“It’s been a while?”

I stared straight into his gleaming reptilian pupils, holding his gaze as the one corner of his mouth lifted into a faint smirk. Something felt wrong, and a quiet sense of discord stirred inside me.

This was our first time meeting in person, but he was looking at me with such familiarity that it felt strangely intimate, as if he were greeting someone he already knew. There was no way watching me climb the tower would create such a look.

Does Kalain, as a challenger, also carry memories from before Ha Hee-Jeong’s regression?

Even if that were true, it still wouldn’t make sense for him to act like this was a reunion.

“The phantoms,” Kalain murmured softly. “When one fades, all of its experiences return to their original.”

Ah.

The two floors involving Kalain had come back to haunt me. With his explanation in mind, his greeting sounded a lot more reasonable. Although this was our first time meeting face-to-face, this wasn’t his first time interacting with me—the past trials formed a kind of indirect connection. This turn of events caught me completely off guard. I had assumed the phantoms were nothing more than temporary constructs.

“So then, why did you ask to meet me?”

“Well, you already know we don’t need to pointlessly converse,” he replied as he knit his brows ever so slightly.

Despite that, he didn’t sound the slightest bit irritated—he simply believed that pleasantries would waste both of our time. I had more or less predicted how he would answer, but I had still wanted to hear it from him. I wanted to know how he saw this moment.

Given the circumstances, it was safe to assume he understood the hidden history behind the existence of challengers. Any faint idea that this meeting would end peacefully disappeared completely. At this point, the result of our encounter was already decided. Either I would win, or Kalain would.

In a steady and composed voice, Kalain complimented, “You’ve endured a lot. It wouldn’t have been easy to climb all the way here.”

He wasn’t mocking me or sneering. His tone carried several layers of emotion—understanding, a hint of concern, encouragement, and even something resembling pride. Strangely enough, despite the situation, his sincerity felt oddly comforting. He had pioneered the path of a challenger, after all. It felt like an exchange that only people who had walked the same path could understand.

I had expected blatant hostility, so such gentleness and authenticity startled me for a moment.

“Seeing you reminded me of the past. They weren’t pleasant memories, but still.”

His entire demeanor had shifted with those words, now radiating clear, unrestrained anger. Of course, it wasn’t directed at me. By simply standing here, I felt as if I had stirred something inside him, tearing open a metaphorical scab that had yet to heal. He was experiencing memories that he hadn’t fully put to rest. Through that flare of resentment, I sensed the full weight of what Kalain carried.

I had climbed the tower and changed throughout it, but his purpose hadn’t.

He hasn’t let go of it at all.

The Kalain from four thousand years ago and the Kalain before me were no different.

What kind of heart holds onto a single emotion for four millennia?

I met his gaze. Despite the tension between us, things hadn’t immediately devolved into combat. Moreover, although he had remarked that conversation wasn’t necessary, he was eyeing me interestedly. I was similarly focused on him.

Suddenly, Kalain raised his hand. Black fog unfurled from his fingertips and drifted lazily toward me. I tensed but didn’t react since I hadn’t sensed any killing intent. I watched it carefully, unsure of its purpose.

“These are the memories of the battles I’ve fought since leaving the tower. I want you to see them.”

My brow tightened reflexively. I couldn’t guess at his intention.

A memory stirred in the back of my mind. On the ninety-fifth floor, his attacks had forced me to experience his emotions and memories. It felt like Kalain intended for something similar again, as if he wanted to immerse me in his experiences.

As I kept my guard up, he added, “This isn’t some kind of trick, so don’t worry. I removed every emotion and unnecessary memory. Only the battles remain. If you don’t trust me, you can check for yourself.”

The black smoke stopped right in front of me and loosened slightly. Even without touching it, I could sense what it held. He was telling the truth. It was nothing like my previous experience with this smoke. The emotions were gone, leaving only the visuals.

Even so, the gesture unsettled me.

“Why would you give me something like this?” I asked sharply.

Kalain let out a faint, amused breath. “I like fairness. Unlike the world that shaped us into what we are.”

He acted like it was simple and matter-of-fact, as if the explanation needed nothing more.

“It’s your decision, of course, but I’d prefer you read my memories.”

Even then, I couldn’t easily understand his gesture. None of my previous battles featured an opponent that cared about something like fairness, least of all Kalain.

Fairness?

Everything I had witnessed from him seemed to contradict that idea. He had invaded other gods’ worlds without hesitation.

“So, invading other gods’ worlds is part of your fairness?”

Kalain merely shrugged. “Well, I don’t know what you think, but I followed the law.”

I didn’t have an immediate counter. I didn’t know the laws binding the tower, the worlds, or the gods. Even so, I could have asked him whether invading other worlds was just, but such arguments wouldn’t reach him. From the beginning, Kalain desired to shatter the entire system.

There is no convincing him.

He had lived with his convictions for thousands of years, and they had settled far deeper than mine. If a few words could bend his will, he would have changed long ago. Besides, there was no guarantee his standards of fairness were the same as mine.

From our earlier conversation, he clearly still resented the tower and the gods. He likely believed that returning the harm he had received was fair.

“In any case, I hope you’ll accept my gesture. I want this battle to be as fair as possible. Whether you win or I win, this is where everything ends.”

The end of everything.

His words carried the weight of the world. I didn’t know exactly how the battle between Kalain and Thunder Axe’s factions was going, but it wasn’t hard to guess. As time passed, Kalain had probably been gaining the advantage—at least until I appeared. To someone like him, I was an enormous obstacle.

Given that, his kindness made no sense. We were destined to oppose each other. I could try to reason that it was because we were both challengers, but even then, it didn’t fully explain it.

“If you’re hesitant, I can give you all the time you need after you read the memories.”

Seeing him speak so sincerely made it clear he was serious about wanting a fair battle. Even so, I didn’t want to read them. Objectively speaking, I should accept them. There was no reason not to.

However, my heart resisted.

Perhaps it was pride or instinct, but my convictions—the ones I had formed as I ascended the tower—had already become second nature to me. I didn’t need to choose the most rational path every time. I would act according to my heart.

“No.”

“Are you sure? If you’d like more time to think, I can wait,” he responded in a manner that some would have taken as a provocation, but his expression showed nothing of the sort.

He wasn’t mocking or challenging me. No matter what stood between us, he sincerely believed what he said.

Maybe...

Kalain had probably challenged me not only for the purpose of settling our inevitable battle, but because he genuinely wanted to fight me under “fair” conditions. Only the two of us—in all of existence—had walked this path, after all. Two Challengers shaped by many of the same trials, molded by the same impossible climb.

“Well, you don’t know what I have learned on the ninety-ninth and hundredth floors either, right?”

No matter how long I had spent inside those floors, the time outside had remained frozen.

Kalain’s lips curved into a sharp grin. “That’s true. Maybe things really are fair right now.”

There wasn’t the slightest hint of regret in his voice. He meant what he said, and from the look in his eyes, he had already predicted how I would respond. He had seen enough of me, from his phantoms and my climb, to get a feel for my personality.

He moved his hand in one light, effortless gesture.

The black mist before me scattered instantly, dissolving without a trace. Whatever fragments of his power that lingered were pulled neatly back into him. The chance he had offered was gone, but I didn’t feel regretful. Even if we possessed similar strengths, I was truthfully at a disadvantage. However, if I were to defeat him, I wanted that victory to come from my own experience alone.

A thick silence spread over the battlefield. Both of us knew our conversation had reached its natural end.

I felt a quiet urge to speak again, though I couldn’t decide on what I wanted to ask. Trying to persuade him would be pointless. His beliefs were something I could never change. Regardless, the impulse to continue our conversation persisted.

Maybe it is because he is a fellow challenger, causing my emotions to become a little unsteady.

In the end, there was nothing I could say. If anything, I wondered about the people he had lost. Yet having felt his grief, I couldn’t bring myself to touch that wound. I didn't know what scars that conversation would reopen.

No matter what I felt, this was where our chat ended. I adjusted my grip on Soulbound, and Kalain drew his sword. Whatever faint warmth had lingered between us vanished immediately. The battlefield froze in an instant. A long, tense stillness followed.

For some reason, neither of us felt eager to fight.

I momentarily wondered why he had even called me here if neither of us wanted this. Well, perhaps this had been the only path left for him.

At last, we moved simultaneously, disrupting the chilled air. Neither of us held back.

I activated my Aura and infused it with lightning instantly. Streaks of lightning surged through and around me, signaling Flash Strike’s activation. The world brightened in a sweeping glow of blue-gold.

Kalain’s approach was simpler and more primal.

Shhhk!

A sharp crack split the air as his Aura shattered the sound barrier. I didn’t know exactly what technique he used, but his presence changed violently as dense black smoke erupted outward and roiled across the battlefield.

Our domains collided head-on.

Thud.

The impact shook the earth with a deep, echoing rumble.

Blue-gold radiance and black smoke crashed and twisted together, filling the air with trembling dust.

This was only my second true battle with Kalain.

Back on the ninety-fifth floor, he had charged first. This time, both of us had moved together.

We kicked off the ground simultaneously, and our distance shrank to a single point. His longsword thrust toward me, straight and lethal. Soulbound curved under it, slipping into a narrow opening.

Boom!

A tremendous explosion flared as our first blows collided. Dust billowed violently in every direction as blue-gold light and black smoke intertwined amid the swirling chaos.