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Tower Floor 84 – Crimson Garden of Thorns
The floor bloomed with deadly beauty.
Scarlet roses stretched across marble ruins, their petals razor-sharp, their fragrance tinged with iron. Moonlight poured from an unseen sky, casting silver shadows.
Rael and Selene stepped forward, weapons drawn.
> [Warning: Floor Guardian Detected – "The Bloodletter, Belladonna Maeve"] [Style: Dance of Carnage – Blood Waltz] [Weakness: Rhythm Disruption]
A haunting melody echoed from the center of the garden.
Then she appeared.
Belladonna Maeve floated in midair, her dress made of petals and chains. Her eyes gleamed crimson, and she moved with terrifying grace.
"You've come to dance," she purred. "How delightful."
She snapped her fingers.
Thorned vines coiled around the ruins.
Phantom dancers—souls of previous challengers—rose and twirled in sync, blades replacing their hands.
Selene narrowed her eyes. "She's using music to control the battlefield."
Rael grunted. "Then we silence the song."
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The Battle Begins
Maeve twirled, and with each spin, the phantom dancers lunged.
Selene darted forward, slicing through illusions, but each kill released a burst of blood magic.
Rael countered with [Shadow Pulse], destabilizing the rhythm—but Maeve only laughed.
"You'll need more than brute force to disrupt my tempo."
She lunged at Rael, blade dancing.
They clashed mid-air—her movements flawless, each strike timed to the beat.
> [Skill Unlocked: Tempo Perception – Rael only] [Passive Activated: Third Soul Sync – Visual Echoes]
Rael's eyes sharpened.
He began predicting her steps.
He started… dancing.
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Counter Waltz Initiated
Rael's movements became fluid, not attacking, but echoing her rhythm, throwing off her tempo just enough to break the harmony.
Selene seized the opening.
> [Combo Skill: Moon Fang – Vertical Slash]
Her blade tore through Maeve's right arm.
The music faltered.
Maeve shrieked. "You dare break my art?!"
Rael stepped forward, eyes glowing. "I'll rewrite it."
> [Skill: Soulstep – Phase Cut]
He vanished… and reappeared behind her.
A clean strike.
Maeve gasped—then smiled.
"I haven't bled like this in centuries…"
She bowed, bleeding.
"I'll see you again… deeper in the Tower."
Her body dissolved into crimson petals.
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System Message: Floor 84 Cleared
> [New Title Acquired: Rhythm Breaker] [Bond with Selene: +8%] [Maeve's Invitation Shard Acquired – ???]
Selene collapsed to the ground, exhausted. "That… was the weirdest fight yet."
Rael offered his hand. "And the most beautiful."
She blinked, surprised—but took it.
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Meanwhile – Floor 100, Inner Sanctum
A girl in white sat before a massive crystal orb, watching them.
Lyra's voice echoed.
"They're coming, Rael. Faster than fate allowed."
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