Tower of Infinity

Chapter 4 — The Memory Beneath the Tower

Kael couldn't move.

The words remained suspended before him.

[The Tower remembers you.]

He read them again.

And again.

But the message refused to disappear.

His mother.

The black sword.

The Tower.

A previous cycle.

None of it made sense.

"Kael?"

Lyra's voice sounded distant.

She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you all right?"

Kael slowly looked at her.

"Did you see it?"

"See what?"

"My mother."

Lyra frowned.

"No."

Kael looked toward the Infinity Edge.

The sword had stopped glowing.

It looked ordinary again.

Almost.

"She was here," Kael whispered.

"Inside the Tower."

Raven approached.

His expression was unusually serious.

"What did the system tell you?"

Kael looked at him.

"Why should I tell you?"

Raven's eyes narrowed.

"Because whatever happened to you just now affected the entire floor."

Kael looked around.

He hadn't noticed it before.

The forest was different.

The glowing plants had gone dark.

The floating islands in the distance had stopped moving.

Even the wind had disappeared.

The entire world seemed to be holding its breath.

Then the ground shook.

Once.

Twice.

A deep sound came from somewhere beneath them.

BOOM.

Kael felt the Infinity Edge vibrate.

Lyra stepped backward.

"What is that?"

Raven looked toward the ground.

"The Tower is reacting."

Kael tightened his grip.

"To me?"

Raven nodded.

"Yes."

---

The Hidden Door

A c***k appeared in the ground.

Golden light escaped through it.

The c***k widened.

Then the earth split apart.

A staircase appeared.

It descended beneath the forest.

Kael stared.

"There wasn't a staircase there before."

Raven shook his head.

"There wasn't."

Lyra looked at Kael.

"The Tower created it for you."

Kael didn't answer.

Something inside him told him to descend.

He didn't know why.

But the feeling was unmistakable.

The staircase was calling him.

Kael stepped forward.

Raven immediately grabbed his arm.

"Don't."

Kael looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because that isn't part of Floor 1."

"So?"

Raven's grip tightened.

"Anything outside the Tower's normal structure is dangerous."

Kael looked down the staircase.

"Maybe that's where my answers are."

Raven released him.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Finally, Lyra stepped beside Kael.

"If you go, I'm coming."

Kael looked at her.

"You don't have to."

"I know."

She smiled faintly.

"I'm still coming."

Raven sighed.

"You two are going to get yourselves killed."

He followed them.

---

The staircase descended farther than it should have.

One hundred steps.

Two hundred.

Five hundred.

The walls gradually changed.

The stone became darker.

Ancient symbols covered every surface.

Kael activated Infinity Sense.

Thousands of energy lines appeared.

But something was wrong.

They weren't flowing through the walls.

They were flowing toward him.

Kael stopped.

"The Tower is feeding energy into this place."

Raven looked at him.

"Can you read the symbols?"

"No."

Lyra stepped closer.

"I can."

She placed her hand against the wall.

Her eyes widened.

"What?"

Kael looked at her.

"What does it say?"

Lyra slowly translated.

"It says..."

She hesitated.

"The first King of Infinity created this place."

Kael frowned.

"King of Infinity?"

Lyra nodded.

"According to the inscription, he wasn't human."

Raven's expression darkened.

"What was he?"

Lyra continued reading.

"A being born beyond the limits of mortality."

She moved her hand across another line.

"And he created the Tower to test those who sought eternal power."

Kael looked around.

"That's what the legends say."

"No."

Lyra shook her head.

"The legends are wrong."

She pointed at the wall.

"This inscription is much older than the records in my kingdom."

"What does it say?"

Lyra's voice became quieter.

"The Tower wasn't created to test people."

Kael waited.

"It was created to..."

She stopped.

"To what?"

Lyra looked at him.

"To reincarnate the King."

Silence.

Kael stared.

"Reincarnate?"

Lyra nodded.

"The Tower searches for the King's soul."

Kael's heart began beating faster.

"And if it finds it?"

Lyra looked at the Infinity Edge.

"It rebuilds the King."

Kael stepped backward.

"No."

The sword vibrated.

Kael looked down.

A faint blue light appeared across the blade.

Lyra whispered:

"Kael..."

"I don't know what you're thinking."

She looked into his eyes.

"But I think the Tower does."

---

The Chamber of Memories

The staircase ended at a massive circular chamber.

At the center stood a crystal pillar.

Inside it—

a person was sleeping.

Kael stopped breathing.

The person looked exactly like him.

Same black hair.

Same face.

Same scar beneath the left eye.

But he wore ancient armor.

A black cloak covered his shoulders.

And in his hand was another Infinity Edge.

Kael approached the crystal.

"No..."

His reflection appeared beside the sleeping figure.

They looked identical.

Raven stared.

"That's impossible."

Lyra slowly approached.

"Who is that?"

Kael couldn't answer.

The crystal suddenly lit up.

A voice echoed through the chamber.

"Soul recognition confirmed."

Kael froze.

"Welcome back, King."

The crystal shattered.

Kael jumped backward.

The body inside opened its eyes.

They were glowing blue.

The figure raised its sword.

Kael drew his own.

The two blades pointed at each other.

Then the figure spoke.

"Why did you return?"

Kael's voice trembled.

"I don't know."

The figure smiled.

"You always say that."

It attacked.

---

The Battle of Two Souls

Kael barely blocked the first strike.

CLANG!

The force sent him sliding across the floor.

"What the—"

The figure moved again.

Kael blocked.

Another strike.

Another.

Another.

Each attack was faster than the last.

Kael activated Infinity Sense.

Nothing.

There was no weakness.

No opening.

No energy core.

It was as if he were fighting himself.

The figure smiled.

"You still rely on the system."

Kael swung.

The figure dodged effortlessly.

"You still hesitate."

Kael attacked again.

"You still fear your own power."

Kael became angry.

"Who are you?!"

The figure blocked his sword.

"You."

Kael's eyes widened.

"I am the you who reached the summit."

Kael froze.

The figure kicked him across the chamber.

He crashed into the wall.

Pain spread through his body.

The figure slowly walked toward him.

"You climbed all one hundred floors."

Kael struggled to stand.

"You defeated the guardians."

Another step.

"You discovered the truth."

Another.

"And then..."

The figure stopped.

"You chose to reset everything."

Kael stared.

"Why?"

The figure looked away.

"Because you realized the Tower could not be destroyed."

Kael's heart sank.

"What happened?"

The figure's expression became cold.

"You became the Tower."

---

The First King

The chamber began shaking.

Images appeared in the air.

Kael saw a massive battle.

Armies fought beneath a red sky.

The Tower stood in the center of the battlefield.

Thousands of people were dying.

Then he saw himself.

Not the Kael he knew.

The other Kael.

He stood at the top of the Tower.

His armor was covered in blood.

His eyes glowed blue.

Around him floated hundreds of broken swords.

Then—

he raised his hand.

Everything stopped.

The armies.

The monsters.

The sky.

Time itself.

Kael watched in horror.

"What did I do?"

The memory-Kael answered.

"You ended the war."

"How?"

"I sacrificed the world."

Kael stared.

"What?"

The figure continued.

"The Tower required a king."

"And I became one."

"But the cost was every soul connected to the Tower."

Kael's hands trembled.

"How many?"

The figure looked at him.

"Billions."

Silence.

Kael felt sick.

"I wouldn't do that."

"You already did."

"I wouldn't."

"You said the same thing before."

The figure raised his sword.

"And then you asked the Tower to erase your memories."

Kael looked at his own hands.

His breathing became heavier.

"Why?"

The figure answered:

"Because you wanted another chance."

---

Suddenly, the chamber filled with red light.

A system warning appeared.

---

[CRITICAL ERROR]

[Previous cycle memories detected.]

[Suppression protocol failing.]

[Memory restoration: 7%]

[WARNING.]

[Host consciousness destabilizing.]

---

Kael screamed.

Images flooded his mind.

A thousand battles.

A thousand deaths.

A thousand years.

He saw himself as a child.

As a warrior.

As a king.

As a monster.

He saw the Tower being built.

He saw civilizations rise.

He saw them disappear.

He saw his mother.

She stood before him holding a newborn child.

Kael.

She was crying.

A man stood beside her.

Kael's father.

But Kael had never seen him before.

His father placed a hand on his mother's shoulder.

"We have to send him away."

"Where?"

"Beyond the Tower."

His mother shook her head.

"They'll find him."

"They won't."

The father looked toward the Tower.

"Unless he remembers."

The memory changed.

His mother held Kael close.

She whispered:

"Forgive me."

Then she placed the Infinity Edge beside him.

The vision ended.

Kael fell to his knees.

"She knew."

Lyra rushed toward him.

"Kael!"

He looked up.

Tears were running down his face.

"My mother knew."

Lyra knelt beside him.

"Knew what?"

"She knew what I was."

Raven remained silent.

Then he spoke.

"You're not just a reincarnated king."

Kael looked at him.

Raven's expression was grim.

"You're the original creator of the Tower."

The chamber went silent.

Kael stared at him.

"No."

Raven nodded.

"The ancient records call him The First King."

He pointed toward the crystal.

"And that man is him."

Kael looked at the ancient version of himself.

Then at the Infinity Edge.

The sword began glowing brighter.

A final message appeared.

---

[Identity Restoration Progress: 12%]

[True Name: Unknown]

[Original Class: King of Infinity]

[Authority: Sealed]

[Memory: Partially Restored]

[Tower Authority: 0.01%]

---

Kael stared at the final number.

"Tower Authority?"

The ancient version of himself smiled.

"Now you understand."

Kael slowly stood.

"What happens when it reaches one hundred percent?"

The figure answered:

"You regain control of the Tower."

Kael looked toward the staircase.

"And then?"

The figure's smile disappeared.

"Then everyone inside it becomes your responsibility."

A deep voice suddenly echoed through the chamber.

Not from the system.

Not from the ancient figure.

From the Tower itself.

"KING."

Every stone trembled.

"YOUR RETURN HAS BEEN CONFIRMED."

The chamber filled with blue light.

"THE ASCENSION TRIAL WILL BEGIN."

Kael's eyes widened.

A massive system window appeared.

---

SPECIAL TRIAL ACTIVATED

THE KING'S RETURN

Objective: Defeat your previous self.

Time Limit: 60 minutes.

Reward: 5% Tower Authority.

Failure: Permanent soul deletion.

---

Kael looked at the ancient version of himself.

The figure raised his sword.

"Come."

Kael tightened his grip on the Infinity Edge.

This time—

he didn't hesitate.

He stepped forward.

"I don't care who I was."

Blue energy surrounded his body.

"I'm deciding who I become."

The ancient King smiled.

"Good."

Their swords collided.

And deep beneath Floor 1—

the Tower began to awaken.