Regression of the Tower's Final Survivor-Chapter 34: Ren Katsuro

The Drowned King fell at sunset, his ancient body crumbling to nothing under the weight of their combined assault.

Dante stood over the creature’s dissolving corpse, his sword still buried in what was its chest, and the throne room lay in ruins around them with ancient stonework shattered by the violence of their battle. Water flooded across the floor from broken pipes and ruptured walls, mixing with the dark ichor that seeped from the King’s remains.

[Drowned King slain]

[Hidden dungeon complete: The Drowned Throne]

[System points: +5000]

[Reward: Water breathing (permanent enhancement)]

[Reward: Skill stone (Aquatic Combat)]

[Administrator attention: Level 9]

"We did it." Ravenna’s voice was hoarse from shouting commands during the fight, and she leaned against a shattered pillar to catch her breath. Her Hellfire burned hotter than ever before, the black-edged flames consuming the King’s spectral minions while Dante and Astrid focused on the monarch himself. "We actually did it."

Astrid laughed, a sound of pure exhaustion mixed with triumph, and she was covered in wounds that would take days to fully heal. But she was standing, which was more than anyone could say for the King.

"Three of us against an extreme-difficulty dungeon boss." She spat a mouthful of blood onto the flooded floor and grinned. "The system can shove its recommendations."

He pulled his blade free and let the King’s body finish dissolving. The fight was brutal, worse than he remembered from the original timeline, and the King adapted to their tactics, deploying his trident and water manipulation in ways that suggested actual intelligence rather than just programmed responses.

’He was learning during the fight, getting smarter, and that didn’t happen before.’ He filed that observation away for later analysis. Right now, they needed to collect their rewards and get out before the dungeon collapsed around them.

---

The exit portal deposited them back in the main camp just as the floor’s artificial night was beginning, and they limped toward their alcove drawing stares from other climbers who could see the blood and exhaustion carved into their faces.

Word would spread quickly: the three-person party cleared the hidden dungeon. Questions would follow. Attention they didn’t need. But that was a problem for tomorrow, and tonight they just needed to rest.

He collapsed onto his bedroll without even removing his armor, the weight of battle exhaustion finally overwhelming his ability to stay upright. Ravenna curled against his side, too tired to maintain any pretense of propriety, while Astrid took first watch though her eyes were already drooping.

He slept without dreams for the first time in weeks, and when he woke the sun was streaming through the water above.

---

The massive man appeared the next morning while they were eating breakfast, his shadow falling across their camp like a small eclipse.

He was easily two meters tall and built like someone stacked boulders in the shape of a human, with dark skin, broad shoulders, and a smile that seemed too warm for someone carrying a shield that could double as a small table.

"Dante Graves?" His voice was deep and surprisingly gentle.

He looked up from the breakfast he was forcing himself to eat, assessing the stranger with the automatic wariness of someone who was ambushed too many times. "Who’s asking?"

"Ren Katsuro." The man gave a slight bow, formal but not obsequious. "I’ve been watching your climb since Floor 5. Impressive work with the Sky Serpent. Even more impressive that you cleared the Drowned King’s dungeon with just three people."

"We had good teamwork." He set down his food and rose to his feet, not liking the height disadvantage.

"You had more than that, you had knowledge." Ren’s eyes were sharp despite his friendly demeanor. "The way you navigate floors, the way you anticipate threats before they appear. It’s not luck or skill alone. It’s something else."

Astrid moved to stand beside him, her posture shifting into something more aggressive as her hands curled into fists. "You here to interrogate us, or is there a point to this?"

"The point is this: I want to join your party." Ren spread his hands, palms up, the gesture open and non-threatening.

Silence fell over their camp, and Ravenna looked up from the supplies she was organizing with a thoughtful expression. Astrid’s aggression didn’t fade, but confusion joined it. He felt his chest tighten with a complicated mix of emotions that he wasn’t expecting.

In the original timeline, Ren Katsuro was his best friend, the tank who kept him alive through dozens of battles, the calm presence that balanced his intensity. They climbed together for three years, and when Ren died on Floor 52, part of him died with him.

Now here he was, alive and well and asking to join them, with no idea of the history they shared in a timeline that no longer existed. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Why us?" He managed to ask, his voice steadier than he felt.

"Because you’re going somewhere." Ren’s smile faded into something more serious. "I’ve watched a lot of parties form and break apart on the lower floors. Most of them are climbing for glory or wealth or escape. You’re climbing for something else. Something bigger."

"What makes you think that?" He crossed his arms, studying Ren’s face for any sign of deception.

"The way you look at people, the way you prepare for threats that haven’t manifested yet, the way your companions follow you without hesitation." Ren sat down uninvited, his bulk making the gesture seem somehow natural rather than intrusive. "I’ve been looking for a team that actually has a chance. Two months of searching, and you’re the first one that feels right."

"We barely know you." Astrid’s tone was flat, unimpressed.

"Then let me prove myself." Ren spread his hands again, palms up. "Give me one floor. One dungeon. Whatever test you want. If I don’t measure up, I’ll walk away without complaint."

Astrid crossed her arms and fixed him with a stare that made most people flinch. "Pretty confident for someone asking to join."

"I’m confident because I’m good at what I do." He met her eyes without backing down, and something like respect flickered across Astrid’s face. "Tank specialist. Shield focus. I can hold a line against anything this Tower throws at us, and I’ve got the scars to prove it."

He studied the man who was his closest friend in another life. Ren looked the same, sounded the same, and carried himself with the same quiet confidence that he remembered. But this was a different timeline. This Ren never fought beside him, never saved his life, never died screaming while Adrian’s betrayal unfolded around them.

’He’s still Ren, but he doesn’t know what we went through together, what we’ll go through if I let him stay.’

"What’s your Path?" He asked, buying time to think.

"Iron Fortress, defensive specialization with some crowd control elements." Ren pulled up his status window and turned it so they could see. "Level 32 right now. Stage 3 breakthrough. Nothing flashy, but I don’t go down easy."

The numbers were good, better than good actually, and Ren was pushing himself hard with stats that reflected it.

"One floor," he said finally, making the decision before he could second-guess it. "Floor 9 is supposed to be volcanic. Perfect environment for testing a tank’s limits."

"Works for me." Ren stood and offered his hand. "You won’t regret this, Dante Graves."

He took the hand and shook it, feeling the callused grip of someone who spent years holding a shield. "Welcome to the team."

---

Ravenna pulled him aside after Ren left to gather his things, concern evident in her eyes.

"You looked at him like you knew him." Her voice was soft, careful. "Like you were seeing a ghost."

"In a way, I was." He leaned against the alcove wall, exhaustion still heavy in his bones. "In my original timeline, Ren was my best friend. We climbed together for three years. He died on Floor 52, killed during Adrian’s betrayal."

"And now he’s here, alive." She moved closer, her hand finding his arm.

"Alive and asking to join us." He closed his eyes. "I watched him die, Ravenna. I held him while the light faded from his eyes, and I couldn’t do anything to save him. Now I have a second chance."

"But he doesn’t remember any of that." She squeezed his arm gently.

"No, to him I’m just a stranger he wants to fight alongside." He opened his eyes and met her gaze. "All that history, all that friendship, it only exists in my head. Is it wrong that I want to keep him close? Even if it means watching the bond form all over again?"

Ravenna moved closer and took his hand, lacing their fingers together. "It’s not wrong. It’s human. You’re allowed to want the people you lost back."

"I can’t lose him again, not this time." His grip tightened on her hand.

"Then we’ll protect him together, all of us." She squeezed back. "Astrid’s already sizing him up for combat compatibility. By the time we reach Floor 9, she’ll probably have run him through a dozen training drills."

Despite everything, he laughed. "She does that with everyone."

"She did it with me, for three days straight." Ravenna’s smile was warm. "I hated every minute. Best training I ever had."

They stood together in the dim light of their alcove, and he felt something loosen in his chest as the weight of the past grew a little lighter.

Ren was back, not the same Ren but close enough, and maybe this timeline could be different after all.