The dragon’s name was Tharaxis, and it had been awake for the entire century it spent guarding the princess.

"The runes require consciousness," Tharaxis explained, shifting to let us examine the chains more closely. "If I sleep, the seal weakens. The briars creep in." It gestured with one massive claw toward the thorns that had begun growing over the chains. "As you can see, even waking vigilance is barely enough."

I studied the runes. They were old magic, the kind that predated the Tower’s current system. "These need to be recharged. They’re running on residual mana from a century ago."

"Correct," Tharaxis said. "The king’s court mages are long dead. The kingdom is long dead. Only I remain, and my mana is incompatible with human enchantments."

Ha-neul was scribbling notes in her interface. "So we need to recharge ancient binding runes while avoiding an entire forest of hostile plant monsters, and if we fail, a parasitic hive-mind princess wakes up and kills everyone. This is fine. Everything is fine."

"There’s another option," I said quietly.

Everyone looked at me.

"We kill her while she sleeps. Permanently. End the hive-mind at its source."

Tharaxis’s eye fixed on me. "You would commit regicide? Strike down a defenseless woman in her bed?"

"I would prevent an apocalypse," I said. "The question is: would you let me?"

The dragon was silent for a long moment. "The king... my old friend... he could not bring himself to kill his daughter. Even when the transformation began, even when she murdered half the court and turned them into her garden, he could not raise a blade against her. So he begged me to seal her instead. To preserve her in eternal sleep, hoping that someday, someone would find a cure." Tharaxis’s voice grew heavy. "There is no cure. There is only containment or annihilation."

"So which do we choose?" Sang-ho asked.

Before I could answer, the system chimed in with its own opinion.

『**Hidden Quest Discovered: The Dragon’s Bargain**』

『**Option A: Reinforce the Seal - Restore the binding runes. Reward: Moderate EXP, Title: [Warden’s Ally]**』

『**Option B: Mercy’s End - Assassinate the princess. Reward: High EXP, Legendary Item, Title: [Kinslayer]**』

『**Warning: Option B will generate permanent antagonistic relationships with certain Constellations.**』

"Kinslayer," Ji-won read aloud. "That’s... that’s not a title I want following me around."

"But the rewards are better," Seol-ah pointed out. She wasn’t being callous, just pragmatic. "Legendary items are rare even in the higher floors."

I looked at the system window, then at Tharaxis. "If we reinforce the seal, how long will it last?"

"Another century, perhaps two if you do excellent work," Tharaxis said.

"And then?"

"And then it fails, and whoever is climbing the Tower at that time will face the same choice."

I made my decision. "We reinforce the seal. We’re not executioners."

Ji-won let out a breath he’d been holding. "Thank god. I really didn’t want ’Kinslayer’ on my status sheet."

"Plus," I added, "killing a sleeping woman feels like something the Tower *wants* us to struggle with morally. I’m not giving it the satisfaction."

Tharaxis made a sound that might have been approval. "Very well. The runes require mana with a human resonance. You will need to channel your power directly into the chains."

"All of us?" Ha-neul asked.

"All of you. And you will need to maintain the channel for one full hour while I speak the words of binding."

"An hour?" Sang-ho looked nervous. "The briar-knights will attack. The golems will—"

"I will handle the forest," Tharaxis said. "You handle the magic. Agreed?"

We agreed.

The ritual began at dusk. We positioned ourselves around Tharaxis’s massive form, each of us placing our hands on a different section of chain. The metal was ice-cold and thrummed with ancient power. Tharaxis began to chant in a language that predated human speech, and we channeled our mana into the runes.

It was exhausting. My mana circuits, still damaged from the Peanut Singularity, screamed in protest. I could feel the magic being drawn out of me like water through a siphon. Beside me, Seol-ah was gritting her teeth, sweat pouring down her face. Ji-won’s hands were shaking. Sang-ho was praying under his breath.

The forest noticed what we were doing.

The thorns began to writhe. The entire cavern shook as roots burst through the stone floor, reaching for us. Tharaxis roared, and a wave of golden fire erupted from its maw, incinerating the vegetation. The dragon fought like a whirlwind of scales and flame, keeping the hive-mind at bay while we worked.

Thirty minutes in, Ha-neul collapsed. "I’m out," she gasped. "My mana pool is empty."

"Mine too," Seol-ah said, pulling her hands away from the chain. "I can’t give any more."

That left me, Ji-won, and Sang-ho. We pushed harder, our combined mana barely enough to keep the runes glowing. The drain was incredible. I felt like I was bleeding light.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Tharaxis spoke the final word of the binding. The runes blazed with brilliant white light, and the chains contracted, reinforcing the seal with a thunderous clang.

The forest screamed. It was a psychic shriek that drove needles into our minds. Then, abruptly, it fell silent.

『**Hidden Quest Complete: The Dragon’s Bargain**』

『**Option A Selected: Reinforce the Seal**』

『**Reward: EXP +15,000, Title: [Warden’s Ally], Item: [Dragon’s Promise Ring]**』

『**The seal will hold for 200 years.**』

We collapsed onto the cavern floor, completely drained. Tharaxis looked down at us with something approaching fondness.

"You have my gratitude, little morsels. The princess will sleep, and this world will continue to exist."

"Great," Ji-won wheezed. "Can we leave now?"

"There is one small complication," Tharaxis said.

Of course there was.

"The Tower’s scenario requires a ’completion event’. You have reinforced the seal, but technically, you have not ’cleared’ the floor in the traditional sense. The system will not open the exit gate until the story reaches its conclusion."

Ha-neul groaned. "You’re saying we still have to go to the tower and do... something... with the princess?"

"Precisely. You must fulfill the surface narrative while subverting its true intent. You must kiss the princess, but you must do so in a way that does not break the seal."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence.

"So," Seol-ah said slowly, "someone has to climb to the top of a thorn-covered tower, enter a bedroom filled with a parasitic hive-mind, and kiss a cursed princess on the lips without actually waking her up."

"Yes," Tharaxis confirmed.

"That’s insane," Ji-won said.

"That’s the Tower," I corrected. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

We stood there, looking at each other. The tower loomed in the distance through the cavern entrance, wrapped in its cocoon of thorns.

"Well," Sang-ho said, "who’s going to do it?"

Everyone immediately looked at me.

"Absolutely not," I said.

"You’re the leader," Ha-neul pointed out.

"You’re the one who talks to dragons and breaks narratives," Seol-ah added.

"You’re the Singularity," Ji-won said with a grin. "If anyone can kiss a hive-mind princess without waking her up, it’s you."

I stared at them in disbelief. "This is ridiculous. We’ll draw straws."

We drew straws. I lost.

"This is rigged," I muttered, looking at the short straw in my hand.

"The Tower provides," Ha-neul said, trying very hard not to laugh.

The climb to the tower was surprisingly uneventful. With the seal reinforced, the forest had gone dormant. The thorns parted before us like curtains, and the briar-knights remained motionless in their poses.

We reached the tower’s base. A single door stood open, revealing a spiral staircase that wound upward into darkness.

"We’ll wait here," Ji-won said. "You know, for moral support."

"You’re just afraid of the princess," I said.

"Absolutely terrified," he agreed cheerfully.

I climbed the stairs alone. The tower was silent except for my footsteps. At the very top, I found a door carved with roses. I pushed it open.

The room beyond was exactly what you’d expect from a fairy tale. A canopy bed with silk curtains. A spinning wheel in the corner. Moonlight streaming through a single window. And on the bed, lying perfectly still, was the princess.

She was beautiful in the way that poisonous flowers are beautiful. Her skin was too pale, almost translucent. Her hair was black and spread across the pillow like spilled ink. Her dress was white, covered in embroidered thorns. And she was smiling. Even in sleep, she was smiling.

I approached carefully. Her health bar was visible above her head: **[Princess Elara - The Dreaming Garden] - Level ??? - [SEALED]**.

"Okay," I said to myself. "Just a quick kiss. Don’t wake her up. Don’t trigger the apocalypse. Simple."

I leaned over the bed. Up close, I could see that her skin had a faint green tint, like chlorophyll just beneath the surface. Her breath smelled like roses and decay.

This was easily the strangest thing the Tower had ever asked me to do.

I pressed my lips to hers, quick and light, barely a touch.

The moment our lips met, her eyes snapped open.

They were completely black, like pools of ink.

*Oh no.*

Then she started laughing. It was a child’s laugh, bright and innocent and absolutely terrifying. "Did you really think," she said in a voice that echoed with a thousand screaming plants, "that I was asleep?"

The seal held. I could feel Tharaxis’s magic thrumming beneath the tower, keeping her contained. But within the room, within this small space, she was awake.

"The seal binds my body," she said, sitting up. The thorns in her dress rustled. "But it does not bind my mind. I have been awake for a century, little climber. Awake and dreaming and waiting."

I stepped back, reaching for my sword.

"Relax," she said, her smile widening. "I cannot harm you. The dragon’s magic prevents it. But I can talk. And I can remember." She tilted her head. "You’re the one who broke Floor 20. The Script-Breaker. The Constellations are very angry with you."

"I’ve been getting that impression."

"Good," she said. "Let them be angry. Their stories are boring." She lay back down, closing her eyes. "You may go. The Tower will register your kiss. The floor will clear. But know this: I will remember you, Kang Min. And when the seal eventually fails—and it will fail—I will find you."

"Looking forward to it," I said, already backing toward the door.

Her laugh followed me down the stairs.

『**Main Scenario Complete: Awaken the Slumbering Princess**』

『**Result: The Princess Stirs But Does Not Wake**』

『**Floor 21 - CLEARED**』

When I emerged from the tower, my team was waiting with knowing grins.

"So," Seol-ah said. "How was your first kiss with a hive-mind?"

"Shut up," I said.

They laughed all the way to the exit gate.