Chapter 16 – The Devil’s Bargain

The stairs to Floor 20 were steep and endless, descending through a shaft of obsidian walls etched with runes that pulsed like a heartbeat. Erevan's footsteps echoed too loudly in the silence, as if the Tower itself was listening.

He hated that.

Every floor tested him—physically, mentally, even spiritually. But after the confrontation with Seraphiel, something inside him had shifted. Not a memory, not yet. But a sensation. A sliver of certainty.

He had once climbed this Tower for reasons nobler than power.

Now he climbed it because it was the only way forward.

> [Floor 20: The Echoing Vault]

[Trial Type: Temptation]

[Note: This floor contains a sealed fragment of the user's original identity.]

His breath hitched.

A part of him?

The moment his foot touched the final step, the world shimmered—and the Vault unfolded before him like a dream.

Massive black pillars held up a ceiling that wasn't there. Above, instead of stone, there was a swirling cosmos—planets, stars, dead suns orbiting a black hole that pulsed in time with his heartbeat.

At the center of the room sat a throne, and on it, the Devil.

Not horns and hooves—no. He looked like a man. Perfectly sculpted, handsome in a way that made beauty seem cruel. Hair like ink. Skin like carved obsidian. Eyes that reflected you back at yourself, stripped raw.

"Ah," the man said, smiling. "So the Abysswalker finally reaches the Vault."

Erevan didn't speak.

The man stood, brushing imaginary dust from his shoulder. "Don't you want to know what's inside?" he asked, gesturing toward a sealed black monolith behind him.

> [Item: Sealed Memory Core – 'Name: ???']

[Status: Locked. Requires Consent.]

"Consent?" Erevan asked, his voice low.

"Yes," the man replied smoothly. "You must choose to remember. Because once you do, there's no turning back."

Erevan's eyes narrowed. "You're part of the Tower?"

The smile deepened. "Oh no. I'm what was left behind. A splinter, like you. Once, we were whole."

Erevan's hand moved to his weapon.

"Relax," the devil said. "I'm not here to fight. I'm here to offer you a bargain."

He stepped forward, hands behind his back.

"You've felt it, haven't you? The weight of your choices. The coldness taking root. You're not who you were at the start of this climb. Every floor chips away what's left."

Erevan remained silent, but his knuckles whitened.

"I'm offering you clarity," the devil said. "Not all of it. Just a glimpse. Enough to remind you of why you started."

Erevan's voice was a whisper. "Why would you help me?"

The devil's smile vanished.

"Because if you fall, I cease to exist. And I quite like existing."

A tense pause.

"Take the memory," the devil said. "Or walk away. But either way, your path darkens from here."

Erevan stared at the monolith. His instincts screamed trap. But the ache from Seraphiel's words lingered.

> "You once stood with us. You made a promise."

He stepped forward, placing a hand on the monolith.

> [Consent Received.]

[Memory Fragment Integration in Progress…]

Light surged from the monolith, wrapping around his hand, pulling through his veins like liquid fire. Erevan gritted his teeth as images stabbed into his skull—blinding, fragmented, chaotic.

A tower—not this one—burning in golden fire. Voices screaming his name. A promise made in blood: "If they won't stop the cycle… then I will."

And then... her.

Seraphiel.

Standing beside him, wearing black armor instead of divine robes. A partner. A lover?

A rebel.

And then betrayal. A spear through his back. Her voice screaming his name as the light consumed him.

The vision ended.

He staggered back, breath ragged.

The devil watched him with satisfaction.

"There it is," he said. "The first drop of truth. Enough to haunt you."

Erevan didn't speak. He couldn't.

> [New Trait Acquired: Echo of Rebellion – ???]

[Hidden Stat Unlocked: Remembrance (1%)]

The devil stepped back onto the throne, sitting with a sigh.

"I'll see you again," he said. "On the floor where you must choose who you'll become."

Erevan turned and walked away.

No words.

No threats.

Just the silence of a man who had taken one step closer to rediscovering the reason he was willing to become a monster.

And the Tower watched.

Always.

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