I recommend watching Blessed Messiah and the Tower of Ai before reading this fic to understand the full picture. Without it, some parts of this fic may be confusing.

In this fic, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are humanized.

1 may come off as out of character mainly because he and Film!1 went through different situations and came from different backgrounds.

First I thought about 9, and then the Blessed Messiah and the Tower of Ai AU I made but never fully developed. And I remembered 1's "they've left us nothing" and "sometimes one must be sacrificed" lines from the film and thought it would make for a great story with 1 as the main character. But he's not the messiah, 9 is. This fic is in 1's POV and this fic isn't about the whole story, more like what 1 was going through. It felt more interesting to write about one of the characters than retell the messiah's story already shown in the song/video.

9 belongs to Shane Acker

Blessed Messiah and the Tower of Ai belongs to Hitoshizuku x Yama

It started when humans tried to seek a power more than they could comprehend, a power that would allow them to surpass the Fabricator, the god of this world, only to anger him. He sent down divine punishment, causing the world to slowly die, and a tower, now called the Tower of Ai, to erect out of the ground. After that, those who survived started rebuilding society but the world was still dying.

The tower's purpose remained unknown until an oracle claimed that someone, a messiah, had to go to that tower and gather the eight blessings inside. Only then would life be brought back to the world.

That is the story 1 grew up with. It's true. It happened long ago and the results are already here. 3 and 4 recalled overhearing about a village that had been hit by a hurricane and flood during their travels. 2 heard from a traveler that a forest fire took place and a drought hit his area. A blizzard in one location, a volcanic eruption that displaced an entire village in another. The more frequent natural disasters are all a good distance away but... what if this village gets hit? Is it time for the messiah to go to the Tower of Ai?

One day, a messenger and oracle arrived at the village. 5 had came up to 1 with them in tow.

"They said they're looking for 9." 5 told him. "I'm not sure what for but if they came all this way to see one person, it must be important."

"I'm 9." 9 stood nearby.

The oracle faced 9. "You are the next messiah."

What…?

"As the messiah, you must go to the Tower of Ai and gather the eight blessings." She hands him a talisman containing three symbols. "Take this. It will be necessary during your journey."

9 is going to save the world? To stop those natural disasters that have been occurring recently? Wait.

1 puts a hand on 9's shoulder before he can run off. "Are you planning to set off right away?"

"Well maybe not right away but I have to go eventually. If I don't then-"

1 looks at the messenger and at the oracle. "Would it make a difference if he were to set out immediately? Or the next morning? Or one week from now?"

"As long as the world isn't dead by the time he fulfills his duty. He has to, no matter what. Otherwise, how can he save a world that no longer exists? Regardless, time is of the essence."

The messenger and oracle depart.

1 faces 9, "I understand that you want to carry out your role but don't get careless. You don't have to leave right away. But if you plan to, let us know when so we can see you off properly."

"Alright, alright, got it." 9 rubs the back of his head.

Eventually, news reached the rest of the friend group that 9 is the next messiah.

Later in the day, 6 called everyone except 9 to meet up, claiming that he had something important to say.

"If it's that important, then why isn't 9 here to hear it?" 5 asked.

"The Tower of Ai- the blessings-" 6 struggled to piece together his thoughts and words. He's not one for full conversations but he still had thoughts and ideas.

6 took a deep breath, and confessed to the group what he had to say.

After that…

"So if he goes there alone…"

"What are we supposed to do? If he doesn't make it, then..."

"It's not like the moment he dies, they'll immediately find another messiah to take his place! He can't just not do his thing as the messiah!"

"And we can't stop him from going there either. It will only delay the inevitable and bring the end of the world."

Then, someone reached an epiphany.

"There are eight blessings."

"Yeah. And?"

"There are eight people in this room."

A pause. And then it hit them.

"Hold on, you're not suggesting-!"

"I know. I know how dangerous it is but... He can't just not go, but I can't stand the idea of 9 suffering like that."

"True. Even I don't want that. But there's no other option."

After a while, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 all made an agreement.

One morning...

"Guys? What are you doing here?" 9 was already about to exit the village.

"We're going with you. We can't just send you off all alone to that place. What if you get lost? Or hurt?" 1 was the first to answer.

"They never said that the messiah has to go alone." 7 reasoned before 9 could object. "How can you save the world if you don't make it there?"

"We can't call ourselves friends if we left you to fend for yourself now, would we?" 2 was next to speak up.

"Yeah, you're right." 9 said. "Thanks. The world isn't going to save itself if I'm not there."

The group set off for the tower.

Once they entered the tower, the doors closed behind them. There's no backing out now.

The group reached the room containing the first blessing. To continue further into the tower, the blessing has to be taken.

9 entered the chamber. He just has to take the blessing and move on. He reached for the blessing.

A hand was placed over 9's. 9 looked up to see who it was.

"2?"

2 gave 9 a smile.

"We will face all our fortune and pain as one!" 2 pushed 9 away, and took the blessing. The doors to the chamber slammed shut.

"2?" 9 got up once he registered what happened. "2?!" He went up to the doors.

Behind him, everyone in the group gave a look to each other, and looked at 9.

"There's nothing we can do about it. He already took the blessing." 1 stepped forward. "All we can do now is keep going."

Another chamber, another blessing. Another blessing, another loss.

They angered the Fabricator. They left us this. What right did they have to burden us? Why did we have to right their wrongs?

But the Fabricator isn't going to hear him and do away with the Tower of Ai practice. The world won't stop dying because humanity has to pay for their sins, to know their place.

But I have no choice but to accept this. We already past the point of no return. We must fulfill our role.

1 put a hand on 9's shoulder and pushed him away.

Sometimes, one must be sacrificed for the good of many.

And so, he took the blessing.

I wanted to name the messenger and oracle Thomas and Judy after two of the Twitter accounts related to 9 about some of the humans who either rebelled against the Chancellor, tried to survive against BRAIN, or support the Scientist. Problem is I can't have them say each others' names in an organic manner and there's nothing special about it other than an obscure reference to some extra 9 lore. The accounts are 9_thomas, 9_judy, and rebel123456789.There's also the 9 Scientist Facebook but that's easy to find.