> [Welcome to Floor 15: The Sanctuary of Reversal]
Combat Abilities: Disabled.
Trial Objective: Liberate the Warden without harming any sentient being.
---
A golden wind brushed SeTa's cheek as he stepped through the portal. The air was warm. Soft. Peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Kael emerged behind him, immediately checking his stats.
> [Notice: Offensive Skills Disabled. Aura-Suppression in effect.]
[Warning: Any attempt at violence will trigger floor-wide reset.]
"Great," Kael muttered. "We're blind and harmless."
SeTa didn't respond. He was too focused on the scenery.
This floor was beautiful. Towering white trees. Floating petals. An endless, sky-blue dome overhead. It was like stepping into a forgotten dream.
And in the center — a floating prism of light, chained to four pedestals. A woman made of shifting starlight floated inside, her eyes closed.
> [Warden of Floor 15: Elyra, the Forgotten Healer]
Condition: Soul-bound in paradox]
---
They approached the center, footsteps silent on the living grass.
At the base of the prism was an inscription:
> "She who once healed all was imprisoned for refusing to become a weapon. Her release requires empathy, not strength."
---
Suddenly, the ground rippled.
Four guardians rose from the soil — not monsters, but wounded people. Each bore the scars of war, sorrow, or betrayal. Each blocked a pedestal.
None attacked.
They just stood.
Silent.
Watching.
Waiting.
---
First Guardian – a child, covered in soot and trembling.
Kael stepped forward.
"Can you speak?"
The child backed away, eyes wide, fingers twitching.
Then SeTa noticed: the child mirrored Kael's expression — fear beneath the armor.
SeTa crouched and reached into his Inventory.
He pulled out a wooden bird toy, something he'd found on Floor 1 and never discarded.
He wound it once and let it fly.
The bird chirped once… and the child smiled.
Then faded into golden dust.
---
Second Guardian – a soldier with no legs, dragging himself across the ground, weeping.
Kael knelt.
He didn't speak. Just placed his cloak over the man's shoulders.
Then he sat beside him.
No words. No powers.
Just presence.
The soldier wept. Then disappeared.
---
Third Guardian – a woman in white robes, silently screaming as if no one could hear her.
She clawed at her ears, her eyes, her chest.
SeTa stepped forward.
And without speaking, activated a non-combat skill:
[Memory Thread – Echo Layer]
He wrapped her in a blanket of sound. Not noise, but echoes of laughter, music, the hush of wind. Moments she'd forgotten.
She stopped.
Breathed.
And was gone.
---
Fourth Guardian – a mirror.
This one reflected not a person, but you. Your worst self. Everything SeTa feared about himself:
The controller. The manipulator. The god-in-the-making.
It sneered. "You only help others so they'll follow you."
Kael said nothing.
He simply touched SeTa's shoulder and nodded.
Together, they stepped into the mirror.
And it shattered.
---
The prism began to crack.
The chains retracted.
And Elyra — the Warden — opened her eyes.
---
Her voice was soft and layered, like wind wrapped in starlight.
> "You refused power. You chose mercy. You passed."
She floated down and touched each of their foreheads.
> [Skill Gained – "Aegis of Silence"]
Type: Passive Aura
Effect: Once per Floor, nullifies the first killing blow against SeTa or an ally if intent is pure.
Bonus: Enemies that witness this ability gain Fear (20%) for 10 seconds.
> "May your blade hesitate when hearts can be reached."
And then she vanished — not in death, but in peace.
---
The floor faded. The wind ceased.
And the portal shimmered open again.
Kael sighed. "Next time we fight, I'm going to miss this place."
SeTa turned back once. The sanctuary remained behind the gate, untouched.
"I won't," he said.
"I'll carry it."