After checking out the details of his [Tier-10 Advancement Task], Alex knew it was time to move.
The window had closed. There was no more room for hesitation.
Everything had been building up to this.
He opened his [World Map], his eyes locking onto the shimmering mark labeled [Dragon City], the closest teleportation point he had to the [Tower of Nightmares].
He was about to tap on it, his fingers hovering over the glowing icon, when something flickered in his mind, he had almost forgotten: the [Demon Empire].
The extraction talent had granted him their exact coordinates not long ago, and while it wasn’t immediately important for his mission, it was something the angels absolutely needed.
He couldn’t contact them directly from where he stood though.
So, before heading anywhere else, Alex re-opened the map and chose [Angel City].
Fwish!
The light surrounded him, and within moments, he reappeared in front of the pristine, shining city.
But now, unlike before, it was quiet. Deathly so.
A cold wind brushed past his armor, and when he looked down, he saw only a few dozen angel soldiers patrolling the outer walls.
Their expressions were tense, their movements sharp.
It was obvious the majority of the angel army had already been deployed to the frontlines.
War was in full swing. Alex didn’t waste time.
He descended quickly, spotting one of the few sergeants still stationed by the main gates.
The angel looked surprised to see him but didn’t question it.
Once Alex handed over the information, the full location of the [Demon Empire], the soldier’s eyes widened in shock.
No words were exchanged.
The angel simply bowed and immediately took off into the sky, his radiant wings flashing with urgency as he likely flew straight toward either the [Angel King] or the [Angel Commander], wherever they were on the battlefield.
That was enough. Alex had done what he came here to do.
And with no more delays, he opened his [World Map] again and finally tapped on [Dragon City].
Fwish! Ding!
The moment he arrived, the wind hit him hard.
He stood right at the heart of what used to be one of the greatest cities in the world, a ruined shell of what it once was.
The skies above were gray, the lands charred from the aftermath of the battle with the [Hatred Demon].
Massive craters still remained where the dragon strongholds had once stood tall.
Despite the overwhelming strength of the [Primordial Dragons], the scars of war were not easy to erase.
Alex didn’t let himself get too absorbed in the past.
Now, he was here for something else.
He unfurled his six wings without hesitation.
They expanded behind him with a quiet hum, sharp and menacing, empowered by the [Wings of Hatred] he had acquired.
As always, he pulled up his [World Map] to float beside him like a semi-transparent compass, marking the direction of the [Tower of Nightmares].
With one powerful flap, he rose into the sky.
Fwish! Fwish!
He moved fast.
His speed had drastically increased ever since fusing with the hatred powers, and now his flight was faster.
The air cracked around him as he soared through the clouds.
Nothing blocked his path, and for a moment, everything felt calm, too calm.
Alex glanced at the system’s event timer, just to get a sense of how much time he still had.
[25 Days, 21 Hours, 32 Minutes…]
Just a little over 25 days left before the [Chosen Games] began.
It wasn’t much, but it was still enough.
Enough to complete the tower.Enough to train. Enough to survive, maybe.
It would take him three days of non-stop flight to reach the [Tower of Nightmares], and so he flew.
That was all there was to it.
No battles. No monsters. No strange phenomenon on the way.
Just open skies and the cold bite of wind.
That was when it became suspicious.
Because even when he had flown to the [Tower of Wrath], things had tried to kill him before he ever arrived.
Attacks had come from miles away, the air itself had felt like it wanted him gone.
But this time? Silence. Stillness.
Three entire days passed like that.
And then, it changed.
Alex noticed it when the name “Tower of Nightmares” began glowing more vividly on the map.
But in the real world, he couldn’t see anything ahead.
A thick mist had begun to form, and it grew darker with every second.
At first, it was gray. Then black.
And then, it fused with dark energy.
Purple crackles began streaking through it, tiny sparks dancing through the shadows.
Still, no monsters appeared. It was just, inviting.
As if the tower didn’t want to stop him. As if it wanted him to come closer.
To be trapped. To be consumed.
Alex flew straight into the mist, undeterred.
His expression remained calm, focused.
The more he advanced, the less he could see, and soon, visibility dropped to barely a meter ahead.
His instincts screamed at him, but he kept going.
Until finally, he emerged. And there it was.
[You have discovered the “Tower of Nightmares.”]
“…Wow.”
The tower loomed before him, impossibly large, far taller than either of the previous ones.
It was made entirely of dark obsidian, almost glass-like in its reflective quality, but etched with glowing purple runes.
These runes weren’t stationary, they floated and spun slowly around the tower’s surface in spirals, moving like orbiting stars, forming layers upon layers of magical patterns.
Some runes were small like tiny needles, others the size of houses, and they all climbed the tower endlessly into the clouds above.
Standing before it, Alex felt smaller than ever.
And yet, it wasn’t just the tower.
The entire space around him was different now.
The dark mist he had entered was gone, completely behind him now.
But when he looked back, he saw it, a perfect circle of swirling black and purple mist surrounding the entire tower.
He was standing in the only clear zone, maybe a few hundred meters wide, and all around was that same thick barrier of darkness, crackling and swirling like a cage.
Alex frowned.
Just to be sure, he attempted something.
He opened his [World Map] and tried teleporting away, to the [Tower of Wrath] perhaps, or even [Angel City].
Beep! Beep!
[You are not allowed to leave this space.]
“…Figures.”
Just in case it was a map restriction and not an actual boundary, he turned and tried flying back into the mist the way he came.
He pushed forward with his wings, only to slam into something invisible.
It was like an unbreakable wall.
No matter what he used, claws, the [Wings of Hatred], even the black tendrils from the [Crown of Calamity], nothing broke through.
He was locked in. Completely.
And just then, more panels appeared.
[You cannot leave anymore.]
[Complete the tower or stay here forever.]
[But remember: Those who enter rarely enjoy the nightmares they are given.]
It was a warning, that much was obvious. But Alex wasn’t afraid.
He looked at the tower again, so impossibly large, so filled with layered runes, and felt a chill go down his spine.
Not from fear, but from the sense of finality.
This was it. This was the last of the three towers.
He descended toward the ground, landing slowly, the obsidian terrain beneath his feet shimmering faintly with every step.
He stretched his arms, cracked his neck, and stared up at the monument of nightmares.
“Alright, final tower…” he muttered, brushing dust from his shoulder, “Show me your nightmares… or whatever.”
Then, with no more hesitation, he began walking forward, into the [Tower of Nightmares], where fear, madness, and forgotten horrors awaited.
But he was ready. Or at least, he had to be.