Silence.
After the chaos, it felt unnatural.
Seo Joon and Yu-ri stood on a circular platform suspended in starless space, the air around them humming with quiet magic. The runes beneath their feet pulsed slowly—ancient, patient, watching.
"Are you okay?" Yu-ri asked, her voice soft.
Seo Joon nodded, though his chest still ached. "I've taken worse."
She frowned. "That blast… it felt like something inside you almost broke."
"I know," he said. "Whatever Crowe used—it was meant for me. Or rather… what I carry."
Yu-ri sat, leaning her spear across her knees. "He knew your title. Vowkeeper. That's not something the Tower hands out lightly."
Seo Joon exhaled, eyes distant.
"I saw something… during the fight. Fragments. An oath sworn under the stars. A chained eclipse."
Yu-ri's eyes widened. "The guild?"
He nodded. "The Oathbound Eclipse. I think… I was one of them. Or what's left of them is inside me."
She went quiet.
For a long moment, neither spoke. Then a soft ding echoed around them.
A notification. But unlike the usual system tone, this one felt… personal.
> [Hidden Condition Fulfilled: "Remnant of the Eclipse"] [Unlocking Sub-Floor Sanctuary: The Forgotten Antechamber] [Warning: Entry Will Trigger Time-Locked Lore Sequence]
Seo Joon hesitated, then looked at Yu-ri. She gave a small nod.
"Together."
He reached forward—and touched the rune.
---
The Forgotten Antechamber
The world shifted.
They now stood inside a ruined hall—massive, cathedral-like, its arches fractured and overgrown with floating ivy. Pieces of golden armor lay scattered across the floor. Swords stuck from the walls like frozen echoes of war.
In the center, a pedestal.
On it sat a broken mask, half-charred, shaped like a crescent moon.
Yu-ri stepped forward carefully. "This place… it's a memory."
Seo Joon nodded. "The fall of the Eclipse."
He reached for the mask—then froze.
A presence awoke.
> "You… who still wear the vow…"
"Do you remember why we fell?"
A ghost formed behind the pedestal. A tall figure, genderless, cloaked in ancient silver, their voice ringing like bells inside a dream.
Seo Joon stepped closer. "I don't. But I want to."
The figure lowered its head.
> "Then listen."
---
Visions poured into their minds:
A Tower much older than the one they knew.
A guild formed to guard its heart—The Oathbound Eclipse.
A promise made to something beyond comprehension.
And a betrayal.
One of their own had broken the vow.
The figure's voice grew heavy.
> "We vanished not because we failed…" "But because we remembered what the Tower wanted us to forget."
---
The vision faded.
Seo Joon fell to one knee, panting. Yu-ri knelt beside him.
"You okay?"
He looked at his hand. A faint eclipse symbol glowed just beneath the skin.
"I remember a name now. Astrael. The one who broke the oath."
Yu-ri whispered, "The one who killed the Eclipse."
Seo Joon stood slowly.
"Then we climb not just to survive… but to finish what they started."
---
Elsewhere, in the shadows of Floor 5…
Crowe lay wounded before a woman robed in veiled stars—the Watcher who had seen everything.
She gazed down coldly. "You failed."
Crowe spat blood. "They're stronger than expected."
She raised a hand—and with it, lifted him into the air.
"Then next time," she said, "bring me his gauntlet. Or don't come back at all."
---