The chamber was quiet.

  A safe room between floors.

  For the first time since the ruined city, the survivors could breathe.

  Stone benches lined the walls.

  Torches burned with steady light.

  Everyone relaxed slightly.

  Lily immediately began treating the wounded.

  “Next,” she said gently.

  A man sat down beside her and extended his arm.

  Lily finished treating another injured climber.

  Her hands were shaking slightly.

  Yuna noticed.

  “You’re exhausted,” Yuna said.

  Lily smiled anyway.

  “It’s fine. They need it more.”

  Yuna looked at the long line of injured players waiting.

  “You don’t have to heal everyone.”

  Lily shook her head.

  “If I can help them survive the next floor… it’s worth it.”

  She paused for a moment.

  Then added quietly,

  “I don’t want anyone else to die if I can stop it.”

  Yuna didn’t answer.

  Because in the previous timeline…

  Lily died trying to do exactly that.

  The atmosphere felt different here.

  Yuna studied the chamber while Lily worked.

  Stone walls.

  Torches burning steadily.

  A resting chamber between floors.

  Players were talking in small groups.

  Arguing.

  Guessing what the next floor might be.

  One of them finally looked toward Yuna.

  “You got us through the last floor.”

  Another nodded.

  “And the wolves.”

  The man hesitated.

  Then asked,

  “What do you think the next dungeon is?”

  Yuna blinked.

  She had not realized they were waiting for her answer.

  Jin leaned against the wall nearby.

  Watching silently.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Yuna thought for a moment.

  “If the Tower gave us a safe room first,” she said, “the next floor will probably require coordination.”

  Someone frowned.

  “Coordination?”

  Yuna nodded.

  “More than just fighting.”

  The room grew quiet.

  Several climbers exchanged glances.

  One of them muttered,

  “Just listen to the twin blade girl.”

  One player approached Yuna.

  “You planning to start a team?”

  Yuna shook her head.

  “We’re just climbing.”

  The man shrugged and walked away.

  Jin leaned against the wall nearby.

  “You’re building a following.”

  Yuna ignored the comment.

  The next gate opened with a low rumble.

  Blue light spilled across the safe room floor.

  Players slowly stood.

  Weapons were lifted again.

  Someone muttered,

  “Here we go.”

  Yuna stepped through the gate.

  The world shifted.

  Wind swept across her face.

  The ground beneath her boots was dry soil mixed with old ash.

  When the light faded, she saw the battlefield.

  Broken spears stuck out of the earth.

  Rusting helmets lay scattered between cracked stones.

  Fragments of shields were half buried in the dirt.

  The remains of an ancient war.

  Far across the field, three tall banners rose into the air.

  Each one marked a different ruin.

  A crumbling watchtower.

  A deep trench line.

  And a shattered fortress wall.

  A voice echoed in every climber’s mind.

  System message.

  Floor five reached.

  Objective: Capture three war banners.

  Capture synchronization required.

  The message faded.

  Several players frowned.

  “What does synchronization mean?”

  A skeleton warrior climbed slowly out of the dirt nearby.

  Then another.

  Then dozens.

  Bone soldiers pulled themselves from the ground all across the battlefield.

  Yuna studied the terrain quickly.

  Three banners.

  Three locations.

  One problem.

  “If one banner falls too early, it probably resets,” she said.

  A man nearby nodded slowly.

  “That sounds like something the Tower would do.”

  Another player asked,

  “So we need to take them at the same time?”

  Yuna looked across the battlefield again.

  The tower was surrounded by skeletal archers.

  The trench was filled with bone knights.

  And the ruined wall held a dark floating figure.

  A Wraith commander.

  She turned to the gathered climbers.

  “Three groups.”

  Some players hesitated.

  Others waited.

  Yuna pointed toward the watchtower.

  “Climbers and archers take the tower.”

  Then she gestured toward the trench.

  “Shield fighters take the trench.”

  Finally she looked toward the ruined wall.

  “The strongest fighters come with me.”

  Someone muttered quietly,

  “She got us through the city.”

  Another climber nodded.

  “Listen to her.”

  The groups began forming.

  Lily stepped forward.

  “I’ll move between teams,” she said.

  “If someone gets hurt, call for me.”

  Yuna nodded once.

  Across the battlefield the undead were already moving.

  Skeletons marched slowly toward the living.

  Jin glanced at Yuna.

  “You’re building an army.”

  Yuna shook her head.

  “I’m trying to keep them alive.”

  Jin rested his sword against his shoulder.

  “Same difference.”

  A runner from the tower team raised a hand.

  “Ready.”

  Another voice shouted from the trench.

  “Ready here.”

  Yuna looked toward the ruined wall.

  The Wraith hovered above the broken stone, its dark cloak drifting in the wind.

  She raised her blade.

  “Now.”

  The battlefield erupted.

  Archers sprinted toward the watchtower.

  Skeleton arrows rained down as climbers rushed the stairs.

  In the trench, shield fighters crashed into bone knights.

  Steel struck bone in tight brutal combat.

  Yuna and Jin moved toward the broken wall.

  The Wraith shrieked as they approached.

  More skeleton guards surged forward.

  Jin cut through the first two with a single sweep of his blade.

  Yuna followed, striking down another.

  Above them the Wraith raised its hands.

  Dark energy gathered in the air.

  A climber shouted from the tower.

  “Banner almost down!”

  Another voice came from the trench.

  “Hold! Not yet!”

  Yuna looked up at the Wraith.

  “Finish it.”

  Jin nodded once.

  He leapt onto the broken wall.

  The Wraith lunged toward him.

  His sword flashed.

  The spirit split apart with a piercing scream.

  At the same moment three shouts echoed across the battlefield.

  “Tower ready!”

  “Trench ready!”

  Yuna drove her blade through the final skeleton guard.

  “Take them!”

  Across the battlefield three banners were pulled free at the same time.

  Blue light burst from each location.

  The wind across the battlefield suddenly died.

  The remaining skeletons collapsed into dust.

  A calm voice spoke again.

  System message.

  All war banners captured.

  Floor five cleared.

  Gate to Floor six unlocked.

  A new gate appeared at the far end of the battlefield.

  The surviving climbers slowly gathered again.

  Some leaned on their weapons.

  Others sat down in the dirt.

  Lily moved through the crowd, healing the injured.

  A man looked around the field.

  Then frowned.

  “Wait.”

  He pointed toward the far side of the ruins.

  More climbers were walking across the battlefield.

  Groups Yuna had never seen before.

  Different armor.

  Different weapons.

  One of the survivors whispered,

  “Where did they come from?”

  Another answered quietly,

  “Another path through the Tower.”

  Yuna watched the unfamiliar groups carefully.

  The Tower was bigger than they thought.

  And now all those paths were beginning to cross.

  Ahead of them, the gate to the next floor waited in silence.