- Hints of the Truth -
"Every single night I got under my blanket, praying to Gods for my wishes to be granted."
Her silver hair that he once praised for its beauty was stained by her own blood, as well as the dress he gifted to her.
A fatal wound was made when his sword, the gift that she made for him, stabbed her chest. Blood dripped on the ground, little by little, just like her tears. A drop of it fall and landed on her silver ring. Two letters were engraved on it, LC.
"I've long realized that not all my wishes will be granted by Gods above. But when we were together in the midst of flowers, I felt that all the disappointments that I felt were simply hardships that I must overcome to stand before you."
'To accept your love.'
He didn't say a word for a moment. But she could see it clearly. There was a flicker of sympathy in those purple eyes.
Love. It is definitely something very precious. But as precious as it is, it is something that every single being deserves, every single being who was born in the world. It is our right. But in the tower, every single thing comes with a price, no matter how trivial it is.
And every single thing comes with an ending, no matter how wonderful it is.
Every single thing that exists in the word, at one glance, it could appear as a blessing. But as the time passes, without realizing it, it will slowly turn into a curse. The love that is supposed to be pure and deserved by every single being could poison someone deeply, blinding their senses and mind just to pursue it.
"It's fine if they choose to ignore me. I'm okay with the hardships before me, as long as I know you're by my side. But fate toys us in this way. You are not him."
He was not surprised, as if he had expected it.
"And you won't ever be able to replace him," she said pulling the sword closer. It was painful, but she knew that there was someone else who suffered more than her.
The man frowned and pulled his sword backward, causing her to fall. He didn't bother to catch her, just taking two steps backward to dodge her as her body fell to the ground.
Even so, he still felt pity towards her.
".......... tell me, if there is anything else you would like to do?" He asked after considering it. "As long as your request makes sense, I'll definitely do it for you."
She raised her head and weakly looked at the face of a man who she loved dearly. She raised one of her eyebrows and with a forced smile, asked him in confirmation, "Will you truly grant.... my wish?"
"As long as it doesn't stop me from my goal and reasonable," he promised her.
She knew from his eyes. It was his pity that allowed her to ask him a wish. Just a single wish with the conditions that it should be reasonable and shouldn't stop him from pursuing his goal. Honestly, she felt that it was quite unfair to call it as a "wish". It should have been an "apology" instead, because he had wronged her deeply.
But her time was limited. And at that moment, no matter what word that he chose to express his intention, it was no longer important. She would make use of that pity for the sake of the innocent.
"I wish for my children to be spared," she earnestly answered. "They are just a bunch of children who haven't realized how tough the tower is........ they're just a pair of children...... who now lost their parents on this blissful day."
She and him, the two of them were always prepared to die. But both their children were still young and naive, like morning suns, like seeds that were still sprouting. They still had long way ahead of them and as much as she wanted to accompany them, she had to let them go.
Cruelly, she had to leave them to grow on their own.
"You've killed the two of us. And those children are as naive as they can be. They wouldn't be able to harm your plans with their naivety and weaknesses."
Though she has been again and again disappointed by the Gods above, at the end, in the helpless situation, she could once again pray for them. She could only pray for miracles to happen so that they will survive, to live the lives they desired.
"So, please....... let them go."
Every single word that she spoke wounded his heart, but he couldn't stop right there. He found her pitiful and was sympathetic, but he couldn't save her.
He closed her eyes, "Fine. I'll spare them. But if they encounter any dangers, I won't help them."
She smiled when she heard that.
"Just your promise not to touch them makes me feel happy. But unfortunately, as merciful as you may be....... I could never forgive the murderer of my husband."
He was not surprised to hear those words. For a few moments, in silence and chilling night, he looked at her body with his cold but lonely purple eyes.
And the silence was interrupted by the cries of children.
"MOM!"
≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫
When the blinding white light slowly vanished, he could see with his own blue eyes how a once well- built arena was faced with destruction caused by both of the fighters. And those two fighters, with their eyes closed and wounds all over their bodies, they were floating on the air of shinsu with their eyes closed.
The last orb was so near with him. The vulnerable and fragile orb was floating on its place and it would determine the victor of the match.
"Wake up, son of V," he spoke, not rushed. "The core is right next to you."
Coincidentally, the two of them opened their eyes in the same time together. And when they remembered the unfinished fight, they were back on their guards immediately, trying to fight off the exhaustion and pain they felt to concentrate.
Bam saw the last core. It was very close to him. The [ Remnants of Star Dust ] might have taken most of his energy, but he was confident that he could attack one more time.
'One last time...!'
"Stop, that's enough," Zahard said. "You've won this deal."
Bam was left confused for a moment.
Zahard opened his palm and an item appeared out of thin air. It was something similar with a silver and black wristwatch.
"The Zahard at the outside left this with me," he said. "You were looking for this, right? Take it."
"What?!"
His sudden change in attitude confused Bam. Before, he was very excited in killing him and his friends and find out how he knew his mother's name. But now, that hostility and blood lust seemed to have vanished during their fight.
As it was an item left by the real Zahard, the item must be very important. It wasn't something that could be easily handed to outsiders, especially people like Bam who was an irregular and someone affiliated with FUG. But Zahard's data was willing to give it for him.
After awhile he explained his intention and cleared his doubt,
"I want to show you to the outside me. You have to meet me at the outside. It may be hard right now, but if you grow more... you may even be able to give the outside me a new experience too. So I'll let you go," he said.
"Once the scale is smashed, the level will start collapsing. So get out of here before then."
≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫
Altaira, without hesitation, created an electrical spear and immediately threw it to Rachel. He was sure that the spear would make a hole on her head if she didn't suddenly vanish with Big Breeder Hwang, The Scale of the Past and Urek Mazino.
'It was so close......'
Rak ran as fast as he can with his tiny legs to check on him,
"TURTLE! WHAT HAPPENED?! WAKE UP! TURTLE!"
At the Bug Room, the others saw what happened. Bero Bero clenched her fists, "Damn it! What happened here!? They all ran away and Khun collapsed!"
"We were deceived," Phonsekal Irure, the pink- haired girl who constantly slept on her floating pillow explained.
"What?!"
"Big Breeder and Rachel set up a plan to screw us up from the start. There was never any reason to include us from the beginning."
"Then what should we do?!"
Endorsi who didn't say anything looked troubled as well.
'I... must move my body!'
Her body felt like it has been wrapped by a giant snake. She was unable to move from her place, not even an inch.
"Hansung went away to rescue the hostages too!"
"Then who can help us?!" Estrella asked. "At this rate, KHUN'LL DIE!"
≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫
The Scale of Past was moved to somewhere else. Now, on his own, he was facing Urek Mazino's sworn enemy who declared himself as someone who will destroy the balance.
It guarded the balance for who- knows- how- long. As the one who maintained the balance, it was sure that there was no way the data there could possibly attack him. Although it has been moved from the third space, it was still a powerful scale for D- rank regulars.
So, it laughed at his words.
"So~? You think you can beat meee?!" It mocked. "You're more like a destroyer of jokes than of balance! Kokokokoko!"
"You sure have a strange laugh," Urek Mazino's sworn enemy replied with a smirk.
"You call yourself as the 'destroyer of balance' before me who has been maintaining the balance? STOP JOKING AROUND AND DISAPPEAR!"
The mirror flashed light.
"So I'll disappear if I'm reflected in that mirror, huh?" Urek Mazino asked. "Well, that was my purpose to begin with but it's still too early for that!"
With amazing speed, he evaded the mirror and attacked the Scale of Past. The balance on the Scale of Past was broken and so as everything else, except for the mirror. He was so fast that the Scale of Past didn't have the time to reflect him on the mirror.
'H... he's so fast.... that I can't reflect him!'
"YOU'RE SO~ FAST!"
Urek Mazino snorted, "Humph. I'm pretty damn slow compared to the me at the outside. Now, all I have to do is to take the mirror."
With the Scale of Past unable to move, it was just like a pig waiting to be butchered.
"WHAT~ NO! YOU CAN'T TAKE MY MIRROR!"
"Watch me."
"N... NO! PLEASE DON'T! YOU'LL REGRET IT!"
"Why would I regret it?"
"IF YOU DO THIS, ALL OF YOU WILL DIE!"
"Perfect. I just can't wait to die," he said casually. "I can't forgive myself for being so weak."
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEAN!"
≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫
Yura Ha who has been missing for some time was still bounded with ropes. When she saw Big Breeder Hwang who had told her about the story about their mother's data, she glared at him. She hated him deeply.
When Big Breeder offered a way for her mother to safely give birth to her twins, one of them was at the outside of the Hidden Floor, Yura, and the other one remained inside as a boy. Out of curiosity, he became the little boy and acted as Yura's mother's son, and when he was discovered, it left Yura's mother with frustration and stress, asking him to kill her which he granted.
Because what he needed as a mother, and when she refused to be one and begged to be killed, he was fine with it.
Her real mother, at the outside, was murdered by the others as well. Her reason to climb the train was to see her mother again, even if she was just a data, and tell her that she has joined FUG in order to avenge her. But because of Hwang, that dream will never be manifested.
And now, she was dragged to somewhere else.
"UGH! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" She shouted while being bound by the rope. "TELL ME HWANG! WHY DID YOU DRAG ME HERE?! ANSWER ME!"
"YURA!"
Yura saw the traveler and White again, as well as a tall and blonde- haired lady who seemed to have recognized her.
She looked at her in confusion, "Who are you?"
"It's me!" She said with a friendly smile, "Rachel!"
Yura's heart almost dropped when she heard it, "WHAT...?!"
"She may look different, but she's the 'Rachel' who you know," Big Breeder Hwang finally spoke. "She worked with me and helped me to leave this place. In return, I gave her the chance to get revenge against the enemies who she detests."
"WHAT?! YOU'RE GOING OUTSIDE?!"
"That's right. I'm leaving this place. As a 'human being'," he confirmed.
"DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!"
"Stop it, Yura, he's on our side," Rachel tried to convince her.
"OUR SIDE?! If you are really Rachel, then why are you working with that bastard?! HE'S THE ONE WHO KILLED OUR MOTHER!"
"I heard about that. I understand how you feel, Yura..." Rachel said and lowered her head with the expression of sadness. "But it was the only way to save you. And... I want to borrow his power."
"Borrow his power...? What... do you mean...?"
Her expression of sadness changed when her lips were raised and she smirked, "I want to go outside looking like 'this', Yura."
Yura's face turned pale in shock, "WHAT?! You want to leave like that? But your original body?!"
"I can leave the body here. I never liked that ugly, weak body in the first place. According to Hwang, I can copy this body and take it outside," Rachel explained in joy. "Now, this body is the 'real' Rachel!! You prefer me being so beautiful and strong too, don't you, Yura?"
"I can't.... believe this.... Rachel..."
"Ahh-- I feel like I've finally broken free from the curse that was on me."
If all the humiliations she suffered in the past was only to enjoy that lucky day, then she thought that everything was worth it.
"While someone was busy risking his life to fight, you guys are having a peaceful little chat here," Urek Mazino's sworn enemy spoke and walked towards them along with the mirror.
Yura was surprised to see Urek Mazino again. The last time that she saw him was at the outside, in the Floor of Death, where he saved her from being murdered by Karaka.
"Did it work?"
"Well, it did... but where are the other guys? Why are you guys the only one here?"
"There's no need for you to worry about them. Let's hurry up and get started before Zahard notices," said Hwang as he began the next step of their plan.
"Well... alright, here we go," Urek Mazino said and the mirror that was floating near him began to emit yellow light.
And it was at that moment when they discovered that there was something wrong.
≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫
Raisin turned around and walked away to leave.
"What are you doing?!" Estrella asked. "Are you going to leave right now?!"
"There's something that I must do," Raisin who stopped and glanced at her answered. "An important thing."
"What?! What's more important than your comrade's life?!"
"It does involve our comrade's life," Raisin said and informed them an extremely important information that made them held their breath. "This place is going to collapse and someone out there is in danger."
"WHAT?! THIS LEVEL WILL COLLAPSE?!"
Coincidentally as Estrella shouted in the Bug Room, Bam also questioned the same thing to Zahard.
Khun Edahn realized that the fight was over now that Zahard surrendered the item to Bam and he chose to get closer to have a proper conversation.
"That's right," Zahard said. "The Zahard on the outside made the scale here for two reasons. To prevent people in here from destroying the balance and to get rid of this place in the event of an extreme situation."
"Hwang must have thought that he can escape to the outside if he destroys the scale and stands in the mirror. But it's completely the opposite. His action will cause a rupture in this level, and that rupture will allow Zahard on the outside to interfere with this place. This was predestined from the beginning."
One of the rules of the Hidden Floor was that rankers weren't allowed to interfere with this place. But if the scale, the guardian of the balance in the Hidden floor, was destroyed, then it will give him the chance to interfere with matters of Hidden Floor despite being a high ranker and the King of this Tower.
"Once the scale is destroyed, the power of Zahard on the outside will interfere with this place and destroy everything."
"Jeez..." Khun Edahn sighed thinking how troublesome things have escalated.
Suddenly a giant mirror appeared above them.
"What's that?" Khun Edahn was surprised and bewildered just like Bam. "I've never seen that mirror before."
But Zahard as the only one who knew about that mirror felt sense of worry and danger.
'Has the scale been destroyed?! That was quicker than I thought!'
And from that mirror, golden pillar of light descended, pressuring them with overwhelming power.
'Such tremendous power!' Khun Edahn could feel it just like Bam, 'I can't move!'
Their lives were in danger now.
≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫
Charlotte was pulled back to the reality after she saw it.
And once she was back, everything turned pitch black. The pain on her eyes were still there and she couldn't open them.
The puppet no longer moved. She was just lying on the floor lifelessly. The black tattoo on her arm slowly disappeared and vanished into the dust itself while her pink lotus was changing as well.
Before, it was very hard to tell that the bud was going to blossom. But now that it has opened itself more, anyone could see that the bud was already in a half- blossom state. In the matter of time, it will definitely blossom as a beautiful flower.
But Charlotte who was in a bewildered state didn't notice it.
'... what... did I just see....?'
What did she just see? She had seen a man and woman trying to kill one another, a heart- break scene and betrayal.
The moment when Christ murdered his wife and the day when both Noah and Celeste lost their home.
But for some reasons, she felt that there was something wrong, something was amiss.
"I could never forgive the murderer of my husband."
Her feelings said that the puppet was dead already. The [ Domain ] allowed her to feel the presence of the livings, and she didn't feel any. She was now left alone in all mysteries and enigmas surrounding her without no one to ask for answers.
Her train of thoughts were stopped when she felt sharp pain on her chest. Her right hand clutched on her collar while her left hand was trying to prop her body so that she won't fall to the floor.
'No matter how painful it is, I must stay conscious. This won't end until I escape from the Hidden Floor.'
Just a moment before her [ Domain ] completely disappears, she felt a presence of living right in front of her. Someone with enormous power and a familiar voice,
"Congratulations. You've broke another chain of hourglass."
She clenched her fists. If she didn't lose her eyes, then those golden eyes would be glaring at the man who caused her to be in such a position, the one who ruined her friends' family.
"Who the hell actually are you?" She straightforwardly asked.
The man wearing the face of the real Christ and pretended to be him after murdering him, responsible for ruining Noah's and Celeste's family, the one who tried to push her and the puppet to death. That man was responsible for all of those.
And when Charlotte asked that question with clear hostility, he smiled instead with those cold purple eyes.
"Ah, you've caught me," he spoke in a little playful tone. "Is it because you used [ Cleanse ] and read a piece of the puppet's memory?"
Charlotte knew one thing for sure. [ Cleanse ] was a technique invented by the lady who was staying inside her realm of consciousness. It wasn't a well- known technique and Charlotte was certain that this was the first time [ Cleanse ] was used in a tower. So how did this man know?
Charlotte bit the bottom of her lips and said nothing. But she could feel the presence of the man getting closer.
"You are really similar with her yet different in the same time," he said as he pulled her face by holding her cheeks. His purple eyes stared at his lotus forehead mark intensely, "To think that you would be the key to grant my wish... fate is really unexpected, don't you think?"
Charlotte was perplexed, "I'm... the key to grant your wish?"
He smiled even wider, "As the additional prizes for the winner, aside from your survival, I'll give you some hints about the fate that ties the two of us. How does that sound?"
Charlotte was bewildered for a moment before she replied with hostility, "You are nothing but Noah's archenemy. What could you possibly know about me?"
He snorted and confidently answered, "The path you are going to walk on as the pawn of this game of life and death. Your destiny."