1738 The Hundredth Floor. I

After weeks of navigating the treacherous and ever-changing environments of the first top five floors, the squads finally cleared them and arrived at the last entrance, leading to the hundredth floor.

The journey up until now had been a relentless test of their patience since the entrances were hiddenin plain sight and guarded by puzzles that demanded not just intelligence but a deep understanding of the quantum laws that governed the tower.

Yet, the relief of overcoming these obstacles was short-lived.

All the squads were seen spread out in front of a giant archway that was pulsing with energy so ominous it made their skin crawl.

"Whatever challenges we had faced before pales in comparison to what we are about to experience." Commander Bia warned with a solemn expression.

Tempus Vey, Mognki'r, Virona, and the rest of the leaders were also advising their teams to be at their best performance.

No one took their words lightly as they had already been told about what awaited them on the other side.

'Do not forget to freeze the instant you pass through the entrance.'

Commander Bia stepped forward, leading her squad towards the entrance. The Chaosians were nowhere to be seen while the entrance was found open, which implied that they had already gotten inside.

Felix and the rest of the squad followed her closely, stepping into the entrance without an ounce of hesitation.

As Felix crossed the threshold into the hundredth floor, a tide of cold air brushed against his skin.

When he opened his eyes, the sight that greeted him was the same as described by Commander Bia.

He found himself standing in a vast, gloomy landscape, where the air was thick with a dreadful fog that seemed to swallow the very light around him.

Dead trees, their branches twisted in silent torment, covered the barren dark land that stretched out to the horizon.

The ground beneath his feet was cracked and dry like it hadn't tasted a drop of water for eons.

In the distance, creepy mountains loomed, their slopes bore the semblance of crying faces, etched into the rock as if mourning the desolation that surrounded them.

'It's truly a landscape of despair...' Candace murmured.

Felix didn't respond as he focused on not moving an inch while his eyes looked up to the sky.

Despite the gloom that dominated this realm, the sky above was somewhat clear. Yet, what Felix and the others were focusing on was a massive pitch-black crack, cutting through the center of the sky like a wound in the very fabric of reality.

Felix and the rest of the squad stood there for a moment, taking it all in. Then, without an ounce of hesitation, every one of them sprinted at full speed through the barren landscape!'GO! GO! GO! We stop after five seconds at the decided location!' Commander Bia ordered out loud while her gaze was affixed on the pitch-black crack.

Since Felix, Apollo, and the rest of the mercenaries had never visited the place and had no clue about the destination, all they could do was stick to the main squad!

'Whoever gets left behind is done for! So, run like your life depended on it!' Plix addressed his squad while teleporting from one place to another.

Chronos used his time manipulation to accelerate while Syla relied on vibrations to phase in and out to keep up.

Meanwhile, Commander Bia and the royal guards relied on the same technique, helping them cross thousands of kilometers in mere seconds!

As for Apollo and Felix? They both jumped on a darkness cloud and accelerated at an unfathomable speed, matching up to the royal guards quite easily.

If Apollo wanted, he could have surpassed them in the blink of an eye, but since they had decided to remain with the squad, they had to move at their pace.

"It's closed! Head to the entrance swiftly!" Mognki'r, the Quarklings' leader shouted as he led his squad in the same direction.

Quarklings were another race that utilized the laws of light, which enabled them to move at a godly speed.

However, unlike the Gleamkin, Quarklings could exist only in an environment with light on since their bodies reflected the light that gave them their physical form.

Without the existence of light, their forms enter a state of quantum superposition, where they could either exist or not. The only way to find out was by casting a light in their area.

"Sh*t, it's closed. We should have gone first!"

"Quickly, they have gotten ahead of us!"

"Don't rush, it's a marathon, not a race."

After stepping inside the hundredth floor, the fifty squad leaders each had their command. Some decided to sprint towards the entrance while some preferred to build a stronghold near the entrance, knowing that clearing the hundredth floor first wouldn't change the outcome.

As they ventured deeper into the eerie expanse, a divide began to emerge, each squad trying its best to leave as much distance as possible from their enemies while at the same time not venturing too far from their destination.

Then, each squad started to build a stronghold, using whatever power in their possession.

Meanwhile, Commander Bia moved with purpose through the eerie landscape, her eyes scanning the environment for the ideal location to establish their base.

Upon reaching one of the creepy mountains, Bia raised her hand, signaling her team to halt.

The mountain, with its sorrowful faces etched into the stone, seemed as good a place as any to set up their stronghold."I think we could go much deeper," Dankin suggested as he glanced at the closed-shut crack in the sky.

"It's not worth the risk." Commander Bia rejected, "Our main goal is to leave the hundredth floor with minimum casualties while at the same time reducing our competition."

Dankin nodded in understanding and quickly sprang into action with the main squad of royal guards.

Together, they began to weave the quantum energy through their vibration control, manipulating the very fabric of reality around them.

The air buzzed with power as the quantum energy solidified, forming the walls and foundations of their stronghold.

In moments, a tough colorful structure stood against the mountainous chain, its walls shimmered with a subtle glow.

"Chronos, surround us with a temporal ring. Bollo, create a dome of darkness around the stronghold." Commander Bia ordered, "Gonn, help us establish a vibrational barricade spanning hundreds of kilometers."

Without further ado, everyone tackled their duties, knowing that time was out of essence. In a few moments at best, an unbreachable fortress was born with spatial, temporal, vibrational, and many other unique powers keeping it guarded.

Yet, no one felt an ounce of safety as they knew that the true danger of the floor could not be resisted, blocked, or avoided...

'Get in your positions and take a comfortable posture...It's going to be a long night.'Commander Bia said with a solemn expression as she sat down close-legged on the roof of the stronghold.

Felix and the rest each chose a comfortable position...Apollo lay on the ground with his hand resting on his palm while Felix leaned against the wall in a seated position.

Meanwhile, some of the squads were still going hard while the majority had decided to settle down too.

After a few minutes, no one was on the move, causing the level to be enveloped by an eerie silence...

Their eyes, previously scanning the desolate terrain for hidden dangers or paths forward, now fixated almost involuntarily on the massive pitch-black crack that marred the otherwise clear sky above...

Time seemed to stretch on, the oppressive atmosphere weighing heavily on their spirits.

The squads, scattered across the darkened land, remained motionless, a collective sense of tension and dread binding them together.

Their senses were heightened to the extreme, every rustle of the wind or shift in the fog sending ripples of tension through the ranks.

Just as the tension reached its peak, with more than half an hour having passed in this unsettling standstill, the black fissure in the sky began to shift.

The fissure in the void widened slowly, almost unnoticeable at first.

But then, the fissure suddenly expanded violently, revealing a massive, horrifying eye!

Its iris was deep blood-red, surrounding a pitch-black split that seemed to absorb all luminance and hope!

The eye was impossibly large, and as it turned slowly, it cast a sinister red hue across the hundredth floor, giving the whole terrain an eerie glow...

The red luminance illuminated the twisted shapes of dead trees and the mournful outlines of mountains, casting shadows that contorted into hideous forms.

This terrifying sight caused everyone to remain frozen in fear, not daring to even move an inch from their positions.

That's because movement was equal to instant death!

'I would have never expected to play a deadly version of the children's game: red light, green light, after ascending to a unigin.' Felix chuckled in derision as he used his senses to gaze into the supermassive menacing eye.