[Defeat your future self from fifty years later. Time remaining: 8 years 58 days.]

Didn’t he? Was I mistaken?

For an instant, I wondered whether my mind had gone awry, creating a fleeting hallucination that had slipped into my awareness. My eyes flew open in shock, but the other version of myself still wore the same cold, unreadable expression he always had. Not a single line of that face had changed.

No. That couldn’t be the case.

I told myself not to dwell on it. Unfortunately, that brief smile had caused me to slip from the realm of no-self I was barely maintaining. At such a pivotal moment, perhaps he had intended for that to happen. Truth be told, it had unsettled me for quite the simple reason—I had faced that unchanging expression for more than fifteen years.

Whatever.

Still feeling at ease, I allowed myself to sink back into my inner world. My realization wasn’t some sort of fleeting spark, and I could return to it as often as needed. Also, I hadn’t fallen completely out of the state of no-self. My inner world still emitted a steady glow born from the realization embedded deep within me. I exhaled, clearing my thoughts and focusing back on the task at hand. The blue-gold radiance that faintly illuminated the darkness surrounding my consciousness gradually drew inward.

Battle resumed the moment my last thought faded. We closed the distance between us in an instant, and he swung his slightly worn Soulbound at my side. The flowing air shifted sharply, as if cut apart by concentrated force—his wrist had moved in a precise, almost imperceptible twist. The horizontal strike turned out to be a feint, quickly transitioning into a diagonal strike.

I had anticipated that from the beginning, however, and intercepted it along an opposing trajectory.

Clang!

The recoil from the Soulbounds clashing echoed between us, and a dull shock traveled through my fingertips. His weapon deflected outward, while mine rebounded inward. With a slight flick, I angled the flying blade toward his chest. Lightning flickered across its edge.

His worn weapon traced an unusual arc in an attempt to defend, but I guided my Cloak of Dominion to wrap around it. It extended cleanly without fluttering and caught the weapon. Although it began to disintegrate immediately, it bought a brief but sufficient moment.

Our weapons gleamed sharply as both he and I drew upon causality simultaneously. I wouldn’t let that stop me, however, and I pressed the attack. A beat later, he raised his axe to block.

Crack.

Even with our powers colliding, my weapon broke through his defenses and sank into his chest. It didn’t penetrate as deeply as intended, but it punctured his armor and pushed forward enough for me to feel the blade carve through him before stopping just short of his ribs.

At the start of the floor, I would have hesitated, wondering whether to press, twist, or withdraw the weapon. Now, I didn’t pause. I moved exactly in line with my instincts. I pressed lightly. His rigid chest muscles, along with his weapon, pushed my axe aside.

I didn’t resist. Using the recoil, I retrieved my axe in a smooth and quick motion that inflicted a bit more damage as it came free.

Simultaneously, a faint light settled on his chest. He was murmuring a healing spell.

Taking advantage of the gap that had formed between us, he shifted and angled an attack toward my flank. I guided what remained of my dissolving cloak to block it, infusing it with mana. In a heartbeat, the cloak regenerated. Restored, it seized the incoming axe.

He followed the strike with a kick, and his heel drove toward my chest.

In a heartbeat, I used the Cloak of Dominion to blink and appear behind his back. The sudden inversion of perspective happened instantly, but neither of us reacted with surprise.

I extended my arm, swinging my lightning-charged Soulbound through the air in a downward sweep toward his head. He avoided it with a slight tilt of his head before rotating at the waist and spinning his axe backward, tracing a clean half-moon as it swept toward me.

Deflecting the attack, I instinctively activated Thunderbird. As if on queue, I sensed him fire up Thunderbird as well. He launched another attack, and it accelerated even more rapidly than before. His movements were sharper and faster than any I had witnessed before.

I realized he was drawing upon his full strength. Regardless of how the next exchange unfolded, this would be the final one. My defeat was inevitable, but that certainty did nothing to hinder me. I pressed forward instead.

A single line appeared in my vision.

I didn’t know why I could see it, nor what consequence following it would bring. However, without thought clouding my mind, that line became my truth, the path I would take.

His axe shattered my barrier of causality and carved into my side. Despite the spreading pain caused by the power of erasure, I felt myself unconsciously smile.

My Soulbound, traveling like a concentrated beam of light as it cut through space, pierced his shoulder. It dug beneath the joint and erupted upward. The blow tore his arm free, sending it flying through the air.

I met his gaze. His emotionless eyes offered no hint as to what thoughts were running through his mind.

“Wait there... just a little longer.”

Missing my lower half, I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, as always, a full week had passed.

***

[Defeat your future self from fifty years later. Time remaining: 6 years 113 days.]

Since my moment of realization, many things had shifted, and my growth had accelerated beyond reason. Every technique became sharper, and my movements sped up noticeably.

Battles were decided within a fraction of a moment, meaning my skills had advanced several steps forward.

Of course, correcting a flaw that had once functioned as a strength couldn’t be accomplished all at once—acting solely on intuition within a state of no-self didn’t always produce the ideal result. After gaining enlightenment, I trained for an entire year before challenging myself again.

In that battle one year later, he defeated me due to my insufficiently honed intution. He surpassed me in that manner, possessing a depth I had to aim for. He didn’t simply move by instinct—he moved with a refined clarity that exceeded mine.

From that, I found another answer.

Another year passed. Once more, I stood before the other me. I no longer remembered how many times I had challenged him. Countless times, my exhaustion had pushed me to challenge him repeatedly.

The number was meaningless, anyway.

Perhaps today will be the final attempt.

My confidence rose faintly.

Ever since witnessing his full strength two years ago, I had prepared. Moreover, another spark of inspiration had struck me a year earlier, giving rise to new realizations.

Even if I failed again, it didn’t matter—six years remained. I could challenge him another day. Though, to be honest, I didn’t believe I would lose.

I dispersed my lingering thoughts and sank into my inner world.

No-self.

However, unlike before, I didn’t discard every thought. That had been my realization a year ago. The balance between no-self and thought mattered. Extremes couldn’t reach perfection. The other me had moved so sharply because he maintained thought within his state of no-self.

When necessary, I have to utilize both accurately.

For the past year, I worked to balance the two. I would act on instinct, but think precisely when it told me thought was required. It had been grueling. At times, it had felt as if such an ask was impossible. Yet I now stood brimming with confidence for a simple reason: I had finally succeeded in removing the dissonance that came with utilizing both.

I exhaled, then drew in a breath until I had filled roughly two-thirds of my lungs. I held it briefly and activated Thunderbird. Bending my knees, I prepared to launch forward in one clean movement. The air brushed against my cheek as the gap between us narrowed.

***

The two Kwon Su-Hyeoks rushed toward each other. Against the backdrop of the cosmos, their charge resembled two bolts of lightning on a collision course. Within the radiant blue-gold light flooding the universe, a faded Soulbound and a vivid Soulbound clashed.

Thud!

A string of eerie sonic booms tore through the air. Because both wielded the Cloak of Dominion, the battle unfolded without regard for space, proceeding seamlessly despite its teleportation ability moving them dozens of meters at a time.

By the end of the first series of exchanges, Kwon Su-Hyeok wore a faint smile while the tower’s version remained expressionless.

A brief quiet followed.

Kwon Su-Hyeok drew forth every ounce of power he possessed. Through Thunderbird, he gathered every current of energy flowing through him and concentrated it into one point. The faded Kwon Su-Hyeok followed suit. Lightning scattered behind them like a lion’s mane.

Both of them released a short breath, signaling the beginning of the next clash.

“Ha.”

Once more, they rushed at each other. Unlike before, however, neither considered what would come after. Their charge carried their resolve, the entirety of their essence. Before they could even collide, their domains rocked each other, releasing ripples that shook the void they were fighting in, but neither paid it any mind.

Bang!

Soulbound and its faded counterpart intertwined.

Clang.

With their opponent’s weapon threatening to misalign their strike, both of them worked to preserve their own trajectories. Neither reduced their strength. Because of that collision, both axes gave way slightly, twisting to the side. Following those distorted paths, they brushed past one another. They advanced another twenty meters before coming to a stop. A beat later, the lightning trailing behind them finally reached the location where their weapons had clashed.

The two Kwon Su-Hyeoks turned to face each other.

Although they had practically mirrored each other’s sequence, the results were unmistakably different. Kwon Su-Hyeok clutched his arm while the tower’s imitation held his chest. Blood spilled between their fingers, but one of the two had clearly ended up for the worse.

One of Kwon Su-Hyeok’s arms dangled loosely from a deep wound, but he had managed to split his opponent open—from shoulder to abdomen—in exchange.

Enduring the pain, Kwon Su-Hyeok quietly asked, “Do we need to keep going?”

The other Kwon Su-Hyeok watched him for a long while. When the silence finally ended, he declared, “I acknowledge my defeat.”

Kwon Su-Hyeok couldn’t help but grin, but his emotions were far more complicated than his expression could convey.

[Congratulations. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has conquered the ninety-ninth floor of the Tower of Ordeal: Overcoming. Achievement points will be calculated.]

Kwon Su-Hyeok barely glanced at the message because he had realized something more important. His duplicate wasn’t emotionless, and he recalled the smile from long ago. It had never been an illusion.

For an instant, his chest ached.

What has my replica been thinking all this time?

They had spent nearly twenty years together. While Kwon Su-Hyeok had experienced despair and joy, the copy had remained quiet and emotionless. Judging from the way he acted now, that replica had understood his purpose and fate from the beginning.

Perhaps he suffered more than I did.

With that thought, Kwon Su-Hyeok looked at his other self again. Relief, pity, and all the accumulated sorrow surged upward, filling his mind with tangled emotions. He considered dismissing such thoughts, but chose not to. This was the final moment of someone who had spent two decades helping him.

The other Kwon Su-Hyeok began to fracture slowly. Fragments of blue-gold light drifted away like petals, seeping into the dark void. Another message appeared.

[All of Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok’s injuries will be healed upon his return to the waiting room. He will now enter the waiting room.]

***

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has an indefinite amount of time to rest before the hundredth floor. Please take a rest.]

Just like the tower had promised, my previously half-split-apart arm was perfectly intact.

I shifted my gaze to the notification window, pondering the implication behind the lack of a timer. It was essentially telling me to enter the hundredth floor whenever I wished. Considering I had spent nearly twenty years on the ninety-ninth floor, it wasn’t strange.

I assumed I would simply meet the tower there.

However, since it granted so much time, I wondered if I was wrong. Another trial could very well be waiting. I briefly wondered what could possibly appear, then let the thought go. I had spent nearly two decades pushing myself without rest. I needed a break—truly.

First, I would go into the training hot spring and unwind.

Then, I should see Natalie.

I missed people too much. I had spoken to the other me now and then, but it couldn’t hold a proper conversation. Truth be told, I wanted to see Ha Hee-Jeong most of all, but that was impossible for now.

With no way of knowing what awaited on the hundredth floor, the proper course of action was to steady both my mind and body before moving forward.

Just as I prepared to remove my clothes, the divinity within me suddenly surged. It wasn’t running wild, however, but had increased by so much that it simply felt like it.

***

「Invisible Message: The process the prospective fifth-class god, ‘The Coming Dawn,’ endured on the ninety-ninth floor has been briefly condensed and engraved into the minds of all beings observing his trials.」