Ayato didn't sleep.
He sat at the edge of the classroom-turned-hub, legs pulled up, arms resting on his knees. The ceiling lights flickered—runes pulsing like a dying heartbeat. Sparks crackled, and the air smelled faintly of burnt magic. The dungeon was healing itself. Or maybe getting worse.
Around him, the others lay in silence. No one talked. Not after the arena. Not after Daichi.
Ren was out cold, his face pale from blood loss. Yui sat beside him, hands raw and shaky from the healing spells she'd used too many times. Mio leaned against the far wall, a ratty blanket over her shoulders, her book clutched to her chest like a shield.
And Ayato? He just watched the shadows shift across the floor.
Because he remembered.
Blood. Screams. A boy calling his name.
"Ayato! Don't leave us!"
A girl sobbing, blade in her hands. Karma flashing red.
Ayato's voice, calm and cold:
"You're already dead. Just accept it."
Then silence.
He blinked, dragging himself back to the present. The ceiling stared back.
The dream again. Not quite his memory, but not someone else's either.
Mio was right. He had been here before.
The system hadn't just chosen him randomly.
It had brought him back.
"The Observer lived, but never escaped."
He stood up, slow and quiet, and walked to the back of the room.
No one noticed.
Hidden Room – Behind the Blackboard
The blackboard shimmered when he touched the lower-left corner. His hand passed through like mist.
[Skill Triggered: Shadow Detection – Hidden Entrance Found]
Stone stairs spiraled down.
Every step felt heavier. Colder.
At the bottom, a door made of bone and glass, set in a frame of obsidian teeth.
It didn't open with a handle.It opened when he said, "I remember."
Inside was a mirror.
And something worse.
The chamber was small, circular. The floor was marked with names—scorched into the stone.
He saw them all.
Daichi Kobayashi
Mio Sakamoto
Yui Asano
Ren Kisaragi
Ayato Kurozaki
One name was scratched deeper than the rest.
Ayato Kurozaki—dozens of times, overlapping. Etched with violence.
He walked to the mirror and looked in.
The reflection was wrong.
"How many times have we done this?"
His reflection moved its lips—but Ayato hadn't spoken.
The face in the mirror looked older. Eyes darker. Armor blackened with blood.
"Ten times. Maybe twelve. I stopped counting when I started killing first."
Ayato's heart pounded. "Who are you?"
"I'm you. Just a few deaths ahead."
The reflection smiled.
"You think you're better this time, don't you? Smarter. Calmer. Cleaner."
Ayato clenched his fists. "This time I'll make the right choices."
"There are no right choices here. Only faster ones."
Behind the mirror, a hundred shadows writhed. Students. Memories. Corpses.
The reflection stepped closer.
"You chose to be the Observer. You wanted to understand the Dungeon. You wanted to save everyone. So you watched. Again and again. And every time… you failed."
Ayato's breath caught in his throat.
"Then what do I do now?"
"You stop trying to be a hero."
The mirror shattered.
And the chamber roared.
[Hidden System Fragment Restored: The Cycle of the Observer]
"Only one Observer shall live. Until Judgment is passed."
[Memory Unlocked: Cycle 7, Final Floor – Mass Class Deaths: 27]
[Corruption Level +3]
[Karma Stable: Neutral]
Ayato dropped to his knees.
The memories weren't all there yet—but the emotions were. The helplessness. The bitter acceptance. The cold reasoning that had made him say:
"Only I can carry the burden."
A low groan echoed through the chamber. Something inside the walls stirred.
Ayato stood, slow and deliberate.
He wasn't like that version of himself.
He wouldn't be.
But if that meant getting blood on his hands early…
Then so be it.
Return to the Hub Room
When he emerged, the classroom was still dim.
But someone was awake.
Mio sat on a desk, eyes fixed on him. She didn't ask where he'd been.
She just said, "You saw it, didn't you?"
Ayato nodded once.
"You were there," he said. "In the last cycle. You died first."
Mio blinked. "…Figures."
"This time, you're not dying," he added.
Mio smirked. "You planning to rewrite fate?"
Ayato looked at his hand—shadow still clinging to his skin like smoke.
"I'll burn it if I have to."
Morning – System Activation
[Floor Three Unlocked: The Cathedral of Teeth]
**Warning: Corrupted Floor Detected. Karma Exposure Increased.**
**New System Function Unlocked: Memory Fragments**
**Special Notice: One student has been marked by the Dungeon.**
Ayato turned sharply.
The system didn't say who.
But someone in the class had already begun to Corrupt.
And next time… they might not come back as a student.
Morning, for Real
The rest of the class started to stir. Yui was already up, checking Ren's wounds again. He groaned, sitting up slowly.
"Ugh, I feel like crap," Ren muttered, rubbing his side. "Did we win or something?"
Yui rolled her eyes. "Yeah, if you call 'not dying' winning."
Ren grinned weakly. "I'll take it."
Mio slid off the desk, stretching. "You guys are hilarious. We're all gonna die, and you're cracking jokes."
Ren shrugged. "What else are we supposed to do? Cry?"
Yui sighed. "Sometimes I wish you would."
Ren laughed, then winced. "Ow. Laughing hurts."
Ayato watched them, his mind still half in the memory chamber. They have no idea what's coming.
He felt a pang of guilt, but pushed it down. He couldn't tell them everything. Not yet.
Mio sidled up next to him. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Ayato shrugged. "Feels like it."
She nudged him. "You're not gonna go all emo on us, are you?"
He snorted. "No. Just thinking."
"About what?"
"How we get out of here."
Mio's smile faded. "You really think we can?"
Ayato looked at her. "I don't know. But I'm not giving up."
She nodded. "Good. 'Cause I'm not either."
Yui clapped her hands. "Okay, everyone, listen up. The system just activated something called 'Floor Three: The Cathedral of Teeth.' Sounds fun, right?"
Ren groaned. "Oh, great. More monsters. More blood. More pain."
Yui shot him a look. "We don't have a choice. We stick together, we survive. That's the plan."
Mio raised an eyebrow. "That's the whole plan? 'Stick together and survive'?"
Yui crossed her arms. "You got a better one?"
Mio hesitated. "No. But I wish I did."
Ren stood, wincing. "Well, I'm ready for whatever. Unless it's more spiders. Hate spiders."
Yui rolled her eyes. "Noted."
Ayato watched them, his chest tight. They're trying so hard to act normal. To pretend this isn't hell.
He wished he could do the same.
Mio glanced at him. "You okay?"
He shrugged. "Just tired."
She nodded. "Yeah, me too."
Ren stretched, then winced again. "Man, I need a shower. And a burger. And, like, a year of sleep."
Yui sighed. "You and me both."
Mio grinned. "At least we're still alive. For now."
Ren groaned. "Don't jinx it."
Ayato smiled a little, despite himself. Maybe that's all we have left—bad jokes and hope.
But as he looked around the room, he noticed something off. One of the students—he wasn't sure who—was standing apart, eyes glazed, hands shaking.
The system said someone's been marked. Corrupted.
He felt a chill.
Who is it? And what happens when they change?
He didn't have the answers.
But he knew one thing for sure:
The next floor would be worse.
And they were running out of time.
(Chapter 8 End)