The Oathbound Eclipse

The ascent ended with no warning.

One moment, Seo Joon and Yu-ri stood surrounded by ruins and memory. The next, they were blinking under sunlight filtered through golden leaves.

The world around them had changed again.

Tall trees with crystalline bark shimmered in the breeze. Vines crawled like living threads across the ground. Strange birds chirped in languages older than man. The air itself shimmered with illusion.

> [Welcome to Floor Three: Trial of Thorns] [This is a Mind-Fused Floor – Physical, Mental, and Emotional Layers Merged.] [Objective: Walk through the Garden of Truth. Survive your Reflection.]

Yu-ri exhaled slowly. "Mind-fused floor. I've only read about these…"

Seo Joon stepped forward. "The Tower wants more than our strength now."

---

The Garden

They passed through the first arch of vines—and the world shifted.

The ground cracked behind them. Retreat was impossible.

"Stay close," Seo Joon murmured. "Nothing's real. Everything is."

"Comforting," Yu-ri deadpanned.

The path split—one leading toward a mirror-clear lake, the other into a maze of thorns.

Before they could choose, someone stumbled out from the thorns.

A young man, hair tied in a braid, with golden eyes and a jagged sword on his back. His clothes were torn, and mana marks crackled across his skin.

He saw them—and raised his hands.

"Wait—don't attack! I'm not part of the illusion!"

Seo Joon narrowed his eyes. "Prove it."

The man snapped his fingers.

A nearby tree shimmered—then vanished.

> "My name's Kael. Floorborn. I was born here. I've seen others like you pass… but none survived the Reflection Trial."

Yu-ri asked, "What is it?"

Kael's expression darkened.

"You'll meet yourself."

---

The Reflection Trial

They reached a wide clearing.

The moment they stepped inside, the vines closed behind them. Flowers bloomed—and from each petal, light shimmered, forming copies of the three.

But these weren't illusions.

They felt real.

Seo Joon's copy looked older—stronger—but his eyes were cold, empty. Power radiated off him like a storm.

Yu-ri's Reflection held a shattered spear and scars across her hands. She looked… tired. Alone.

Kael's double bled shadows from his eyes, smiling like a serpent.

> [Begin Trial.]

---

The Fight

Reflected Seo Joon struck first.

Chains of silver shot out—smoother, faster, sharper than the original's. Seo Joon deflected them, barely, sweat beading.

"This one fights like what I could become," he muttered. "Without mercy."

Kael clashed with his copy, blades sparking in a blur. "If your mind breaks, your body dies!"

Yu-ri didn't speak.

She just stared at her double—who whispered things only she could hear.

"You'll never catch up to him."

"You'll always need saving."

"You were born beneath."

Her hand trembled.

Then she gritted her teeth—and charged.

---

Seo Joon roared as he tackled his Reflection midair, the two slamming into a tree that burst apart from impact.

"Don't mock what I might become," he snarled. "I choose who I become."

He wrapped his true chains around the false self—and shattered it with a burst of will.

> [Reflection Defeated.]

Across the clearing, Kael had done the same, panting.

But Yu-ri still fought.

She was bleeding—her own spear now broken. Her double raised a phantom blade.

Seo Joon didn't hesitate.

He threw his chain like a whip—wrapping around the false Yu-ri's arm just before the strike could fall.

Yu-ri seized her moment.

> She punched through her Reflection's chest.

The copy gasped—then disintegrated into petals.

---

Aftermath

The clearing fell still.

Yu-ri collapsed to her knees, shaking.

"I heard her voice," she whispered. "And part of me believed her."

Seo Joon placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Then make that part smaller tomorrow."

She looked at him—and smiled.

---

> [Trial Complete.] [Temporary Companion Acquired: Kael of the Garden] [Reward: Seed of the Second Flame — Dormant.]

Kael chuckled. "Not bad for your first mind-fused floor."

Seo Joon eyed the seed floating above his palm. "Second Flame…?"

Yu-ri stood. "What's the first?"

Kael shrugged. "Guess we'll find out—when you light the sky."

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