As he faced the crushing grip of death, the sensation of his insides about to be squeezed out of him like toothpaste overwhelmed Kazuo. In this dire moment, he grasped the gravity of his mistake – a misstep with no chance of rectification.

He shouldn’t have come to this place to begin with!

"What in the world-" His words were severed as his limbs were contorted and torn.

Strangely, pain eluded Kazuo; his mind fixated solely on the Shadow Tower. That looming place destined to house his soul and torture it for eternity.

‘The revelation of the new Shadow Tower’s inheritor will surely be a shock,’ Kazuo mused in his fading consciousness.

As his awareness slipped away, Kazuo was reborn into a world of void. The Kuro Clan's tradition dictated that the Tower claimed their leaders posthumously, subjecting them to everlasting torment. At least, that's what folklore conveyed, though fact and fiction often intertwined.

Though regret shadowed his last moments, his options were irrevocably exhausted. His curiosity now leaned toward the origin of this soul-like presence – whether his own or a construct conceived by the Tower's enigmatic architect.

Existence of the soul – a timeless enigma pondered by renowned exorcists through epochs, a riddle that defied solution.

Yet, before contemplation could deepen, a magnetic tug focused on his forehead, and suddenly, he stood upon a dark domain of shadows.

A flood of insights coursed into his mind – it was the memories of the tower creator concealed within. Did the Shadow Tower have an unseen condition? One triggered upon its possessor's demise?

“Well, this is quite the predicament, isn’t it?” quipped a man, a brown beard and cascading hair framing his face, striking blue eyes exuding warmth that could brighten the bleakest room.

Beside him stood a figure with a tattered crown, nodding in agreement. “Yes, you could say that. Did you have to go and put a charm into your name like that? Now the demons have banded together and have even put a curse on your name so no one except you will ever remember it.”

The blue-eyed man chuckled, but the happiness wasn’t there as the smile didn’t quite reach their eyes. “Well, if they wanted to target someone they should have gone for me instead of directing their useless hatred elsewhere.”

“It’s all due to your carelessness,” retorted a dark-haired man, an air of gloom clinging to him. Kazuo recognized him as Kuro Clan kin. “You had an ego after your talent was revealed to be 100% and that cost you dearly. Even stronger demons and spirits who never intervened in the battles between humans and demons, have gotten involved and have started killing humans.”

“I…” The blue-eyed man's grin dimmed. “I guess I should have been more careful. But there is no use crying over spilled milk.”

"Shut the hell up!" The dark-haired man's fists clenched as he spoke. "You never cared about anyone but yourself from the start. Your arrogance has had grave consequences for humanity. Already, over 45% of the world's population has perished. Children, men, women, the elderly—all have fallen victim. Families endured unspeakable horrors as sadistic demons slaughtered and tormented them in each other's presence."

The blue-eyed man's expression shifted upon hearing this, his face clouded with remorse. “I am sorry, I never knew-”

At that very moment, the man adorned with a thorn crown produced a dagger and drove it straight through the back of the blue-eyed man. The knife emerged from his chest, coated in a purplish poison that gave rise to intricate flower patterns snaking across his body.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Curiously, Kazuo knew that had it not been for the distraction caused by the accusations of his culpability in the deaths of nearly half of humankind, such an attack might not have succeeded against him.

Was this the knowledge of his ancestor flowing into him?

Despite the dagger piercing his chest, the blue-eyed man astonishingly managed to smile and remark, "A blade forged from Fenrir's fangs, capable of penetrating anything, even gods and the fabric of space itself. Infused with the venom of Yamata No Orochi, which can kill even concepts. Nicholas would probably piss his pants if he saw such an object; that guy was always obsessed with Orochi."

His words held a casual tone, as though the world around him bore no influence on his mood. Casting a glance toward his companions, the blue-eyed man continued, “So? Did the demons make a deal with you guys to kill me or something?”

"Yes," replied the Ancestor of the Kuro Clan. “The Dragon King will create a barrier around the island of Jappon and there we will establish a new humanity. I have created a special ability that will get stronger with each generation, so when the time comes one of my descendants will be able to protect humanity.”

"I understand. Just keep your promise and take care of her, she had nothing to do with my mistakes," the blue-eyed man's gaze shifting to his other companion. However, this friend twisted the dagger further upon realizing that his comrade remained alive.“What about you? Do you have any plans?”

“No, I only have regrets,” confessed the man with the crown of thorns. “I regret ever giving someone like you the chance to awaken their Ord.”

"I see," The blue-eyed man's expression turned somber as a slow decay overtook his body, the poison of Yamata No Orochi gradually taking effect. "I am sorry, it seems like I wasn't the chosen one."

***

Gem gazed up at the sky, the distance between them and Avalon Island now far enough that he couldn’t see it.

Suddenly, a peculiar sensation stirred within him, much like the discomfort of overeating before nausea sets in. Yet, as soon as it emerged, the feeling dissipated, leaving him perplexed.

What was that?

Abruptly, the Ord within him surged, infusing him with an unimaginable burst of energy. Handling sudden boosts had become second nature to Gem. However, this surge was different — its magnitude overwhelmed him. He concentrated, only to find his mind constructing a translucent tower, an unexpected fusion of the Queen Piece and the newfound Shadow Tower.

The Queen Piece, akin to a multiplier, amplified his power. Its impact varied based on the existing strength, unable to conjure something from nothing. While it offered a modest 2x increment, Gem's Ord had already undergone a substantial 9x augmentation, rendering him relatively weak.

Yet, the Shadow Tower experienced a wholly distinct transformation with a 2x increase. It was as though he had gained access to an infinite reservoir of Ord, far too vast to control.

A trickle of blood escaped Gem's nose, his strength waning. A human body can only contain so much Ord.

Realizing this, he clasped his hands. The shadow beneath him stretched and formed into a giant wolf head with its jaws open, from which a towering shadow skyscraper erupted. His own Ord manifested before him, an astonishing sight that left him awestruck. "What is this?"

Gem knew he was kinda stupid, yet even he recognized the distinctive signature ability of the Kuro Clan Head. Though he never knew exactly what the tower of shadows did.

Previously, Gem had held the least Ord among the group, narrowly trailing Anika. Now, however, his Ord was monstrous; he surpassed even the likes of Zumi and Sei. No, even if everyone here combined their Ord, he had more than all of them!

But despite his newfound power, Gem couldn't help but wonder just how strong it would be if he used his special ability at night!

***

As Carpy devoured his master, he felt a sense of unbearable despair. But he slowly felt something strange happening inside of him, it was usually unnoticeable but for someone with his sensory powers how could he not notice something like this? Especially when he was very familiar with a phenomenon like this.

The process resembled when an ultimate class demon is eaten by another demon, which in return causes a seed to form inside of them and be a way for the ultimate class demon to get reborn. Of course, the chances of this happening were very low, and the ultimate class demons themselves must have good control over their power to even have a chance to do something like this.

Carpy swallowed down his excitement, as he knew that this was something that even Perfect Me wasn’t sure something like that would work. But this was the best revival method Perfect Me could think of.

There was the Cursed Corpse Art that the Shi Clan used, but they only controlled corpses and didn’t bring people back to life. That one time when the Magician awoke his consciousness was nothing more than a fluke.

What if this didn’t work, Carpy wondered. With Master Kon’s corpse now gone, the chances of him reviving were nonexistent.

Just thinking about that brought Carpy’s world to a standstill. What would he even do without Master Kon? He had never really thought about it. His goal had always been to get stronger and now he was stronger. But what was he even going to do with all this power?

He only wanted the power to defend himself and help Master Kon. At least those were his thoughts when Master Kon was alive, now he didn’t have any of that!

Master Kon planned to save the world, but Carpy planned to save Master Kon even if it cost the world.

As he was thinking that, Carpy realized that he was out of Perfect Me and could do what he wanted. The incubation period had started and he could only hope that Master Kon would somehow come out of this alive.

Carpy flew around Avalon Island, with his mind wandering about as he stared at the many strings of fate around the place. Strangely, there were some creatures on the island that had their strings of fate directly tied to the island somehow.

What was up with that?