Alex walked forward, step after step, the towering presence of the [Tower of Nightmares] looming before him like a silent monument of death.
He couldn’t leave this place anymore, he had already tried, and the system had made it clear.
There was no escape. The only way out was through.
Either he conquered this place and claimed the [Token of Nightmares], or he died trying like all those who had come before him.
His six wings remained folded against his back, black energy flickering off them like a storm barely contained.
His expression stayed neutral, but his aura told a different story, power surged around him, pressure warping the space slightly with every step he took toward the obsidian structure.
Step! Step! Step!
He wasn’t sprinting, nor was he hesitating, just walking, calm, focused.
But even as he neared the structure, something caught his eye. Or rather, something was missing.
Unlike the [Tower of Wrath], which had massive double doors flanked by ominous symbols, this one had nothing.
Just an endless wall of pitch-black stone laced with spinning runes that glowed faintly in hues of violet and indigo.
The closer he got, the more those runes spun, some slowly, others at rapid speed, and the more his brows furrowed.
“What the hell?” he muttered under his breath, scanning the surface, “Where’s the entrance?”
It didn’t make sense. No tower refused a challenger.
That was the whole point of the Main Towers, they were designed to test, to torment, to twist every bit of you until you either proved your worth or broke.
But this one, it looked like it was simply sealed off.
Then, without warning,
FWISH! BOOM!
The entire space around him pulsed.
The atmosphere shattered like glass, a wave of invisible force erupting outward as Alex’s aura flared violently in response.
The energy that had remained calm around him exploded, forming chaotic black tendrils that danced across his limbs and wings, sharpening the air like razors.
The black mist that had once surrounded this area began to pulse with new life, the soft purple cracklings intensifying and spreading upward, lashing through the air like bolts of lightning.
Dozens, then hundreds of these flashes slammed into the tower itself.
ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!
Over and over.
Each strike echoed like thunder, a rhythmic beat of destruction and energy against the obsidian surface.
The tower didn’t crack. It didn’t react.
It simply absorbed them, silently, ominously.
And then…
FWISH!
[The Guardian of Nightmares has awakened.]
Alex froze. Everything stopped. Even the faint humming of the runes.
And then, a blinding flash of white light swallowed the world.
He shielded his eyes instinctively, wings raising to block the sudden burst, but when the light faded, his gaze snapped upward, and he saw it.
“…What the fuck,” he muttered, his voice low, eyes locked on the top of the tower.
There, high above him, an eye.
A massive, singular, unblinking purple eye had opened at the top of the tower, its vertical slit pupil focused entirely on him.
It wasn’t just looking at him, it was looking through him, piercing every layer of thought and memory, digging into the core of his being.
[The Guardian of Nightmares has noticed your presence.]
[It is now analyzing you…]
The eye didn’t blink. It didn’t move.
But its pupil grew, larger and larger, pulsing with energy that made Alex’s skin crawl.
Vortexes of dark energy spun around it like storms, and even Alex, who had seen the face of gods and horrors alike, felt something sharp twist inside him.
It wasn’t fear. Not quite. But unease, deep, instinctual unease.
“…Analyzing me?” he muttered, watching the pupil expand even further, now the size of buildings, crackling with purple energy.
And then,
DING!
[The Guardian of Nightmares has analyzed you and knows what you want.]
[Do you want to access the “Tower of Nightmares”?]
Alex hesitated, then nodded.
“Yeah,” he said simply, even though his instincts were still on edge.
He didn’t trust this. Not entirely.
The eye was unnatural, enormous, alien, terrifying in its own quiet way.
Something that existed outside the boundaries of normal comprehension.
And yet, the moment he agreed, it began.
FWISH! FWISH!
The aura around the eye swirled wildly, forming a spiraling vortex that locked his gaze.
He tried looking away, tried to break eye contact, but it didn’t work.
Every time he looked elsewhere, his eyes snapped back. And then, he locked eyes with the pupil.
The moment his gaze met it, the world shifted.
[You have accepted the “Tower of Nightmares” challenge. You will now suffer for all of eternity.]
The ground beneath him dissolved into particles.
His body began to break down, turning into violet specks that floated upward, drawn toward the eye like they were being swallowed whole.
He couldn’t fight it. He didn’t try.
He just let it happen, his consciousness warping as the eye consumed him.
And then, darkness. Everything vanished.
DING!
[You have entered the “Tower of Nightmares.”]
Alex’s eyes opened slowly. At first, everything was dark.
But gradually, the shadows gave way to an eerie blue-green glow.
He looked around, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the strange lighting. He was underground.
The ceiling was rough stone, damp with moisture and lit faintly by glowing moss.
Strange coral-like structures jutted from the ground, spiraling upward like skeletal fingers.
The air was dense, wet, cold, heavy.
Every breath felt like it was being dragged in through water.
And then he noticed the silence.
Not peaceful silence, but dead silence.
He looked down. Bones.
There were bones scattered across the stone floor, skulls, rib cages, spines twisted like they had died mid-scream.
Not ancient bones either. Some were still fresh.
Alex stood, brushing off the dust from his armor.
“Nobody cleared this tower,” he said quietly.
That much was obvious.
Hundreds, maybe thousands, had entered this place before him.
And not a single one had ever come back.
This was the [Tower of Nightmares].
And now, it was his turn.
Step!
He took one cautious step forward, and immediately, a panel materialized in front of him.
It was purple, like before, and at the top was the same eye, the same one that had brought him here.
It stared at him silently.
[Welcome to the “Depths.”]
[Your only goal is to escape while surviving your nightmares.]
So that was it.
Unlike the other towers, the [Tower of Destiny] with its ten structured floors, or the [Tower of Wrath] with its three-tiered trials, this one was different.
There was no floor count. No checkpoints.
Just one enormous nightmare. He had been warned.
The guardian of wrath had told him, no one had ever completed this tower.
Not because they weren’t strong. But because whatever awaited him was too overwhelming.
And much like the [God of the Abyss], this one had no chains holding him back.
It was his domain, and Alex had walked right into it.
His fists clenched slightly, his breathing slow and steady.
No fear showed on his face, but even he understood the weight of what he’d entered.
He didn’t know this god. Didn’t know his abilities. Didn’t know what would come next.
That uncertainty alone made this dangerous.
Still, he wasn’t about to back down.
He slapped both cheeks lightly and looked forward, eyes narrowing.
“Alright,” he muttered, scanning the endless cave system, the rocky terrain ahead littered with shadowy corners and twisting paths, “Let’s see what kind of nightmares you’ve got.”
The panel’s wording stuck in his mind, though, “your own nightmares.”
That part bothered him.
But even then, his goal hadn’t changed.
He would survive. No matter what it took.
And so, Alex walked forward into the Depths.
The nightmare had begun.