I couldn’t name my feelings. Happiness, pride, grief, horror… none of them fit. All of them fit. What do you call it when you are feeling all the emotions at the same time? I… had done it. I had led my people through this calamity. We would have a powerful mage supporting our tower. And whatever other rewards came with this place. We achieved something here. We had given these restless ghosts some measure of vindication.

I’m millennial enough to have a nihilistic view of the world. Everything is cursed. Everything is doomed. Nothing means anything. But I am also a weeb. An otaku. An enjoyer of fine Nipponese culture. And what are we if not people who can find their happiness in the ashes of atrocity? We are exactly the people who know how much everything sucks, and can find joy and meaning anyway.

So what if my dolls had mutilated souls shoved in ‘em? So what if this was all some necromancer's game? It was real to them. It mattered to them. So it was real and meaningful to me.

It was an old, old ghost story- recreating the past how it should have been, not how it was. God, the stink of it all! The blood and the gore and the reeking burning buildings. I’d be a damned angry ghost too, if I went out in all that.

Don’t look at me like that. I am very hygienic in my own way. It is a well known fact that showers, and particularly soap, strip away vital oils that protect the skin and keep away disease. I haven’t caught a cold in years because I can firmly maintain a twenty foot personal bubble around me. Social distancing saves lives.

Deodorant is basically perfume with extra steps. I’m not so degenerate as to go around wearing perfume all day. Not a single person wearing Axe Body Spray has meaningfully contributed to the species. None of ‘em. Zero. But Otaku make art, technology and music. We move the world forward. You are the smelly weirdo here, not me.

“My God. We won.” Madame murmured.

“A victory you created. You gave everything for this moment.” I meant every word. Since I first came to the Floating Quarter, I had seen her hand in everything. She had given her all. Truly, her all.

“Sorry I didn’t give this to you earlier- a note from Daphnae. She says that she sent the Circus and a hitter disguised as a nurse to kill the Reverend. Guess it didn’t work, but hey. He died in the end anyway.”

I dropped the head by her feet. She looked at it with the strangest expression on her face.

“He didn't wear a mask, originally. It was just the last few years. I wondered if he had been replaced with someone, but the detectives and spies I hired swore blind he had the same old face underneath.”

I nodded. Sounded like magic to me. When in doubt, a wizard did it.

“The Circus?”

“A team of assassins who use glamours to appear as other people, frequently children, to approach their targets. They are deadly but assassins are fragile. I figured the “nurse” would be a necessary addition to the disguise. Seems it wasn’t enough.”

“Dunno. His robes had a lot of holes in ‘em before I reached him. Might have died eventually.”

“Not soon enough.” Madame’s voice was quiet. “Not soon enough for all of us.”

The fireworks were still going. I admired the glowing, golden VICTORY! Sign floating in the sky.

There was a *ding* and a system message popped up.

Congratulations! You have successfully acquired the Gradden March Floating Quarter Ruin Site. Sky Realm Management system unlocked! Throne Room Upgrades unlocked. Cutthroat Clothiers Unlocked. Nightmare Realm Of Trials unlocked. Gradden March specialty weapons, equipment, armor and outfits now available for purchase.

Atrocity Mode Bonus- All rewards *10 or increased by two grades. Check your Throne Room to receive them all! TIP- be sure and leave plenty of space around you when opening the chests!

Congratulations! You have collected all the clues and solved the mystery behind the fall of the Gradden March Floating Quarter. Reward- Carousel (Six Stars).

Madame reached down and picked up the severed head of the Reverend. Carefully and deliberately, she spat in its eye.

“I won’t recite my grudges with him. I had my reasons.”

“He was a monster. What more reasons could you need?”

“He gave me plenty of them anyhow.” She tossed the head back over the wall, landing on a pile of monster corpses.

I just nodded. I have no idea what you say to something like that. Eventually I asked- “You gave everything to this fight. Everything. Why? You could have run. Could have taken the Blue Roses and all of your people in a big caravan and run.”

“Could have. Many did. But at the end of the day, where would I run? The whole world is slowly being eaten up by these monsters. The only thing that slows the spread is killing loads of ‘em. So, I figured, I’d get out as many as I could, and for the rest of us? I’d kill loads of ‘em. Why save worthless coins? No pockets in a shroud and all that.”

Corporal Mika came up to me and saluted. “Tower Master, just wanted to say, we saw what you did. We were about to put a bolt in your back, but when the Home Guard fell down frothing at the mouth, I figured it out. Took guts. And it’s better than a traitor deserves. Just wanted to say, you have our respect.”

Only Six Stars got the relationship system. There were no benefits to her appreciation. No announcements, no prizes, no cutscenes. I would have cried if I could. “Thank you. I have always had the highest respect for you too.”

“Naturally! Mika is here. You have nothing to fear. Tower Master.” She saluted with a smile, and returned to her squad.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Madame had been around the block so often, she was the block. She gave me a minute.

“Her whole family died fighting monsters. All of them, as far as I can tell. Her grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters… She died holding the line, pulling the trigger on her crossbow. Not taking a single step back.” I struggled to get the words out.

I pointed to Miyuki. “I don’t know her story yet, not really. But where I come from, her people were basically mountain clans. Poor as a stack of dead beggars, hiring themselves out as mercenaries. But here she is, looking poised and raining Hell.”

I pointed to the dapper Pomoroi. “Died firing her cannon, to give the rest of her army the chance to escape.”

I pointed to Radz. “Lost her mind to the horrors she saw. She didn’t survive her war.”

I pointed at the medics. “Never had the guts to check how they died. But they died young, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they are mutilated even now.” Sweeping my hand around, waving at all my other summons, I continued. “They all have this story. A damn tragedy and one that should never have happened.”

Madame nodded slightly. “Looking pretty lively for corpses.”

I laughed. What could I do but laugh? It was bitter and ugly, even to my own ears. “Aren’t we all?”

“Well. Any chance of you changing their story, giving them a happy ending?”

“Before today, I would have said it was near impossible. Just pushing on with my own stubbornness and spite. But you know what? I think so. I do think so. I think I’m going to do it. I’m going to break the rules of this world, and give them all the futures they deserved!”

“Delighted to hear it.” Sebastian materialized next to me. I didn’t jump. I swear, I didn’t. “Congratulations on your victory and new territory. I suppose I would be annoyed about it, but it seems I’m running it now, so it’s staying in the family.”

“Pardon?”

“Mmm. Yes. All this is now yours. Lucky you.”

“‘Everything’ consists of one street that is on fire!”

“I imagine there will be some way to fix it all up.”

“Wait, if it’s my territory, why are you running it?”

“Oh, well. Remember the… homunculi populating my prison?”

One way to describe his part of the ruin site, I guess. “Sure.”

“Well, the population of the Floating Quarter will largely be like that. A few people with functioning brains, but mostly imbeciles. Capable of remembering only one or two instructions and repeating them mindlessly.”

“Ah. Right.”

“So you will need to be very careful, and very specific in giving them orders. I… for some reason… know that the Floating Quarter will be able to provide you resources and more in the future. Provided you run things properly. Make sure everyone is following the right orders, at the right times.”

I stretched out the logic, and vividly flashed back to my one meeting with the Black Robe. “And if I conquer more Ruin Sites, they will also get added to my Tower.”

“I suppose. I don’t think we have the language for this sorted out properly, yet.”

“And I would need to get them to work together, all those different imbeciles in the different sites, completing their orders mindlessly. I could see how crafting those instructions would be very complicated. Very time consuming.”

“Indeed.”

“Like, for example, computer programming. Or running a network.”

“I don’t think I understand how you mean those words, My Lord.”

I buried my face in my hands. “Lucky you.”

Versai stomped up, smiling fit to blind the sun. “Now THAT was fun! My GOD! I have been so damn repressed and miserable for so damn long, I couldn’t even remember what feeling good felt like. I can’t wait for the next damn wave.”

The monsters started vanishing in bursts of golden light. Any chance they would be turned into Runed Bones for me to use as home? Of course not. I checked anyway, and nearly fell off the wall. Twenty thousand Rune bones. Then there was a *Ding!* and a flash and a zero was tacked on the end. Two hundred thousand Runed Bones. I boggled. There was no other word for it. I boggled at the number.

“Oh, this mask is a little interesting. I bet you could turn it into something if you took it to the right shop.” Versai waved the mask that had been on the Reverend's face. “Saw it on the ground and knew it would be useful.”

“Thank you.” I put it in my bag. I wonder if Hattie could use it. Or those… Cutthroat Clothiers. I had a lot of their receipts too- interesting to see what they would cough up.

“I gave my everything. Gave up my home. My businesses- yes, it wasn’t just the shop. Gave them all up. Gave up my jewels, my friendships. My family. Sent them all away. Burned bridges that had stood for decades, just to get more weapons and equipment.” Madame didn’t sound upset. She was laying it out plain.

“But there was one thing I didn’t give up. Myself. I stayed true to myself, right the way through.”

“Madame?”

“Cash on the nail, payment in advance. That’s how my shop’s always been run. Though tipping is encouraged. I’ve gotten my fee.” She turned her head and glanced at me. “Treat me kindly, Tower Master. I renounce my name. I will bind and blind your enemies hereafter- I am Carousel.”

The effect was nearly instant. A harsh beam of light fell on the doughty older woman. I desperately tried to memorize her face. The crow's feet around her eyes. The way the skin sagged under her chin, and the way gray streaked her temples. The fight in her eyes. The sneaky wit in her.

Tried to remember all of her, before she was eaten up by the light. When the light was gone, so was Madame. Carousel remained.

She stretched luxuriantly. “Oh, that feels nice! Seems my bunions don’t hurt any more. Haven’t felt this good since I was a slip of a girl.”

Carousel was very pretty. She had a big hat, and a slinky dress with a slit up the side that reached high on the thigh. She had a big staff with a big sparkly magic stone on the top of it. She would look outstanding in a thumbnail or on merch, if you didn’t mind the paint by numbers character design.

“It seems that I can save the people and places in the Ruin Sites. Carve them away from the monsters forever.” In a horrible manner of speaking. My guts were churning.

“It does seem that way, yes, Tower Master.” Versai agreed happily.

“Which suggests a… not completely diabolical reason behind all of this.” Please God let me be right about that.

“I suppose?”

“Still need to beat the absolute stuffing out of some people, mind you.” I was strict on this. Versai agreed wholeheartedly.

“Naturally. Vengeance is never optional. The Gradden Family can proudly say we have no enemies, as we never let the sun set on our wrath. And we always forgive people after we have exterminated them. Except for Nana, but she was just set in her ways. I don’t know what she thought she was accomplishing, burning those crypts.”

“I swear, the more I learn about your family… you know what? Not going to get side tracked. We have new loot to unpack, new systems to learn, a whole damn kingdom to build… And we are going to just slaughter monsters along the way.”

I smiled up at the looping fireworks animation in the sky. “We are going to beat this damn game.” A thought intruded and I hurriedly coughed. “But just in case anyone ever asks, remember- It’s not cheating if you are using something the devs left in the game.”