They hadn't spoken in nearly twenty minutes.
The corridor ahead was wide and dimly lit, its walls smoother than anything they'd seen so far. Each step echoed softly, dulled by the strange quiet that Floor 6 carried like a fog. It wasn't oppressive. Just… deliberate.
The kind of silence that made you feel like sound might be watched.
Joey adjusted the metal cuff on his arm for the third time. It wasn't broken—just habit. He looked over at Katie, who hadn't said a word since they left the last battle.
"You good?" he asked, keeping his voice low.
Katie nodded, then hesitated. "Yeah. Just thinking."
He slowed a step, giving her space to keep going.
She did. "Back there… with Luc? That wasn't just instinct. That was him knowing exactly who he was in that moment. I've never had that. Not really."
Joey gave a small shrug. "Yeah, well, maybe you don't figure it out in one big fight. Maybe it's like… quiet. A choice that builds every time you don't run."
Conner walked a few steps ahead, hearing them, but not turning back. His Scope Eye was glowing faintly again—less like it was detecting something, and more like it was trying to understand it. He'd seen pulses from the floor, gentle waves of mana that didn't behave like traps or monsters.
It felt more like… breathing.
Not fast. Not erratic.
Just steady.
Like something huge was lying beneath them, asleep.
They came to a stop as the corridor opened into a wide chamber—larger than most. The light here was a soft orange, pulsing gently from the walls. Smooth, almost warm.
In the center stood a figure.
Not moving.
Not armed.
Just… there.
Tall, robed in faded grey. No face. No aura. Just a humanoid shape that stood still with its hands folded in front of it.
No System alert.
No combat trigger.
Nothing.
The group didn't rush in.
No one even drew a weapon.
It wasn't that it felt dangerous. It was that it didn't feel anything.
And that—somehow—was worse.
Luc took half a step forward and looked to Conner. "Do you see anything?"
Conner shook his head. "It's not marked. No pulse lines. No threat radius. No mana charge."
"Is it… dead?" Neive asked.
"No," Conner said slowly. "It's breathing. Just not with lungs."
They stood there for another few seconds before Mira whispered, "Should we talk to it?"
Joey scoffed under his breath. "Yeah, and what, offer it tea?"
But Mira ignored him. She stepped forward, slowly, and said clearly, "We don't want to fight. If you're a guardian, we'll respect your space."
The figure didn't move.
Didn't even react.
Then a single System ping echoed through the room.
[Presence Identified: The Still One – Awaiting Observer Action][This is not a combat trial. This is a test of perception.]
The room pulsed once—soft and slow—and a small glyph appeared in the air above the figure's head. It shimmered like light through water, flickering in no language any of them knew.
Until it broke into three symbols.
[Bow][Blade][Shadow]
They weren't words.
They were feelings.
Katie whispered, "That's for you, Conner."
He didn't move. Didn't speak. Because he already felt it. The pull. The weight.
Like something inside him was being measured—not for what it had done, but for what it might become.
Behind him, Joey started to speak—then stopped.
Chadwick said nothing. But his gaze was fixed on Conner now. Not with pressure. With understanding.
Because he'd felt it too.
That moment when the dungeon wasn't just testing you.
It was offering something.
Conner stepped forward.
No one told him to.
No one had to.
The others stayed back, quiet. Not out of fear, but something else—recognition. Like watching someone walk into a memory that didn't belong to you.
He approached slowly, his boots making the faintest sound against the smooth stone.
The Still One didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
But the closer he got, the clearer it became—this was not a statue.
This was focus given shape.
Stillness so complete it became a presence.
And that presence was watching him.
Not with eyes.
With expectation.
The glyphs above its head shimmered again.
[Bow][Blade][Shadow]
Then, the System stirred.
Not loud.
Not sharp.
Just a single chime, like a bell tolling underwater.
[Trait Divergence Opportunity Confirmed]Arcane Bow Insight – D Rank | Stalker Thread Detected
Do you wish to witness your potential?
Conner exhaled slowly and nodded.
The moment he did, the room faded.
There was no light. No air. No ground beneath his feet.
Just presence.
Three, specifically.
Not people.
Not voices.
Paths.
The first wrapped around him like a strategy drawn on parchment. Lines. Formations. Gridwork. Every move had context. Every outcome a calculation.
[Path of the Architect]
He saw himself standing on cliffs, giving orders. Creating structures from light, calling down zones of control. His team moved perfectly. His enemies were never in control. His voice echoed through formation and chaos alike.
And he hated it.
Too far. Too sterile.
He wasn't a commander.
The second path was colder. Sharper.
It pulled him back—into ruins. Ghosts of warriors walked beside him. Some spoke. Some just watched. Future silhouettes flickered ahead, showing systems he hadn't seen, paths not yet walked.
[Path of the Finder]
He could know. Everything. The meaning of the dungeon. The structure of the world. He could see the origin of mana, the collapse of systems, the stories left buried by those who died chasing purpose.
But it was too distant.
Too removed.
Even if he saw the truth… could he win with it?
No.
Then came the third.
It didn't speak.
It moved.
Fast. Quiet. Unstoppable.
A shape blurred through the dark—bow in hand, blade in the other. Each step calculated. Each strike silent. Arrows flowed like thought. Movement felt like breath.
Not reaction.
Control.
And yet it wasn't just him.
It was possibility. Every step he hadn't taken yet. Every instinct he hadn't trusted. Every enemy that never even saw him coming.
[Path of the Stalker]
He didn't need the System to explain.
Because this path didn't explain.
It promised.
The vision snapped.
He was standing in front of the Still One again.
Same folded hands.
Same silence.
But something had changed.
Above the figure's head, a fourth glyph now flickered.
A new one.
[Seen]
He hadn't chosen.
But the dungeon now knew.
And maybe, somewhere deep down, so did he.
Conner turned away.
Walked back to the others.
He didn't speak.
Just nodded once.
Katie raised an eyebrow. "You alright?"
He paused, then said quietly, "Not yet."
And then, with a faint half-smile:
"But I'm getting closer."