The third floor of the Tower Gauntlet looks noticeably different from the second. Where the second floor was a grid-styled labyrinth that looked like it came straight out of a procedurally-generated dungeon, the third floor looks like a natural cavern. Even the chilled, damp air and the musty smell of dirt and mushrooms and literal bat guano is replicated perfectly through the System’s control. The only difference from a natural cavern is the presence of bioluminescent moss along the walls to allow us to see without using our Skills.

I suspect that on a later floor, we might be expected to fight in the dark, and I realize that having a [Light] gemstone from Zackary’s place is not nearly as wasteful of a purchase as I’d initially thought. But for now, we’ve been given a rare respite, courtesy of the System.

As expected, once we’ve stepped off the topmost stair and onto the dirt floor above, the staircase fades away, leaving only a patch of dirt where it once descended. Mostly out of curiosity, I dig at the dirt for a few seconds, but sure enough, there’s nothing beneath but more dirt. Just another of the System’s many marvels.

Much like the previous floor, I don’t sense anything particularly hostile approaching us. But there is that sense of unease. Like we’re being watched.

“Do you sense that?” Chloe asks.

“The feeling that something is watching us?”

Chloe nods. She moves in close, taking my hand for a brief moment before setting it down. I’d love to hold her hand as well, but if we’re going to be attacked at a moment’s notice, best to be fully prepared for battle at a moment’s notice. I switch my [Mechanical Arm Cannon] back to firing mode for the same reason.

We progress as quietly as we can, even going so far as to try to quiet our breathing as we wander the massive cavern before us. Despite the temptation, neither of us even mentions the possibility of splitting up; we’re far stronger as a team than as two individuals thanks to [Angelic Bond]. Even without that, though, I can’t imagine that splitting the party would ever work out well.

A droplet of water lands on my right shoulder. I had turned off the omnidirectional sight of [Archangel’s Gaze] to conserve [Ether], so the sudden sensation startles me. I immediately turn it back on and ready my cannon to fire, expecting that I’m under attack. But no, it’s just an ordinary stalactite dropping an ordinary droplet of water; there’s no [Ether] signature alerting me to the presence of a sentient creature looming.

“It’s okay, Sera. I’m here,” Chloe messages, no doubt feeling my sudden fear through our bond.

I try to send a vibe of reassurance. “Just a droplet of water. Got scared we were under attack.”

Chloe tries and fails to suppress a giggle. “I never expected to see you so… jumpy, Sera. It’s… Honestly, it’s pretty cute.”

I blush and stammer in my head. I’m sure my mortified embarrassment isn’t lost on Chloe, considering she’s looking away and mere moments from breaking out into boisterous laughter. “Ahem. Let’s not lower our guards. We are likely still being watched.”

Tapping sounds emerge from ahead of us. Chloe and I stop in our tracks. The sounds continue, now joined by the rattling of metal armor. Chloe takes a half step back, and I flare out my wings, prepared to intercept whatever approaches.

To my surprise, the creature is humanoid in appearance, though it’s entirely covered in thick full-plate, including matching gauntlets, greaves, and a helmet of radiant silver. It also carries with it a gleaming sword in its right arm. I take a cautious step forward, my gun arm at the ready. But I’m taken aback when the figure in front of us takes off its helmet, revealing Alana’s face.

“Do you think it’s a trap?” I ask.

“Hmm. It definitely could be, although if it is, it looks just like her through my [Ethersight]. But I don’t want to shoot first and ask questions later, either. Just in case it really is her.”

I send a nonverbal agreement back through our bond. Alana— or the creature masquerading as her— walks closer, smiling slightly as she approaches. The smile seems genuine, no disdainful smirk that suggests deception. But any creature capable of deception powerful enough to fool Chloe’s and my perception Skills isn’t going to give such an obvious tell.

“Hey you two,” Alana says. “It’s good to see you again. How’ve you been?”

Chloe gives me a glance.

“We’re well,” I say. “Decided it was about time to go through the Gauntlet for ourselves. At least the first few floors.”

“It was the same for me,” Alana responds. “I know I’m not strong enough to deal with another swarm of harpies. And heaven forbid there’s a massive clutch of dragons heading our way in the near future.”

“Love,” Chloe interjects as Alana is speaking, “Can you ask her if she knows the way out of this floor?”

I give Chloe a nonverbal assent before nodding to Alana. “Have you managed to find the way up to the next floor?”

“Yes. Come along, I’ll show you the way.”

“Fake,” Chloe says.

“Agreed. No way the real Alana could have known we were coming.”

“Right. That would be the only reason to stay behind after finding the exit. And she certainly wouldn’t beeline for the start of the floor.” Chloe pauses for a split-second, though it feels like several at the speed of our mental conversation. “What do you want to do?”

“Actually, I have an idea.”

“Alana, may I have your sword?” I ask.

Alana, understandably, hesitates. “Might I ask what you need it for?”

“It was my sword originally, and I lent it to you because it synergized well with your class. But I believe a [Blessed Sword] is a weapon even more suitable for a [Mechanical Angel] than a [Shining Valkyrie]. Please return my weapon to me.”

Alana pauses for several moments. Finally, she unsheathes her weapon. It glows from the moment it’s drawn. More than it did before, though not nearly with the same blinding intensity that Madison’s weapon did in my vision. It makes me wonder what kind of a monster Madison truly was when she went all out. Or how strong I was at the peak of my old life. Not strong enough is all I know for sure.

“Be careful, I expect her to try to–”

“Stab me in the back while my defenses are lowered.” I respond. “Already happened to me twice. Not really keen on making a hat trick of it.”

“Wait… twice?”

“Past life vision. Right while I was bleeding out during the final battle against the Order.”

Alana and I walk toward one another, with Chloe following a few paces behind me. Even without my omnidirectional [Archangel’s Gaze] active, I can sense that she’s already charging up some sort of spell, although I’m not sure if it’s an attacking spell or some sort of defensive abjuration. It makes me feel a lot better knowing she has my back. Even better knowing that our bond will prevent these sorts of shenanigans between us… I think.

“Stop,” I say, once we’re about ten paces from one another. “Drop the weapon on the ground, then back away with your hands in the air where I can see them.”

Alana— or Alana’s doppelganger, as I’m increasingly convinced— continues to obey. She thrusts her sword into the ground before her, then backs away slowly. Once she’s twenty paces behind the sword, I step forward and take it with my left arm, examining the blade, its weight, the glyphs carved into it, and most notably, the System registration as I move to equip it.

[[Shining Blade]: A weapon forged in the light of purest diamond, designed to repel all the denizens of the darkness. The brilliance of the edge further disorients enemies, increasing one’s agility accordingly. [Attack] +115, [Agility] +10. Attacks deal Light-elemental damage. 20% resistance to Darkness attacks.]

[Warning: You are attempting to equip a second weapon… Conflict with equipped weapon [Mechanical Arm Cannon]. [Cybernetic Body] activates. Some functions of weapon [Mechanical Arm Cannon] will be disabled while using [Shining Blade].]

Interesting information from the secondary notification, but not imminently relevant. The first notification, however, seems like pretty convincing proof to me. But I do have one final question.

“Where did you get this weapon?” I ask.

“You gave it to me,” Alana’s fake answers. “Isn’t that what you said?”

“This isn’t the weapon I gave you,” I say. “Which means you aren’t Alana.”

The creature bellows forth a discordant laugh I can only describe as unnatural. It gurgles, and then its body contorts. Flesh twists and sinew snaps in unnatural ways as the creature dissolves its body, removing itself from its armor and reconstituting into an unnatural facsimile of me. It even manages to mimic my [Mechanical Arm Cannon] and my wings, although the creature’s ripple and contort with the frailty of flesh rather than the stability of metal.

The creature offers no dialogue. Its wings vibrate and thrum like a hummingbird’s as it flies forward. With my new [Shining Blade] in hand, I launch a single upward thrust right as Chloe fires her [Piercing Beam] directly at the monster’s torso. Both of our attacks connect, sending the mass of flesh crumpling to the ground. But there’s been no System notification. And this fight has been too easy.

Sure enough, the creature’s body reconstitutes itself, this time taking the form of Chloe. And unlike before, the creature laughs with a sick imitation of my girlfriend’s giggles.

“Surely, you won’t harm your lover, now would you? Not after what happened earlier.”

“Shield yourself, Chloe,” I message. “I bet this thing is only vulnerable to magic.”

“Got it.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t intentionally harm her. But, the thing is, I’m a screw-up. I make mistakes. I try to treat her well, and sometimes, I fail. Earlier today was a big failure. But the first thing I can do to set things right is to avoid compounding my earlier failure.”

Chloe has already cast [Saintess’s Cloister] upon herself. And I’ve already had a chance to reformulate my glyph array while I’ve been stalling for time. This time, I add in a [Straightness] glyph to prevent any problematic redirection caused by my wings. It’s a bit more taxing on my [Ether] supply, itself sitting around two-thirds of my maximum, but it’s a small sacrifice and well worth tipping a bit more into my reserves.

“And there’s one other factor at play,” I say.

The fake Chloe smirks. “Oh, and what’s that? You’re about to die; I’ll humor your final words.”

“I doubt your flesh is as resistant to lightning as it is to physical attacks.”

I launch my new array. Four bolts of blue-violet lightning flow from my right hand, each flying outward with a crackle of pure power and at the speed of a flash. The creature tries to dissolve its body to parry the attack, but it’s too slow. Especially because the attempt was laughably easy to anticipate, and easy to correct for by adjusting my aim closer to its abdomen than its torso.

The creature screams. It tries to mimic Chloe’s cries of pain from earlier. This, in turn, causes anger to flow through my bond with the real Chloe in both directions. I’m pissed that this creature is trying to use Chloe, defacing her beauty with this wretched facsimile. And Chloe is even angrier, though not at me. She’s angry at how her form is being used in this fashion. She doesn’t like watching it, and I don’t blame her.

As my lightning fades away, Chloe steps in front of me with gritted teeth and narrowed eyes. She raises both hands to her sides. Spell circles glow upon each of her palms, and as she brings them together, I notice that the glyphs within each of them shift slightly as they’re brought together. The two spell circles seem to repel one another, but Chloe simply grimaces further and forces them together through sheer willpower and determination.

The blast of light that follows is a grade above her original [Piercing Beam] spell. Where my attack left the creature’s gelatinous form dazed and convulsing, Chloe’s spell leaves only dust and ash behind.

“Be scoured from this world,” Chloe says, panting as she rests her arms on her legs just above the knees.

[Your party has slain a [Fell Doppelganger (Level 39)]. You have gained a boosted 19,450 Experience.]

[Level: 38; Experience: 722,230; To Next: 7,095]

[Current Stats: [Health]: 4,478 / 4,675; [Ether]: 1,581 / 3,328]

[Current Stats: [Strength]: 72 (Base: 42); [Speed]: 72 (Base: 42); [Vitality]: 139 (Base: 81); [Mind]: 208 (Base: 121)]

And with that, we both sit down to take a small break.