The Spire - Level Four Entrance - 38.4 Hours Remaining
Whoooosh.
Wind howled through the corridor connecting Level Three to Level Four—not natural wind, but conceptual wind. The movement of ideas through space, carrying whispers that weren't quite sound.
Yoo's boots clicked against crystalline floor—click-click-click—each step creating micro-fractures that healed instantly with a sound like ice cracking in reverse. Crick-crack-snap. The air tasted metallic and sweet simultaneously, coating his tongue with flavors that suggested copper and honey and something else that had no Earth equivalent.
His doubled pupils spun slowly, processing layers of reality. Physical corridor (crystalline, ascending, slightly curved). Conceptual substrate (pathway of "ascension," "trial," "refinement"). Truth-layer (this corridor was also a test—every step measured something about them).
"The corridor is judging us," he said quietly.
Han's hand rested on her blade. "Judging what?"
