The gate opened to thunder.
Not just distant rumbling, but a constant roar, like an ocean made of sky, crashing down in pulses of white-blue fury. The moment Leon stepped through, lightning flashed across the horizon—arcs leaping between jagged peaks of ironstone that pierced the clouds like spears.
The rain wasn't water.
It was blood.
Dark crimson droplets fell from a torn sky, sizzling as they struck the black metal floor, steaming on contact. It didn't burn skin, but it carried something far worse—memories.
Each drop whispered screams of fallen climbers.
[Welcome to Floor 523 – Storm in the Blood]
• Atmospheric Hazard: Constant Lightning Field
• Terrain Hazard: Blood Rain (Memory Contact)
• Survival Time Without Conductor: 9 Minutes
• Floor Sovereign: Er'Zan, The Endless Climber
Leon's boots sank half an inch into the wet ground. He looked down.
His reflection wasn't now. It was him—on Floor 2. Weak. Lost. Angry.
A crackle of static danced across his skin.
