Return of Tower's Phantom-Chapter 38 – The Maze of Echoes

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Location: Tower Floor 70 – Entrance to the Maze

The descent was silent.

Rael and Selene stood before the sealed gate of Floor 70. A vast stone arch towered above them, carved with names—hundreds of them. All fallen climbers. All forgotten.

Selene shivered. "This floor... it doesn't just test strength, does it?"

Rael's expression was grim. "No. It tests your soul."

The gate creaked open, revealing a swirling mist beyond. The Maze of Echoes.

> [System Warning: Soul-bound illusions active.] [Resist the pull of the past. Or be consumed by it.]

As they stepped through, the air changed—dense, heavy with memory.

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Deeper Inside

The maze twisted like a living creature, walls shifting and breathing. Illusions flickered along the stone—echoes of Rael's memories.

His first kill.

The betrayal on Floor 99.

Lyra's tears.

Selene saw them too. But the maze twisted them.

One corridor showed her and Rael... fighting. Blood. Her hands on his throat.

She gasped. "That never happened!"

Rael placed a hand on her shoulder. "The maze lies. That's its power."

They pressed on.

But then—a voice.

> "Rael... is that you?"

He froze.

That voice... it didn't belong here.

"Rael," it called again, from the mist.

He turned.

And there she was.

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Elara.

The first girl who had ever loved him.

The one who died in the first raid—before the Tower even marked him.

She stood there, smiling. Hair braided just as he remembered.

Rael staggered. "You're not real."

She stepped closer. "But I remember everything. Our nights under the ruined dome. The way you said my name. Doesn't that mean something?"

Selene drew her blade. "She's part of the maze!"

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Elara looked at her, eyes filled with sadness. "And yet... I still died protecting him. What did you ever do?"

Selene flinched.

Rael's grip tightened. "You're not her."

Elara reached out.

> [Warning: Echo attempting to bind Soul Signature.] [Intervention Required.]

Then—

> "ENOUGH!" Rael roared, unleashing a burst of raw soul energy.

The illusion shattered.

The maze quaked.

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Meanwhile – Tower Floor 99

Veyon staggered.

"What...? He resisted a full bind?"

He clenched his jaw.

"He's faster than I expected. No matter..."

He pressed his hand to the map.

"Trigger the second phase."

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Back in the Maze

A low rumble echoed through the floor.

Then the walls began to scream.

Dozens of echoes emerged—his teammates, enemies, lovers, mentors.

All illusions.

All deadly.

Selene stepped beside Rael, magic flaring. "Together?"

He nodded. "Together."

They dove into battle.

And above them, the maze watched—feeding on memory, twisting fate.

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