—one floor at a time.
[New Trait Unlocked: Emotion Suppression – Level 1]
[Adaptation Sync: 94%]
[Warning: Excessive detachment may affect 'Remembrance' stat.]
Erevan blinked.
Remembrance?
That stat hadn't existed before.
He tried to access it, but it was greyed out. Locked. Like the truth itself. Still, the word echoed within him, unsettling and haunting. Remembrance.
He pushed it aside and kept walking. The gates to the Tower were ahead now—twenty meters high, etched with the names of fallen climbers. His own name was not there, but it would be someday. Not because he would fall.
But because he would erase the rest.
Inside, the lobby was empty. No guardians. No trials. Only silence.
[Tutorial Skipped – User classified as "Returning Entity"]
[Custom Protocol Initiated: "Abysswalker" Mode Activated]
He raised an eyebrow.
[New Ability Unlocked: Voidstep]
[Trait Mutation: Cosmic Adaptability → Abyssal Evolution]
So, the system recognized him. Maybe it remembered what he had done.
Maybe it feared him.
"Good," he muttered, voice cold and low.
From the shadows, a figure appeared—a holographic projection of a girl. Blue hair. Familiar smile. But her eyes were wrong.
Too bright. Too empty.
"Welcome back, Erevan," the AI chimed sweetly. "The Tower missed you."
"I doubt that," he said, and without hesitation, drove his fist into the projection.
Static fizzled in the air as the AI dispersed, her voice warped into a mocking giggle.
[Aggression Detected. System Logging Emotional Patterns...]
He didn't care.
The system could record his fury. It could try to analyze it. But it would never understand the fire that now burned within him. Not ambition. Not hope.
Just resolve.
One floor at a time.
He would climb.
He would adapt.
He would destroy.
[End of Chapter 1]