Light broke.
But this time—
It didn't feel like a transition.
It felt like something was watching him arrive.
Drax stepped onto Floor Four.
The world was… wrong.
Not in the way the other floors were.
This wasn't a forest.
Not a desert.
Not a battlefield.
It looked like a fragmented reality.
Floating land pieces drifted in a black void, connected by thin pathways that shifted when you weren't looking directly at them. The sky above wasn't a sky—it was layers of reflections, like mirrors stacked endlessly, each one showing something slightly different.
Some showed ruins.
Some showed worlds burning.
Some—
Showed him.
Drax stood still for a moment, taking it in.
"…Yeah," he muttered. "This one's different."
His reflection above didn't move when he moved.
That was the first sign.
Then—
It blinked.
Drax's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Interesting."
A voice echoed across the space.
Not loud.
But everywhere.
"Those who climb are not tested…"
The air tightened.
"…they are chosen."
Silence followed.
Drax didn't react outwardly.
But internally—
Something clicked.
"This isn't just a dungeon."
He stepped forward slowly, boots landing on a floating path that adjusted itself under his weight.
"Selection system…"
His gaze lifted slightly.
"…So you're watching."
The mirrors above shattered.
Not physically—
But conceptually.
They collapsed inward—
And from them—
Something stepped out.
Five figures landed across the floating terrain.
Each one felt… familiar.
Not identical.
But close enough to make the air feel heavy.
These were not monsters.
They were—
Echo Beings.
Reflections of Inner Worlds.
Distilled.
Weaponized.
Drax looked at them calmly.
"…So you copy people now."
One of them stepped forward.
And Drax paused.
Because he recognized it instantly.
It looked like him.
Not exactly.
Same height.
Same build.
Same blade forming in its hand—
But its presence was different.
No arrogance.
No calm confidence.
No personality.
Just—
Intent to kill.
Pure.
Direct.
Efficient.
The Echo Drax tilted its head slightly.
Then moved.
No warning.
No stance.
No wasted motion.
It appeared in front of him instantly—
And swung.
Drax blocked.
The impact cracked the air between them.
Their blades locked.
And for the first time in a while—
Drax felt resistance that mattered.
The Echo didn't speak.
Didn't hesitate.
Didn't pause to read him.
It attacked again.
And again.
And again.
Each strike clean.
Each movement efficient.
No flair.
No wasted energy.
Just pure killing mechanics.
Drax stepped back slightly.
"…You don't play around, huh."
The Echo didn't respond.
It stepped in again—
Faster.
Their blades clashed repeatedly, shockwaves rippling across the floating terrain.
The other Echo Beings didn't move.
They watched.
Like this was intentional.
Like this was the real test.
Drax's eyes sharpened.
"…I get it."
He shifted his stance slightly.
More grounded.
More focused.
The Echo pressed harder.
It mirrored his Abyssal Combat.
Perfectly.
No—
Not perfectly.
Better.
Because it didn't hesitate.
It didn't think.
It didn't choose.
It simply executed.
Drax dodged a strike that nearly split his side open.
"…So that's the gap."
The Echo vanished—
Reappeared behind him.
Drax twisted just in time, but the blade grazed his shoulder.
Blood.
Fresh.
Real.
He glanced at it.
Then smiled faintly.
"…Been a while."
The Echo attacked again.
Drax met it head-on this time.
Blow for blow.
Step for step.
But something was off.
The longer it went—
The more he noticed it.
His own patterns.
His own habits.
His own reliance.
Every time he created an opening—
He expected to devour.
To recover.
To overwhelm.
But the Echo didn't allow that.
It cut off space.
Cut off flow.
Forced him into pure combat.
No crutch.
No fallback.
Just skill.
Drax slid back across the ground, stopping himself with one hand.
"…So that's what this is."
He stood up slowly.
"A mirror that doesn't lie."
The Echo moved again—
Faster than before.
Drax didn't block this time.
He stepped—
And disappeared.
Void Step.
He reappeared to the side, just outside the Echo's attack range.
For the first time—
The Echo paused.
Just slightly.
Drax's eyes lit up faintly.
"…Yeah."
"I see it now."
He lifted his blade again.
This time—
Different.
More controlled.
Less force.
More intent.
The Echo rushed him again.
Drax stepped forward to meet it.
Their blades collided—
But this time, Drax didn't push.
He redirected.
Minimal movement.
Maximum efficiency.
The Echo adjusted instantly.
But Drax was already ahead.
"…You don't adapt."
He moved again—
Void Step.
Behind.
Strike.
The Echo blocked—
But Drax's blade shifted mid-motion.
"Essence Denial."
The moment their weapons connected—
The Echo's energy flow stuttered.
Just for a fraction of a second.
But that was enough.
Drax's second strike landed.
Clean.
Across its torso.
The Echo stepped back—
Unstable.
Drax didn't rush.
Didn't overcommit.
He walked forward slowly.
"…You're strong."
"But you're incomplete."
The Echo charged one final time.
Everything it had.
No hesitation.
No fear.
Drax closed his eyes for a split second.
Then—
Moved.
One step.
Perfect timing.
Perfect angle.
"Abyssal Collapse."
Their blades met—
And everything compressed.
Space.
Force.
Essence.
All of it collapsed inward at the point of contact—
Then exploded outward.
The Echo froze.
Then—
Split.
Cleanly.
Silently.
It dissolved into black fragments of essence—
But this time—
Drax didn't devour immediately.
He let it fade.
Watched it.
"…I don't need to rush."
The remaining Echo Beings disappeared instantly.
Test complete.
Silence returned.
Drax stood alone again.
But something had changed.
Not his power.
His control.
His understanding.
He exhaled slowly.
"…So that's what you wanted."
No voice answered this time.
But he already knew.
This tower wasn't about growth alone.
It was about refinement.
Selection.
Creation.
Of something beyond hunters.
Beyond monsters.
Beyond even Monarchs.
Drax turned slightly—
Then stopped.
Because he felt it.
Something—
Else.
Not on this floor.
Higher.
Much higher.
And then—
It felt him.
The connection snapped into place instantly.
Not fear.
Not curiosity.
Not hostility.
Something far deeper.
Recognition.
Drax's lips curved slightly.
"…So you're here too."
The presence didn't disappear.
Didn't hide.
It remained.
Watching.
Waiting.
Drax looked upward toward the unseen higher floors.
"…Good."
His grip tightened slightly on his blade.
"Don't die before I get there."
The space around him began to shift again.
The tower preparing the next transition.
But this time—
Drax wasn't just climbing.
He was being watched.
And something at the top—
Was waiting.