Forge

Facing the tower, the two fell into silence. It felt like. There was something else on the other side of this that weighed quite heavily, something that they couldn't take lightly. But at the same time, the fact that they had gotten here first wasn't a small advantage either. 

There would always be small variations in the third phase. But this was too far different from what they were used to. This tower wasn't in any of the historical recountings, it felt like it came out of nowhere. 

Mae sighed slightly as she looked toward Ryu. Given his current state, asking him to face another challenge of this caliber right now was far too much. He was almost being punished for performing too well in the previous phases. In fact, she felt bad for getting here on what was basically a free ride. If it wasn't for Ryu, she would have been stuck climbing those chains below like everyone else. Being here now and not having earned it left a somewhat bitter taste in her mouth.