The door to Floor Three groaned open like something alive.
It wasn't stone—it was bone, pulled open by unseen hands. Ayato stepped through and the temperature dropped so fast it felt like stepping into a freezer. The air was stale, ancient, and smelled like rot and something worse—like wet cloth that had once been skin.
The new floor was a cathedral.
But not a holy one.
Black pillars carved like spinal columns rose up on both sides. The walls were etched with teeth—actual human teeth—embedded in the stone like trophies. Blood dripped from the vaulted ceiling, disappearing before it hit the ground.
Yui's voice echoed too loud in the silence. "What the hell is this place?"
Mio flipped open her book, runes glowing faintly. "It's called The Hunger Cathedral. A failed purification floor. It's… unstable."
Ayato didn't answer. He was listening.
The walls were whispering.
Not just in metaphor—the walls were actually whispering names.
"Ren."
Ren froze mid-step, eyes wide. "Did you guys hear that?"
"Yui."
Yui's breath hitched. "That's my name."
"Mio."
Mio clutched her book tighter. "It's messing with us."
"Ayato."
Ayato flinched. The whisper in his head wasn't from the walls. It came from deep inside, like the system was hungry—and it wanted him to know it.
He swallowed hard. This place is alive. And it knows us. It remembers.
[Floor Condition: Unstable | Morality Drift Detected]
[Corruption Threshold Lowered to 20 Karma]
[One Student's Karma: Below Critical]
Ayato's eyes flicked across the group. He didn't need to guess who.
Kenta Ishida.
Shy. Soft-spoken. The kind of kid who offered his food to others and cried when Daichi shoved someone. But Kenta had killed someone in the trial. Out of fear. And his karma had been sinking ever since.
No one noticed the change at first.
Kenta walked with them, quiet as always. Until he started twitching.
He scratched his arms. Then his neck. Then his face.
By the time they reached the altar at the center of the cathedral, he was bleeding from the eyes.
Yui stepped forward, voice shaking. "Kenta…?"
He looked up.
His smile was wrong.
"It itches," Kenta whispered. "It's crawling under my skin. I can feel it—gnawing. Isn't it funny?"
Mio raised her hand. "Don't get closer. That's not just karma corruption. He's entering Phase One."
Ren's voice was tight. "What's Phase One?"
Mio's eyes were dark. "Mutation."
Ayato drew his dagger. His heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his throat. This isn't happening. Not again. Not to Kenta.
But it was.
Kenta screamed.
His skin split. Not like a cut—like something underneath was pushing out. Veins turned black. His arms bent the wrong way. Fingers cracked backward. His jaw stretched open far too wide.
He lunged at Yui.
"Get back!" Ren shouted, slamming into Kenta mid-air.
They crashed into a column. Blood sprayed. Kenta's head twisted all the way around, eyes rolling.
He stood back up.
Grinning.
Ayato moved in, fast.
[Skill: Shadow Flicker]
He was behind Kenta in an instant—dagger aimed for the spine.
"Ayato, wait!" Mio shouted. "He's still—!"
Ayato paused.
And Kenta turned.
"You think I'm weak?" he hissed. "I saw you. I saw what you are. You'll be just like me soon."
Ayato hesitated. Is there still a human inside? Can this be reversed?
Kenta lunged again—faster, more feral.
Ayato struck.
[Skill: Void Pierce – Critical]
The dagger slid between ribs.
Kenta staggered.
"I didn't… want this…" he whispered.
Then he fell.
Silence.
No one moved.
The blood pooled slowly beneath Kenta's body. It hissed slightly as it touched the floor—like the dungeon itself was drinking it.
Yui dropped to her knees. "We could have helped him…"
Ayato's voice was quiet. "No. We couldn't."
And I couldn't risk it.
[Enemy Neutralized – Classification: Corrupted Classmate]
[Karma Check: Ayato – Stable]
[Group Morality Balance: Critical Low]
New Prompt:
"Moral Collapse: 4 Deaths Remaining Before System Collapse."
Ayato felt sick. He wiped his dagger on his sleeve, but his hands were shaking. I just killed Kenta. Kenta, who was scared. Kenta, who was kind. And now he's gone.
Ren sat down hard, his face pale. "That was messed up. That was really messed up."
Yui was crying. "There has to be another way. There has to be."
Mio closed her book. "There isn't. Not here. The system wants us to break. It wants us to turn on each other."
Ayato didn't say anything. He just stared at Kenta's body, his chest tight. What if I'm next? What if I lose control? What if I hurt them?
He felt a hand on his arm. Mio. Her fingers were cold.
"You okay?" she asked, voice low.
Ayato shrugged. "No. But it doesn't matter."
Mio squeezed his arm. "It matters to me."
Ayato looked at her. Her eyes were tired. So were his.
They made camp near the cathedral's altar. No monsters attacked. Not here. Not anymore.
Because the floor had already fed.
Ren sat silently sharpening his blade. Yui hadn't spoken in an hour.
Mio sat beside Ayato, holding the old book like a weapon.
"You didn't hesitate," she said quietly.
Ayato didn't respond.
"That makes you dangerous," she added. "But maybe that's what we need."
Ayato looked at her. "You say that like it's a good thing."
Mio shrugged. "It's not good. But it's real. This place wants us to choose. Again and again. Kill or be killed. Mercy or survival."
Ayato's voice was flat. "I'm done choosing mercy."
Mio's eyes searched his face. "What happened to you, Ayato? In the other cycles?"
Ayato looked away. "Nothing good."
He stood and walked to the altar.
There, etched into the stone, was a new name:
Kenta Ishida – 3rd to Fall
Beneath it, an empty space waited.
It didn't care who the next name was.
Just that there would be one.
Ayato's hands clenched into fists. I can't let it be them. I can't let it be Mio.
He turned back to the group. Ren was still sharpening his blade, but his hands were shaking. Yui was staring at the floor, tears dripping onto her knees.
Mio was watching him, her eyes sad but steady.
Ayato sat down beside her, leaning his head against the cold stone. "We need a plan."
Ren snorted. "Yeah, like 'don't die.' That's been working out great."
Yui wiped her eyes. "We have to stick together. No matter what."
Mio nodded. "And we have to watch each other. If someone starts to… change. We have to be ready."
Ayato's voice was quiet. "Ready for what?"
Mio met his eyes. "You know what."
Ayato looked away. Yeah. I know.
He closed his eyes, trying to block out the image of Kenta's smile, the way his arms had bent, the way he'd whispered, "I didn't want this…"
He felt a hand on his shoulder. Mio again.
"You're not alone," she said.
Ayato wanted to believe her. But he knew the truth. In the end, everyone was alone. Especially here.
He opened his eyes and looked at the altar. The empty space where the next name would go.
I won't let it be them. I can't.
But he knew the dungeon didn't care what he wanted.
He just had to survive. For them. For himself.
Even if it meant getting his hands dirty.
Even if it meant becoming the monster.
Later, as the others slept, Ayato sat awake, watching the shadows.
His mind wouldn't stop racing.
What if I'm the next one to break? What if I turn into something like Kenta? What if I hurt them?
He looked at his hands. They were clean now, but he could still feel the blood. The weight of what he'd done.
He thought about the other cycles. The other times he'd failed. The other times he'd watched his friends die.
I can't let it happen again.
But he wasn't sure if he could stop it.
He heard a soft sound. Mio was awake, watching him.
"You should sleep," she whispered.
Ayato shook his head. "Can't."
Mio scooted closer. "You're not going to turn, Ayato. Not you."
Ayato's voice was rough. "How do you know?"
Mio hesitated. "Because you care. Because you're still trying. That's what keeps us human."
Ayato didn't answer. He wanted to believe her. But he knew the truth.
The dungeon didn't care about hope. It didn't care about kindness.
It only cared about survival.
And sometimes, survival meant becoming something you hated.
He looked at Mio, her face pale in the dim light. "If I start to change… promise me you'll stop me."
Mio's eyes filled with tears. "Ayato…"
"Promise me."
She nodded, her voice barely a whisper. "I promise."
Ayato leaned his head back against the stone, closing his eyes. He didn't sleep.
He just waited.
For the next name.
For the next trial.
For the next time he'd have to choose.
(Chapter 9 End)