>Unknown Labyrinth — Depth: Unknown
Each step up the spiral stairs felt heavier than the last. The cold wasn't just seeping into their skin—it was whispering into their bones. Floor by floor, Noct and his team pressed forward, eyes sharp, minds weary, and resolve harder than steel.
"I can't wait to try out my new sword," Noct said, a flicker of anticipation threading his voice. "I didn't get the chance last time—I was too busy stabilizing the pocket space."
Mia gave him a sideways glance, lips curling into a grin. "Yeah? I'm curious to see what kind of horror that thing's hiding. Feels like you've been keeping it a secret lover."
Noct chuckled, fingers flexing at his side. Twice—the Sword of Grief—responded in kind, pulsing faintly through the tethered contract they now shared.
But the moment they stepped onto the next floor, the air changed.
A biting silence dropped like a guillotine. Breath misted instantly. The walls were lined in ice so deep it reflected no light, and the floor crunched with a soft layer of frozen blood. Death clung to the space like perfume—cloying, inevitable.
Ellen's eyes sharpened. "Formation. Now."
Steel whispered from its sheath as she drew her blade. The others followed in silence, instinct overriding speech.
They had entered a boss floor.
>Above Ground — Bloodwind Guild HQ
Selene stared at the ceiling of the infirmary, her body still aching from her battle with Kaedra Voss. No amount of salves or aetherbalm could mend the ache that lived behind her ribs—the ache of helplessness.
She clenched her fists as the same thought replayed.
I couldn't stop her.
She had watched Kaedra tear through her comrades with a smile on her face. She had felt her limbs freeze, her breath catch, her will break.
But worse than all of that...
"A year..." she whispered.
Tears welled in her eyes before she could stop them. "It's been a year and I still haven't been home. I couldn't save them... I couldn't even say goodbye to Noct."
The name cut through her like a knife.
She wiped the tears and sat up slowly, moving with purpose. "I need to go home. At least once."
The guild granted her request for leave without question. She was strong. She deserved rest.
What no one told her—what no one saw—was the shadow that had begun to follow her. Quiet, patient, and watching.
>Unknown Labyrinth — Floor 33
The cold deepened as Noct's team stepped forward, eyes scanning the eerily still chamber. They reached what appeared to be the heart of the floor—an ancient altar cracked with frost, surrounded by the frozen remains of warriors long dead. Not skeletons. Bodies.
"Anything in sight?" Noct whispered.
"Nothing but ice... and corpses," Mia replied, her breath fogging around her face. "All frozen mid-scream."
Then the sound came—not a roar, not a growl, but the absence of sound. A vacuum hum. An inhalation of reality itself.
From behind the frost-covered gates emerged a towering entity—gaunt, gliding, and wreathed in shadowy mist. Tattered robes clung to its frame, frozen stiff and whispering with ancient runes. Its face was no face—just a smooth, blank mask of pure ice.
The moment it entered the chamber, all sound died. Even the team's breath seemed muted.
Frost patterns spiraled in the air, shifting into cryptic symbols that pulsed and faded with every move it made.
The system flickered.
[Boss Identified: Entity — The Silencer]
[Classification: Obscured. Threat Level: Uncharted.]
Mia's grip on her daggers tightened.
"Why does it feel like it's looking right through us...?"
Ellen took a step forward, sword raised, voice low. "Because it is."
Noct's fingers brushed Twice.
He didn't say a word.
He didn't need to.
The battle had already begun.