Brandon slid down the wall until he was sitting on the cold stone floor.

He stared at the severed arm lying in front of him and he closed his eyes for a moment, forcing his breathing to slow.

’I didn’t expect that we would get separated the moment we entered the door. I hope Rheanne is alright...’

’Considering her power, she should be alright.’

He let out a shaky, bitter laugh.

He leaned his head back against the stone wall, staring up at the ceiling.

His thoughts drifted ’And worst of all, ether skills are blocked inside this chamber. I can’t even heal my arm with Dhayun’s skill.’

He can’t stay here.

He has to keep moving.

Brandon pushed himself up with his remaining arm, using the wall for support.

He looked at the severed arm on the floor one last time.

Then he turned away.

"No time for self-pity," he muttered.

He tore a piece of cloth from his pants and tied it around the stump to stop the heavy bleeding.

He started walking down the corridor again and the sword dragged slightly in his right hand, the tip scraping against the stone floor.

Every few steps, he had to stop and lean against the wall, catching his breath as waves of dizziness and pain washed over him.

But he kept moving.

Because giving up was never an option.

There are still people he loves waiting for his return.

Brandon kept walking.

One painful step at a time.

Blood is still dripping from the stump.

But his eyes remained fixed forward.

He pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against, using the borrowed sword as a makeshift cane for a moment before gripping it properly in his right hand.

"Haa... One of you guys chewed my left hand," he muttered under his breath. "Let’s see how you like it when I return the favor."

Raising his head, he saw a pair of eerie crimson eyes glowing in the darkness ahead.

The creature stepped forward into the faint light of the runes.

It was a monstrous humanoid with the head of an ox, a Minotaur-like abomination.

Its muscular body was covered in thick, dark hide and its massive horns curved upward from its skull.

In its enormous right hand, it wielded a gigantic axe made of blackened bone and jagged stone.

It let out a deep, guttural snort and Brandon’s grip on the sword tightened until his knuckles turned white.

He pushed the pain to the back of his mind, forcing his body to move.

’Come on... one more fight.’

He dashed forward.

The Minotaur roared and charged to meet him, swinging its massive axe in a wide, horizontal arc.

Brandon dropped low, sliding across the stone floor on his knees.

The axe whistled over his head, missing by inches and smashing into the wall behind him, sending chunks of stone exploding outward.

His sword flashed in a powerful upward cut, slicing across the Minotaur’s exposed side.

The blade bit deep, carving through hide and muscle, drawing a spray of dark blood.

"GRRAAHHH!!’ The creature bellowed in rage and brought the axe down in a crushing overhead strike.

Brandon rolled to the side and the axe slammed into the floor where he had been, cracking the stone and sending shockwaves through the corridor.

He used the momentum of the roll to spring back to his feet, then launched himself forward again.

He leaped onto the Minotaur’s arm, running up the massive limb like it was a ramp.

When he reached the shoulder, he drove the sword downward with all his remaining strength, aiming for the base of the neck.

SHUNK!

The blade sank deep.

The Minotaur roared and thrashed violently, trying to throw him off.

Brandon held on, twisting the sword deeper, then yanked it free and leaped off the shoulder.

The Minotaur turned toward him and he charged again.

This time, he feinted left, then ducked right as the axe came down.

He slid between the Minotaur’s legs, came up behind it, and slashed across the back of its knees with a powerful horizontal cut.

The creature’s legs buckled.

It dropped to one knee with a thunderous crash.

Brandon didn’t hesitate.

He leaped onto its back, climbed up to the shoulders again, and brought the sword down.

CRACK- BOOM!

The blade cleaved through the Minotaur’s neck and upper spine.

*thud* The monstrous head toppled forward, rolling across the floor with a heavy thud.

The body swayed for a moment, then collapsed in a heap as dark blood pooled beneath it.

Brandon dropped to the ground beside the corpse as his vision blurred from exhaustion and blood loss.

He leaned on the sword for support "Fuck... that one was nasty."

Taking a deep, shaky breath, he forced himself to stand.

"No time to rest..."

Placing the sword against the wall, Brandon reached into his pocket and took a ring ’I did take my storage ring from my left arm, but I can’t access it now.’

’Since this chamber restricts ether skill, I guess it also considers using storage ring as a skill.’

His gaze then fell on the dead body of the minotaur ’Is this even an aberrant?’

The aberrant ones he knows looks weird and when they are killed, they leave a core.

’...Maybe the towers just have weird monsters.’

He started walking again ’Anyway... I have to find Rheanne and then leave the tower.’

---

"Huff..."

A deep, ragged breath escaped Rheanne’s lips and a single droplet of blood seeped into her left eye, blurring her vision with a warm, sticky haze.

She blinked slowly, trying to clear it, but the pain made the world tilt and swim.

’Was I too arrogant?’

’Just because I can wield this energy... and after years of practice, I have become powerful...’

She had grown used to being the strongest. The only one. The solitary guardian who could face the rifts and the towers when no one else could.

Kings had feared her. Emperors had tried to control her. Monsters had fallen before her blade without exception.

’Did I get arrogant because of that and thought I could defeat any tower?’

Her sky-blue eyes trembled with a mix of regret and self-recrimination.

’And of all things, I can’t use my powers inside this place for some reason.’

"Urgh..."

A low, pained groan slipped from her lips as she tried to move.

She was pinned to the cold stone floor by a massive spear.

It had pierced straight through her back, just below her abdomen, and driven deep into the floor beneath her, effectively nailing her in place.

Blood gushed from the wound, pooling around her body and soaking into the stone.

More blood bubbled up from her mouth with every labored breath, staining her pale lips and dripping down her chin.

She slowly raised her head, fighting against the pain that threatened to pull her into unconsciousness.

Her gaze locked onto the monstrous figure standing over her.

It was an enormous humanoid Minotaur with a crown of twisted black iron and bone sat atop its skull.

Behind it, a dozen more Minotaurs stood in a loose semicircle with their massive axes and spears resting on their shoulders, watching with silent, hungry anticipation.

Rheanne gritted her teeth, ’No... I am simply inexperienced.’

She had relied on her overwhelming strength and spatial manipulation for so long that when both were taken away, she had been left exposed.

And now she was paying the price.

The crowned Minotaur took a slow step forward.

It raised its massive axe and brought it down in a slow arc, stopping just inches above her neck.

Rheanne stared up at the creature, even as blood continued to pour from her mouth and the wound in her chest.

Her hand twitched toward her silver blade, which lay just out of reach, knocked away during the initial ambush.

Her fingers scraped uselessly against the stone.

She closed her eyes for a moment, forcing herself to breathe through the pain.

’Kael... where are you?’

The thought of the young man she had only just met and the second person in her long life who could wield the same rare energy brought a strange mix of worry and warmth.

’If only we weren’t separated...’

’I can’t die here.’

With a pained grunt, she reached up with her free hand and gripped the shaft of the spear impaling her.

Blood welled up between her fingers as she tried to pull it out, but the weapon was embedded too deeply.

The crowned Minotaur raised its axe higher, preparing for the killing blow.

Rheanne looked up at it without fear "Come on then,"

The axe began its downward arc.

And in that final moment, Rheanne’s thoughts turned not to her own survival, but to the young man somewhere in this tower.

’Kael... survive.’

The axe fell.

But before it could strike, a distant sound echoed through the corridor.

*THOOOM*

"GUUUARRGHHH!"

Rheanne’s eyes widened and a spark of hope flared in her chest.

The Minotaur paused and tilted its head as it too registered the sound.