By the third section, the "Green Gaze," the air grew thin. Giant rotating fans threatened to swat him into the void. Kael timed his sprint, sliding under a spinning blade with an inch to spare. To his left, a girl in a pink visor mistimed her jump. She didn’t scream as she fell; she simply dissolved into a cloud of pixels before hitting the ground.
He leaped for the penultimate platform. It tilted precariously. Kael’s foot slipped. He dangled by his fingertips, looking down at the miles of neon death below. With a guttural roar, he swung his body, using the momentum to vault onto the final translucent stair. Tower of Hell
The final stretch was the "Shadow Peak." The gravity felt heavier here. The platforms were tiny—mere pins in a map of chaos. His vision blurred from the strobe lights of the tower. He could see the Golden Halo glowing at the very top, just two jumps away. By the third section, the "Green Gaze," the air grew thin
He was back in the lobby. His name glowed at the top of the leaderboard. He looked up at the tower, which had already shifted its colors to a sickening purple and lime green. Kael wiped the sweat from his brow, cracked his knuckles, and stepped back onto the first platform. To his left, a girl in a pink visor mistimed her jump
He reached the "Crimson Corridor." This was the halfway point. The walls were lined with static lasers that flickered on and off in a deadly pattern. Kael closed his eyes for a second, memorizing the rhythm. Beep. Beep. Gap. He lunged. The heat from the beams singed his jacket, but he broke through to the other side.