Regression of the Tower's Final Survivor-Chapter 35: The Four of Them

Ren fit in faster than Dante expected, his easy warmth smoothing over the awkwardness of integrating a stranger into their tight-knit group.

The big man made Astrid laugh with terrible jokes that she pretended to hate, listened to Ravenna’s stories about growing up in the Tower with genuine interest, and watched him with the quiet respect of someone who recognized leadership without needing it explained.

"He’s natural," Ravenna observed on their second day together, watching Ren help Astrid adjust her combat stance. "I can see why you were friends in your other life."

"He’s the same person." He didn’t take his eyes off the pair since training started. "Same sense of humor. Same protective instincts. Same terrible taste in jokes."

"That bothers you?" She tilted her head, studying his expression.

"It confuses me because I keep expecting him to reference things that happened between us, moments we shared, and then I remember that none of it happened for him." He crossed his arms, frowning at the pair sparring in the distance. "He’s meeting me for the first time."

Ravenna moved closer, her shoulder brushing his. "That doesn’t make the connection less real. You know who he is. Who he can be. Maybe this time, you can build something even stronger."

"Or I can watch him die again." The words came out harsher than he intended. "Adrian’s betrayal killed him in the original timeline. If I can’t stop it this time..."

"Then we’ll stop it together, all four of us." Her hand found his. "You’re not carrying this alone anymore, remember?"

He squeezed her fingers and drew comfort from the contact. "I remember."

---

Training became their routine over the next three days.

Mornings started with Ren drilling formations with Astrid, the two of them discovering a natural rhythm that surprised everyone. When she charged, he anchored. When she overextended, he covered. Years of experience on his part meshed with raw aggression on hers, creating something that looked almost choreographed.

"Again," Ren called, resetting his shield stance. "But this time, don’t telegraph the spin. I could see it from your shoulder."

"My shoulder is fine." Astrid wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her hand.

"Your shoulder drops three inches before every power move." He demonstrated, exaggerating the motion. "Might as well send a written invitation."

She glared at him, then attacked without the shoulder drop. The strike came faster, cleaner, and Ren’s shield barely caught it in time. His grin spread wide beneath the rim.

"See? You’re a fast learner when you’re angry."

"I’m always angry."

"Then you’ll be unbeatable by Floor 20."

Afternoons belonged to tactics. Ren spread maps and sketches across makeshift tables, walking them through scenarios that covered everything from ambushes to boss encounters. His knowledge of defensive formations complemented Dante’s offensive focus perfectly. Where Dante saw weak points to exploit, Ren saw angles to protect.

"Here." Ren tapped a spot on his latest sketch. "If we’re facing multiple large enemies, we funnel them through this chokepoint. Astrid and I hold the line while you and Ravenna handle ranged support. When they thin out, you slip through for killing blows."

"What if the chokepoint collapses?" Dante leaned forward, studying the layout.

"Then we fall back to position two." Ren marked another spot. "And if that fails, we scatter to predetermined rally points. Never run blind. Always have a place to regroup."

"You’ve thought about this a lot."

"My original party died because we panicked." Ren’s expression flickered with something that might have been grief, there and gone in an instant. "I spent six months learning how to make sure that never happens again."

Evenings were quieter. Ravenna practiced her fire control on the outskirts of camp, the flames dancing between her fingers with growing precision. Sometimes Astrid joined her, offering herself as a moving target for non-lethal practice shots. The two of them developed their own language of combat, communicating through glances and small gestures that didn’t require words.

Dante watched it all, cataloging the changes, noting how the group dynamics shifted with Ren’s presence. The tension that always simmered between Astrid and Ravenna softened when they had someone else to focus on. The silence that used to fill their camps now buzzed with conversation and the occasional burst of laughter.

It felt almost normal, almost like a real team instead of survivors clinging together out of necessity.

’Don’t get comfortable. Comfortable gets you killed.’

But even as he thought it, he couldn’t quite make himself believe it.

---

The night before Floor 9 opened, Ren found him awake.

Dante sat at the edge of their camp with his back against a ruined column, watching the distant shimmer of the floor gate while everyone else slept. His sword rested across his knees and his eyes tracked shadows that weren’t there.

"Mind if I join?" Ren’s voice came soft, pitched not to wake the others.

"Couldn’t sleep?"

"I rarely do." The big man settled beside him with a grunt, his massive frame somehow finding comfort against the cold stone. "Too many years of taking watch shifts. Body forgot how to shut down properly."

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, two men with more history than they could ever explain to each other. The camp fire had burned low, casting long shadows across the ground. Somewhere in the distance, another climbing party’s lights flickered through the darkness.

"Can I ask you something?" Ren kept his voice low.

"Depends on what it is."

"In your other timeline, the one you came back from." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "Were we friends? Real friends, not just party members?"

Dante didn’t answer immediately. The memories surfaced unbidden: Ren pulling him out of a collapsed dungeon. Ren standing between him and an ambush on Floor 45. Ren’s last words as Adrian’s forces closed in.

’Run. I’ll hold them. Go.’

"Yeah." The word came out rougher than he intended. "We were."

"Good." Ren nodded slowly, like something had been confirmed. "I’d been wondering. The way you look at me sometimes, it’s like you’re seeing someone else. Someone you lost."

"I am."

"But I’m still here." Ren turned to face him, his expression serious in the dim light. "Whatever happened in that other timeline, it doesn’t have to happen again. You know what’s coming. You can change it."

"That’s the plan."

"Then stop looking at me like I’m already dead." There was no anger in the words, just gentle reproach. "I’m not. And I don’t intend to be. Not for a long time."

Dante met his eyes, saw the determination there, and felt something loosen in his chest that he didn’t know was tight.

"You always were too stubborn to die easy."

"Damn right." Ren grinned, the serious moment breaking like ice in spring. "Now get some sleep. Floor 9 opens in six hours and I’ve heard it’s hot as hell. Literally."

"I’ll rest when I can."

"That’s not a yes."

"It’s the best you’re getting."

Ren shook his head but didn’t push further. He settled back against the column, close enough that their shoulders almost touched, and closed his eyes. Within minutes his breathing evened out into sleep, the easy rest of someone who trusted his surroundings completely.

Dante stayed awake, watching the gate shimmer in the darkness and thinking about the friend he lost and the friend he might keep. Tomorrow would bring fire and monsters and all the familiar challenges of climbing, but tonight he had something he hadn’t had in a long time.

Hope.

---

The Floor 8 to Floor 9 gate opened at dawn.

They gathered before the shimmering portal with their gear checked and their formation established. Ravenna stood close to him, their connection visible in the easy way they moved together. Astrid prowled the perimeter with barely contained energy, and Ren stood solid and calm with his massive shield already in hand.

"Any last words of wisdom?" Astrid asked, bouncing on her heels. "Before we dive into whatever fresh hell awaits?"

"Floor 9 is volcanic, with extreme heat, lava flows, and fire-based enemies." He checked his equipment one final time. "Good news: Ravenna will thrive. Her Hellfire and demonic heritage make her resistant to heat damage."

Ravenna’s eyes widened with surprise and excitement. "I get to be useful?"

"More than useful. You’re our primary offensive capability for this floor." He turned to face her fully. "The monsters here are vulnerable to fire. Your Hellfire should tear through them like paper." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"What about the rest of us?" Ren shifted his shield, adjusting straps. "We don’t have fire resistance."

"I have consumables that help. Heat resistance potions and cooling enchantments." He pulled several vials from his pack and distributed them. "They won’t make you comfortable, but they’ll keep you alive."

They performed final gear checks as the gate pulsed with readiness. Other climbing parties were gathering at nearby portals, preparing for their own descents into Floor 9’s volcanic depths.

"Ready?" He looked at each of them in turn.

Ren nodded, shield raised.

Astrid cracked her knuckles and grinned.

Ravenna squeezed his hand once, then let go.

"Then let’s move."

They stepped through the gate together, four people who became a team in the space of days, ready to face whatever the Tower threw at them next.

The heat that waited on the other side would test all of them. But for the first time since the regression began, Dante wasn’t facing it alone.