"It wasn't that there was no fire.
It was that the fire had forgotten how to burn."
— Tower record, Floor 47: Ashless War
The moment Kael and Tirien stepped through the crystal stair from Floor 46, they were surrounded by smoke.
Not thick. Not choking. Just present—like memory or guilt. The sky overhead was colorless, drained of sun and shadow. Ash drifted, but not a single thing burned.
It took Kael a few seconds to realize what felt so wrong.
"It smells like war," Tirien muttered. "But… nothing's on fire."
Then the Tower spoke.
Tower Notification:
Floor 47 – The Ashless War
Trial Objective: Win a battle without igniting a single flame.
All flame-based skills and weapons are sealed. Choose your strategy.
Optional Bonus: Uncover the origin of the Ashless Curse. (+150 XP)
Kael's face tightened.
His Blade of the Forged Will was still with him—but it radiated heat. Not flame exactly, but forged from it. If he used it recklessly, he risked setting off the curse.
Tirien pulled her scarf up. "Whatever happened here, it wanted to stay cold."
They moved across a dead field. The land was scattered with broken weapons made of glass, bone, and chalk—strange materials for a battlefield. None of them burned.
At the field's far end, a camp still stood. Empty. Preserved like wax.
Inside, Kael found battle plans etched on stone, not paper. Ash couldn't cling to stone.
"They fought a war trying to erase fire," Kael murmured. "But why?"
Encounter Begins – Echoes of the Flame-Eaters
Shadow-forms approached. Not undead. Not illusions. Echoes.
Their armor looked like stitched smoke. Their blades shimmered like cracked glass. They moved without noise.
Kael raised his sword—
And stopped.
The blade hummed, heat pulsing dangerously.
"If I draw it, the floor will count it as flame," he said.
Tirien passed him a bone-blade from the ruins. "Then use this."
Combat – No Flame Allowed
Kael fought differently now. He couldn't rely on the explosive finish of his forged blade. No fire to cleave lies. Just momentum, precision, and memory.
He adjusted.
Used the bone-blade to parry, trip, redirect.
Tirien used her twin knives like a sculptor—cutting along lines of weakness.
No fire.
No deaths, even.
Just defeated Echoes, returning to ash.
After the third wave, Kael heard it.
Singing.
A child's voice.
They followed it to a collapsed shrine at the center of the battlefield.
Inside: a statue of a goddess—once radiant, now hollow-eyed. In her lap was a basin filled not with flame, but salt.
A journal rested beside it, preserved by magic.
Lore Gained – Origin of the Ashless Curse
"We begged her to protect us from the Ember-Kin. So she did. She took fire from the land. From our breath. From our bodies. We won—but we never warmed again. The goddess became ash."
Kael closed the book gently.
"They asked for protection. She gave it. Too well."
He lit a small match—just one.
And placed it in the basin.
It didn't catch.
But it glowed—like an apology accepted.
The ash in the shrine scattered.
Tower Notification:
Trial Cleared – The Ashless War
+250 XP (Trial Completion)
+150 XP (Optional Lore Objective)
Total Gained: +400 XP
+New Passive: Kindled Respect
Sentient floors with fire-based trials are less hostile to you.
Flame-Based Skills & Blade of the Forged Will are now unsealed.
✅ Kael Level Up!
Level 24 → 25
Stat Points Earned: +3
Kael's current build focuses on:
Balanced physical and mental growth
Flame affinity (but not over-reliant on it)
Mental clarity and resilience to illusions (recently boosted)
Stat Allocation – Level 25
+1 Willpower – strengthens resistance to mind control, illusions, and internal trials+1 Agility – improves reaction speed, dodging, and adaptive fighting+1 Memory – helps retain lore, sword forms, and enemy patterns better (rarely used, but this floor suggested it's increasingly important)
🧠 Kael's Updated Stats After Level 25
Attribute Current Value
Strength 13
Agility 14 (+1)
Endurance 12
Willpower 17 (+1)
Memory 10 (+1)
Focus 14
Perception 11
Flame Affinity 12