“I’ve got something that might work,” Dario said, moving past Nika to secure his vine pouch in between the top layer of rocks. Then he focused, slowly guiding the plant Ki he’d been building up all this time through his seams and out from his belly button. A drop of sweat rolled down his temple as he tried to push it into the vine sprout without help, but about halfway through the green energy began to have a mind of its own, curling up and around itself instead of connecting to the sprout. So he used a bit of light Ki to lure it along through the air, until it connected and flowed into the little vine he’d been cultivating. Once the connection was there, it held, so that he could feed a steady flow of plant Ki into the vine.

  Nika’s eyebrows lifted as the vine grew, its roots spreading through cracks in the tower, its stem thickening to hold its weight. Tiny rays of light broke through the pile of rubble above which the vine seemed to sense, reaching for it. Dario had to pause for a moment, drawing fresh Ki from another plant he'd brought which withered slightly as he did so, before restarting the process of pushing it all into the single vine.

  The vine went up and up until its tip broke through the rubble. Both of them held their breath as the rubble shifted, but luckily, it held. The tip of the vine moved out of sight even as the base widened further. Dario still fed it more Ki, until a solid testing tug barely moved it. He leaned against the vine with one arm, flashing Nika a proud grin.

  “This is what you were preparing, during your many long breaks," she said, looking thoughtful as she paused briefly. "I have done you injustice, thinking you slothful. Please accept my apologies,” Nika said as she put her hands to her sides and bowed.

  Dario just waved it off as he admired the thick stalk. “Pretty cool, huh? Let’s give this thing a test ride.”

  After another few firm shakes, he carefully pulled himself up, clenching his feet against its surprisingly sturdy bark. Somewhat to his surprise, the vine held strong even with his full weight on it. It must have already properly attached itself to some of the rocks above.

  But the closer he came to the pile of debris above, the more his suspicion grew. His eyes could see it clearly, but his mind wasn’t yet ready to accept it. His heart hammered with anticipation as he crept closer to the shimmering layer before the stones. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to be proven right or wrong. If he was wrong, they could start making their way out of here, but if he was right…

  Covered by darkness and rubble, it had been hard to make out, but he knew that nearly-transparent hue of light blue well, having spent so much of his time in his hammock staring up at it.

  When he was finally high enough, a shaky hand reached slowly up and touched… crystal.

  Dario took in a slow gasp, a shiver running through his spine that spread goosebumps all over his skin.

  “It’s true. I can’t believe it, but it’s true,” he breathed as his fingers ran across the smooth, unyielding crystal surface.

  It went against everything he knew about Tenjou, but then he didn't know a whole lot and there was only one possible reason his vine could pass where his hand could not. There was only one thing in this world that blocked people while letting objects through.

  This was a Mon. They hadn’t fallen into a cavern.

  They’d fallen into a lower floor.

  ***

  The pudgy young man had been up there for a while, yet the veil of darkness prevented her from seeing what he was doing. After the rustling and grunting of his climb, there had only been gasps and whispers without much movement. Time to check in - patience was an important virtue, but in excess it would lead to idleness.

  “What seems to be the problem?” she called out.

  He murmured something she couldn’t quite make out, but before she could follow up, he came sliding down the vine, once again close enough for her to see. He was a bit clumsy in coming down, pressing himself too close to the vine. Her eyes stuck on where his plump belly folded around the plant and once again she wondered what to make of the man.

  Without doubt, the folds of fat were a sign of sloth, yet at the same time, he displayed an extraordinarily fine control over Ki. Unless she had it wrong, he’d just taught himself to cultivate with plant Ki in only a day or two. Her knowledge of plant aura was limited, but she was sure it would take the average cultivator far longer than that.

  She frowned as he landed silently, his eyes never leaving the ceiling above. It was clear that something had rattled him.

  “It’s a Mon,” he breathed absently.

  “Pardon me?”

  She must have misheard. He might as well have said that Tenjin himself had appeared in the flesh and was having a tea party up there.

  His gaze finally moved down to meet her eyes. He seemed unusually serious as he took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

  “It’s a Mon,” he repeated, this time more firmly. “I, no, we, can’t pass through, because we haven’t met the requirement.”

  “Have you taken leave of your senses? That’s impossible,” she said, frowning. Had he eaten some strange medicine that was affecting his brain? He had been acting strange before, when she’d lost her seeker.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “I’m aware,” Dario sighed, generating a small orb of light that floated up along the vine towards the ceiling. Nika took the unspoken invitation, making sure to test the plant thoroughly before pulling herself up. She reached a hand up, intending to test the stability of the pile of collapsed spires, but it bumped into a smooth surface.

  Nika stiffened, eyes narrowing, only now seeing the cerulean sheen that stretched out as a nearly-invisible layer before the rubble began. She poked at it, then ran her palm along the smooth surface. Indeed, this matched her memory of a Mon, yet it simply couldn’t be one.

  In that moment, a sliver of doubt wormed its way into Veronika Houjo’s mind.

  She moved her hands faster along the crystal, searching for a gap or a crack, any indication that this was not, in fact, a Mon. Her poking turned into frantic stabs, then a few quick Ki-fortified jabs. Nika then concentrated, running her Ki through the material, trying to feel it out for aura - it might be some type of mineral that imitated the inert crystal which formed the skeleton of their world.

  Nothing. Yet, it was impossible.

  The sliver of doubt dug deeper, driving a slight crack in her understanding of the world. For the first time, that wall of steely certainty, as indomitable as the endless layers of granite and corundum of the Houjo mines, formed a single slit.

  Uncertainty turned into cold fear, which gave way to shaky panic. The unfamiliar feelings shook her to her core. Her fingers clenched around the vine until she felt it begin to tear. She had to force herself to loosen her grip, closing her eyes, focusing on her breathing.

  This is but a weakness of body and mind. It must be overcome. Mere information cannot harm me. Turn to the virtues. To correctly confront shocking information requires temperance and courage, not foolhardiness.

  She held on to those virtues like a lifeline, until the budding panic receded and calm clarity once again took hold of her.

  Before her, there was evidence that conflicted with prior knowledge. Either her senses were deceiving her, or the knowledge needed to be adjusted. That was all there was to it.

  The present evidence, confirmed by three senses - sight, touch and Ki - suggested that there was, somehow, a hidden floor to Tenjou, presumably lost to time. Instead of seven, there would be eight. An upwards adjustment of fourteen point two percent, some might say. Unexpected, to be sure, yet perhaps not impossible.

  So then, what other evidence was there, to suggest that there should be only seven floors?

  Why, only every single book or treatise she had ever read on the matter. From the same authors that had taught her everything she knew, not just of Tenjou, but in some cases even of how to lead a virtuous life. Then there were the words of the Pillarbound Monks, those revered keepers of ancient knowledge, whose sermons she had often enjoyed. Not to forget, there were also the manifold tutors of the Houjo clan.

  Finally, there was her father, who had taught her the famous rhyme of the floors himself when she was younger.

  In other words, everything she'd ever been taught, by people she either loved, revered or respected. Theoretically, it might be possible for all those people to have been wrong. Perhaps they were just repeating untested knowledge of other figures of authority. Possibly, they could have been drawing from a single, incorrect source. Such things had been known to happen before.

  But that would mean that they were wrong. That her father had been wrong. That he had uttered falsities. In other words, that he might be considered a liar.

  When she thought of it that way, it made her a tad angry.

  ***

  Dario couldn’t keep still, going from grabbing at his hair to shaking his head and laughing, to gazing out into the darkness as if he was surveying these lost lands, though he could only see walls of stone. He hadn’t felt this giddy since the first time he’d found an actually valuable artefact while trash-diving in the Belt.

  Clearly, wonders still existed in Tenjou, and not just on the upper floors. The fact that it was possible to basically take a stroll down the wrong tunnel and end up in a new world was just… magical. What other discoveries might be out there, waiting for someone to stumble upon them? He couldn’t wait to find out.

  If this was a whole other floor… Well, there were a bunch of questions bouncing around his head, but it felt almost overwhelming to think through them. He just wanted to move, to somehow break through those walls and see what kind of crazy stuff might be out here.

  A sound from above drew his attention. Nika had been up there for a while, but then, so had he. She’d been poking at the ceiling for a while, even throwing some punches, but since then she’d barely moved. When he took a closer look, he noticed that her usually calm and solid Ki seemed a bit… wild. In fact, it looked like it was growing, spreading to her limbs as if she was readying for a fight.

  “Nik- err, I mean, Miss Houjo? Everything alright up there?”

  The only thing he heard through the silence was heavy breathing, followed by what he thought might be a growl. Dario took a step back as he saw that her Ki began to move even more wildly then, crashing through her seams like an avalanche.

  “A liar?” she growled suddenly, “we’ll see who’s made of lies!”

  When the Ki streamed to her fist, coating it like a sledgehammer, he decided a bit more distance was probably a good idea. He looked up with concern as she readied herself, then he began to climb down. Nika pounded at the crystal, each blow sounding strangely mute as the indestructible ceiling easily absorbed them. His controlled climb down turned into more of a rush, nearly slipping and falling, as Nika began to punch up with even more speed and strength.

  “You. Are. Fake!” she screamed, punctuating each word with a devastating punch. But the Mon, of course, never budged. She struck harder, slipping and dropping down but managing to hang on by an arm before swinging herself up again to slam her heel into the ceiling.

  “Noo! Viney!” he called out as her violent moves tore his beloved plant apart. But there was no time to pause, so he continued to scramble down the spire. After another strike at the ceiling, Nika crashed down onto the top platform, making the whole construction wobble ominously.

  Dario jumped and rolled to the ground as Nika leapt up, surrounded in her dark-grey Ki. The force of her jump was enough to push slabs of chalk off the top and he was forced to dodge as they came tumbling down the tower.

  “Lies!”

  The whole top section came off as Nika roared, exploding up and striking again with an explosion of Ki, but once again, she was repelled. When she slammed down into the tower this time, it finally began to collapse. Dario ran as the top half came thundering down to the ground, slabs of stone shattering upon impact.

  After the initial deafening avalanche, there were still sounds of grinding and shifting stones for a while until the whole pile settled. The silence felt strangely uncomfortable after all that violent noise. Dario scratched his head and let out a sigh as he took in the tower they’d been building for nearly two days, now reduced to a pile of scattered rubble.

  “Guess she didn’t take it so well.”