The moment Daniel stepped onto the third floor, the first thing he felt was silence, not a calm silence, but one that sat on his shoulders like a heavy weight.
There was no wind here, no echoing sound. Even his own heartbeat felt slower.
The ground was made of black, polished stone, but deep within it there were cracks where a cold, silver light leaked out. It was a light with no life and no death... only persistence.
There was no ceiling. Above him stretched an endless dome that kept replaying repeating scenes of birth, collapse, destruction, and reconstruction.
At the center of this space stood the guardian. When Daniel’s eyes landed on it, he was surprised, almost shocked, and found it interesting.
The reason for his shock was the guardian’s form.
It was neither a monster nor a human. Its body was made of layers of gray-silver energy that constantly eroded and then repaired themselves.
It was as if time affected it, but could never finish its work. Its face was unclear; every time Daniel focused on it, the facial lines shifted slightly, like an image reflected on moving water.
The only thing that stayed the same was its gaze: empty of anger, empty of emotion.
This was the first time Daniel had seen a creature like this. It was not the strangest being he had ever seen, but it was certainly one of the strangest.
Even more interesting was that he could feel dense eternity power coming from it. From every part of its existence, the power of eternity was leaking out.
What surprised him was that this floor seemed different from the previous two. It looked like all he had to do here was kill this creature.
But was it really that simple? He was not stupid enough to think things would be that easy.
Daniel took a deep breath and moved forward without saying a word.
He threw the first attack with a punch.
Death energy wrapped around his fist, a dark aura that even corrupted the surrounding space. The punch hit the guardian’s chest with an explosion-like sound.
The guardian’s body cracked, its energy scattered, and in less than a second it completely collapsed. There was no special resistance. No scream. No struggle. It was killed with a single punch.
"That’s it?" Daniel frowned. This was even easier than he expected. It died from just one simple punch.
But before he could even take another step, silver light erupted from the ground. The particles that had scattered a moment ago were pulled together like magnets, and the guardian was rebuilt.
It stood in front of him again, completely intact. Daniel frowned slightly and prepared to attack again. However, when he activated death energy once more, he felt as if his fist was hitting empty space.
The second strike had no effect. His punch hit the creature, but it did not leave even a scratch.
"What?" His frown deepened. For a moment, he thought he had seen it wrong. The punch that killed it moments ago now did nothing?
"If that doesn’t work, then..." Daniel immediately activated the law of lightning. Black lightning fell from the ceiling-less sky and completely swallowed the guardian.
The ground cracked, the silver light dimmed, and the guardian’s body was destroyed for the second time.
But again...
It returned.
This time, when lightning formed around the guardian, it seemed to merge into its body. Its energy pattern had changed. Lightning was no longer its enemy.
"..."
"So every time it dies, it becomes immune to the way it died?" Daniel murmured to himself based on his observations. It was not hard to figure out what this creature’s ability was.
But if that was the case, how was he supposed to kill it and clear this floor? Was there even a way to clear this floor at all?
Of course, there had to be one. Naturally, this floor also had its own rule, and he had to find it. Still, he regretted thinking this floor would be easier than the previous two.
He attacked again.
This time, nonstop.
Each time, the guardian died. And each time, it came back.
And every time it returned, it did not lose anything, it gained something. Its body became more stable, its presence heavier, and most importantly, its immunity became more precise.
Not in general, but exactly against the method Daniel had used.
Daniel stood in the middle of the field, his breathing slightly heavier, his eyes narrowed. He was no longer just fighting; he was observing.
The guardian’s movements, its reconstruction pattern, the way it used eternity not as "meaningless return," but as a responding law. As if each death was only a question... and the return was the answer.
"Can the law of eternity really be used like this?" he murmured. As strange as this ability was, it was truly one of the best abilities possible.
But to reach such a level of the law of eternity, his understanding of it would likely need to reach the highest possible point, a level that probably only a Prophet had reached.
Still, that alone was enough to give him even more motivation to fully master the law of eternity.
He continued attacking.
Eighth death.
Ninth.
Tenth.
On the tenth return, the guardian did not even take a step back. Daniel’s punch hit its body, and the result was the same as before.
For the first time, Daniel stepped back.
His gaze locked onto the guardian, his mind working at full speed.
"I’m killing it... but I’m not ending anything."
"This creature doesn’t die because it’s not meant to die. How do you kill eternity?"
"And why isn’t it attacking at all? Does it plan to just watch until the end?"
"Is there even a way to kill this guardian? And more importantly... is killing it really what this floor wants from me?"
Before he could reach an answer, the creature moved for the first time.
It took a step toward him.