The last rays of light blanketed a bustling city as the smoldering sun drooped below the horizon. A dazzling maze of lights cropped up while the city life adjusted to the oncoming darkness.

This happened to be one of the most popular cities in the world—it was a city that never slept.

At city’s center, an enormous tower pierced the sky, projecting an ancient and omnipotent presence as it loomed over its surroundings.

While those living in the heart of the city enjoyed the excitement of merchants hawking wares and the pleasures of entertainment, others were not so fortunate. Toward the outskirts were a series of dilapidated buildings, where groups of figures huddled around a scattering of small fires.

A series of coughs echoed through the thin walls of one such forlorn structure. As if being beckoned, a small figure scampered through alleyways toward that same building.

The broken front door creaked open, and a tiny head peeked inside, almost as if it were afraid.

“Is that you, my angel?”

A woman’s voice called out, low and raspy.

In response, a six-year-old boy stepped inside. His sleek black hair and lively complexion were smeared with dirt, while his clothes were as ragged as his body. He suffered from severe malnutrition.

“Hun, our boy is here…”

Within the darkness, a womanly figure nudged a large bundle of blankets by her side. The bundle stirred and yawned, then broke into a round of coughs.

“Where?”

The bundle coughed again.

“My boy, come here. Come greet your father.”

The man extended a withered hand into the darkness. Stepping over, the child guided his father’s hand to his face.

The boy trembled ceaselessly, but a smile was forced, nonetheless.

“It’s okay.”

The father stared blankly at the wall with blind eyes, gently tracing the features of the boy’s face.

He spoke soothing words, which only amplified the worry and fear the boy felt. Fresh tears trickled onto the man’s fingers.

The woman leaned forward, embracing the boy.

“We’ll get better. A small sickness, nothing more. Your father and I have been through worse… before you were born, you know? Everything will be okay.”

The woman smoothly lied, almost as if she were trying to convince herself rather than the child.

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Elsewhere, In the heart of the city, a handsome man and an elegant woman swept through the floors of a prominent auction house.

Skipping along by the man’s side was a girl around eight years of age. Strands of hair, a messy mop of white, wisped across her bright eyes and smiling face. Her attention engrossed in the sights that only the most privileged could enjoy.

One of her hands latched onto the man’s hand, while the other pointed around in excitement. Everything fascinated her inexperienced eyes.

The woman held onto the man’s free arm with a doting smile while he escorted her across the floor.

Eventually, the family of three entered a VIP room of the auction house. The interior was modest and simple; however, it was anything but cheap.

The girl pressed her face against the glass panel overlooking the main floor below. A massive crowd clamored about, securing seats of their own.

In the end, a significant number of people were left standing along the sides and in between aisles, which only promoted the auction house’s popularity further.

“Come sit with your mother.”

The man motioned to his daughter while an attendant poured tea.

He watched his daughter skip across the room like the embodiment of the most beautiful fairy. It was a strange thought; but deep down, he couldn’t help but wonder if this were truly his own child.

Without suspense, the auction began. In the center of the stage, a beautiful woman advertised and auctioned off item after item.

The man lectured his daughter on the different items that were presented, while also occasionally making bids himself for the ones that caught his fancy.

Eventually the auctioneer revealed a small, glistening pill.

“The Thousand Ailments Pill. A powerful grade A medicinal pill that is sure to save either you or your loved one in a time of danger. Our auction house has visual confirmation that it was created by a prominent alchemy master who resides on the eighth floor. The starting price…”

The young girl stared at the pill with a strange gaze. The various sounds around her faded away as her heart began to beat erratically. Her thoughts wandered as if she were recalling some long-forgotten tale.

“Are you okay?”

The girl’s mother placed a delicate hand on her head, her fingers threading through the messy hair. The girl looked back to the mother with confusion in her eyes.

“Do… I have a loved one?”

Her voice was quiet, but still audible.

“Pfffttt!”

The father spat out a mouthful of tea followed by a coughing fit. After recovering, he shook his head.

“Nonsense. A loved one is for when you are older. When a man and woman decide to spend their life together. Like your mother and I.”

He smiled and looked toward the woman, who smiled back.

“Oh…”

The girl focused her attention back to the auction house floor. It was unknown what was going through her mind, but a few moments later she regained her former light and enjoyed the rest of the event.

Later that night, within the grandest estate in the entire city, the small girl fell fast asleep. Various thoughts filled her head.

Dreams like fairy tales unraveled and regaled their stories one after another.

Although most of these dreams seemed unrealistic, somehow, they also seemed familiar to the child. Without ever mentioning them to another soul, she decided to keep her dreams, which slowly became memories, to herself.

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Two years later, the city welcomed another bright and beautiful day. On the outskirts, among the series of makeshift homes, a hen-pecked boy made a flustered scramble toward a bucket of water.

“I don’t understand how you always come home so dirty! Quickly now, clean your ears and cheeks. My beautiful baby is too precious to be so filthy.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

He splashed the murky water onto his face, a desperate attempt to placate his mother’s incessant nagging.

She leaned against the doorway for support and watched him with a smile. Her face had grown sicklier, while her arms were exceptionally frail.

The boy faced her and made a dramatic and courteous bow.

She straightened his ragged clothes before resting a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s been very kind of Mister Grey to help us with your studies. Be sure to properly thank him again before you come home. Also… please don’t steal food anymore.”

The woman spoke weakly.

Since the start of the year, an old acquaintance offered to help the boy with his academics.

“Such a young child shouldn’t grow ignorant of the world no matter how desperate their situation is.”

He proclaimed.

However, ever since then, the boy brought home small amounts of food each day.

The mother could only assume that he had been stealing the food to prevent them from starving.

The boy silently nodded his head before heading out the door. By now, these slums had become the boy’s backyard, and he knew which places were dangerous as well as the quickest paths to get around.

Eventually, he made his way out of the forest of ruined buildings and into a portion of the city that hosted a series of businesses.

Arriving at the back of a large building, he spotted a middle-aged man. A scar vertically slashed his eyebrow and cheek, while his obtuse belly hung over his belt. Perhaps the man ate a little too well.

His eyes were full of hostility when he noticed the boy.

“You’re late!”

The boy ignored the man’s statement. He was never late, only early. This was simply the man’s way of paying the boy less money, thinking that the child didn’t know any better.

The man held his gaze on the boy. After seeing that the boy didn’t refute back, he changed his attitude to a sinister smile before pointing to a storage shed.

“Alright then, get to work. I expect half of these products to be distributed properly to the right vendors by sundown. Hah!”

The man smirked before walking back into the building and leaving the boy outside.

Of course, this man was the old acquaintance that the boy’s parents had mentioned. Grey had lied, claiming that he would teach the boy academics.

Instead, he offered the boy a small sum of money for his manual labor.

Knowing the boy wouldn’t refuse due to his family’s situation, he essentially had the hardest worker in the city that he could underpay with ease.

The boy naturally knew this.

Despite the setback, he still managed to learn mathematics and reading through observation of others. He even knew that he was worth much more money than he was being paid.

However, there was a single reason why he couldn’t leave in search of a better job. One of Grey’s shops sold a specific herb, and his instincts told him that this herb would ease the ailments that were afflicting his parents.

At the end of every day, the boy would buy a loaf of bread along with a small amount of this herb. Then he’d grind the herb to a paste and cover most of the bread in it. This is the same bread that his mother thought he had been stealing the entire time.

He couldn’t sour his connection with Grey as he didn’t want to gamble on the man exiling him from the medicine shop. At the same time, he had ventured further into the city to see if he could find the same herb, but unless he went to the inner portions of the city, which were quite far away, he was unable to find any.

The boy could only silently lament how unlucky he was for such an awful person to be the only one selling the herb within a reasonable distance.

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Meanwhile, within the inner city.

A woman and her daughter passed through the gates of a prestigious academy. The girl had grown some inches in height over the last couple of years.

She walked like nobility; her smile was gentle, her steps graceful.

“Let’s go find your grandpa.”

The woman spoke to the ten-year-old, who nodded in reply.

Winding pathways pierced the picturesque landscape. Lecture halls and small crowds of people decorated either side of the path.

Children of similar ages listened patiently to various elders who spoke with grandiose gestures. Standing toward the back of each group were lines of bodyguards, each responsible for their own charge.

As the duo passed by, the crowds would grow silent, followed by whispers and burning gazes. Young girls became speechless with respect and envy, while the men would blush in embarrassment.

After the mother and daughter passed by, many of the young boys could be seen communicating with their bodyguards, likely to get more information on the couple.

“Ah, we’re here.”

The woman said after opening an ornate gate, revealing a sizable field of flowers. A wooden hut stood at the end of a stone pathway, giving an aura of antiquity.

Should the city merchants witness this use of prime real-estate, hearts would bleed, eyes would turn red, and mouths would foam and froth.

However, no merchant dared to display disrespect as this was the most prestigious academy in the entire city. They could only helplessly bottle their emotions and vent them later.

As the duo came closer to the hut, the door burst open, and an elderly man with long silver hair rushed out.

“My beautiful daughter and my even more beautiful granddaughter!”

The grandpa cried with delight.

He greeted his daughter with a brief hug, before turning to the child and twirled her through the air.

“You’ve grown so much! I can’t believe that stingy son-in-law of mine is always hiding you away from me. I’m going to have words with that father of his!”

Although his words sounded like a threat, the silly smile never left his face for even a moment.

“Don’t worry about that. Since she’ll be attending academy here, you’ll get to see her more often, no?”

The woman chided her father while also reminding him of her business here.

“Yes, yes of course. Also… we need to talk inside for a moment.”

The elder’s face grew serious.

“Care for the flowers a moment, mother will be back shortly.”

She nudged her daughter toward the flower field and followed the old man into the hut.

Once inside the old man spoke.

“We completed the tenth floor’s trial.”

Although he had just mentioned an incredible achievement, one that an extremely small number of individuals had ever accomplished, he didn’t seem as happy as one would assume.

After a small moment of silence, the woman could guess that something was amiss.

“Then… What is beyond the tenth floor?”

The woman couldn’t help but ask.

“When Xin and I went through the final portal, we separated. I found myself alone in an ancient room. Engravings covered the walls and a column of light shot through the center.”

The old man stroked his beard.

“A powerful being appeared before me inside the light. He gave me three options. Before that though, I want to ask you a question. Do you believe in reincarnation?”

When he asked his daughter this, he couldn’t help but look outside at the most beautiful flower in the entire garden—his granddaughter.

The woman followed his gaze, appearing lost in thought.

“I want to say that our family is very blessed with good looks, but don’t you find her to be somewhat beyond us?”

The woman shook her head before replying.

“It doesn’t matter what circumstances that my daughter has been born into this world. Reincarnation or not, she will always be my daughter and I will always love her as such.”

The old man laughed loudly after hearing this.

“Of course, of course. We all love her just as much. Anyway, the three options were as follows… First, we could choose to ascend to an upper realm, but it’s a one-way trip. With the second option we could be granted a wish and reincarnated with that wish. As for the third option, we could delay our choice and come back when we are ready.”

The old man let out a sigh as he said this.

“Your husband’s father and I aren’t such hasty decision makers. Naturally, we picked the third option. How could I depart this world when I have such a beautiful family here? Regardless of my choice, it seems there’s no true reward for completing the tenth floor’s trial.”

The old man paused, lost in his own thoughts.

“Does my husband know?”

“No, I discussed it with his father after we exited the room. We’ve decided to keep it a secret between the two… three of us. We don’t want him to lose ambition towards climbing the tower. Although there might not be a grand reward for completing the final floor, having access to the tenth floor’s resources is a reward in of itself.”

The woman agreed with him on this point.

Everyone who enters the tower would start on the first floor. The tower would then give them a trial. If they succeeded in their trial, then the tower would allow them access to the next floor. One could always revisit previous floors but could never visit floors above their trial.

These rules only applied to visitors of the tower. Whereas the people native to the tower were able to access any floor freely, provided they had the resources to travel between floors.

In this case, the woman’s husband was currently pursuing the trial on the seventh floor, and therefore he did not have personal access to any resources from floors above his level.

“I know it wasn’t what we were expecting, but it’s still confidential information. As for our granddaughter, has anything stood out to you whether or not she could be a reincarnation?”

The old man once more inspected the young girl waiting patiently outside.

“Hmm… Well, there was one time we were at an auction house.”

The woman recalled a memory two years back. The old man raised his eyebrows in thought.

“She asked if she had a loved one? Perhaps it was just an idea planted in her head by the auctioneer. Let me know if anything odd happens.”

The old man shrugged.

The woman nodded and made her way to the door, but before she opened it, she turned back around.

“How did you two complete the final trial?”

She couldn’t help but ask as she was on the eighth floor herself. Her ambitions were not small as she intended to reach the tenth floor one day.

“Hehe well, for longest time we had been looking inside the Bestial Cemetery, which is a forbidden zone on one of the tenth-floor worlds. The Bestial Cemetery was the only clue we had to go by according to our tower tokens. About a month ago we sat before an old beast statue, and it suddenly came to life. Afterwards, it challenged us both to a game of wits. Honestly… it was pure luck that we succeeded.”

The woman contemplated for a moment before exiting the room with her father in tow.

She couldn’t help but think to herself.

Our family has been quite lucky these past eight years…

The woman’s eyes subconsciously looked to her daughter, who merely smiled back with bright eyes.