The labyrinthine corridors of the Infinite Castle stretched endlessly, floating staircases and platforms twisting into impossible angles. Brush D. Rush and his team fought desperately, but the level-down curse left their attacks sluggish, their defenses brittle. Every step felt like swimming through molten code.
Above them, Infinity Compactor hovered, jagged blade-loops spinning infinitely. A cruel smile curved across its warped form.
"You cannot win here," it boomed. "Every step, every strike… belongs to me."
Brush charged with Miss Krita, combining Creation and Destruction, but the general's compression loops crushed the attack before it could land. Frostbinder's ice froze segments of floating platforms, but they shattered instantly under Infinity Compactor's power. Even Equinox, fully transformed in her anime horse-girl avatar, struggled to find solid ground.
A massive strike hit Brush directly. He was slammed against the castle walls, data fragments scattering, vision blurred. The team's attacks faltered.
"You've lost," Infinity Compactor said, voice echoing like corrupted audio. "And now… you return."
The world twisted violently. The Infinity Castle's endless staircases, floating platforms, and corridors vanished in an instant. The team plummeted through a void of flickering code, dizziness overwhelming them.
When the chaos settled, Brush found himself on the stone floor of the Cartenone Temple. The temple's walls, glyphs, and corridors surrounded them — familiar, yet foreboding. The level-down curse still lingered, and the team staggered to their feet.
Equinox's violet eyes glimmered, ears twitching. "The Infinity Castle… it was a trap. Infinity Compactor isn't just a guardian — it can manipulate domains, reset space, and return us here."
Brush gritted his teeth. "Then we fight again. The castle may have beaten us, but it hasn't broken us. We adapt, we strategize, and we take the fight to them — here, where we have the advantage of the temple itself."
Infinity Compactor's distorted laughter echoed faintly in the distance, a reminder: their battle was far from over.
The Cartenone Temple was no longer just a trial — it had become the battlefield where the team would confront their failures, adapt to the resets, and prepare for the true challenge of the Infinity Castle