Chapter 186: Cain’s Trial

After a part of the source of fear was forcibly dragged to the 100th floor, only its remnants remained.

I slowly exhaled.

The space was still twisted, but it was a brief moment when the Tower’s suppression returned.

***

[Seal of the Origin – Time Limit: 120 Seconds]

[Current State: Purification of the Corrupted Cain’s Immortal Set possible.]

[If purification fails, the residual corruption will devour the entire set.]

‘Finally…’

I raised my hand and looked at the armor, crown, gloves, boots, and pauldrons engraved with red crests.

The sticky sense of foreignness where the remnants of corruption, hidden within the Immortal Flame, parasitically clung to the equipment.

That curse that had been slowly gnawing at my very existence until now.

“It’s…over now.”

I slowly knelt on one knee.

I drove my sword into the ground and brought both hands together in front of my chest.

WHOOSH!

The Immortal Flame blazed up.

BOOOOM!

A crimson explosion erupted, filling the space.

In response, the Immortal Set glowed red.

The crest of corruption writhed ominously.

It flowed into my body like a living creature, trying to侵蚀 my consciousness.

But I refused.

RAAAAGH!

The Immortal Flame momentarily turned pure white.

It was no longer a mere symbol of red vitality, but a purifying flame that burned away the essence itself.

It started with the pauldrons.

The crest of corruption writhed as if about to burst, then melted away, emitting a scream-like vibration.

Following that, the armor, crown, gloves, and boots.

The remnants of the Abyss peeled away from every piece of the set.

CRRRACK!

Cracks formed in the space.

Beyond those cracks, I saw it.

The Tower’s records.

Fragments of the truth.

As the corruption cleared, the hidden traces of Cain, along with a part of the Tower’s essence, flowed into my consciousness.

—

[Immortal Set – Purification Complete.]

[Original Immortal Authority recovered by 72%.]

[Additional Unlock: Source of Fear, Partial Access to Tower’s Blueprints.]

—

At that moment, my vision扭曲ed.

I saw someone’s silhouette within the pitch-black darkness.

He was…

‘Cain!’

The Tower’s rebel, the progenitor of the First Immortality.

The desperate cry he had shouted at the top of the Tower in the past echoed like a mirage.

「Those who built the Tower are not the creators you believe in.」

「The Tower does not test us…it carves us down.」

「At the end of the Tower lies the truth that the Source of Fear wants to hide.」

「I will surpass that place. This corruption, this immortality…all of it is preparation to defeat him.」

At first, I thought it was meant to deliver that message.

But.

「And now I test you.」

Beyond the darkness, Cain’s gaze reached me.

「Whether you are one who can overcome fear.」

Suddenly, the purified Immortal Set glowed red.

The armor, crown, gloves, boots, pauldrons.

All of it transformed into beams of light and rose into the air.

“…!”

I tried to reach out my hand, but the Immortal Set was beyond my control.

One by one, they were absorbed into the rift of darkness that formed as it tore through space.

From within that rift, a being revealed itself.

BOOOOM!

The space collapsed.

A man standing on the black earth beyond the扭曲ed rift.

Crimson hair.

A deeply carved scar.

And the Immortal Set perfectly adorned on his back.

Cain.

Will and life were bestowed upon what had only been a silhouette.

He was definitely dead.

For the crime of rebelling against the Tower’s order.

But now, his manifestation stood as if resurrected, having reclaimed the Immortal Set.

「This is a trial.」

Cain’s gaze pierced through me.

At that moment, a pressure like my heart freezing solid crashed down upon me.

「Do you have the right to resist the Source of Fear?」

「Are you the true inheritor of Immortality, one who has surpassed the Tower?」

「You must prove it.」

CRRK!

The space around Cain split open.

A dark crimson flame surged up.

It was the Immortal Flame.

But in a perfect form, different from mine.

「You must defeat me.」

「Only then can you stand against the fear of the 100th floor.」

On the black earth, I faced him, holding only a single sword in my hand.

BOOM!

Cain moved.

His very existence shook.

With each step he took, the earth was distorted.

In an instant.

WHISH-WHISH-WHISH!

A fist wrapped in red flame filled my vision.

THUD!

I narrowly twisted my body to evade it.

But even the wind grazed my skin, cutting it open.

“Kugh…!”

That power of immortality was fully mature.

The Immortal Set, which had once been mine, took root in his body, forming a perfect entity without a single gap.

「If you are the real one, take it back.」

At that moment, a sword materialized in Cain’s hand.

Silver.

The pinnacle of the sword I had realized.

It was the embodiment of that very concept.

“…”

My chest tightened.

The state I had so desperately yearned for.

He had already perfected it.

SWOOOSH!

As the sword swung, space was torn apart.

I barely raised my sword to block it.

CLANG!

But the impact…

THUD! THUD!

Step by step.

My body was pushed back.

My fingertips tingled.

I realized the difference.

‘I can’t win like this.’

Cain was the end of the path I had walked.

If I couldn’t surpass him, even the fear of the 100th floor aside, I couldn’t break through this Tower itself.

I steadied my breath and gripped my sword.

But.

BOOOOM!

Cain’s strike shook my very existence.

「Is this all you’ve got? If so, you don’t deserve it.」

Cain’s cold voice lingered in my ears.

I tried to stand up.

But my body wouldn’t listen.

I had relied too deeply on the Immortal Set.

Once that power disappeared, my true, pitifully bare self was revealed.

‘Was I…this weak?’

I asked myself.

I already knew the answer.

No, that wasn’t it.

I had climbed the Tower borrowing Cain’s power.

Intoxicated by the immense strength of the Immortal Set.

I had forgotten who I was, how I had survived.

In the beginning, I was bare-bodied.

On the continent of Gritia.

Through that vast and brutal world.

I traversed it with only my two feet, two hands, and a single sword.

Back then, I borrowed no one’s power.

Without any relics, traits, or lucky breaks.

I became covered in blood and stood at the summit.

‘But what am I now?’

I believed the power of Immortality, Cain’s Set, had made me strong.

But the truth was different.

It had tamed me, dulled my sword.

I looked at the Immortal Flame remaining within me.

It was frightening to abandon this last remaining dependence.

If I lost my Immortality, I might never rise again.

But, in this moment, I clearly realized.

To reach the true pinnacle of the sword,

I had to extinguish even this last flame.

I shook off the fear and hesitation.

And looked at the red flame deep within my chest.

“I see.”

I murmured in a low voice.

“Your path was not my path.”

Sssshhh—

Finally, the flame within me faded away.

The Immortal Flame was completely extinguished.

I was no longer immortal.

Now, if I died, that was the end.

But at that moment.

HUMMMM!

The sword in my hand sang clearly.

My pure existence, stripped of all dependence, was revealed完整ly through the sword alone.

『Pinnacle of the Sword – Thoughtless Sword』

Nothing remained in my heart.

Even my consciousness turned into a blank.

I became the sword.

The sword became me.

Cain’s expression hardened.

But without reacting, I simply took one step forward.

The world stopped.

Everything seemed to come to a halt.

And then, I slowly brought my sword down.

It was an incredibly simple strike.

SWISH.

But with that single, simple movement, both space and time were cut simultaneously.

Light scattered from Cain’s body.

All the illusions and sword strikes he had created.

Collapsed and fell with that single blow.

Cain’s presence trembled faintly.

A sigh escaped his lips.

「Finally…you have found it.」

Cain smiled wistfully.

「Yes, that is your sword.」

I quietly sheathed my sword.

Only now did I finally reclaim myself.

What Cain, the Tower’s rebel, left for me.

It was not the power of Immortality, nor the authority of the Set.

It was the realization leading to this very state of Thoughtlessness.

—

After realizing that power, my own path, I looked straight ahead.

As Cain’s form was collapsing, the black remnants that had been tearing through space and the Immortal Flame mixed together.

Then a red vortex enveloped me.

「I have no choice but to acknowledge it…」

Cain’s voice echoed lowly through the air.

「Until now, many have come claiming to be successors, only to become intoxicated by my power and fail the trial.」

「You…surpassed my trial with your own strength.」

CRACK!

In the midst of the red vortex, the corrupted Immortal Set I had possessed rose up.

The armor, crown, gloves, boots, pauldrons.

They were already stained with the remnants of corruption and the Abyss.

But.

—

[Immortal Set – Purification Commencing.]

[Authority Unlocked through Cain’s Seal.]

[Original Immortal Authority recovered by 100%.]

[Set effect transformed by Cain’s choice.]

—

The red vortex momentarily turned white.

The black energy of the Abyss peeled away powerlessly.

Pure white and red flames covered that spot.

WHOOOOOOSH!

Starting with the pauldrons, then the crown, armor, gloves, and boots.

The Immortal Set emitted light as if being reassembled.

Its form was completely different from before.

It was no longer a hefty metal armor.

It was armor of a form meant for a free being, not for oppression and fear.

It was armor of concept, composed of light, flames, and consciousness.

—

[Cain’s Immortal Set – Reaches True Form.]

[The Shackles of Immortality are Dismantled.]

[Additional Unlock: Consciousness Intervention, Existence Denial, Concept Fixation]

[Additional Effect: Partial Nullification of Tower’s Suppression]

—

As I drew a breath, the Immortal Set melted into my body as if merging with it.

I no longer felt the weight of the armor or the burden of the flame.

It just felt natural and complete, as if it had become a part of my very existence.

As Cain’s voice faded away,

His final message brushed against my consciousness.

—

「The Tower was not a testing ground for humanity.」

Cain’s voice rang out low and deep.

A chilling truth dwelled within his voice.

「Contrary to what you believed, the fear sealed at the top of the Tower was not there to protect humanity. It was quite the opposite.」

In the coldly swirling space, I slowly raised my head.

“The opposite…?!”

「Those who designed the Tower—the Architects—did not seal away the Source of Fear. They intended from the beginning to release the seal.」

Cain’s form revealed itself faintly.

A dark crimson shadow took shape, and his gaze pierced my existence.

「The reason they built the Tower is for one single purpose.」

He slowly raised his hand.

A gleaming vision unfolded in the air.

At the 100th floor, the summit of the Tower, a massive black form writhed.

「To have only the strongest of humanity selected and climb the Tower, using the power, consciousness, despair, and hope they emit as fuel to awaken the Source of Fear.」

At that moment,

A shock spread throughout my body, as if even the Immortal Flame within me had frozen solid.

“Then we are…”

「That’s right. You climbed the Tower with the destiny of becoming the ones who undo the seal.」

Cain laughed coldly at me.

「A perfect trap. The Tower was a system designed to elevate humanity to higher realms. Under that pretense, it endlessly gathered the strong. And the existence of those strong ones themselves became the key to weakening the seal.」

I stopped breathing.

Everything was twisted.

Now I finally understood.

Why the Tower existed.

Why the fear was awakening.

From the very beginning, the Architects had used humanity as sacrificial offerings.

They had been executing an elaborate plan to awaken the true fear sealed beyond this world.

「Now it’s your turn to choose.」

Cain’s eyes flashed.

「Will you follow the path the Architects have laid out? Or, like me, will you rebel against the Tower and that fate itself?」

I slowly raised my head.

A determined will was held in my gaze.

“My path is already decided. I am no one’s puppet in a preordained fate.”

Cain smiled slowly.

As if he had known that from the very beginning.

「Then ascend. To the 100th floor, the summit of the Tower. And confront the truth.」

At that moment,

Cain’s form disappeared back into the darkness.

「You are the only one who can change the fate of the Tower.」

I slowly turned my gaze upward.

Toward the summit of the Tower, where the Source of Fear the Architects had hidden lay.

I solidified my will, one that would never waver.