"We're going to the top of the world."That sounded great in the villa. It sounded heroic.Standing at the base of the Tokyo Tower, however, it sounded exhausting.The tower loomed over us, wrapped in a spiraling vortex of blue mana that touched the clouds. The "Spire of Beginnings" wasn't just a dungeon; it was a vertical gauntlet."One hundred floors," Sae read from her tablet, looking pale. "Each floor is the size of a city block. Estimated clear time for an S-Rank party: Three years.""Three years?" Lumi groaned, checking her nails. "I have a tour next month! I can't be in a dungeon for three years!""We will conquer it!" Runa declared, stretching her hamstrings. "Floor by floor! Blood for blood! I shall slay every goblin from here to the stratosphere!""I can buy a helicopter," Ayaka offered. "We can fly to the top.""The airspace is restricted," Jessica sighed, looking at the anti-air mana barriers sizzling around the spire. "If we fly, we get shot down by lightning bolts the si

"Five traumas to go," I had whispered.But the tower had other plans.The Garden of Eden dissolved into pixels. We were pulled upward again, skipping floors 91 through 94. The vertigo was nauseating.We landed on Floor 95.It wasn't a battlefield. It was a library.Infinite rows of bookshelves stretched into the darkness, spiraling upward like a DNA helix. The air smelled of old paper, dust, and regret. There were no windows. Only the soft, amber glow of floating lanterns."Quiet," Sae whispered, her voice swallowed by the sheer mass of books. "This place... it feels heavy.""It is a repository of knowledge," Claire murmured, tracing the spine of a book. "Perhaps we can find the weakness of the Admin here.""Don't touch it!" I commanded.Too late.Claire pulled a book from the shelf.The cover was black leather. The title was embossed in silver: The Time I Told Runa Her Form Was Perfect.I froze.(That... that was a lie. Her form was terrible. I just didn't want her to cry.)Claire op

"The Throne Room," I had whispered.I pushed the golden doors open, expecting fire. I expected a dragon. I expected a final boss sitting on a pile of skulls.Instead, I smelled... matcha?We stepped inside.The vertigo of the Escher Maze vanished instantly. Gravity normalized. The sound of my team panting and my own heart hammering filled the silence.We weren't in a throne room.We were in a tea room. A small, four-and-a-half tatami mat room with a single sliding door leading to a digital garden that looked like static rain.In the center of the room sat an old man.He wore a simple kimono. He was bald, with a white beard that reached his chest. He held a bamboo whisk, stirring a bowl of green tea."Wipe your feet," the old man said without looking up. "I just swept.""Master?" Runa whispered, gripping her dagger. "Is this... the Guardian? He looks frail.""Do not be deceived," I warned, stepping onto the tatami (after wiping my feet, because I have manners).(He looks like a grandpa

"Let's go meet the critics."We climbed the final stairs. They didn't lead to a door. They led to a horizon.We stepped onto Floor 100.There was no floor. No walls. No sky.There was only white. Absolute, blinding white. It was a space devoid of texture, depth, or direction."Where are we?" Ayaka whispered, her voice sounding flat, devoid of echo. "Is this... the top?""This is the source," I said.My Architect's Gaze tried to render the environment, but it returned only static.[Location: The Root Directory.] [Value: Infinity.]In the center of the nothingness, floating about chest-height, was a sphere.It was the size of a basketball. It was perfectly smooth, glowing with a soft, pulsing white light. It didn't look like technology. It looked like a soul trapped in glass.My Void screamed.It didn't just hunger. It yearned. It felt like a magnet pulling the iron in my blood.[Target Detected: The Eye of Truth (Fragment 5/5).] [System Note: The Keystone.]"That's it," Runa said, shea

"ERROR 404: FILE NOT FOUND."I screamed the command, pushing the Void outward.The invisible wave of nothingness slammed into the Erasers. It didn't hurt them—you can't hurt a concept—but it confused them. They were looking for a target, and I had just told the universe I didn't exist.The twelve white figures froze. Their black swords hovered in the air.[System Alert: Logic Loop. Target 'Renji Amagiri' is Null.] [Searching for Anchors...]The lead Eraser turned its blank face. It didn't look at me.It looked past me."The protagonist is hidden," the Eraser pinged. "Delete the supporting cast."(No.)The Erasers moved. They blurred into streaks of white light, bypassing me entirely.They were aiming for my heart. Not the one in my chest. The ones standing behind me."Runa! Ayaka! Move!" I screamed, trying to turn, but the Void channeling had locked my muscles.They didn't move.They stepped forward."Form up!" Jessica roared, her power armor locking into a bulwark stance. "Protect th