The instant they stepped onto the Thirteenth Layer, everyone froze.
What greeted them was neither the scorching heat of lava, nor the bitter wind of an ice field, nor the dryness of a desert, but a warm, humid breeze carrying the scent of soil and rotting vegetation.
Before them stretched an endless primeval forest.
The trees were absurdly thick. Even the thinnest trunk would have taken a dozen people to encircle, and their branches intertwined in layer upon layer, blotting out the sky.
Only a few scattered rays of pallid white light seeped through gaps in the leaves, casting mottled patches on the ground.
A thick layer of rotting leaves lay beneath their feet, soft underfoot and deep enough to swallow their ankles. The air brimmed with vitality, along with a faint, elusive scent that was both sweet and rank.
"This is the first time any of us has been to this floor." Catherine looked up at the enormous trees thrusting into the sky, a trace of gravity in her voice.
None of the five had ever set foot on the Thirteenth Layer, including her and O'Brien, who had reached the Twelfth Layer last time.
A thousand years ago, they had endured ten years on the Twelfth Layer before retreating. They had never seen what the Thirteenth Layer was like.
With no information and no experience to draw on, they could only find their own way.
But the Twelfth Layer was already home to Middle Gods. The Thirteenth Layer could hardly be much weaker.
"This floor puts us at a serious disadvantage," Catherine continued, pointing at the dense canopy overhead. "These enormous trees completely restrict our flying speed. The branches and leaves are too dense for us to fly fast at all. And we have no idea whether any monsters