Regression of the Tower's Final Survivor-Chapter 100: The Climb Continues

The crossing to Floor 16 proper happened at sunset.

Not the registration point’s controlled environment, but the real floor, the wild expanse of golden hills and ancient ruins that stretched toward challenges designed to break teams apart. The Lightbreakers stood at the threshold, seven silhouettes against a sky painted in shades of orange and purple.

"Last chance to turn back," Dante said without conviction.

Nobody laughed, but nobody moved either. They knew it wasn’t a serious offer.

"Right then." He stepped forward, and the floor accepted them.

The transition was subtle this time, less a barrier crossed than a veil lifted. The suppression effect Dante had warned about settled over them like a gentle weight, dampening individual power just enough to make cooperation necessary instead of optional.

Ren tested his Iron Will and nodded. "Manageable. As long as we stay together."

"That’s the point." Dante surveyed the landscape ahead: a winding path through ruins that led toward distant spires of light. "Floor 16 wants to know if we can function as a unit. Every challenge, every trial, every obstacle will be designed to answer that question."

"And if the answer is yes?"

"Then we earn the right to keep climbing." His voice carried certainty that he’d built over two lifetimes. "The True Tower rewards those who understand that power alone isn’t enough. Connection, trust, the ability to fight for something beyond yourself—that’s what separates the climbers who reach the top from the ones who die trying."

They moved forward as a unit.

The path wound through ruins that whispered with history, stones that had witnessed countless climbers passing through on their way to greater heights or unmarked graves. Other teams were visible in the distance, some moving with the cautious efficiency of veterans, others stumbling with the uncertainty of newcomers to the True Tower’s demands.

"We’re being watched," Vex reported, his magitech eye scanning the treeline. "Multiple observers. Some are probably administrators monitoring our progress. Others..."

"Faction scouts." Dante didn’t slow his pace. "The Steel Covenant, Archon loyalists, opportunists looking for weaknesses to exploit. Let them watch. Let them see what they’re dealing with."

A group of climbers emerged from a side path ahead, blocking the main route.

They weren’t hostile—their posture was curious rather than aggressive—but they planted themselves firmly in the Lightbreakers’ way. Their leader was a young man with the intense eyes of someone who’d heard too many stories and wanted to see if they were true.

"You’re them, aren’t you?" His voice carried equal parts awe and challenge. "The ones from Floor 15. The ones who exposed the Archon’s agent."

"We’re passing through." Dante kept walking. "Step aside."

"I just want to know if it’s true." The young climber didn’t move. "The rumors say you’re a regressor. That you’ve lived through all of this before. That you know what’s coming because you’ve already seen it."

The Lightbreakers tensed.

"The rumors say a lot of things." Dante stopped three feet from the young man. "Most of them are exaggerated."

"And the rest?"

"The rest is none of your business." His voice went cold. "Now move, or be moved."

The young climber’s team shuffled nervously behind him, recognizing a threat even if their leader was too caught up in the moment to see it. Finally, self-preservation won over curiosity, and they stepped aside.

But as the Lightbreakers passed, the young man called after them: "They’re talking about you on every floor! The ones who told the truth about what’s at the top! People are saying you might actually do it, might actually make it all the way!"

Dante didn’t respond, but something in his stride changed—a fractional straightening, a slight lift in his shoulders.

"He’s not wrong," Ravenna said quietly. "I can feel it everywhere we go. Hope. People are actually starting to hope that someone can challenge whatever’s waiting at the summit."

"Hope is dangerous." Dante’s voice was neutral. "It makes people take risks they shouldn’t take."

"Hope is necessary." She moved to walk beside him. "Without it, what’s the point of climbing at all?"

He didn’t answer, but he didn’t disagree either.

---

Night fell on Floor 16 like a blanket of stars.

Real stars, not the artificial lights of Umbral or the strange constellations of lower floors. The Lightbreakers made camp in the ruins of what might have been a temple, its walls still solid enough to provide shelter, its stones worn smooth by generations of climbers seeking the same protection.

"Rotational watch," Dante said. "Two-hour shifts. Vex and I will take first."

The others settled into their positions, exhaustion from the day’s travel catching up now that they’d stopped moving. Ren found a corner that could accommodate his bulk. Astrid claimed a spot near the entrance where she could respond quickly if trouble arrived. Leon and Sera set up a small medical station, their earlier tension now replaced by professional cooperation.

Ravenna lingered.

"You should rest," Dante told her.

"So should you."

"I will. After my watch."

She studied him for a long moment, her demon eyes cataloging emotions he tried to keep hidden.

"We made it," she said finally. "Floor 16. The True Tower. Everything you’ve been working toward since you came back."

"This is just the beginning." He looked at the stars through a gap in the temple roof. "Eighty-four more floors to go. Enemies getting stronger at every level. Challenges that will make everything we’ve faced so far look simple."

"But we made it this far." She stepped closer. "Together. That has to count for something."

"It counts for everything." His voice softened slightly. "When I woke up in this timeline, I didn’t believe I could do this with anyone else. I thought I’d have to climb alone, sacrifice everything and everyone to get strong enough to face what’s at the top. I was wrong."

"You were scared."

"I was broken." He met her eyes. "You helped fix that. All of you did. The team I built in my first life fell apart because I didn’t know how to trust them. This time..." He trailed off.

"This time you learned."

"This time I had better teachers."

Ravenna smiled, a genuine expression that transformed her demon features into something beautiful.

"Get some rest," she said. "Tomorrow we start proving that the True Tower can’t break us."

She walked away to find her sleeping spot, and Dante watched her go with something that felt almost like peace.

---

Vex joined him on watch.

"Quiet night," the sniper observed, settling into a position with clear sightlines.

"So far," Dante agreed, his eyes still scanning the darkness.

"The young climber wasn’t wrong, you know." Vex’s magitech eye glowed faintly in the darkness. "Word is spreading. Not just about Adrian and the Archon, but about you specifically. About what you’ve accomplished and how fast you’ve done it."

"Is that supposed to concern me?"

"It’s supposed to inform you." Vex adjusted his position. "I spent years as a mercenary, which means I spent years watching how power dynamics shift in response to information. Right now, you’re a disruptor. You’re introducing variables that the established players can’t predict. Some of them will try to eliminate you before you become more dangerous. Others will try to recruit you or ally with you. A few will just wait and see what happens."

"Which category are you in?"

Vex was quiet for a moment.

"I joined for a contract," he said finally. "Money and protection in exchange for my skills. Standard arrangement, nothing personal."

"And now?"

"Now I’m not sure when it stopped being about the contract." His voice was uncharacteristically honest. "Somewhere between Floor 12 and Floor 15, I stopped thinking of this as a job and started thinking of it as... something else."

"Family?"

"Don’t use that word." But there was no real heat in the denial. "Let’s just say my instincts have evolved. They’re telling me that staying with this team is the smart play, and my instincts are rarely wrong."

"I’ll take it."

They sat in comfortable silence, watching the stars wheel overhead.

"Eighty-four floors," Vex said eventually. "That’s a long way to go."

"One floor at a time." Dante’s voice carried the weight of experience. "That’s all any of us can do. Survive today, prepare for tomorrow, and trust that the people beside you will do the same."

"And at the top?"

"At the top, we kill a god." Dante smiled, and the expression held something dark and determined. "Or we die trying. Either way, we find out what we’re really made of."

---

Morning arrived with golden light spilling across Floor 16’s hills.

The Lightbreakers broke camp with practiced efficiency, packing gear and checking weapons and confirming that everyone was ready for whatever came next. Other climbing teams were visible on distant paths, some heading toward challenges, others nursing wounds from challenges already faced.

Dante stood at the temple entrance and looked toward the spires of light that marked their destination.

"Ready?" Ren asked, moving to stand beside him.

"Ready."

They started walking.

Behind them, the Temple faded into just another ruin on a floor full of ruins. Ahead, the True Tower stretched upward into infinity, its challenges waiting to test every limit they had.

But for the first time since his regression, Dante didn’t feel like he was climbing alone.

He had a team. He had people who trusted him and who he trusted in return. He had reasons to reach the top that went beyond revenge or survival.

And somewhere far above, on a floor so high it existed beyond normal comprehension, the Archon was watching. It was afraid, and Dante found that he liked the idea of an ancient god losing sleep over his existence.