The crimson light dimd behind us as we crossed the boundary of the Rift.
One step—and we were back under the blazing heat of Davao’s coastal sun. The roar of the wind across the cliffs was nothing compared to the system notification that echoed just monts before.
[World Announcent: The Fifth Floor Boss — The Lich of the Fifth Vein — has been Defeated.]
[Challenger Noel Bora registered as First-Ti Clearer.]
[Synchronized Challenger: ???]
Noel stared at the ssage, stunned. His na—his na—flashed across the world feed in gold.
He barely had ti to react before the real-world chaos hit us.
A wall of reporters and dia personnel surged past the checkpoint barriers. Drones hovered like insects, caras flashing. Microphones were shoved toward our faces as a crowd ford within seconds, hungry for answers.
"Was it you who cleared it!?"
"Are you the new rising star of Davao!?"
"Are you Vassaled under the Rift Reaper?! Is this a new Guild alliance!?"
"Was the Rift Reaper present inside with you!?"
I didn’t even flinch. Calmly, I raised a hand—and pointed straight at Noel.
"He did it."
The reporters froze for half a beat. All attention shifted.
And Noel?
"W-Wait, what—?"
His face contorted sowhere between panic and pure disbelief.
I could feel his brain buffering.
"H-Hold on, that’s not—!"
But it was already too late.
The crowd erupted, rushing him with renewed energy. Questions flew like bullets, and the caras locked on to his expression—bewildered, stunned, incomprehensibly flattered.
I moved aside, letting him take the center stage.
And he looked at once—eyes wide with understanding.
’So that’s what you’re doing, huh...’
He didn’t say it aloud, but I caught it in his expression.
He got it.
This wasn’t just about making him look good.
This was about painting a new target. A new narrative.
Letting the world turn its attention away from —even if just for a while.
After the crowd thinned and Noel was dragged into an impromptu interview marathon he couldn’t escape from, I slipped away—back into the shadows, where I worked best.
By the ti I returned to my apartnt, the sun had dipped past the skyline, and the notifications hadn’t stopped pinging.
ntions. Tags. Friend requests. DMs.
All of them screaming one thing.
[Possible Sighting]: User "Blank" may have re-entered the Crimson Rift.
[Unconfird Report]: Fifth Floor Boss defeated again. Was "Blank" involved?
[Rumor Spreading]: "Blank" allegedly seen near the Davao Rift site.
They were already connecting the dots. Too fast.
I leaned back in my chair, opened the Astral Community interface, and typed in the post I’d prepared days ago—clean, no fluff, just raw tactical information.
@Blank📌 Floor 3 and 4 Tips
— Entry route and safest paths.
— Enemy types and their behavior cycles.
— Key locations for rest and regen.
— Which relics to look for and what to avoid.
— Final phase triggers and how to force transitions.
[Posted publicly to all followers.]
[Pinned.]
-
The Astral Community buzzed like a hive stirred from sleep.
Thread after thread popped up in quick succession—speculation layered on top of rumor, all orbiting one na:
Blank.
The timing alone made the community explode.
[TOPIC: Fifth Floor Cleared Again!?]
Poster: AstralWatch77
So the Lich went down again just this morning. That’s two clears in a row? Not normal. Word is "Blank" was seen near the Rift just hours before it happened.
[RE: Blank Helped a Rookie?]
Poster: VoidSpectre
If this is true, it’s a big deal. Blank’s never partied with anyone. Not once. Who’s the other guy?
[Mod Edit]
rged threads. Keep it on-topic. No fake screenshots please.
I scrolled through them, eyes flicking past conspiracy posts and theorycrafting threads.
’Let them talk. I didn’t need recognition. Noel needed this win more than I ever would. He’d earned the clear. And I’d made sure he survived it.’
-
Buried beneath the flood of comnts and reposts on my latest guide, sothing made pause.
A userna I hadn’t seen in years. One I’d hoped I’d never have to see again.
@CrownThorns
My eyes narrowed.
He hadn’t posted anything flashy. No threats. No edgy declarations. Just a simple reply to my Floor 4 tip list:
"Nice map. Would’ve helped those poor twins. :)"
I felt it instantly—like bile rising in my throat.
That mocking smile. That signature punctuation. That sick sense of humor wrapped in lowercase cruelty. It was him.
Even through a screen, I could feel the rot behind the words. The sa rot I saw in his eyes as he killed Noel in the last tiline. Casual. Amused. Bored of it all.
He was watching.
Not just —but everything. And now he wanted to know it.
I clenched my jaw, hovering over the reply button. My fingers itched to strike back.
But I didn’t.
A knock ca at the door. Not sharp and eager like this morning — more like the desperate tapping of a man on the brink of collapse.
I got up and opened it.
Noel stumbled in like a man just released from the jaws of war. His jacket was half-unzipped, his hair a ss, and he looked like he’d just run a full marathon with a crowd of paparazzi nipping at his heels.
"Bro," he panted, stepping inside and imdiately collapsing face-first onto my couch. "You set up."
I raised an eyebrow. "I pointed at the man who killed the Lich."
He groaned dramatically, muffled by the cushions. "You pointed at like I was the damn second coming! I haven’t even processed what just happened, and suddenly I’ve got six mic booms in my face asking if I’m the next Blank. One dude tried to take a selfie while crying."
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. Loud.
"That’s what you get for landing the final blow."
"Final blow, my ass," he muttered, turning his head just enough to glare at . "You nullified a death spell like it was a mosquito. I just scread and swung."
"You looked cool."
"That’s not the point!"
I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and tossed it to him. He caught it with a tired grunt.
"They’re not going to stop, you know," I said. "Not after today."
He sighed, cracking the bottle open and downing half of it in one go. "Yeah, yeah. I figured. This... this was a boss floor, after all."
A mont passed. Quiet. Tension unwinding from the room like steam.
Then he looked up at with a lazy grin. "Still. That was fun."
I nodded. "It was."
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