The Tower didn't just loom—it listened.
From the moment they stepped into its shadow, every breath echoed. Every heartbeat became percussion. Every thought was measured, weighed, and turned into a note on some unseen staff.
Ren Zhe stood before the entrance.
A single arch, carved from obsidian and inscribed with the words:
"Only the Broken May Ascend."
He stared at it, unflinching.
"I am already shattered."
The doorway inhaled.
And pulled him inside.
Floor One: The Hall of Regret
The moment he crossed the threshold, Meimei and the Echo vanished.
Or maybe he did.
The hall stretched endlessly.
Mirrors lined every wall.
But they did not reflect his body.
They showed versions of himself.
Each one… twisted.
One knelt in chains, eyes blank.
One screamed, buried beneath rubble.
One stood on a throne of corpses, laughter cold as winter.
And one—just one—looked exactly like him.
But smiled.
And whispered, "You don't belong here anymore."
Ren Zhe raised his hand.
Grave Mark pulsing.
"I belong wherever I step."
He clenched his fist.
The mirrors shattered.
The path opened.
Floor Two: The Dirge Chamber
No floor. No walls.
Just air.
And song.
He floated—weightless—as a thousand voices sang above him.
The voices belonged to people he knew.
His mother.
His brothers from the orphanage.
His swordmaster.
Even Meimei.
All of them sang the same phrase:
"You should have stayed dead."
Pain lanced through him.
The song wasn't a spell.
It was truth.
A weight dragging his soul backward.
But Ren Zhe smiled.
He opened his mouth.
And for the first time in 10,000 years—
he sang back.
It wasn't beautiful.
It was raw.
Ugly.
Broken.
But it was his.
And the Choir fell silent.
Outside the Tower
Meimei clawed at the air. "He vanished! We were right beside him!"
The Echo grimaced. "The tower isolates. Tests your soul. Anyone unworthy is consumed."
"And if they're worthy?"
"They change."
Floor Three: The Bloodbound Library
The walls bled.
Literally.
Every book was bound in skin.
Every page dripped ink made from souls.
Ren Zhe walked between aisles of memory.
Each title called to him:
"The Betrayal of Master Wuqin"
"The Night of Chains"
"The Silent Grave"
One book refused to show a title.
It pulsed with light.
He touched it.
The page opened.
And a voice spoke.
"Would you unbind your fate?"
Ren Zhe nodded.
The book flared—
And consumed his right arm.
Pain wracked him.
But in place of flesh, a new arm grew.
Not bone.
Not blood.
A scripture of war.
His punches would now carry verses.
His grip, commandments.
The third shard of his soul ignited.
Meanwhile — Somewhere in the Verdant Palace
Empress Xiyan stood before the corpse.
It was tall.
Inhuman.
Its bones were obsidian.
Its face had no features—only runes.
"Is it ready?" she asked.
The old man beside her nodded. "His corpse sings to the leylines."
"And his soul?"
"We never found it."
"No matter," she whispered. "We'll forge a new one."
She turned to her elite cultivators.
"Prepare the God Crucible."
A woman with glowing pupils bowed. "And the Dead One?"
"Let him rise."
She smiled.
"He will dig the grave that devours the sky."
Floor Four: Memory Rewritten
Ren Zhe walked into a garden.
He blinked.
The air was warm.
Sunlight—real sunlight—fell on his shoulders.
He smelled jasmine.
And before him stood…
Her.
Lan Su.
His first love.
Dead a lifetime ago.
But here, smiling.
Waiting.
"You made it," she whispered.
He stepped back.
"This is not real."
She reached for his face. "Does that make it matter less?"
He hesitated.
The Grave Mark didn't react.
This wasn't a threat.
This was a test.
Of will.
Of regret.
She took his hand.
And placed something in it.
A ring.
Stone simple.
Gold warm.
"Even if this world is a lie," she said, "the pain you carry is real."
He looked at her.
Felt the old ache swell.
And let go.
She faded.
The garden wilted.
But the warmth lingered.
And so did the ring.
In his palm.
Etched now with a sigil.
The Seal of Mourning.
New ability unlocked.
[Soul Burn: Trade emotion for strength.]
Floor Five: The Gate of Names
Here, nothing moved.
Except one thing:
A wall.
Carved with millions of names.
He found his own.
But not once.
Hundreds of times.
Ren Zhe the Betrayer.
Ren Zhe the Fool.
Ren Zhe the Ghost.
He stared.
"Whose version of me is this?"
A figure stepped from the shadows.
It wore his face.
But older.
Crowned.
Laughing.
"You could have ruled," the doppelganger said. "Instead, you begged for scraps. Trained in filth. Died alone."
Ren Zhe nodded slowly.
Then struck.
His fist landed clean.
But the clone didn't move.
"You can't kill a version of yourself you still believe in."
Ren Zhe exhaled.
Closed his eyes.
And whispered.
"I am not you anymore."
Light erupted from his Grave Mark.
The doppelganger shattered.
His name burned on the wall.
And a door opened.
Outside Again
The Tower shuddered.
The Echo stepped back. "He's near the top."
Meimei clenched her fists. "He's taking too long."
"Or the Tower is slowing him down."
Floor Six: The Chorus of Thorns
He stood in a black void.
In the center—one throne.
Covered in vines.
A voice called out:
"To lead, you must suffer."
Ren Zhe approached.
The vines wrapped around him.
Thorns pierced deep.
One in his heart.
One in his skull.
One in his soul.
But he did not scream.
He sat.
Blood ran down his body.
And the thorns drank.
From pain, they bloomed.
And from bloom—they sang.
A new Grave Power awakened.
[Thorn Chorus: Damage fuels power. Pain becomes music. Silence becomes death.]
He stood.
And the throne melted.
Revealing the last stair.
Final Floor: The Vault of Echoes
He entered a room filled with statues.
Each one bore a face he recognized.
His master.
His mother.
Meimei.
The Echo.
Lan Su.
Even the Empress.
They surrounded him.
Judging.
Each statue whispered his crimes.
"You left us."
"You failed."
"You forgot."
"You killed."
Ren Zhe looked at each one.
Tears welled.
Not from grief.
But fury.
"I remember every name."
His Grave Mark ignited.
Chains wrapped his soul.
A crown of thorns formed over his brow.
And the statues shattered.
In the center of the room, floating—
The Fourth Soul Shard.
He reached for it.
And the room exploded in light.
When he opened his eyes—
He was outside.
Meimei gasped.
The Echo stepped back.
"You… look different."
Ren Zhe stood taller.
Eyes burning silver and black.
A halo of ash behind him.
And on his back?
A mark shaped like a gravegate.
Four shards down.
Three to go.
And the world would break.