Chapter 19
The Monolith's Whisper
Miguel took a slow, measured breath as he stepped toward the monolith at the center of the Hollow Spire. The jagged, obsidian-like structure pulsed with a deep, rhythmic glow—faint runes flickering along its cracked surface, like a heartbeat made of light.
The closer he got, the more unnatural the air became.
The space around the monolith felt… wrong. Gravity itself seemed to bend, shifting in unpredictable ways. His boots barely touched the ground before the force shifted, pulling him sideways for a fraction of a second before stabilizing again.
Miguel stopped a few feet away, gripping his spear tightly. What is this thing?
A system prompt flickered into existence.
[Unknown Artifact Detected: Hollow Spire Core]
[Warning: Reality Distortion Present]
Miguel exhaled slowly. "No kidding."
He reached out.
The moment his fingers grazed the surface, a shockwave exploded outward.
The entire chamber rippled like liquid, and suddenly—
---
The Echoes of the Past
Miguel was somewhere else.
The Hollow Spire was gone. The dark chamber replaced by ruins bathed in golden light, shattered towers stretching into a sky that should not exist.
Floating shards of broken stone hovered as if frozen in time. The very air hummed with power, filled with a strange pressure, like standing at the edge of a collapsing star.
And in the distance, he saw them.
Figures—cloaked in flowing, luminescent robes—stood gathered around a grand structure in the distance. Their faces were obscured by shifting veils of light, their hands raised toward the sky as energy swirled between them.
A deep, resounding voice echoed through the air, not in words, but in understanding.
"The Tower was never meant to be breached."
Miguel's breath hitched. The words—no, the feeling of the words—pressed into his mind like an undeniable truth.
"But the seal was broken. And the weight of existence must be restored."
Miguel took a step forward—
And the figures turned toward him.
Their veiled faces tilted as if recognizing him.
Then, in an instant, the world shattered.
---
The Tower Trembles
Miguel gasped, snapping back to reality, the Hollow Spire's cold air rushing into his lungs. His heart pounded as his vision adjusted.
The monolith pulsed violently, cracks spreading further across its surface.
A new system prompt appeared.
[Event Triggered: The Veil of Time Weakens]
[Warning: The Tower's Stability is Faltering]
Miguel's eyes widened. "Oh… that's not good."
Then the floor beneath him collapsed.
---
The Abyss Beckons
He barely had time to react before he was falling.
Stone shattered around him as the chamber caved inward, and suddenly he was plummeting through the depths of the Tower. The air roared past him, dust and debris spiraling in the abyss below.
Miguel's instincts kicked in.
He focused—reaching for the gravity within him.
It responded.
Miguel twisted midair, flipping his body upright as he willed the force around him to slow his descent.
The air thickened—the pull of gravity resisting him, pushing against the fall. His speed decreased—until he was drifting instead of plummeting.
Then—
A figure appeared in the darkness below.
Miguel barely had time to react before something slammed into him, sending him spiraling sideways. He crashed into a jagged outcrop of stone, pain flaring through his ribs as he tumbled to a sudden stop.
A low growl rumbled in the abyss.
Miguel looked up, coughing, gripping his spear as his vision adjusted to the pitch-black surroundings.
Then, his stomach dropped.
Towering above him, half-emerged from the shadows, was a monstrous being of shifting black stone and glowing veins of molten gold. Its six massive arms flexed as it unfurled itself, the cavern shaking under its sheer presence.
The system prompt flickered.
[Abyssal Titan – Guardian of the Depths]
[Threat Level: Cataclysmic]
Miguel sighed. "Of course."
The Titan's eyes snapped open.
And the battle began.
---
Outside the Game – Observation Room
The screens flickered wildly.
A technician adjusted their headset, panic creeping into their voice. "Sir, we just lost environmental control of the lower levels."
Dr. Halloway's eyes narrowed. "Define 'lost control.'"
The lead engineer hesitated. "The AI isn't generating these encounters anymore. They're… appearing on their own."
Another technician swallowed. "Sir… the Tower is rewriting itself."
Halloway exhaled sharply.
"Then let's see if Miguel can survive whatever it's becoming."
Outside, the storm raged on.
---