The air changed instantly at the exact moment we crossed the threshold of the gigantic arched entrance. The cutting howl of the wind from the Isolated Lands abruptly fell silent, replaced by a dense, sepulchral silence that seemed to fill every inch of that colossal entrance chamber. The smell of dry earth and sterile desert dust gave way to a subtle odor of ancient stone and condensed energy, a cold fragrance reminiscent of dungeons that had remained sealed for millennia.
The darkness inside was almost absolute, interrupted only by the faint beam of natural light that could still penetrate through the immense bronze doors we had left behind.
"Leave it to me," said Lyannis, taking a step forward with light and determined steps.
She raised her light-wood runic staff, concentrating a small fraction of her magical energy at the weapon's upper end. With a soft whisper, a sphere of warm golden light took shape, floating gently above our heads and expanding to illuminate a radius of several dozen meters around us. The glow revealed walls of polished gray stone, so perfectly fitted together that they seemed to have been carved from a single monolithic block of colossal proportions.
As we advanced, Lyannis's light revealed the presence of small gelatinous and translucent beings moving slowly across the flat floor of the chamber. There were dozens of slimes, exactly as Kaelen Vance had described in his report to the council. They emitted a very faint bluish glow and seemed completely devoid of any immediate aggressive intent, simply sliding from one side to the other like small pools of artificial living water.
"They are really very weak," observed Scarlet, approaching one of them with her hand casually resting on the hilt of her sword, without even making any attempt to draw it. "I can barely feel any energy signature or danger coming from these creatures."
"Do not waste your physical or mystical strength on them," instructed Liriel, stepping forward elegantly while holding her sacred prayer tome. "If the miasma of this place is trying to absorb our active mana, we should deal with these small obstacles with as little effort as possible. I will take care of it cleanly."
Liriel positioned herself in front of the group and extended her right hand. Instead of conjuring a complex and flashy spell that would consume her reserves, she simply channeled a minimal fraction of her sacred magic, dispersing it into a low-intensity wave of purifying heat that spread across the floor like a thin golden film. The instant the sacred energy touched the small gelatinous bodies, the slimes simply dissolved into purified water vapor, disappearing without leaving any residue or trace of threat on the gray stone floor.
While observing the efficient cleaning process carried out by Liriel, I approached one of the side columns of the internal structure. I touched the cold surface of the stone with the palm of my left hand, closing my eyes for a brief moment to try to sense the circulation of magical energy running through the invisible veins of the tower. What I felt confirmed my worst suspicions and, at the same time, awakened a wave of technical admiration for the ingenuity of the creator of that dungeon.
The structure was immensely larger on the inside than its external dimensions seemed to indicate at first glance. The curvature of the side walls and the distance we could perceive in the dimness pointed to a spatial distortion of divine proportions. It was the classic non-Euclidean geometry present in the virtual reality games I used to analyze in my old world. The Demon King had indeed perfectly recreated the mechanics of spatial compression and expansion, transforming the interior of a stone tower into a vertical continent of stacked biomes.
"The scale of this place is absurd," I thought to myself as I opened my eyes and moved away from the column. "He did not merely bend physical space; he created an isolated barrier where the laws of conventional physics and biological regeneration are rewritten according to his own whim. Every step we take in here will be under the rules he dictates."
Liriel's assistant walked a little farther behind, with her runic clipboard in hand, recording Liriel's magic dissipation rate and the amount of time the tower's atmosphere took to consume the residual heat of the sacred spell. "The absorption of ambient mana is constant," she reported in an analytical and focused tone, adjusting her glasses on her face. "The drainage rate is low on this first level, but the pressure on our magical channels will gradually increase as we ascend. It is vital that we maintain the economy rhythm Lord Takumi established."
"Rai'kanna, can you sense any anomaly in the path ahead?" I asked, turning my attention back to our vanguard and terrain reconnaissance specialist.
Rai'kanna, who kept her ears attentive to any acoustic variation and her eyes focused on the darkness beyond Lyannis's beam of light, took a few quick steps before stopping and pointing toward the opposite end of the immense chamber. "The path is clear of traps for now, Takumi. I can hear the echo of water currents and a stronger rhythmic vibration coming from above. The staircase leading to the second floor is right ahead, nestled between two large decorated columns."
We followed the direction indicated by Rai'kanna, walking with firm steps and maintaining the defensive circular formation that we had exhaustively trained the previous day at the mansion. As we approached the back of the first floor, Lyannis's golden illumination revealed a monumental staircase made of solid stone that spiraled upward beyond the chamber's dark ceiling, disappearing into the gray mana mist that hung between the floors.
We stopped for a brief moment at the base of the first steps. I looked at each of my companions, seeing in their expressions the ideal mixture of intellectual caution and unwavering determination. They were not merely skilled warriors; they were brilliant minds who knew exactly what was at stake and who fully trusted the tactics we had devised. The first level of that immense vertical needle had been overcome without any setbacks, but we all knew that this was only the warm-up for a survival game that would become infinitely more complex with every new flight of stairs we decided to climb.
"The first floor was merely the reception," I said, placing my right foot on the first stone step and feeling the subtle change in gravity that accompanied the spatial transition between the levels. "The true geographical and combat challenge begins from now on. Stay focused, control your breathing, and let's show the Demon King that we understand this board better than he imagines."
With a unanimous nod and renewed determination, the squad began the silent and coordinated ascent toward the second floor of the Demon King's Tower.