An elegant voice drifted down the cold stone walls as a pale woman emerged from an ice-blue rift that tore open the air on the first floor. Her wavy, charcoal-black hair spilled over bare shoulders. Dressed in a gown as dark as her tresses, she looked as if she had arrived to attend a funeral.

  Her eyes, holding the suffocating hues of a deep ocean, scrutinized Number 99 and Number 25. Pursing her crimson lips, she began to descend the stone steps. With every step of her sharp stilettos, the tower let out an agonized scream. Finally, halting a few steps above the pair, she spoke.

  "Ah! Hello, Nine... Nine. I am Six... Six. Charmed."

  "Number 66, is it?"

  Locking her eyes on Number 99 as he spoke, a twisted smile spread across 66's face.

  "Yes, at your service," she said, sinking into a graceful curtsy, clutching the hem of her dress. "Turning that foul creature to dust in a single stroke... It was impressive. To craft such elegance out of death..."

  Pressing her slender, branch-like fingers to her chest, she never broke eye contact with 99. But the moment she noticed Number 25 in her periphery, the romance died. The admiration on her face was instantly replaced by sheer revulsion.

  "Especially saving this pathetic traitor..."

  "Excuse me, who are you? What do you know about me?"

  As Number 25 cut her off, 66’s expression snapped, twisting into something sharp and ugly. Her head jerked uncontrollably from side to side.

  The moment Number 25 gripped her bow, 66 pointed her left index finger at her. A rift tore open, swallowing 25 whole. Her screams immediately rained down from the tower’s highest pinnacle.

  She was plummeting through the void between the floors, flailing uncontrollably toward the ground. As the earth rushed up to meet her, Number 99’s black fog materialized below, ready to break her fall.

  But just as she was about to surrender to the mist, a second rift ripped open beneath her. She was instantly spat back out at the summit, crashing hard onto the stone.

  "What have you done!"

  Seeing the black fog descend into Number 99's eyes, 66 wiped her lips with her forearm, pushing aside her disgust to continue.

  "Ah, so you even wield your magic for her... I understand, a loyal friend to you. But don't worry, she only suffered a little pain. Once our private chat is concluded, we can discuss who you belong to again, shall we?"

  Unable to tolerate the insults any longer, Number 99 forged a chain from the black fog in his left hand and lashed out at 66. But a rift tore open before her, swallowing the attack whole; the chain was dragged helplessly into the infinite void.

  Realizing the futility of ranged attacks against this woman—who watched him with eyes wide in ecstatic adoration—Number 99 raised his right hand. As he brought it down, the black sword materialized from nothingness once more.

  Number 66 fixed her gaze on the blade, studying the violet runes etched into the steel. Her eyes swam with gluttony, her voice dripping with a sickly satisfaction.

  "Just look at the aesthetics of that blade... Ah!"

  Shuddering involuntarily as her chest heaved with excitement, she continued without pause.

  "Even the thought of watching you trap our enemies within that sword..."

  "Enough of this nonsense!"

  Number 99's cold voice cut her deep. 66 pouted instantly, looking up at him with the wide, innocent eyes of a scolded puppy. In the blink of an eye, she vanished into a rift and reappeared behind him, breathing her hot breath against the nape of his neck.

  "Nine... Nine... Shouting at me like that... We need to soothe that temper of yours."

  Along with her toxic words, Number 99 felt hands push against his back. He stumbled forward, falling straight into the rift. Before he could comprehend what had happened, he found himself standing in an endless expanse of shallow water.

  ***

  Forced to his knees by the shove, Number 99 slowly rose, staring down at the dead, lukewarm water that reached his ankles. With every slight movement, ripples birthed from his steps stretched out into infinity.

  In this realm where nothing existed but water, he tilted his head to the sky and was met with an unexpected vista. The stars burned with such naked intensity they felt close enough to touch, while meteors streaked across the void like jagged brushstrokes, breathing life into this aesthetic nightmare.

  'Where am I?'

  He began a silent march through his thoughts, accompanied by the ripples he created. But realizing that direction was meaningless in this illusion, he decided the answer lay in absolute stillness.

  He stood frozen. He waited for the ripples to fade, for the water to glass over completely. Then, he calmly raised the black sword. He swung with all his might. The blade didn't just cut the air; it shattered the fabric of this painted reality, tearing open a massive rift.

  As he stepped carefully through the breach, dragging the dead water with him onto the stone floor, his descent halted. He had arrived at the middle levels of the tower.

  He approached the void slowly. Resting his right hand on the railing, he looked down at the ground floor, only to find Number 66 gone.

  Clap!

  Clap!

  Clap!

  Turning his head toward the familiar sound of applause, he saw her. 66 was perched on the railing of the top floor, dangling her legs over the abyss and swinging them playfully as she watched 99 with adoration.

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  "That performance was beyond my wildest dreams! Just the kind of violence that suits you... Your black sword is dangerous indeed."

  Having tested that getting angry at this unhinged woman was futile, Number 99 maintained his composure. He turned to the stairs and began a slow, deliberate ascent.

  "Tell me, 66. How long have you been allied with Flora?"

  Watching 99 climb without blinking once, 66 shivered with excitement at the question.

  "Ah! As if his strength wasn't enough, his intellect too!"

  Hugging herself tightly, she continued with evident pleasure.

  "But there is one thing you're wrong about, my sweet Nine... Nine. I don't give a damn about that Elf named Flora or her ridiculous Sun Goddess. I was actually about to eliminate that arrogant Number 1 by her side... But then, I heard about you. Flora asked for help from me, that Six-Coin idiot, and his lackeys to stop you. She said if we did what she wanted, the Goddess would reward us, and we’d pass the first phase without issue."

  "Hmm... Is that so?"

  Keeping his expression blank, 99 climbed the steps steadily, while 66 continued her story without missing a beat.

  "Exactly! Of course, I have no desire to beg for help from a Goddess. I can advance in this stupid game on my own, can't I?"

  "It seems so. You are a formidable opponent."

  Hearing the compliment, Number 66 began to squirm on the railing, showing zero regard for the deadly drop behind her.

  "My Nine... Nine. Just listening to that idiot Number 1 describe you, hearing about his frustration and his desperate attempts to flee... It was enough to breathe life into the butterflies in my chest!"

  "Then why didn't you act before Number 72 and come find me?"

  "Haha! You are such a joker. So, there is room for warm humor in that soul of flowing ice. That Elf woman wouldn't speak of someone who could lose to such weaklings with fear, would she? The idea of waiting for you in this magnificent tower... Isn't it terribly romantic? I'm just like Rapunzel."

  As he ascended the final steps, Number 99 cast a brief glance at the unconscious form of Number 25, then fixed his eyes on 66 as she hopped down from the railing to greet him. The cool winds of Kirola flooded through the open arches, billowing his cloak, while the graveyard lay spread beneath his feet in all its grim expanse.

  "Where is Flora?"

  "Wouldn't you prefer we take her down together, my Nine... Nine?"

  A sudden groan from Number 25 shattered the tension. Seizing the moment 66’s attention flickered, Number 99 lunged, swinging his blade with lethal intent.

  But before the black steel could connect, 66 materialized behind him like a phantom and shoved him toward a fresh rift. Unable to keep his grip on the hilt, Number 99 was dragged into the void, the sword left behind. He landed in the dead waters once more—this time, unarmed.

  "You really are being very naughty, my Nine... Nine!"

  The voice echoed from every angle, drilling into his skull. Naughty... Nine...

  "But this time, your beloved blade is out of reach."

  Out of reach...

  "Still, I will leave nothing to chance!"

  Nothing to chance!

  Assaulted by the voices ringing in his mind, Number 99 faced a cascade of shifting dimensions. He was being sealed away, layer by layer, like a wretched nesting doll of realities. When he finally found himself standing in a stark, windowless chamber, 66's voice pierced the silence once more.

  "I need you to maintain your composure for a while, alright? Until then, I will attend to the friend who interrupted our chat."

  Trapped within the dimension, Number 99 summoned the stillness of death into his eyes and began to flood the chamber with suffocating black fog.

  ***

  Occupied with sealing 99 away, Number 66 spun around at the whistling scream of an arrow. With a reflex born of instinct, she swallowed the projectile into a rift. The arrow was spat back out from a fresh tear in the air, hurtling toward its owner. Number 25, barely able to stand, threw herself to the left in a desperate scramble to survive.

  "You little brat!"

  Rubbing her temple with her right hand, 66 let her disgust show plainly on her face.

  "I am already straining to keep my precious Nine... Nine contained... And now I have to deal with pest control? So be it! I can handle this the old-fashioned way."

  She hiked up her dress, revealing a sheath strapped to her thigh, and drew a slender stiletto blade.

  Number 25 forced a smile through the searing pain, relaxing her bowstring and aiming the weapon’s bladed tip at 66 like a spear.

  "Fine... Have it your way, you sick freak!"

  Enraged by the insult, Number 66 lunged at 25 with all her fury. Number 25 intercepted the strike with the limb of her bow. Shoving 66 back, she used the weapon's razor-sharp tip to slash open a deep gash on the woman’s knife hand.

  "Ah!"

  The blade clattered away as blood spurted from her palm. Number 66 stumbled back, but before 25 could follow up, she drove her left knee brutally into the girl's gut.

  As Number 25 collapsed, clutching her stomach, 66 stared at the crimson warmth dripping from her own pale skin, spitting curses through frothing lips.

  Blinded by rage, she moved to retrieve her fallen knife, but a resonant metallic hum stopped her dead. Her breathing hitched, then dissolved into manic laughter.

  She turned to face the black sword behind her—vibrating, desperately calling out to its master—and began to walk slowly toward it.

  "Hah! Of course, you are calling to me, aren't you? The woman who truly deserves to wield you! You are dying for me to slaughter this insolent cur!"

  With a twisted smile, she reached out toward the blade—which was vibrating like a scream—and gripped the hilt tight.

  The moment she touched it, the tremors ceased. The violet runes on the steel flared violently, extinguishing the fire in Number 66’s eyes in an instant.

  She collapsed to her knees. She tried to throw the weapon away, but the Tyrant holding her soul refused to let go.

  As her energy was drained, she clutched her chest desperately with her left hand. Her breath came in ragged gasps, yet that sickly smile never left her face. As she withered away, a black rift tore open nearby, and the glow of the runes intensified.

  Death, cloaked in descending black fog, had escaped the painted reality once more. He fixed his eyes on the woman who had dared to imprison him.

  "Ah... Nine... Nine. You really are..."

  Struggling to form words, Number 66 watched him, hot tears streaming down her pale cheeks.

  "You made a grave mistake touching that sword, 66," Number 99 said, his voice cold. He approached slowly, knelt beside her, and spoke quietly. "Now, you will pay the price for what you've done."

  Maintaining her crooked smile, Number 66 strained to lift her head and pressed her blood-red lips against the frozen lips of this emotionless man.

  Number 99 granted her this final wish without protest. He neither pulled away nor reciprocated, watching her unblinkingly.

  After kissing him, 66’s head fell back. Her deep ocean eyes clouded over with grey. Shedding the last drops of life onto cheeks that had already begun to decay, those grey eyes fulfilled their final duty.

  Number 99 reached out, took the now-compliant weapon, banished it back to nothingness, and stood up.

  "Are you alright... I..."

  Clutching her stomach, Number 25 glared at the protagonist of the drama she had just witnessed.

  "I didn't mean to interrupt your show! First a Gulyabani, then a crackpot woman... In this damn Kirola, we've run into everything except Flora!"

  Reluctantly taking the right hand Number 99 offered, she gritted her teeth against the pain and pulled herself to her feet.

  Suddenly, she leaned into his face. Jamming her thumb against his lips, she began to scrub away the traces of the poisonous kiss with savage force.

  "There. Now I feel better!"

  As the fleeting sense of victory was replaced by sudden shame, she averted her eyes, walked to the edge of the tower, and stared out over Kirola. Number 99 said nothing, simply standing beside her, allowing himself to enjoy the silence for a moment.

  ***

  "Is that so..."

  Piecing together what she’d missed while she was out, Number 25 kept her gaze fixed on the graveyard below. As the cool winds of Kirola toyed with her short hair, her pain began to subside, if only slightly.

  "We thought this tower was the most logical vantage point in this massive graveyard. Yet, despite everything we've been through, we have nothing to show for it."

  "..."

  When she turned to look at the silent 99, she found him staring intently at a specific corner of the graveyard, his expression unreadable.

  "Are you alright, 99?"

  "I believe I have found our target."