> [Floor 13 Initiated: Trial of Mindshare – Cognitive Inversion Protocol Active]
Warning: Shared trauma resonance detected. Proceed with mental safeguards.
A throb hit SeTa's temples the moment they arrived.
The world shimmered—not physical, not even spiritual. It was something deeper. Abstract. Every breath came with whispers, every blink bled color into the air like paint spilled in water.
Kael grunted beside him, clutching his head. "This… isn't normal."
"No. It's not meant to be."
They stood in a corridor made entirely of nerve-like strands, pulsating faintly. Thought-forms — memories, regrets, instincts — floated through translucent membranes along the walls, some recognizable, others foreign.
SeTa took one step forward.
> [Warning: Cognitive Echo Engaged]
Suddenly—
He wasn't him.
He was Kael.
---
A flash of fire. Screams. An orphanage burned in the distance. Kael — no, SeTa inside Kael — tried to scream but couldn't. Flames danced where children used to play.
"You promised to protect us…"
"Why did you leave?"
Kael's voice rose inside the shared memory. "I didn't want this! I was just a kid!"
The pain wasn't physical. It was guilt. A molten crown of guilt crushing down like divine punishment.
SeTa bit his tongue — his tongue? No. Kael's.
The world snapped again—
---
And Kael found himself in a dark chamber. Cold. Still.
But the cold wasn't external. It was emotional frost.
He stood in a crumbling house. A child's drawing sat torn on the wall — a man, a woman, and a boy with golden eyes. The paper was stained with dried blood.
SeTa's past. Hidden. Buried.
"Daddy went to sleep."
"Mommy stopped talking."
"I waited… but the monsters came instead."
Kael staggered.
So this was the boy who became a shadow.
---
> [Trial Phase 1: Forced Mindwalk Complete. Emotional Compatibility Rating: 82%]
Initiating Phase 2: Reversal Duel
Suddenly, they were back — but wrong.
SeTa stood in Kael's body. Kael stood in SeTa's.
They looked at each other.
> "Defeat yourself in the other's skin. Victory requires understanding, not domination."
The Tower's voice this time sounded almost human.
Kael smirked. "This… is absurd."
SeTa didn't speak. He simply stepped forward.
---
Battle commenced.
SeTa fought as Kael: flowing blades, memory-anchored counters, psionic flickers.
Kael fought as SeTa: void tendrils, layered prediction, momentum shaping.
It was chaos at first. Neither fully comfortable.
But then something shifted.
Kael stilled. Let the shadow move through him. He stopped controlling — and started listening.
Meanwhile, SeTa moved with Kael's fluidity. Felt the grief, the guilt, the hesitation woven into every step. He used it. Honored it.
Their bodies blurred in motion — clashing, then synchronizing. Not enemies.
Mirrors.
---
> [Duel Complete. No victor detected. Mutual recognition achieved.]
Cognitive Inversion lifting… Synchronization Thread upgraded.
The world fractured.
Then reformed.
They stood in a garden now — or something like it. Moonflowers bloomed from stone, stars swirled in a lake of memory.
A reward space.
> [Trial Complete. Reward Unlocked: Dual Skill – Shared Requiem]
Description: When standing back-to-back with your Synced Partner, you may activate a temporary fusion mode. Duration: 20 seconds. Cooldown: 8 floors.
> Floor Ascension in 00:00:30
Kael looked at his hands. Then at SeTa.
"You saw her… the girl I lost."
SeTa's voice was quieter than usual. "You saw them, too."
Kael nodded. "We're both… broken things."
"Not broken," SeTa replied. "Bent. Sharp. That's why the Tower pairs us."
A pause.
Then Kael grinned slightly. "I don't care about your secrets. But I'll fight beside you until this Tower burns."
SeTa's voice was steel. "Good. Because we're not done."
The stars blinked—
And they rose again.