Seconds drag on into minutes, all while the thunderous footsteps down the hallway leave no mistake that the menacing creature is still outside, still looming over us. It is the starkest reminder yet that, despite all the challenges we have overcome to this point and all the strength we have gained, not one of us is anywhere near invincible. There is always something greater, something stronger, something which towers above us giants just as giants loom over people and people over ants.

The menacing creature approaches. My own heart starts beating incredibly fast. So fast that I curse myself for these organic components which might well be the death of me.

The creature lumbers nearby, just outside the room in the hallway. If it wanted, I’m sure it could barge right through the door and help itself to three human-sized snacks. But by the grace of the goddesses alone, it doesn’t seem particularly bright. Enough to follow movement and recognize prey, but susceptible to ploys and deception and even the basic act of hiding in another room.

I wonder if a blinding attack would work, or if it tracks its prey by some extrasensory detection— maybe some sort of radar or even echolocation. However, my scientific curiosity is squelched by the knowledge that one wrong move against this creature, one errant assumption, will mean certain death. And so we wait.

It turns around, its metal joints squeaking ever so slightly with every step it takes. And then it stops. My breath nearly leaves my body. My hand grips Chloe’s tightly, worried that this is the end. If it is, then I’d rather remind her of the one absolute truth between us.

“Chloe, whatever is about to happen, know that I love you.”

She squeezes my hand. “And I love you too, Sera. No matter what.”

More steps follow. A thud against the wall that causes the entire floor to shake. Chloe buries her head in my chest, and I hold her tight. Seconds now stretch into eternity before the harrowing footsteps gradually quiet. The beast moves on and we are safer for the moment. But with such a monster about, there is no such thing as being safe.

I exhale, though I dare not speak. Chloe and I are still holding one another in the closet, neither of us giving a damn if Alexey can see or cares. Another minute passes before Alexey turns to us, though he dares not speak above even a whisper.

“Chloe, Sera, I think it’s as safe as it’s ever going to get out there.”

“Which isn’t very,” Chloe says.

“Agreed,” I whisper. “We need to find the exit before we can start to breathe easily. Did you see any paths that look promising?”

“We check each door one by one and stay the hell away from that monster. I think the rooms are safe, but the hallways should be thought of as a no-man’s land.”

Chloe and I turn to each other, nod, then offer the same affirmation to Alexey. He cracks the door ever so slightly, enabling me to use [Archangel’s Gaze] to peer down the hallway in both directions. No signs of the monstrous machine, and so we tepidly make our way out of our hiding place, me taking the lead, Chloe right behind, and Alexey scanning the rear for any signs of pursuit.

Within the next room, probably a bedroom for an officer at one point, I notice a small book on the door. I take a moment to scan through the pages, wondering if there:

Day 14, Month 6, Year 5104 A.I.: Today, Operation Bioweapon is slated to begin. From what I little I understand, it’s being conducted here in Station Epsilon-Mu to segregate the experiment away from the civilian population. I don’t know the exact details of the operation, but if the top brass thinks this research is so dangerous that we need to sequester the entire facility from the planet before, I’m not liking my odds of survival. Jewell, if I’m unable to see you again, let my log reflect that I love you and Kass very much.

Day 28, Month 6, Year 5104 A.I.: Operation Bioweapon has supposedly been proceeding smoothly. At least, that’s what the top brass says. Me, I’m not so sure. I’ve been hearing strange sounds at night. It might just be my imagination. I pray to God that it is.

Day 4, Month 7, Year 5104 A.I.: The sounds haven’t stopped. If anything, they’ve only gotten louder, fiercer, and angrier. I don’t know what’s happening down in the labs. I don’t want to know. I want off this station already! But I’ve got orders. [Illegible] contracts we sign!

Day 17, Month 7, Year 5014 A.I.: They’re cordoning off the laboratory and sealing it away from the rest of Station Epsilon-Mu. I’m not sure if this means the operation was a success or a failure. I’m not sure which is worse. Jewell, I fear I won’t live much longer. Should someone find this one day down the road, after I’m gone, I implore you to find my wife and daughter and give them this diary to remember me by.

Day 19, Month 7, Year 5014 A.I.: This will be my final entry. The so-called Ultimate Weapon is here in the dormitory wing now. It isn’t particularly bright, but its defenses are incredibly resilient and its [Strength] is said to be nearly infinite. I don’t know if it has any weaknesses, but it’s safe to assume there is no defeating the Ultimate Weapon. And though it doesn’t seem to understand the concept of a door, that’s no solace to me, trapped here in my bedroom. The final escape pod has already departed, and there will be no rescue. Screams are coming from down the hall. I’m afraid this is the end. Better to die quickly by the Ultimate Weapon’s jaws than the slow death of starvation and dehydration.

The rest of the log is left blank. I stow it away in my [Inventory] for later; any other notes I can find about these bioweapons will be of great use for improving my own body down the line.

The air has grown still once again, and the sounds of the Ultimate Weapon have stopped. I dare not hope even for a moment that the creature is far away, or that we are safe, but it’s good to have some confirmation that the creature probably isn’t waiting directly on the other side of the door. Alexey reaches the same conclusion, and we sidestep over to the next door as quietly as possible. Which involves me carrying Chloe in a princess carry— her wings generate enough wind and light to be untenable when this level of stealth is required, but mine are nearly silent and not nearly as bright.

Another bedroom. Nothing of note. Then another. A Large [Ether] Canister, which I immediately use. Recalling the [Ether] channel rupture I experienced a few weeks and twenty-odd floors back, I don’t pull too hard, only increasing my current [Ether] by about 800. I’m a bit irked by my decision, considering I could’ve gained another four to five hundred points if I pushed, but better to be a little weaker than risking being a lot weaker and likelier to end up dead. I promised Chloe as much.

Another bedroom follows. This one is a bit larger than the ones previous, with a full-sized bed in place of the normal twins. Two dressers as well, and as I scan through the effects, I become nearly overwhelmed with emotion. This was definitely a suite belonging to a couple at one time. Not sure if they chose to fight, clinging to desperate hope, or stay with one another in their room until their final moments. If I were with Chloe in the same situation, I don’t know which choice I’d make. Or rather, what choice we would make together.

Another room. This time, under the bed, I find a pair of golden knuckles. Not having any use for them myself, I hand them over to Alexey, who equips them promptly. Unlike most knuckles, these don’t wrap fully around the fingers, instead being held in place through System chicanery. An interesting and hamfisted way to allow their wearer to fully clench their fist and use their hands normally for sure.

We tiptoe down the next hallway. Another small bedroom, more personal effects. Among them is a young redheaded woman in a lab coat. Reminds me just a bit of Madison, though this woman has far more freckles and the shape of the face isn’t quite right. Still, I grab the picture and stow it away, only to notice something written on the piece of paper hidden behind the picture.

To whomever might find this: Joseph’s test suggests that the Ultimate Weapon’s vision is at least partially based on heat. Perhaps if we’d had a [Fire Evoker] in the lab, we might have some way to get off this floor and… Alas, most of us are [Researchers] or [Scientists], and none of us have any fire or ice magic.

I don’t know how reliable this information is. I certainly don’t want to stake my life on it should worse come to worst. But it’s a lead, if one I hope to never use.

I show the missive to Alexey and Chloe before stashing it away as well. I still don’t know the maximum capacity of my [Inventory], but I sense vaguely that I’m nowhere close to reaching it.

We make our way into the next room. It’s simply too quiet. I can’t help but feel that all of this, all these missives and notes, it’s all part of an elaborate trap. Because I know that all of this, even if it is representative of events that took place in my original timeline, or some other timeline altogether, this right now is still within the Tower Gauntlet. It’s all a simulation. None of these people whose journals I’ve been reading and whose effects I’ve been scouring for clues, really ever existed, at least in this universe.

And yet, I can’t help but feel for them nonetheless, even if that empathy is purely selfish in nature.

We make our way out of the next room and into a fork in the hallway. One path leads to a set of translucent stairs, our pathway out of this hell and into the next. And the other leads back to more dorm rooms. The way forward is obvious. We’re almost out of the clutches of the Ultimate Weapon. But as we cautiously move our way ever closer to our destination, I know this whole thing is wrong. It’s too easy, it’s too quiet, there’s something else I’m missing. Where is the catch? Where’s the end fight? Some sort of cathartic release of the tension that’s been building throughout this entire floor.

But there’s nothing. No Ultimate Weapon dropping from the ceiling, forcing us into an unwinnable battle where we’re forced to use our wits and maybe sacrifice one of us in order for the rest to survive. Just a calm, peaceful trek up the diaphanous, crystalline stairs.

It’s not until we make it to the next floor that I realize the truth of it all. We’re still in the space station, just a different part. In fact, the past several floors of the Tower Gauntlet have all seemed to be part of this same overarching scenario, a marked change from the first half of the dungeon.

The one saving grace in reaching the next floor is that we’ve been given a temporary reprieve from combat. No monsters around to greet us, whether biological, robotic, or some combination thereof. And at long last, we’re awarded Experience for everything from the previous floor, including one notification that causes me to furrow my brow.

[You have scrapped 631 Station Droids (Levels ranging from 44 to 45). You have gained a boosted 41,125 Experience.]

[You have scrapped 78 Elite Station Droids (Levels ranging from 49 to 51). You have gained a boosted 152,400 Experience.]

[You have survived an encounter with The Ultimate Weapon (Level 159). You have gained a boosted 15,000 Experience.]

[You have gained enough Experience to reach Level 55. [Strength] +1, [Speed] +1, [Vitality] +1, [Mind] +1. Please assign free stat points (Remaining: 4).]

I assign them all to [Speed] without much hesitation. I’ve got a real bad feeling that I’m going to need every point, and I dare not ignore such a gripping sense of impending doom.

[Maximum Health increases by [Vitality] x 2 + Current Level + Rand[1,3] = 269]

[Maximum Ether increases by [Mind] + Current Level + Rand[0,2] = 210]

[Level: 55; Experience: 3,165,450; To Next: 87,865]

[Current Stats: [Health]: 8,159 / 8,790; [Ether]: 2,894 / 6,526]

[Current Stats: [Strength]: 163 (Base: 80); [Speed]: 173 (Base: 85); [Vitality]: 281 (Base: 106); [Mind]: 411 (Base: 155)]