Asturian Warbringer stood atop of hundreds of corpses that formed a small hill. He looked at his watch with the same intensity he watched the battle between millions in front of him.
Arrows, crossbow bolts, ballista bolts, bullets, cannon balls, and all manner of projectiles coated with either fire, poison, or magic, flew beside spells of all elements. The smell of burnt flesh and molten metal caused by the fall of meteors was spread by the powerful windstorms accompanying the huge hurricanes that reaped lives left and right. Instantly created pitfalls killed people in subterranean spikes, and water forcibly entered people's lungs to drown them even as they stood on dry land. Darkness consumed people alive while light burned their minds with no visible injury. The death element killed uncountable warriors, and the life element preserved their best.
The battle between holins and orcs, elves and drow, dwarves and sorins, kobolds and taloi, and many more races from both sides was mesmerizing. A show of power and destruction. The stuff legends were made of.
Asturian yawned, bored.
At 10:45:36 PM, he crouched and a lightning-infused arrow passed by where his head stood a second ago.
Five seconds later, he sidestepped to avoid a ball of pure darkness that would've opened a hole in his torso.
Seven minutes and two seconds after that, he had to leave his hill of corpses. Soon, it exploded through unseen ways into bits of blood, viscera, and metal.
Unfortunately, he had miscalculated the timing. He simply wasn't used to being as weak as he currently was. Some of the metal from the corpses' armor ripped through his throat with the ease of a hot knife going through butter.
Asturian died chocking on his own blood, and darkness followed.
But that wasn't the end. Not really. His consciousness remained in the dark, and an holographic white game window with golden borders appeared in front of him.
Myriad Phoenix's Heart
You've suffered a lethal injury. The Myriad Phoenix's Heart has been automatically activated.
5 charges remaining.
The darkness dissipated and Asturian found himself in a room so large it was impossible to see its ceiling or walls. The floor was made of perfectly cut black stone, and all of humankind could be seen lying unconscious on it.
Another system message was floating in front of him.
Welcome to the Sentinel Tower
You have 10 years to conquer the 100th Floor with worthy achievements.
If you succeed, humankind will be released from the Sentinel Tower.
If you fail, humankind will be sent to hell.
He had returned to the past, to the instant humankind had been kidnaped by the thing that called itself the Sentinel Tower. It was so big it felt more like a bunch of worlds flattened and stacked on top of each other.
And it had received them with the promise of doom.
Soon, everyone would wake up and most people would panic, as he himself had done the first time he went through this. Luke Kells, he had been called back then. A sixteen-year-old with a whole lot of psychological issues from his abusive teenage life.
Asturian sighed. His last death had been stupid. The stress and dying hope was getting to him, making him careless.
He closed his eyes and waited for the tower to transport them all to the Test Floor. Thanks to the Myriad Phoenix's Heart he had kept by chance on the very first run, he easily remembered everything he had ever seen or heard, so he would have an easy time repeating his steps until the last moment.
It would be a long time before he reached the final floor once again, but he had gotten used to it.
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At 10:45:36 PM, Asturian crouched and a lightning-infused arrow passed by where his head would be.
Five seconds later, he sidestepped to avoid a ball of pure darkness that would've opened a hole in his torso.
Seven minutes and two seconds after that, he had to leave his hill of corpses. Soon, it exploded through unseen ways into bits of blood, viscera, and metal. He crouched just in time to avoid the metal shrapnel and found another hill to watch the battle from.
He couldn't resist yawning again.
After the hundredth time seeing different versions of the final battle, it became boring. He would be more excited if he had been actually fighting, but this run—and the previous three—was about attempting to win exactly as he had entered the tower. He had no skills, no class, no job, no traits, no tower equipment, nothing. He was a level one scrub that hadn't even passed the Test Floor and still survived to tell the tale—the only one in the entire tower as far as he knew. That was indeed almost impossible and had taken him over thirty runs of doing crazy things and investigating the tower to accomplish.
The only reason he wasn't more bored was because there was always a tiny chance he would succeed this time. Even after almost ten thousand runs, he still wasn't sure about what the tower would consider enough achievements to save humankind.
He hated the damn thing.
Asturian saw the air shimmering a few yards to his right and recognized it for what it was: a sub-dimensional fairy's air beast. The issue about the damn puppy-like thing was that it had no notion of its power and committed friendly fire when trying to lick a friend as much as it killed enemies.
He took a step back. The shimmering air blinked out of existence just to reappear where he had been standing.
"No!" He said in the tower common language. "Bad air beast! This is not a playground! Go find enemies to kill!"
Before the beast could react, a blade cut Asturian's throat. He never saw the perpetrator.
Damn assassins.
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Instead of stepping back to avoid the shimmering air, this time Asturian stepped forward. An instant later, he heard the sound of something wet getting smashed. He turned to see a dead kobold in black armor, his assassin in the previous run.
Its corpse was twisted in an impossible angle and something furry was coming out of its stomach, which had been ripped open in an unsightly manner. The air beast had teleported to the same place the kobold occupied, where Asturian had been a moment ago, and the resulting reaction wasn't nice to see. But an instant later, the now scared air beast teleported away, its furry body back to being almost perfectly invisible.
Asturian left that corpse hill and climbed another one closer to the battle.
He was the only human in the floor. It had taken him all his ability to get all races but humans to make a new attempt against the Demonic Horde. Even he would be absent if the system didn't require at least one human alive in the last floor after the final battle to analyze humanity's achievements and tell them if they had won their freedom or not.
This run was progressing well. His experienced allowed him to detect the incoming tipping point. Soon, the battle would—
He never saw the lighting bolt made of pure darkness come from the heavens and kill him.
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After the lightning bolt, Asturian had been killed by mistake by a panicked ally, then by an area spell which made a hellhound appear beside each person and attack them. The final battle was just too chaotic, and since he was powerless, he had trouble avoiding trouble—pun intended.
It was only when he had but one revive remaining that he finally lived to the end.
Tens of millions of corpses littered the ground. Hills of gore and streams of blood redecorated the grasslands where the final battle had happened. The world had been tainted red.
Only Asturian was still standing.
He couldn't see movement anywhere, but the tower hadn't given him any message saying he had cleared the floor. Was there another assassin somewhere? He waited for a while and when none appeared, he decided to make himself a target so he would know what to do on the next run.
It was annoying to move in a ground covered by weapons of all kinds dropped by the dead. The sneakers he had arrived in the tower with provided little protection against magically enhanced blades. It took him over half an hour to move a little less than a hundred yards, as he also had to pay attention for traps and unstable magic. It was even harder because he had to avoid showing knowledge or battle experience that would cause the tower to recognize his skills and give it to him.
He stopped when two new system messages appeared in front of him.
Achievement unlocked: Dauntless Eternal Newbie
You have survived the final battle with the power and means of a complete newbie.
Trait acquired: Damage Immunity
Trait acquired: Damage Immunity
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
If your enemies failed to damage you even when you were as harmless and weak as possible, they don't deserve to hurt you at all. Ever.
You're completely immune to all damage while in the Sentinel Tower.
Both the achievement and the trait were novelty to him, something rare in the past few thousands runs. He hoped the achievement would be enough to save humankind, but the trait was almost completely useless. This was the final battle in the tower, there was only a return to the past if he had failed, and sweet release if he had won. Either would remove all his traits.
At least the achievement confirmed the battle was over. Probably a heavily-injured warrior from the Demonic Horde had been barely alive after the fight and had just died. Now he only had to wait for the tower to decide humanity's fate.
He still remembered what he had seen in his first run, so long ago. Well, of course he did, the Myriad Phoenix's Heart gave him perfect memory.
Yet even without it, the words he had read back then would have been burned into his mind.
Climb Result
The human race's achievements aren't good enough.
In 1 hour, the human race will be sent to hell.
Everything they had done, all their suffering, all their effort, had been for naught. Defeating the Demonic Horde hadn't been enough. They had lacked worthy achievements. He still blamed himself to this day, as he had been so broken back then, and his friends had all but carried him to the last floor.
The last hour of his companions and him had been one of disbelief, anger, and mourning. Hidden loves were professed, lust sated, old wounds treated. The team of five, which had started as ten times that number, had reached the end of their lives in a bittersweet hug.
Asturian had never met other people like them.
And then, the strange rock they had gotten as a reward for a difficult dungeon had acted.
As all hidden items, the system hadn't automatically told them what it was when they found it. Unlike similar items, their attempts to pry its secrets open hadn't bore fruit. After much debate, they had decided it was a reward, so they didn't want to throw it away, yet they also didn't trust it. They had left it with Asturian, who had the highest defense stat and most defensive items of them all.
It had activated itself as soon as Asturian died.
Myriad Phoenix's Heart
This hidden item has resonated with your death and revealed itself. It has automatically bound with you and will replace your heart from now on.
You've suffered a lethal injury. The Myriad Phoenix's Heart has been automatically activated.
9,999 charges remaining.
And so he had gone back to his first day in the tower with a fiery heart, cried himself to sleep, and died by a goblin's hand on the Test Floor, thus wasting his second life.
After that, he had lived everything there was to live in there and tried everything to get worthy achievements. From winning the final battle all alone to letting others win without his presence, from winning with as much achievements as possible or with the hardest ones to get, nothing had worked. And now, he was waiting for yet another result.
He trembled thinking of the consequences in case he failed once again.
Simply put, he was out of ideas. Either this worked or humankind would go to hell. A real, terrible place, a floor in the tower which he had visited twice and never wanted to go back to.
When the result of his latest climb finally came out, he had to read multiple times to believe it.
Climb Result
Congratulations! The human race achievements are good enough!
In 1 hour, the human race will be returned to the moment before you were taken from Earth.
All memories of the Sentinel Tower will be removed.
The Sentinel Tower will not take humankind back into it again.
Not only multiple times, Asturian read the message hundreds, thousands of times until he believed it. He had done it. He had finally done it.
He had saved humankind.
The weight of the world left his shoulders for the first time in the hundred fifty thousand years he lived throughout ten thousand runs. The average of fifteen years per run could only be achieved by increasing the time limit given by the tower by using special items. His knees weakened and he fell on them. He cried in sheer joy.
He had done it.
He had finally made his mother proud of him.
Asturian sobbed like a child. He let his entire body fall sideways over corpses, blood, and guts. He didn't care. He hugged himself and let himself cry more.
Almost as good as winning was the promise that he would forget it all. Everything about the tower would be erased from his memory. He would go about his life as normal.
Finally, he could rest.
And then, as usual, the tower crushed all his hopes and dreams.
To the victor belong the spoils!
You've cleared the tower by yourself!
As reward, you have been provided with the following items:
> 1 x Khan Elixir of Perfection
> 1 x Khan Honorary Citizenship
> 1 x Khan Memory Pass
The first two were alright. He had only ever read the word "Khan" once before and had no idea if it was a rarity, quality, or something else.
However, the memory pass was the stuff of his nightmares.
Khan Memory Pass
Item automatically activated.
You won't forget anything you lived in the Sentinel Tower.
It wouldn't be so bad if Asturian only had one lifetime of memories. Even his first run, one of the emotionally worst even after so many, would be okay to remember.
But he had gone through too much in ten thousand lives.
Those memories had been fundamental for him to reach victory, as each detail led him to uncover a secret or a new power, but now he wanted nothing more than to get rid of them.
All the betrayal, every dirty secret of other people, all the suffering. He couldn't deal with it. He just couldn't. It was too much for him.
With them, he would be unable to fit society again. Even in the tower, he already felt left out, and society had grown wild and violent there. In a civilized country like the good old USA, he would be way out of depth. He couldn't fit anymore, not after everything he had seen and done.
Finding help wasn't possible either. Which psychiatrist would believe him? Which wouldn't send him to a mental institution? Would he allow himself to be locked away, or would he fight to the death?
His fighting instincts were part of him. Would he leave a trail of blood before the authorities finally dealt with him?
As despair took hold of him, a miracle happened.
For the second time since he had entered the tower, a coincidence went his way.
Khan Elixir of Perfection
Item automatically activated.
Checking all items with you that hails from the Sentinel Tower... 1 found.
Analyzing the elixir's interaction with the Myriad Phoenix's Heart...
Eternal Phoenix's Heart has been created!
Asturian let out a mocking laugh. Of course one of the tower's rewards for winning with no items would have to do with all the items he had on himself. If it weren't for the Myriad Phoenix's Heart having literally replaced his human heart, he would have nothing with him and the elixir would have gone to waste.
As the Myriad Phoenix's Heart was refined into the Eternal Phoenix's Heart, he felt his chest heat up in waves. It was slightly painful, but not overly so. It even brought him some measure of pleasure.
And with that, came the good news.
Item Reaction
The Eternal Phoenix's Heart has reacted with the Khan Memory Pass.
Throughout the long ages of its existence, the Eternal Phoenix has learned the value of selective memory.
Nothing can stop it from forgetting what it chooses. Nothing can make it forget what it values.
The Myriad Phoenix's Heart let him remember everything he experienced but didn't protect his memories from external influence. That its upgrade would have a stronger hold over his memories made sense. He bet it would also give him perfect memory, but before he could check the item, he got a new system message.
WARNING! PROTOCOL BREACH IMMINENT!
An item has removed the Sentinel Tower's hold over a Khan Citizen's memories.
Forcibly reestablishing control...
Suddenly, Asturian felt like his head was being split apart. Then like a drill was going through his brain. The feeling didn't last long, but it was enough to let him breathless.
It was replaced by a burning heat that felt marvelous. His head felt on fire but he had never felt better.
A system message quickly explained what had happened.
WARNING! FAILED TO REESTABLISH CONTROL OVER A KHAN CITIZEN'S MEMORIES
Forcibly reestablishing control...
> Failure. Reason: Perfect items are beyond the Sentinel Tower's power.
Calculating workaround...
The elixir had been called Khan Elixir of Perfection. It seemed there was more to its supposed perfection than just an overbearing name; perfect items were beyond even the mysterious tower. And from the way the system was using "Khan Citizen," he guessed it was the name of a country he was now an honorary citizen of as a reward for winning.
A new system message quickly followed.
SENTINEL TOWER'S DEMAND
The Sentinel Tower demands you keep any memories related to it, as dictated by its victory protocols.
The Sentinel Tower recognizes your wishes to forget traumatic experiences and, as a winner, allows you to let go of any personal memory. As a Khan Citizen, you're also allowed to forget information about other people.
Failing to comply will result in your immediate execution.
Asturian didn't doubt for even an instant that the tower would kill him for disobeying its rules. It had done so a few times before, especially when he had been learning how to leave the Test Floor without completing it. Rather, he was ecstatic that it let him forget what mattered the most, his experiences in the tower.
He only had to focus on his heart for a moment and felt his brain on fire again. He didn't touch information about stats, items, achievements, milestones, traits, skills, titles, other system stuff, or even some organizations in the tower. He only forgot what he had lived there and the people he had to interact with, especially the bad ones.
That last part gave him pause. Should he forget about everyone? He knew secrets of people who were powerful on Earth before the Sentinel Tower. If he kept them...
He shook his head. No. He wanted no more intrigue and ploys in his life. His life back on Earth hadn't been great, but he wanted a clean cut from everything he could from the tower.
Well...
Maybe not everything.
He kept memories of a few people; his true friends and his lovers. The friends were exactly nine, most of them males, and the lovers were twelve women who had given him the best time of his many lives. And they had done so over and over again, unlike many others, independent of his situation. True good people who gave themselves for those they cared for. The few lights in the eternal darkness the tower had become in his heart, people who deserved to be remembered by him even when he forgot his own self.
Only two of them were human, and Asturian sighed before deciding to also forget about them.
Now that he would be leaving the tower, they were the only ones he had the chance to get in contact with. His friendship with Carl could only develop in hardship, and that wasn't going to happen on Earth. Carl was five years older, in prison, and there would be no chance for them to even meet, much less go through battles of life and death together. It would be just weird for his younger self to have memories of a prisoner he had never met.
As for his lover...
Sakura deserved the very best, and he couldn't give it to her even in the tower, as he was definitely not worthy of her. Back on Earth, it would be even worse. At sixteen, his personality had been so twisted by everything he had gone through that he would hold her back from accomplishing her dreams to take care of him—and she would help him if she fell in love, even if it cost her everything.
She was that awesome.
Worse still, getting into her life would only complicate things for her. She had been engaged to a guy from another powerful family from childhood. In the tower, he always died in the Test Floor, which made things so much easier.
Asturian greatest act of love for Sakura was to forget everything about her, just to make sure his damaged past self never looked for her and hurt her in any way whatsoever.
As tears fell from his eyes—something very strange; he couldn't remember why he was crying—he also felt the tower sending him... somewhere.
What tower?
Who was him again?
Other feelings came and disappeared while his memories were getting wiped. A sense of urgency. A feeling that something was going terribly wrong, that plans ancient and unknown were coming to fruition, getting stopped by forces beyond his comprehension, and becoming a new fight in a new battlefield.
The last thing he forgot was the foreboding that things were only starting.
When the heart and the portal through time were both done with him, he was once again sixteen-year-old Luke Kells, who was taking a beating from the high school's bullies.
And indeed when he opened his eyes, he barely saw a huge fist hit his jaw before he fell unconscious on the ground.