As the timer chased his breath, Arius emerged from the elevator on the 40th floor, sweat pouring from his forehead. He looked at the screen: only 17 minutes left. He shouted in fury, "That psychopath is playing with me! He wants me to arrive exhausted or be late to witness her death!"
He entered the yellow room, only to find himself in a vertical maze of doors. He tried to jump down, but the place was cursed; he fell through the very door he had just entered, as if gravity were folding in on itself. Having no alternative, he ran down the stairs until he found an old door engraved with the number "2015".
The moment he stepped inside, he froze in his tracks. He saw a giant screen displaying a scene from his childhood; he was nine years old, laughing and holding an ice cream that was melting on his hand, with his father Gene, his mother Yuna, and his sister beside him. Their features overflowed with a serenity he had lacked for centuries. Arius clenched his fist tightly until his energy seeped out, and said in a choked voice, "A cheap attempt at distraction!" Then, he shattered the screen with a single blow and dashed toward the door that appeared behind it.
However, he did not exit into a corridor; instead, he found himself under the warm sun, standing on the sands of a familiar small island. He saw his seven-year-old self training seriously while his "Earthly" family enjoyed their vacation. Arius hid behind the rocks, watching the scene with a torn heart, whispering, "How I missed those days... before my hands were stained by battles and the curse of power."
"What are you doing here, my son?"
Arius startled and almost released a destructive aura, until he saw an old man wearing simple clothes. Arius—usually a cold warrior—became flustered and said, "Nothing... I was just..." The old man did not give him a chance; he gripped Arius's arm with unexpected strength and shouted, "I get it! You are a lurking thief, trying to rob this good family!"
The old man dragged him forcibly toward them. Terror gripped Arius; if his family saw him like this, with his torn clothes and dark aura, the timeline might be destroyed or his identity revealed. He stood before his father, Gene, and his younger self, but the shock was that no one recognized him.
Gene said with his usual calmness, "Calm down, uncle. You must have misunderstood. This young man does not look like a thief." The old man shouted, "No! He was watching you with hungry eyes; he definitely intended to rob you!"
Arius looked into his father Gene's eyes and felt an overwhelming urge to embrace him and tell him everything, but he remembered the timer: 15 minutes. He realized that the old man was nothing but a "delaying entity" placed by the Unknown to hinder his progress.
Gene looked at Arius with eyes full of kindness and asked respectfully, "Tell me, my son, where are you from? And what brought you here?"
Arius swallowed a lump in his throat, looked at his younger self who was watching him with childish curiosity, and then said in a low voice, "I... I am just a boy from the eastern suburbs, making a living by collecting trash and whatever people leave behind."
Gene examined Arius's battle-torn clothes and said skeptically, "But despite your torn clothes, your presence looks like someone who is not in need... your features do not resemble the homeless." Arius replied quickly, "That is only due to the nature of the hard work I do... clothes do not always reflect the reality of their owner."
Gene smiled and nodded, saying, "I see... I wish you success, my son, and if you ever need any help, just call on me, and I am fully prepared to support you." Arius thought to himself with bitterness and love, "Yes, Father... this is the second time you have said this sentence to me; you said it to me ten years ago."
Arius bid farewell to his family with a heavy heart and immediately left toward a wooden door that appeared at the end of the beach. As soon as he stepped through, there was no ground beneath him; he fell through a dark void for a few seconds before crashing onto a hard, cold floor. He opened his eyes to find a massive metal door, which he pushed open to see a digital screen indicating he was on the 10th floor.
"Good!" Arius shouted eagerly, "I bypassed many floors thanks to that space-time rift!" However, his joy was short-lived when he looked at the timer: only 7 minutes remained.
Arius flew into a rage; he no longer had time for riddles or illusions. He roared to his entire army, "Come forth, all of you! I want no pathways, I want no doors! Breach the walls, destroy the floors, descend to the final level, and shatter everything in your way!"
One hundred thousand energy soldiers unleashed like a black hurricane throughout the tower. Explosions began to echo in the lower floors, and walls crumbled under the strikes of Arius's soldiers, who began tearing apart the very fabric of the tower. Meanwhile, Arius started running down a long, dark corridor, feeling the tower's vibrations beneath his feet, his eyes locked onto the end of the hallway where the enemy who dared to touch his family awaited him.
As Arius sprinted down the corridor, his mind boiled with questions: "Throughout these eighty floors, I have faced things that defy reason and transcend logic! Who is the madman who designed this accursed tower? It is impossible for it to be an ordinary person... this place was designed by someone who knows the finest details of my life, someone with abilities that allow him to manifest my memories or summon my past in this terrifying way! If I only knew who he is!"
Arius stopped abruptly in front of a giant steel door, from which a cold aura emanated. He pushed it with all his might, entering a vast hall enveloped in silence. At its end was a locked room, and before it sat a single throne occupied by a repulsive being: a massive black lizard with a muscular human body, its yellow eyes gleaming with innate cunning.
Arius looked at the time impatiently: only 5 minutes.
The lizard rose slowly, its glossy black skin emitting a scraping sound, and said in a low, hissing voice, "Welcome, enemy of my master... you took longer than we expected to get here."
Arius stood a few meters away from him, his crimson aura beginning to leak from his body in fury: "So you can speak? Unlike the rest of the ridiculous tests I went through in this tower."
The lizard laughed, its forked tongue protruding from its mouth: "Me, a test? What are you talking about? I am not just an obstacle... I am my master's most competent guardian." It then extended long black claws from behind its back and continued, "I will allow you to pass if you defeat or kill me... though I highly doubt your ability to do so while you are in this wretched state of depletion."
Arius's eyes ignited with madness, and he said through his teeth, "I have no time for a duel... I will erase you in seconds!"
While Arius was confronting the black lizard above, hell had already broken loose in the lower floors. Thanks to the power of Gillion and Dark, the last eight floors turned into heaps of rubble; the soldiers pierced through ceilings and floors with coordinated strikes to pave the way for their master.
In the dark throne room, one of the servants entered trembling toward the Unknown: "Master! Arius's army has breached the ninth floor... they are now on the verge of the lower valley!" The Unknown did not blink, but continued to watch the screen with a deadly coldness, saying in a calm voice, "Let them enter... the fall from the peak is always painful."
Indeed, as soon as Gillion and Dark broke through the floor of the final level, they froze in their tracks from the horror of the sight. It was not just a floor, but an impossible spatial dimension—a bottomless valley whose size exceeded hundreds of planets stacked upon one another. In its grey sky sat a massive floating fortress, with energy chains extending from it to tie it to stakes at the bottom of the valley.
But the shock was not in the space, but in what filled it. Gillion opened his eyes wide as he saw the valley's horizon swarming with endless numbers of dark armies: beings of pure shadow, silent knights, and black dragons larger than Gillion himself, all lined up in terrifying war formations awaiting a single signal.
Dark said in a trembling voice, "Gillion... this is not an army; this is a continent of death. The size of this place and the number within it transcend any logic we have known in the ten realms."
Above, Arius spoke while looking at the black lizard: "Four minutes left... do you hear that vibration below? That is my army tearing your fortresses apart. Step aside before I turn you to ash!"
The black lizard laughed as it raised its claws: "Your army? Your army is now facing the 'Legion of Annihilation'... they won't last for a minute there, and you won't leave this floor alive to see their fall!"
Rhinos emerged from Arius's body and said, "Master, let me join the fight." Arius firmly rejected Rhinos's offer, his eyes fixed on the lizard: "No, Rhinos, your place is below... Gillion and Dark are facing an indescribable annihilation. Go and be of aid to them!" Rhinos withdrew like a shadow heading toward the deep valley, leaving Arius to face the guardian who seemed provocatively confident.
The lizard said coldly, "It is suicidal bravery to face me alone while you are this weak."
Before it could finish its sentence, reality exploded before Arius. He did not see it move, he did not feel its approach; he only felt a terrifying punch piercing his entrails. Arius was hurled like a projectile, smashing through steel walls and ceilings, bouncing from floor to floor until he settled on the 60th floor.
Arius stood up, coughing blood, his lungs screaming for air, and his mind spinning. Suddenly, the floor he stood on evaporated entirely by a black energy attack, leaving him suspended in the void before the lizard appeared directly behind him like a ghost.
"It's over!" the lizard's hiss reached his ear, and the blade of its black claw was about to sever Arius's head. At that moment, something illogical happened; Arius's body vibrated in a fraction of a billionth of a second, moving a hair's breadth away from the blade.
The lizard stopped in shock, looking at its blade that had cut only air: "Impossible! I surely cut off your head... how did you move?!"
Even Arius himself was shocked, but he did not waste the opportunity. He placed his hand over his violently beating heart and clenched his fist with a force that shook the pillars of the tower. A pure blue aura erupted, and the "Ruling Ryzu" surged at unprecedented levels.
[Transformation: Hightsphere | Power Level: 90 Septillion]
The place turned into a hell of energetic pressure. The lizard saw nothing but a blue flash, and before it could raise its claws, Arius's foot slammed into its face with a force that shattered its skeletal structure and sent it crashing through ten more floors.
Arius did not give it room to breathe; he appeared directly above it, his hand charged with a sphere of fluctuating Neosphere energy. "Take this... you wreck of chains!"
The strike exploded, tearing away the lizard's arm and turning half of its body into burnt ash. The lizard retreated, screaming in pain and bewilderment: "What is this power? How can a 'mortal' possess energy that tears my master's dimensions? Damn him!"
Arius looked at the timer: 2 minutes and 15 seconds.
The tower ignited with the clash of giants; the black lizard was no longer just a guardian, but had transformed into a hurricane of dark crimson energy that tore at the environment. Fists and blades collided, and with every impact between Arius in Hightsphere mode and the regenerating lizard, the tower shook as if it were on the verge of total collapse. Miniature cosmic explosions generated from the friction of their energies, turning the middle floors into rubble floating in the void.
Below, Rhinos entered the heart of hell. What he saw was beyond description; the armies of dark annihilation were not mere fighters, but creatures that fed on nothingness. Whenever Gillion severed the neck of a dark dragon, ten other heads sprouted, and whenever Dark crushed a battalion, the shadow particles gathered to reform them immediately.
The toll was heavy; Arius's regenerating soldiers relied on his own energy reserves! Above, Arius felt a severe drain on his energy with every soldier returning to life below, as if his soul were being pulled from two directions. Rhinos shouted as he struck off the heads of dozens, "Hold on! Do not let them reach the gate before the Master arrives!"
In the throne room, the Unknown watched the slaughter with a terrible coldness, as if listening to a musical piece. He rose slowly, his massive body casting its terrifying shadow over the hall, then walked with heavy steps toward Yuna's cage.
Yuna retreated to the corner of the cage, trembling with fear as she saw those massive eyes that carried not a shred of mercy. The Unknown placed his hand on the bars and hissed with a voice that shook the soul: "Soon... I will be free from this bond. And soon, I will turn your son into the perfect tool to serve my interests... he will become the weapon with which I will tear everything apart."
He turned to his shadowy servant and asked in an icy tone, "How much time is left?" The servant replied while bowing, "Only one minute and twenty seconds, my master."
The Unknown looked at Yuna with a wicked smile showing his fangs: "Unfortunately, beautiful one... it seems your time is running out. Arius is still stuck with the 'Guardian', and the distance between him and you has become impossible in this short time. Prepare to say goodbye to your son."
The final minutes passed as if they were eons. Above, the fight between Arius and the black lizard turned into a bloody death dance; energy collisions tore the fabric of space-time, and strikes reached speeds that made them vanish from sight, leaving behind only the rumble of explosions and flying debris.
Arius coughed blood as he parried the opponent's blade, saying in a strained tone, "It would be wonderful... if you became my personal servant after I shatter your pride!" The lizard replied with a mocking hiss while pressing down with his sword, "And it would be more wonderful to present your corpse to my master as a gift... you truly surprised my expectations, I thought you were an inexperienced novice, but you shocked me... yet still!"
Suddenly, the lizard slipped away from before Arius as if it had vanished into nothingness, and appeared directly behind his back like total darkness. It whispered into Arius's ear in a cold voice, "With this level of power... you are nothing before my master." The lizard's claw, charged with dark crimson energy, plunged into Arius's flank—a piercing stab that hurled him away to smash through the wall behind him. Arius held himself together with difficulty as he gripped his bleeding wound: "Damn it... if I hadn't veered off in the last fraction of a second, this would have been my end."
Arius felt a severe slowness creeping into his limbs; the injury was not merely physical, but was a toxic energy eating away at his "Ryzu". He looked at the time: 65 seconds.
"Come and strike me if you dare!" Arius shouted as he intentionally opened a gap in his defense. The lizard wondered and said, "Have you lost your mind, or have you despaired of life?" Arius answered with a terrifying smile, "Yes... I've lost it!"
The lizard rushed like lightning, and in the blink of an eye, it severed Arius's arm completely! Blood sprayed, and the lizard thought victory was its own, but at that exact moment, Arius played his final card. "[Void Domain]!"
The lizard's aura suddenly vanished, and its power extinguished as if it had never existed. In that moment of bewilderment, Arius used his other hand, charged with pure "Neosphere energy," and drove it directly into the lizard's chest, piercing its black heart.
The two fell to the ground; Arius panting, trying to prevent himself from fainting from the bleeding and the loss of his arm, while the lizard drew its final breaths. The lizard whispered as it stared at the collapsed ceiling of the tower, "All I wanted... was for my master to be pleased with me... just... pleasure..." Then, its breath went still forever.
Arius leaned against a shattered wall, breathing with extreme difficulty as he looked at his severed arm and deep wound: "What a cursed monster... it completely drained me."
Arius pressed through his wounds and rose slowly. In a spine-chilling scene, strands of crimson and blue energy began weaving the muscles and bones of his severed arm, growing back as strong as it once was. He looked at the lifeless corpse of the lizard with cold gazes that hid behind them a respect for this opponent's strength, then murmured in a low voice, "[Activate: Ally Creator]."
A blue glow erupted from Arius's palm, completely consuming the lizard's corpse. Within moments, a terrifying energy being rose from the rubble; a blackened body with a blue sheen and icy eyes that knew no fear, bowing before Arius with the majesty of kings.
Arius said as he wiped the blood from his face, "I truly suffered before you... you were a worthy opponent." The soldier replied in a husky and majestic voice, "I apologize for delaying you, my liege... but I would like you to grant me a name more fitting for your service." Arius closed his eyes for a moment and then said, "From this day on... your name is 'Zaikoros'."
Upon pronouncing the name, Zaikoros released a breath of energetic enthusiasm, as if his powers had doubled just by belonging to Arius. Arius checked the stats of his new soldier; they were stunning, for Zaikoros was no less powerful than Arius himself in his current state and in his Hightsphere form.
Zaikoros stood up and said with absolute loyalty, "My liege... give me my first order." Arius replied, his eyes on the clock, "Guide me to my mother's location... now!"
"Your command, my liege!"
Zaikoros shot forward like a charged arrow, followed by Arius, leaving behind streaks of light that tore through the darkness of the tower. Only 30 seconds remained. The two tore through the lower floors previously shattered by the army at insane speeds, until they suddenly emerged from a hole at the bottom of the tower to find themselves in the space of the deep valley.
Arius saw the towering floating fortress dominating the horizon, and the dark armies filling the valley in a deadly clash with his soldiers. Arius shouted as he directed his sight toward the fortress, "Is she there?!" Zaikoros replied while opening an energy pathway for Arius, "Yes, my liege... she is in the heart of that fortress, and the Unknown awaits you."
Arius stopped in mid-air, startled by the size of the armies he saw below, but a sudden weight pressed heavily on his chest; a terrifying energy emanated from the top of the fortress, causing the air molecules around him to freeze.
The Unknown emerged from the fortress balcony, a giant in his black cloak that hid his features, holding Yuna's cage in his hand as if carrying a small bird. As soon as Arius saw him, he felt a living nightmare assault his senses; this being's aura was not just power, but "authority" over existence itself.
"Leave her alone!" Arius screamed as he exploded with the "Ruling Ryzu," flying toward the peak with all his rage. But before he could even get close, the laws of physics changed around him; an absolute gravity pulled him downward with a force that shattered his shoulder bones, crashing him onto the valley floor, unable to move, as if the earth itself refused his standing.
The Unknown looked at his hourglass and said in a cold voice, "Oops... time is up."
With complete coldness, he released his hand, letting the cage fall from a towering height. Arius screamed a cry that tore his throat as he watched his mother plummeting toward death, but before the cage hit the rocks, Zaikoros shot like a dark arrow, catching the cage at the last second to fly away with it.
The Unknown flew into a rage: "That treacherous scoundrel! How dare you touch my property?" The Unknown twisted his hand in the air, and gravity exploded around Zaikoros, sending him crashing toward the ground as well. The cage slipped from his hand, and Yuna rolled out of it to fall onto the sand—exhausted and terrified, but alive.
Arius forced his body up, digging his nails into the ground to stand. At that moment, the Unknown slowly removed his cloak, revealing his body which looked like a grey stone statue—distorted in features as if carved from ancient rocks, yet pulsating with a strange and terrifying life.
Arius spat blood and said in a voice trembling with rage, "Who are you? And what curse are you?"
The Unknown answered him with a smile that split his rocky face: "I am 'The Monitor'... I am the eye that does not sleep within the folds of this realm, of which many exist." Arius replied in confusion, "A monitor? What are you talking about?"
The Monitor smiled slyly: "I possess the authority to alter and manipulate anything in your limited realm, my 'favorite material'... you are nothing but raw material that will be in my hands to serve the higher purpose."
Arius did not understand his riddles, but he finally succeeded in standing, and the "Hightsphere" aura ignited around him with an unprecedented madness, to the extent that the ground beneath his feet began to melt. Arius said, his eyes gleaming with the luster of death, "It doesn't matter who you are, and it doesn't matter what your authority is... what matters is that you will pay dearly for every tear my mother shed... I will shatter your stone until it becomes dust, you evil psychopath!" .