The team stood on the last floor of the tower, the symbols around them glowing intensely, as if to ask them to hurry up and make their decision.
Giant columns stretched around them, reflecting moments from their lives, revealing their successes, failures, and fears.
At the end of the room, the mysterious person sat in a dark chair, quietly watching them, as if observing their internal struggle without interfering.
"Someone new has come here again...aren't they tired of coming?" He said in a calm and confident voice, but his words carried a sense of bitterness.
The team approached him cautiously, and began to discuss the meaning of the recent test.
The mysterious person spoke in a voice full of sadness, saying: "To leave the tower, someone must be left behind. One sacrifice will open the final gate. But sacrifice is not just leaving, the person left behind becomes part of the tower itself, like I was. I was part of a team like you, but they decided to sacrifice me, leaving me here to guard...forever."
The words sent a wave of shock through the team, and discussions began to escalate about who should stay.
Some suggested sacrificing Yumi, as the team leader, but Maru and Rin vehemently rejected that suggestion, trying to protect her.
Lin had been silent the entire time, until he suddenly interrupted everyone's conversation.
He stepped forward and said in a steady voice: "Yumi won't be left here. If one of us has to stay, it will be me."
Everyone froze in place.
Yumi tried to object, but Lin left her no room to speak.
She looked at him and said, "I can't allow this decision. You were the force that kept us together all the way, and I won't let the tower take you away from us."
Rin and Maru tried to talk Lin out of his decision, but it was clear that he had made his final decision.
The mysterious figure smiled a bitter smile and said, "A brave decision, but this fate is not easy. Are you ready to endure these consequences?"
Lin stepped toward the center, where the symbols began to surround him majestically.
The tower responded to his decision, and the symbols surrounding the room gradually disappeared, opening a radiant portal leading outside.
Yumi tried to approach him, but the energy from the symbols prevented her from doing so.
Lin looked at her with a calm smile and said, "Continue on, don't let this journey be meaningless."
Everyone slowly walked through the portal, looking back at Lin, who sat in a new chair in the center of the room, slowly becoming part of the tower.
The mysterious person looked at him and said: "Welcome to the tower...new guardian."
In the center of the last floor, as Lin sat down, the symbols around him began to move aggressively.
Suddenly, the walls shattered, revealing huge piles of organic flesh pulsing as if alive.
The sounds emitted were more like moans and whispers, adding to the horror of the scene.
The tower began its attempt to merge itself with Lin, using its power to project scenes from its past, its conflicted present, and its uncertain future.
The images that emerged were designed to break Lin's will and force him to become part of the Tower's living entity.
However, Lin began to resist, drawing strength from deep within himself, refusing to become another tool in the hands of this terrifying entity.
Suddenly, scenes from the future appeared, and Lin saw a stronger, wiser version of himself, standing steadfastly in the center of the storm.
That version looked at him with confidence as if to say: "Hang in there." That look was enough to push Lin to fight with everything he had.
The tower, which relies on the balance of past, present, and future, began to lose control.
The piles of flesh began to disintegrate, and the sounds gradually diminished.
It all ended with a massive burst of energy, as the tower began to completely collapse.
Outside, the team stood watching the collapse, thinking they had lost Lin forever.
Smoke and debris filled the sky, and everything seemed to be coming to an end.
Suddenly, Lin appeared out of the rubble, walking slowly towards them.
His features were stronger and more confident, and the experience seemed to have permanently changed him.
The team ran towards him, hugging him with joy mixed with astonishment.
After their reunion, Maru looked around and asked: "Where is that boy?"
Suddenly, they heard a faint sound coming from under the rubble.
They rushed to the site and began to carefully remove the debris.
Under the rubble, they found a young girl who looked about ten years old.
Her features were vague, but she was meek.
She looked at them calmly, as if she wasn't afraid of the chaos.
They took the girl with them, realizing that her presence might hold the key to understanding the island and what happened inside the tower.
After a short break, they decided to try to leave the island, but it wasn't that easy.
Every attempt to leave was met with unnatural obstacles: Roads that take them back to their starting point, unfamiliar weather fluctuations, and strange sounds filling the air.
As the failed attempts continued, tension began to build within the team.
Some became frustrated and angry, while others tried to maintain morale.