Entering the tower, Ethan was thrust back into the twenty-fifth level.
The familiar arena materialised around him, but the pressure immediately indicated unprecedented challenge. Reality itself seemed thicker, more resistant to movement, while magical saturation created ambient effects that challenged his senses.
The creature that appeared before him made Ethan finally understand why Seraphina and Magnus had struggled so desperately at this threshold.
The being was so overwhelmingly powerful that it made perfect sense that the tower had provided preview opportunities, allowing climbers to assess whether they preferred attempting impossible victory or accepting dignified retreat.
But what stood before him defied every expectation about monstrous opposition.
The creature wasn't massive. It wasn't ugly or twisted by corruption. On the contrary, it was absolutely beautiful—a figure that commanded aesthetic appreciation even as it radiated power that challenged comprehension.
