When the brilliance faded…

Achilles found himself standing in a garden.

Not another evaluation floor with forests or mountains designed to test candidates through environmental challenges. This was an actual garden…a cultivated space where vegetation grew according to careful design rather than natural distribution.

The plants filling this domain shone with green-gold radiance that suggested they weren't ordinary specimens but carefully nurtured treasures. Unfathomably potent fruits hung from branches that pulsed with concentrated authority…each one radiating enough power that consuming it might elevate an entire cultivation base by multiple tiers.

Herbs grew in organized sections, their colors spanning spectrum from brilliant gold to deep crimson to pure verdant green. The ambient authority emanating from these specimens suggested they were Sacred Life Herbs…the exact resources Xar'vantheon had mentioned coveting, treasures worth substantial Living Contribution Points.

And in the middle of such magnificent cultivation…

Sat the visage of a woman whose presence dominated perception despite her relaxed posture.

Her figure was devilishly gorgeous in ways that transcended simple physical beauty. Every curve, every line of her form suggested deliberate perfection…as if someone had decided to craft the ideal embodiment of vital allure and succeeded beyond reasonable expectations.

She wore a radiant verdant dress that seemed woven from living light rather than fabric. The material moved with her breathing, pulsing with the same rhythm as the plants surrounding her, synchronized with the garden's fundamental life force.

Her hair cascaded down her back in verdant waves that held luminescence suggesting they contained concentrated Living Existential Authority compressed into each strand. Fair white skin contrasted dramatically with this brilliant coloration, creating visual impact that made her immediately unforgettable.

But what drew Achilles's sharpest attention were the horns rising from her head.

Two magnificent protrusions that he would have associated with demonic entities in conventional mythology. Yet these horns didn't carry any sense of corruption or malevolence…they shone with brilliant verdant hue that pulsed with unmistakable power, radiating authority that marked them as crowning achievements rather than cursed growths.

Her expression held a devilish smile as she looked toward Achilles. Her gaze carried sharp light that suggested she was evaluating him with perception that penetrated far deeper than surface observation.

Then she spoke.

"You ridiculous thing."

Her voice was melodious yet carried edge.

Amusement mixed with exasperation colored her tone, as if she found his very presence both entertaining and problematic in equal measure.

"There is something called being exceptional. Demonstrating capability that earns recognition and establishes your worth among peers." She gestured with one hand, the motion elegant yet carrying implications of cosmic authority. "And then there is what you just did."

She paused, her devilish smile widening.

"Like, what the hell? If you wanted to show off, you could have at least done it moderately. Look at how those at the top of the rankings progressed…they took minutes or hours to cross each floor, setting records that stood for years or decades."

Her tone shifted toward something approaching incredulity.

"You could have simply chosen to beat them by a few seconds or a few minutes. Impressive achievements that would establish you as exceptional without being absolutely absurd." She shook her head. "Not the ridiculousness where you cross each floor even faster every time. Where it takes you literal seconds while it took others minutes and hours."

She leaned forward slightly, her gaze intensifying.

"Why did you do something so ridiculous?"

...!

This devilishly gorgeous woman delivered such words to Achilles with a tone that combined genuine curiosity and clear frustration.

When he looked at her directly, meeting that sharp gaze with his own enhanced perception, he felt immense weight of power pressing against his consciousness.

Regardless of all the newfound capability and brilliance he'd just obtained, regardless of his transformation into a genuine Living Life with all its associated boons...

This entity could crush it all with a press of her fingers.

The certainty was absolute.

She sighed woefully, as if his very existence presented complications she'd been hoping to avoid.

Achilles looked at her with appropriate caution.

"Who are you?"

The question was delivered with calm directness that avoided both excessive deference and inappropriate familiarity.

The devilish woman blinked at his inquiry. For a moment, surprise flickered across her gorgeous features…as if she found his lack of recognition somehow unexpected or noteworthy.

Then she rose from the verdant-gold lotuses surrounding her sitting position. The motion was fluid, graceful, each movement suggesting perfect control over existence that operated according to her preferences.

"I am the one who just saved you."

Her tone carried absolute certainty about this declaration.

"Whisked you away from entering the eleventh floor of the Tower. Prevented you from emerging back at the base to bask in the brilliance of your achievements in front of everyone currently observing the Observation Pillar."

She crossed her arms beneath her chest, expression shifting toward something more serious.

"Because there are people who are bright. Who show exceptional inclination toward the Primordial Civilization of Life through impressive but reasonable achievements." Her verdant eyes blazed with emphasis. "And then there is whatever the hell you just did."

She stepped closer, her presence intensifying.

"What you just accomplished is enough for the veiled spies of The Primordial Civilization of Necrocracy…entities currently hidden within this very Sanctuary despite all our security measures, to lock their eyes on you. To treat their own lives as nothing for the sake of assassinating you before you can develop further."

...!

Achilles's eyes turned sharp as he heard such terrifying words.

There was the Primordial Civilization of Life…the organization whose Testing Grounds he'd infiltrated, whose evaluation Tower he'd just dominated with unprecedented performance.

And now... there was also The Primordial Civilization of Necrocracy?

A counterpart organization whose very name suggested opposition to everything Life represented. Death where Life cultivated vitality, collapse where Life promoted growth, ending where Life pursued continuation.

And even though this was a Sanctuary of Life, filled with tens of thousands of lifeforms radiating immense waves of health and vitality, populated exclusively by beings who'd proven their compatibility with Living Existential Authority...

There were actually members of this opposing Civilization veiled and hidden within this place?

Spies who had infiltrated so deeply that even the Sanctuary's security systems couldn't root them out?

He shook his head at the incredulity of this information.

Ahead of him, the devilishly gorgeous woman with radiant verdant horns rose entirely from her seated position. She looked at him closely with expression that had shifted from amused exasperation toward genuine seriousness…evaluating him with scrutiny that suggested she was making critical decisions about how to handle his unexpected presence.

"I am Mycelle."

"A member of the Primordial Civilization of Life, and the Overseer of this Sanctuary of Life."

...!

The title struck with implications that immediately clarified why her power felt so overwhelming.

She wasn't just another elevated Living Life or even an exceptionally powerful Duke. She was the administrative authority over this entire domain…someone entrusted with maintaining one of the Civilization's Testing Grounds.

Her devilish smile returned, though it now carried edges of dangerous amusement.

"You, Achilles Adrastia, can thank the fuck out of me later." Her tone was simultaneously casual and commanding. "For now... let's have a look at you."

…!

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