Chapter 26: The Final Ascent
The golden gate stood before them, massive and radiant, pulsing with divine energy. The Seventh Floor was silent, the Sentinels defeated, the Tower trembling from the aftermath of a battle that should have been impossible.
Beyond this gate lay the last step.
The final ascent.
Asher exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders. His shadow flickered unnaturally, alive, shifting with a power even he didn't fully understand yet.
The Executioner stood beside him, resting his greatsword on his shoulder. His armor was scratched, his body worn, but his eyes were sharp. For the first time in centuries, he had a purpose.
"Ready for this?" Asher asked.
The Executioner smirked. "I died once already. Might as well see this through."
Asher chuckled. Then, without another word, he stepped forward.
The moment his foot touched the threshold—
The gate reacted.
A shockwave of energy erupted outward, golden light slamming into the air, creating an invisible force that pushed against them, trying to hold them back.
A final notification appeared.
[Warning: You are entering the Final Ascent.]
[The Tower's last defense will now activate.]
The Executioner's grip on his weapon tightened. "They're still trying to stop us."
Asher smiled. "Let them try."
He pushed forward.
And the world changed.
The Path of the Worthy
The gate vanished behind them, and suddenly, they were somewhere else.
Not a floor.
Not a battlefield.
Not even a trial.
They stood on a narrow bridge of golden stone, suspended in an endless void. The sky above was nothing but swirling light, shifting between black, silver, and something deeper than existence itself.
The bridge stretched infinitely forward, leading to a towering golden staircase that ascended beyond the sky.
And at the base of that staircase—
A figure waited.
Tall. Wrapped in endless golden robes. Its face was hidden behind a smooth, featureless mask, but its presence was undeniable.
The moment Asher saw it, he knew.
This was no Sentinel.
This was no executioner.
This was a god.
A final notification appeared.
[Final Guardian of the Tower: The Arbiter of Divinity has Awakened.]
The Executioner cursed. "Of course they had one last trick."
The Arbiter did not move.
But its voice filled the air.
"Turn back."
It was not a demand.
It was not a warning.
It was an absolute command.
A force that would shatter any mortal mind, an order that would have erased any other challenger.
But Asher Damien was not like the others.
He smirked. "No."
The Arbiter tilted its head slightly. "You do not belong here."
"You're the third person to say that," Asher said. He stepped forward, his shadow twisting beneath him. "And I'm still standing."
The Arbiter remained motionless for a long moment.
Then, it raised a hand.
"Then you will die here."
The final battle began.
The Judgment of the Arbiter
The Arbiter's power was instant.
It did not attack.
It did not move.
It simply spoke.
"Your existence is an error."
The world collapsed.
Asher's shadow pulsed violently, resisting, fighting, but for a single second, he felt something he had never felt before.
The Tower was not trying to erase him.
It was trying to rewrite him.
To force him to become what it wanted.
To strip away everything that made him an anomaly.
His fingers clenched into fists.
"No."
The Arbiter's golden robes flared, reality bending around it.
"You have no place here."
The Executioner moved first.
His greatsword lashed forward, carving through the air with a force that had once killed gods.
It never reached its target.
The moment the blade neared the Arbiter, it ceased to exist.
Not destroyed.
Not blocked.
It was simply erased.
The Executioner staggered back. "What the hell—?"
Asher moved.
His shadow surged forward, twisting into a spear of darkness, lashing toward the Arbiter's chest.
For a single second, the Arbiter hesitated.
Then, it raised its hand.
And touched the darkness.
The moment it did—it recoiled.
The Arbiter stepped back.
The Executioner's eyes widened. "You hurt it."
Asher exhaled. "Not hurt."
His shadow pulsed.
"It can't erase me."
The Arbiter tilted its head. "Impossible."
Asher took another step forward. "You've been trying to rewrite me since the moment I entered the Tower."
He raised a hand, flexing his fingers.
"But I've already changed too much."
The Arbiter remained still.
The Executioner took a deep breath. "Then we end this."
Asher smirked. "Yeah."
And they attacked together.
The Tower's Last Stand
The final battle was unlike anything before.
The Arbiter did not move.
It rewrote the world around them, turning time against them, warping space to erase every attack before it landed.
The Executioner's greatsword shattered through false realities, cutting through layers of rewritten existence, forcing the Arbiter back with every strike.
Asher's shadow consumed everything, devouring every attempt to remove him, overwhelming the Arbiter's control.
The battle raged for what felt like eternity.
And then—
The Arbiter weakened.
For the first time, it staggered.
A notification flashed.
[The Arbiter of Divinity Has Been Severed From the Tower.]
The Executioner struck.
His greatsword pierced the Arbiter's chest.
The golden figure did not scream.
It did not fall.
It simply ceased to exist.
The battle was over.
A final notification appeared.
[The Final Gate Has Opened.]
The golden staircase shimmered before them, leading to the top of the Tower.
The Executioner let out a rough laugh. "We won."
Asher exhaled, looking up. "Not yet."
The gods were waiting.
And it was time to end this.