Chapter 23

“Let me tell you something, my daughter. This tower we live in is a cruel dark place. It is a never-ending place which is unjust as the promises it makes. There is but one rule that is enforced universally in this cruel tower we live in. Might Makes Right. Never forget it, never doubt it.”

-Arie Hon to his daughter Pandora.

The darkness lasted for less than an eternity, or perhaps it was just hat she had grown accustomed to the endless waiting.

Waiting for salvation from the Olympians to free her from her eternal torment of curiosity.

Waiting for death in her deathless state.

Waiting in death for the path to open…a path which remained closed for all others.

The passage of time no longer held her in the same sense as it once did, especially when all her senses were taken away.

“Wake up, Tower’s Champion.”

A rumbling voice split the darkness as light entered his visions. The fog in the mind cleared as she woke up to the same scene she remembered last. A low-lighting chamber (shaped like a Rice Pot) with nothing inside…except herself and the giant.

The God of Guardians, as he had introduced himself, was still crouching down as he examined her with his large yellow eyes. Eyes so large that she could possibly fit between the eyelids.

“It seems you have succeeded.” The giant sighed in relief. What was there to worry about if he didn’t? “It seems you will bring good to the tower after all. Like Mazino.”

Mazino…Urek Mazino?

The legendary Irregular who set the record pace for climbing the tower. The Self-Proclaimed Unbeatable Champion of the Tower…and also the only other person to have passed father’s test other than sister Hagipherone.

That…Urek Mazino?

“You know him?” She whispered to the giant.

“Of course I do. I taught him…here.” The giant pointed his index finger down. “In this very spot, he beat me up before I convinced him to try and take the Revolution Road.”

Revolution. Revolution Road.

The giant had repeated these words too many times for her to count now. Although she understood that it was supposed to get her more power, she didn’t fully understand what it was.

What was it that the giant had made her go through? Why did she see that version of herself…why did she have to face off against herself?

“I can sense your confusion, young champion.” The unblinking yellow eyes burrowed into hers. Almost causing physical pain to keep contact. “But it is also my purpose, my reason, and creation.”

Creation…this giant was created. Not born…created. Just like her. Created to serve a certain function, to be a tool for another.

“Now listen carefully…of irregulars and the purpose of revolutions.”

… …

With Yuri Jahad and Quant Blitz, The Name Hunt Station

The Bridge

The Princess stood over the piled bodies of nearly a hundred downed regulars…or the no-names as they were called.

In the face of a mob (of a hundred regulars) charging with no regards for their own safety or thought, one happened to learn quickly of what was happening. The cause of all this madness just so happened to be a tradition originating from the journeys from the ten great families.

“Great” She grumbled. “When is it not?”

Everything wrong with the tower…or at least those who had gotten the short end of the stick always blamed everything on the Ten Families and Jahad without ever understanding what it was like before they came and established order.

Sure.

Not everything was beautiful and rainbows as the inner circle of the Jahad Empire liked to say but compared to what came before, the Tower was in the best shape it had ever seen in recorded history.

From what she knew, the tower before the ten pioneers was nothing short of anarchy and civil war on each and every floor. Having no way of moving up or down the floors, much less the knowledge that there was a greater world to begin with, the tower was embroiled in a constant civil war.

It was only through the overwhelming strength of father and the ten families that all opposition were crushed, and finally peace was established inside the tower. Of course, they weren’t perfect as they did many horrible deeds their way up…but often times it was the tower itself that misinterpreted the traditions and what truly happened.

Even this very station, Name Hunt Station, was never meant to be a Human Trafficking system or a prison, or even a convenient regular disposal bin. The so-called beginning of this tradition were natives of the station welcoming the the Pioneers (the ten family heads + Jahad) onto the floor and competing friendly by betting their names.

Not once does it state on the record that by betting their names they have also put their freedom and everything they own on the line.

“Well. At least it looks like it’s over for now.” Quant said next to her, brushing off his sweat on his forehead…which looked quite strange as his hands were little coated in fire.

In the short time that Quant had joined their merry little group, he had shown great progress in his strength. His fire became more potent and his speed beginning to catch up to even her. His presence in the shadows diminishing by each day.

“So what now Princess?” Quant asked sarcastically. “Do you plan on beating every single soul in this station?”

Technically that was a solution…

“Don’t actually consider that!” Quant yelled back at her. “Jesus Christ…when Lero said I’d have to deal with people crazier than me I didn’t think he meant that literally.”

So he does know that he is insane after all. Yuri nodded as she had one of her questions regarding the Blitz family answered.

“To answer your question Quant.” A devilish smile appeared on the Princesses’ name. “I plan on doing exactly that! Muahahaha!”

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“Wait! Where are you going??!” Quant wailed. He wasn’t planning on losing his invincible meat shield this early.

“Let’s split up Quant. Divide and conquer!” Yuri exclaimed as she rushed towards the islands’ center.

“NO!”

… …

“A Princess…has arrived.” Kaiser mused. Alphine was at her side as she watched the duo creating havoc across the no named. “This is potentially dangerous. Send out the orders for the ten bosses to go into hiding.”

“Yes Kaiser.”

A…princess…yes. She too had once, long time ago, aspired to be a princess. She had it just in the tip of her fingers…she had once grasped the title to her heart…and yet in a single mistake, she had let it all fall. She had her family branch fall with her…into dishonor and disrepair.

“A ‘Ha’ family member…avoid the princess at all costs Alphine. I don’t have a good feeling about this. Learn more about her if you can.” Kaiser said as she leaned back on her throne. “*sigh* It just had to be during the Festival as well…”

With the Ten bosses in hiding, herself locked up in her throne room, the Princess of the Ha family would have no method of challenging her. It wouldn’t be a victory…or even a pyrrhic victory, but princesses were a storm, and she knew from experience that it was better to wait out a storm than to face one.

… …

POV Arie Inieta

“Sorry Kaiser. I’ve just got this position after all.” The genius swordsman of the Arie family mused as he walked down the grey hallway.

Arie Inieta. He was a young blooming talent let forth by the branch family of the renowned Arie family, shown by the dark skin belonging to the branch family. Despite this, he carried the Arie hereditary traits of pure white hair and silver eyes. His long white hair was brushed backwards and pulled into a long ponytail.

True to the Arie fashion, he wore the traditional swordsman robes (in which he cut down anyone saying it looked like a bathrobe). He had his two trusty swords on his left side, fastened to him through Arie magic. One thing he knew was that the swords would never even shake even if he ran at full speed.

Inieta was the newest of the ten bosses of the Name Hunt Station; having earned his station by slaughtering the previous holder into ribbons.

“I’ve got to make a name for myself, you know?” A lie. It was to fulfill his bursting heart…his bloodlust. It had only been a couple of years since he had earned his position and with the exception of Kaiser (who he had already lost to once), all others were nothing but fodder.

“You see, these new guys look pretty interesting!” The Arie swordsman cackled as he brandished one of his blades and over his shoulder.

“Oh? You look rather different.” A feminine voice caught his attention, as well as the voice’s casualness. He turned to see a figure in which he had never seen before on this station. Here in the center of the Named Island, seeing someone new was not common.

A girl seemingly around his age was looking right back at him. An extremely pale looking girl with fair skin and features; but what really caught his attention were her eyes, hair, and the tie she wore around her neck.

Long dark colored hair which flowed back before being tied into two long pigtails. Piercing red eyes the color of blood…and the tie which had the symbol of Jahad etched onto the fabric. A Princess from the ‘Ha’ family no less.

“You’re a new one here, aren’t you? I heard that a Princess arrived but I didn’t expect it to be true.”

“Muhahaha! Indeed! I can certainly be considered too good to be true.” The girl leaned her head back into a full laugh before she immediately lowered it into a sinister smile. “Hey, you’re kind of my type. What do you think about it, huh?”

What the fuck.

“Are all princesses as crazy as you?” Inieta his double blades, two handed, sword towards her. He could feel the hair on his arms standing.

*thump* *thump*

“How rude. It’s Yuri by the way. Ha Yuri Jahad.”

This was it…this was why he had come to this station to begin with. To fight against the true monsters of the tower. To fight against the very best and prove himself. A test against those known as the ‘Ultimate Species’ of the tower.

*shiver* *shiver* His pupils dilated as his heart throbbed ever faster. This would be the fight he would finally prove himself.

“You’re one of those ten bosses or whatever, aren’t ya?” He could feel the exerted pressure increasing as the Ha family princess approached him. It was through the slightly vibrating sword that he realized that his hands were shivering.

Excitement? No…this is self-preservation. This is fear. Fear.

Despite knowing it was suicidal to try and fight against such a monster, he couldn’t help but feel a smile form on his face. A wide, teeth visible, smile.

Finally. Finally…he had managed to find a worthy opponent.

“You know…after my loss to Kaiser, I had trained for years on end. To one day beat her and prove it to myself.” He played with his fingers thrumming on the grip of the blade. “So for years I wondered…who is stronger? Me? Or Kaiser.”

A silver gleam appeared in his eyes as a look of a predator replaced it. His sword glowed from the channeled shinsu as he took a single step back as he got into the standard Arie footwork.

“That doesn’t matter anymore *huff* because if I beat you…then that means I’m stronger than her!” With a roar of power, the genius swordsman charged the Ha princess.

In a flurry of strikes, he let loose the feared ‘Arie Swordsmanship’ on the princess.

Even if she is a princess…she has to take some hits and get damaged, right? After all, Arie Swordsmanship was feared across the tower for a reason. A swordsmanship which, when properly learned, lacks blindspots. To this date, there was no effective way to counteract this swordsmanship.

His eyes widened as he saw the princess weaving and dodging through the strikes as if she already knew where they were going to land.

That should be impossible! Arie Swordsmanship is impossible to read for an outsider!

*clang!* His eyes widened as he saw an arm blocking his blade…and not a single cut was made.

“huh. Not exactly the same huh. Let me guess though, Standard Arie Swordsmanship form 6?” The red eyed princess said easily, her eyes unfocusing as she casually brushed off yet another strike.

*clang!* *clang!* *clang!*

“So it should be like left, top, under, left, and right strike?”

*clang* *clang* *clang!* The ultimate species of the tower once again parried his strikes without barely looking at the strikes. As if she knew where…no. She did know this swordsmanship. Down to the last stroke.

“How…how do you know this?! How can you read Arie Swordsmanship!” He exclaimed as he backed off.

Arie Swordsmanship- Channeling

Strike of the invisible blade!

He raised his blade up high above his head. Motioning like he was going to cut down vertically.

“Oh, that one?”

He brought the blade down as hard as he can, aiming to pierce through whatever ridiculous defense the princess was utilizing.

As the sword was going down…down…the end of the blade began to disappear into shinsu. The said blade was reforming at the same speed horizontally from behind the princess.

The black haired princess, in response, merely grinned as her left arm became coated in a red glow. Completely ignoring the falling blade on her head, she spun around with her elbow horizontal to her shoulder. Using the momentum, her elbow hit the still-manifesting blade behind her.

*crack…* *crack…* *shatter!*

The prized blade of the genius swordsman shattered into a thousand shard as the said swordsman could only gawk in shock.

“Wha…what?” He looked down at the hilt of the blade which was also the only remaining piece of the blade. “How?”

“Pandora. My friend, she’s an Arie Princess. She’s from your family. Don’t you know her?” Yuri casually stated as she brushed off the iron shards off her dress. “Besides, to answer your question from earlier; she’s crazier than I am.”

*crack* *crack* The princess cracked her knuckles as she tilted her head to the side. *crack* “Ah, that feels so much better.”

She wasn’t even being serious this entire time…*shiver* *shiver*

Inieta drew his second blade as he, once again, leveled the sword at the princess.

“Up until now during our countless spars, I’ve only beaten Pandora once. Mostly due to that bullshit power she pulls off but also because she keeps on evading everything I throw at her.” She put her hands forwards, palms open. “Do you know how I did it?”

…

“Grappling.” He had just registered the words before his eyes saw a blur of red and black. He swung his swords towards the fleeting color as fast and hard as possible but…

*clang!* His sword was knocked out of the way as a fist parried it away. He had just recognized that there was no longer a blade in between him and the princess when he saw a hand reach out directly towards his face.

By instinct, he dodged under the hand…only to see a rising knee.

*CRACK!* … was that his face? Was that his nose?

The lights were spinning, he couldn’t see clearly. Is he looking at the ceiling? But he’s still standing though…that can’t be right.

His eyes made out a blur of black.

*CRACK!!*

A headbutt. His face was most certainly broken now. He could feel the warm sticky liquid flowing down from his nose and forehead.

Still, he held onto his blade…as an Arie, that was one thing he would, could, never let go of.

“AAARRGHHH!!!” He let out a scream. A scream of challenge, of survival, and purpose as she blindly swung his blade to place he last saw the princess.

*tug* His head was pulled back before he was twirled around. As his eyes focused again, he saw the princess holding his ponytail wrapped around her hand.

“You know, your Arie preaching of ‘Sword is higher than thou’ attitude. You have no idea how good it feels to finally pound one of yours into the ground. Huh” The Princess chuckled darkly.

“So drop that sword and let me teach you a lesson about fighting.”

“DON’T FUCK WITH ME!” With another scream, he attempted to swing the blade but-

*tug* A strong force brought his head down to the right.

‘Damn, she’s using my hair to control my entire movements!’

“You see, if you can control someone’s head movements, you can practically control their entire balance. Like this.”

“Arghh!” He tripped this time to the left as his strike missed widely yet again.

“And while their like this…” He felt another hand on the back of his neck. “You can knee them all you want.”

*Crack* *crack* *crack*

*cough* *cough* He felt blood come up the wrong way as it splattered on the grey floor. He could feel the raging fire in his ribs, or rather what remained of them.

“guh…*spit* GAH!” He spit out the gobbled glob of blood as he looked up to meet the eyes of the monster who had put him in this miserable state. The ultimate species of the tower…

“I’m not done yet!”

“Neither am I!” The princess replied delightfully as she let go of him. Instead, yanking his head back one last time as she moved behind him.

He felt an arm form around his neck and another by his head to tighten and keep his head from moving.

*squeeze!* *choke* *choke*

“You can train your body to become stronger, harder, and more durable like that monster Pandora. To train it to the point that entire shinsu cannons don’t even scratch you. But did you know…?” Yuri’s whispered directly into his ears.

“There are some places in which you just can’t train. For example, the throat.” *squeeze* *squeeze*

His vision was beginning to blur…why did his blade feel so heavy?

“It was a ‘no-special-ability’ match between Pandora and I but this is how I won. Feel free to tap out. I’ll ignore it. Huha!”

“You…bitch…!” He managed to wring out before his sight turned black.

And he knew no more.

… …

POV Pandora

“So this Revolution.”

“Yes.” The God of Guardians looked down on her small form. “It is the Revelations of your purpose and destiny. The path laid out for regulars and your chance to destroy it. Revolution brings out the power, the will, and self discovery of the Gate-Openers.”

The giant hunched over until his mountainous face was leaning directly over that of her’s.

“You will see your path on this train. It will be yours to grasp it or not…but take caution Gate-Opener” The God of Guardians warned. “I see your path full of the blood and tears of your kind.”

“My…kind?” She asked…her heart beating as she knew…she knew he was not mentioned the Irregulars.

“Yes Gate-Opener. Your Kind. The Ελληνικά”