cong_tru_nguyen

Heroes rise by strength.
He rises by betrayal.

When Lucien Vale wakes up at the bottom of the Black Tower, he has nothing—no powers, no allies, no future. Dropped into a death game with one rule: Survive or be devoured.

But unlike the others, Lucien isn’t interested in glory, honor, or teamwork.

He doesn't swing swords. He doesn't cast spells.

He lies.
He manipulates.
He kills from the shadows… and levels up from it.

His system rewards deception.
His skills evolve through betrayal.
And every alliance he forms is just another blade hidden behind a smile.

[Trait Unlocked: Apex Deceiver — Each betrayal deepens your power. Every lie brings you closer to the throne.]

While others bleed and die for justice, Lucien plays the long game.

Because in the Tower, strength isn’t enough.
Only monsters survive.
And he plans to become the most dangerous one of all.

Ascend by Lies

The moment Lucien stepped onto Floor B92, the air shifted.

The world erupted into war.

Flames rose from blackened ground. A blood-colored sun hung motionless in a cracked sky. Ash rained like snow.

Before him, armies clashed. Not human. Not monster. Reflections.

Thousands of twisted mirror-forms fought across a ruined city made of shattered memory. Each warrior bore a face that Lucien had worn once—a lie lived, a life abandoned.

[Floor B92 — Dominion of the Damned.]

This floor simulates the consequences of your lies.

You will survive, or be buried beneath them.

Lucien's jaw clenched. The system was no longer playing games.

They were stories he had once told so well... they refused to die.

At the head of the battlefield stood the first general.

A man in white robes. Face calm. Eyes burning.

"I am the Lucien who promised peace."

Behind him, broken villagers and false saints raised their weapons.

Lucien sneered. "You died with Cassandra. You were weak."

"And yet, you used my smile to kill. Now you'll face my army."

The white-robed Lucien raised a hand.

Lucien moved like a blade in the storm.

Every lie he had told came to life before him.

A child crying, "You said you'd protect me!" before exploding into black flame.

A lover, bleeding, screaming, "You said you felt nothing!" before impaling him with a spear of ice.

Each death cracked his armor. His system pulsed with warnings:

Identity Stability: Fluctuating

Trait Corruption: Increasing...

Until he reached the second general.

Or rather—the Calen Lucien created in memory.

Lucien gritted his teeth. "You believed in yourself. I just let you die with dignity."

They fought. Harder than before. Calen wielded faith like a weapon—his blade forged of every truth Lucien twisted.

Lucien matched him lie for lie. But the strain was growing.

New Warning: System Core Splintering.

Calen's blade shattered Lucien's left pauldron. Blood spilled.

"I can't," Lucien rasped. "If I stop lying, I disappear."

But before the final strike landed— the ground cracked.

She landed between them in a storm of white fire.

Her eyes burned with absolute clarity. She wore the Mark of Truth like a crown.

Lucien barely blocked the first blow. The second broke his blade.

Naia fought like a soul stripped bare. Calen joined her.

For the first time, Lucien fought two people who truly knew him.

Not the lies. Not the mask. Him.

Blood poured from his shoulder. His vision blurred. The battlefield screamed.

He reached for his system— Only static.

"You used us. We loved you, and you used that."

"I never asked for love," he hissed.

Then— the sky exploded.

Not metaphor. Reality ruptured.

From the tear above, the Reflection Tower breached the realm.

Massive tendrils of glass and ink spiraled downward, dragging with them malformed Luciens from universes that never were.

Murderer Lucien. Messiah Lucien. Lucien who burned entire floors to rise.

[FORBIDDEN FLOOR BREACH: 97-LX]

Lucien, bloody and half-dead, smiled.

"You wanted the truth? Here it is. I'm not the worst version of me."

"I'm just the one who survived long enough to meet them."

Chapter 10: Dominion of the Damned