Bam and his wife Yuri were reminiscing about their past while looking at the night sky filled with bright fake stars. Tomorrow, they would open the gate to the next floor and continue climbing toward the real night sky. It had been a long and painful journey toward this moment. From their first meeting to the grueling war with King Zahard that had cost them so much. Tomorrow, Bam and Yuri would use the key that Zahard had created to open the gate to the 135th floor and take the guardian test continuing what Zahard had stopped so long ago.
The all-out war began when Zahard multiply his efforts to kill Bam after Bam had achieved High Ranker status soon after finishing his climb. The war put friends and foes against each other, from great families fighting against each other to outside groups like FUG and Wolhaiksong joining the war. The war between Bam and his allies, FUG, the Zahard Empire, and Wolhaiksong reach its highest peak after centuries of bloodshed and destruction with an uncountable number of lives lost. The end of the so-called final war arrive, during the final battle on the 134th floor between Bam and Zahard, where Bam was able to strike the final strike on Zahard and end his Tyranny. Meanwhile, Yuri and the others were able to get the final piece of the key during her battle against Adori Zahard and her allies.
During the historic final battle between the factions, Allies and Enemies were killed without mercy while the Irregulars fought against each other. While the families' heads were fighting against each other, Bam was fighting against the hordes of Zahard-affiliates rankers slowly gaining more and more strength in order to fight Zahard while Zahard himself destroy legions of FUG members. The all-out fight between Irregulars was unlike anything seen before in the tower, entire floors were left in ruins, floating palaces crumble to pieces, entire species were wiped off in a manner of seconds, and even the Guardian could do nothing but watch in fear and awe as everything spirals out of control. The Final battle was expanded multiple floors and lasted decades of back-and-forth fighting with neither side gaining a major advantage.
The result was a total catastrophe as many of the floors were left so in ruin that the desolated 43rd floor look like paradise in comparison. This war had proven catastrophic to Bam as a person as he was not given time to grieve for his friends, it took him years to get used to the death of his friends and the hated he had for being unable to save them. For Yuri, the war was one of the very few times where she could not with confidence believe they could win as everything seem against them. The loss of her Great-Grandmother had hit her especially hard.
The battle drew to a close when the remaining families' heads were killed in a fight against each other, leaving Urek Mazino, Bam, and Zahard as the last remaining Irregulars. At that moment, The battle and maybe even the war appears to have been won. That all changed when Zahard unveil his trump card. The arrival of the Eye of Fate marked the final battle of the war as with a single giant barrey of golden needles, Zahard display his power as the king of the tower killing all enemies in his path. The Eye of Fate allowed Zahard to use his shinsu with frightening precision and power. It seem to make Zahard rival the power of an administrator while allowing Zahard to walk the path towards victory better than even a guide. Zahard was followed by the rest of his army and royal guards led by the supreme leader princess Adori Zahard from his floating palace. What resulted from the arrival of The Eye of Fate could only be called a complete massacre, as Zahard forces led by Adori decimated most of the FUG and Wolhaiksong Ranker left alive, and many of the injured High Ranker. Leaving only a few remaining elders, two slayers, and one high-ranking Wolhaiksong member alive as weaker rankers were no match for the Zahard army and royal guard. Even with all of the remaining FUG and Wolhaiksong members present, The remaining Zahard army was almost twice as big.
While the battle between High Rankers of each faction was legendary, the real sight was the battle between the remaining Irregulars and Zahard. As Bam and Urek fought against Zahard, the power of their techniques and skills from their fight was released in the form of constant waves of destruction and Shinsu that constantly kill Rankers unfortunate enough to be in the way. As the shock waves from the Irregulars reach the high Ranker's battle, many high rankers were left injured or in critical condition.
The Battle seem to be close but since Urek was previously injured and they were unprepared for Zahard's ability to manipulate the future, they were losing the advantage. Out of nowhere, The tides turn as Zahard manages to kill Urek by setting up an unexpected trap but not before Urek manages to deal a devastating blow to Zahard. This left Bam as the only opposing irregular alive and the only one with a chance to kill the weakened Zahard. As the shock waves stop and the battle between the Irregulars paused, Bam was barely able to process what had happened before Zahard's shilling voice spoke, "Now Child of Arlen and V, It is your turn" as he teleported in front of Bam. Before the battle could continue, A workshop invention made by Gustang was deployed to prevent Zahard from using his future manipulation ability temporarily.
"Zahard" whispered Bam, the name of his greatest enemy, the man responsible for many of Bam's life tragedies, feeling only anger towards Zahard. Even at that moment, Bam could not help but wow at the man's strength and presence. Bam knew that if they were to fight all out right here, everyone on the nearby floors would die. Making the damage that the other Irregulars had done seem like nothing and inconsequential. Bam had been constantly absorbing the soul that had died in the war, especially for this moment and this fight. Before the fight could be continued, Bam use the second thorn power to teleport Zahard away from the battle to a different floor far from all others. While Bam teleport Zahard, Yuri was busy with Adori who had appeared in front of her, the Golden November on one hand and the Dark September on the other. Adori had been one of the last obstacles in order to complete the key to open the gate for the 135th floor apart from Zahard himself as she possessed the rest of the 13 months series that Yuri did not have. As Yuri got ready to fight, she did not know if this could be considered a lucky break or just the worst luck ever.
As Zahard fought against Bam, Bam use all the techniques he had learned from all his teachers like Jinsung Floral Techniques Skills with the help of the power of all the souls lost during the war, the Thorns transformations, and everything else inside of him. This allow him to match Zahard's power and compensated for his relative inexperience against the ancient Zahard via pure power allowing the battle to become a closer match between the two insanely powerful beings. The fight lasted for hours as they both match each other's attacks and threw everything they had against each other. Bam activated the powers of the Thryssa with the Dark Shinsu loop while Zahard use Awaken Lecalicus's final form with his Enhance Golden Cosmo Skills to fight Bam.
As they slowly tired out and their battle reaches a stalemate, Bam and Zahard gathered all their strength for a final showdown. Bam activated all of his power inside of him and burn all souls while Zahard use all of his power in a single Golden Universe x Final Lecalicus attack. Their final clash was felt throughout the tower and for a moment it seem that Zahard had the upper hand. His chance of victory is secure but at the door of death, Bam unleashes his most powerful attack. An attack that could only be done once buts its effect was without equal. It was the ultimate evolution and culmination of all his skills. For a fraction of a second and for the first and last time, [Bam Style Transcendental Skill: Void Gate - Absolute Wave Explosion Floral Butterfly Piercing Technique (Twenty-Fifth Night Twin-Void-Wings-Black-Shinwonryu-Hole-Thryssa-Endless-Void-Sky-Ultimate-Shinsu-Piercing-Control) ] to hit Zahard where Urek had weakened him fatally damaging Zahard. Even with a fatal blow, Zahard was still capable of retaliating with a final attack, the aftermath of Zahard's final attack piercing Bam's weakened chest. All that could be heard was silence as the fight between Bam and Zahard reach its end without a clear victor. The final battle would have resulted in the deaths of all Irregulars had it not been for a small red flame fish appearing in the hole in Bam's chest. As the flame fish slowly dwindles away, it uses the last of its strength to heal Bam before flickering out of existence.
While Bam had been battling Zahard, Yuri was fighting Adori for the other 13 months' weapons. Adori was the sole stopping point for gathering the last piece of the key to open the gate on the 135th floor, and was given the number 7th position tied with Enne Zahard for a reason. Adori had proven to be a wall that not even the combined power of Enne and Garam could break. The fight between Adori and her allies versus Yuri, Enne, and Garam with their allies had left Adori injured at the cost of Enne and Garam's lives. Before the War began, Adori when on to collect the last of the 13 months from Hagipherione Zahard, An Zahard, Maschenny Zahard, and the Rainbow Undecimber from Zahard himself while Yuri went to look for Garam, Enne, and Alphid Zahard for help. With the final fight between Yuri and Adori commencing, Yuri had hoped that Adori would still not have recuperated her full strength, sadly, Adori appeared to be even stronger than the last time Yuri had seen her. This fight would prove extremely difficult to win now if Adori had fully recovered. While Yuri was the stronger physically of the two, Adori possessed more battle experience and shinsu mastery from her countless battles. If she was at full strength, it was obvious she would have the upper hand. But thankfully, the damage done by Enne and Garam had a lasting effect on Adori making the fight more balanced, granting Yuri a chance to win. Yuri also had two aces up her sleeve. While Yuri was known for being a close-quarter combat type of person, fighting during the war allowed her to improve her range skill, something that Adori would not expect. It may only grant her a few seconds advantage at the start while Adori maintains Yuri at a distance in order to gain an advantage in their fight but it would be enough to keep her second ace hidden until it was too late. As they kept their distance, Yuri used the Green April forest ability to attack Adori from a distance while Adori use the Golden November to reflect Yuri's attack. Yuri and Adori's battle lasted for hours as one would momentarily gain an advantage and attack before the other would take back the advantage and retaliate. As they clash, the remaining FUG and Wolhaiksong forces fought against the remaining Zahard army while Yuri kept her ace well hidden.
As Yuri and Adori's fight slowed down, The battle between FUG, Wolhaiksong, and the Zahard army forces was reaching its end as without the lead of Zahard or Adori, FUG, and Wolhaiksong were able to combat Zahard Army's higher numbers allowing them to reach a stalemate. Suddenly, massive pressure is felt as the entire tower shakes. Then silence, Everything seems to stop for a few seconds as a sudden chill is felt throughout the tower. Regaining her focus, Yuri had the only chance to quickly beat Adori while she was distracted. With Adori distracted, she had momentarily lost her advantage allowing Yuri to unleash her final ace. So, in true Yuri fashion, Yuri use the moment as an opportunity to get closer to Adori while she was distracted using her Shinsu Bubble teleportation skill. The battle resumed with everyone snapping out of their trance. Yuri unleash her final attack, [Yuri Style Transcendental Skill: Big Bang- Rose Control Shinsu (Black Ouroboros Sword)]. The Absolute and Final evolution of her Red Velvet Sword Skill where she uses her sheer strength and unique Shinsu mastery to create a pure Shinsu punch shape attack more deadly and more powerful than all her other skills combine, The punch work like a spear capable of breaking any and all defense in its wake. It was something that she had to develop with help from Jinsung, her great-grandmother, and Bam specifically to fight an enemy like Adori after the first battle with Adori. The skill would have been risky to use at a distance with Adori since she was fast enough to dodge it but thanks to the well-timed distraction, Yuri was able to use it to put an end to Adori and get the remaining 13 months.
With Adori's death, The Zahard army was left without a clear leader to follow and their last hope was crushed when the dead king's body was brought back by Bam. As a tired Bam collapsed, Yuri used her teleportation skill to appear next to Bam and grab him. As Bam closed his eyes, he felt the warm feeling of Yuri's arms as she whisper to him that everything was going to be ok and the relief of knowing that Zahard was finally dead.
The war drew to a close quickly after Zahard and Adori fell as most of Zahard's soldiers lost their will to fight while the remaining squadrons and army commanders fought each other for power. A few weeks after most of Zahard's remaining forces had surrendered, Bam woke up, much to the relief of Yuri who had spent the last few weeks waiting next to Bam for him to wake up. A few days after Bam woke up and the last of Zahard's army was defeated or had surrendered, the remaining FUG & Wolhaiksong forces decide to have a big party in Zahard Royal Palace to celebrate the end of Zahard's reign, the end of the war, and to honor those that had lost their lives during the war. Bam and Yuri attended the party for a few days before they decided to leave in order to spend some time alone together. They decide to look at the fake stars in the night sky as they took a well-deserved rest before their next goal of opening the gate for the 135th floor.
Bam and Yuri did not feel like they had won as their victory had come at a great price. For Bam, the war against Zahard had been the entire reason why he was recruited by FUG, To avenge his parents and fulfill his destiny. Yet, now that Zahard was dead and Bam had lost most of his friends and allies in exchange, he did not feel the sense of relief or satisfaction that he had wanted or expected. For Yuri, she had watched too many of her family and friends die in order to make this day possible making the victory feel hollow. Bam and Yuri imagine that it was the same for many others as the quick end to the war contrasted with such a long and painful conflict. It was gonna be a long and time-consuming process to get rid of Zahard's influence on the tower. As there were still remains of Zahard's empire left around the tower, some would surrender at the news of Zahard's dead, and others would fight back. But following Bam waking up, he and Yuri had decided that they would not interfere in that conflict and instead would focus on opening the gate to the next floor and taking on the 135th Guardian test.
The next day, while everyone was partying inside the floating palace of Zahard. Bam and Yuri left the palace in order to create the key in preparation for opening the gate. Yuri took out all the 13 months series that she had gathered and Bam took out the Rings entrusted to him by Karaka & Wangnan and the other princes of the red light district. Using items from the workshop, Bam melted the rings while Yuri said goodbye to the spirits inside each 13 months weapon. With Yuri igniting all the 13 months at once, the Spirit of the 13th Months was put to rest and the spell was broken allowing Yuri to ignite all 13 months without its influence. Once the rings and the 13 months were melted, a key was created and the closed gate for the 135th floor appear in front of them. As the key was cooling down, Bam and Yuri decided to go back to the party in order to inform their allies that they had created the key and that the gate to the 135th floor had appeared. Their plan was to create a team from the remaining high-rankers in the party to go through the gate and take the test of the 135th guardian. But before Bam and Yuri could react, the key started to resonate with the gate sending it flying toward the gate and opening the way to the next floor sending Bam and Yuri to the 135th floor. After the Gate had sent Bam and Yuri to the 135th floor, It and the key crumbled into pieces preventing anyone else from entering or opening it again.
As my eyes adjusted to the sudden bright light around us while I looked around, I found myself on a small platform made of suspendium next to Bam. Bam had woken up faster than I had and appeared to be scared looking at something in the far distance. As I looked at what he was seeing, I realized why he felt scared and what had happened. In the far distance, a monster darker than the void sat there staring right back at us with what appeared to be stars as his eyes. His mere presence seemed to suffocate all the light near him and made Shinsu constantly tremble. It was the Guardian of the 135th floor, the guardian known for the rumors of his hostile nature and unbeatable test. As he stood up, His appearance grew sharper and he now resembled more closely Headon from the first floor in size and appearance. As he approached us, He seem to examine us as if looking for something specific. It seems that he had found what he was looking for as his face seemed to morph into a sinister smile that reminded me of Headon when Bam had chosen to take the white eel test all those times ago. "Why, It is a pleasure to meet the child of the prophecy, My name is Kilof" spoke a voice that seemed to echo through the floor growing deeper and more sinister with every word. "Let the test begin," said a grinning Kilof. "What test?" ask Bam before I could, It seemed that the child of the prophecy part had bothered him as he look annoyed and all his fear was gone. Kilof looked at Bam as if he was asking the obvious. "Why, Obviously you have to last an hour against me, staring right now!", before we could say anything else, Kilof seemed to manifest in front of us as we were sent flying.
Had it not been for Bam's quick thinking of using the thorns to minimize the force of the blow, it was still strong enough to knock the winds out of us. "As expected of the child of the prophecy. When power by the thorns of my fallen brother, You may actually be able to last the full hour." proclaim an excited Kilof. His word and attitude may seem amusing, but that blow would have definitely killed most high rankers even with Bam's help. While I could have tanked it and survived thanks to my unnaturally tough body, I would have probably been unable to fight for at least a week if not for Bam. Continuing the fight, Bam activated the rest of the thorns, while I took out all the weapons that I had gathered. Sadly, the 13 months series that I had grown a costume to use had been melted down. As I look at an amused Kilof in front of us, I realize why he was the guardian of the 135th floor and why Zahard had been so afraid of him. Retailing for the last attack, Bam used the Thorn power to distract Kilof while I made sure that he keep his distance. The damage we had taken would take some time to heal even with our mastery of Shinsu healing. As we tag-team the Guardian, we made sure to stall as long as we could. As we near the one-hour mark, we were struggling to keep up the momentum and survive. Bam's ability to create shinsu on this floor had definitely been an advantage against the Guardian's natural ability absolute control of shinsu that allowed him to manipulate shinsu for a number of uses from shields that could stop Bam Shinwonryu's skills and retaliated with devastating attacks. Not to mention having a body capable of surviving even the most destructive skills that we had in our arsenal. As we stalled time against Kilof, Bam used his teleportation skills to gain distance and move out of Kilof's attack. Hoping to eventually tire Kilof out, yet the only one getting tired was Bam himself. I was not doing so well as damaging Kilof was much easier said than done. Kilof himself seems to have barely slowed down a little bit even as he was forced to be on guard every once in a while or Bam Shinwonryu's skill would hit him. While his initial attack had done significant damage since they had been unprepared for it, the following attacks had been less effective with them on guard. The battle ended as Bam and I finally tired out with Kilof appearing in front of us ready to end us. Suddenly, A deafening clang resonated through the floor, stopping Kilof from killing us. "It seems that the test is over, How disappointing, Just as it was getting good too!" remarked a disappointed Kilof. "It's finally over?" ask Bam, voicing the same thing I was thinking. "Yes, sadly that sound indicated that the test had ended," replied a sorrowful Kilof. As he spoke a giant gate seemed to manifest next to him. "This is the gate to the 136th floor. Enter it before I decide to extend the test time." answer an annoyed Kilof. It seems that he did not like the fact that the test was over as he wanted to continue the fight. With the gate in front of us, We wasted no time entering. Fighting any longer with Kilof will result in our death. As they pass the gate, they wonder what type of Guardian and test awaited them on the final floor of the tower
(The 136th floor-The room without time)
"Welcome to the 136th floor or as I like to call it the final floor of the Tower. My name is ⱭaΩω but you can call me Khaliq" greeted a very old man with a large black & white beard and an almost robotic voice. He greeted us with a bright smile that never left his face as soon as we appeared. His appearance resembled an old sage as he radiated wisdom and patience, unlike Kilof who had only radiated hostility and anger. Khaliq was a mystery to both Bam and me as we had expected a Guardian similar to Kilof or maybe even Headon, not this old man that seemed to be barely able to walk. As they could not help but relax around Khaliq, they wondered what the test could possibly be.
As the gate closed behind them, Khaliq continued speaking, "I am known by many names in this tower from master to the creator but you can think of me as the equivalent to the Outside God in the tower. It truly warms this old heart to see others, may I ask who you may be?" ask Khaliq. While they were surprised to learn he was the creator of the tower, they decided to act with as much respect as they could to not risk angering the smiling man who had created the tower itself."My name is Jyu Viole Grace but I am also known as 'The 25th Bam' and this is my wife Ha Yuri Grace-Zahard. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Khaliq," answer Bam. "No no, It is my pleasure to see you Bam and Yuri Grace, descendants of the first outsiders that enter my tower.", said a welcoming and amuse Khaliq.
"Khaliq, what is the test for this floor?" asked Bam as nicely as he could. "For the 136th-floor test, all you have to do is tell me your story to pass," replied Khaliq."Our story?", I ask, suspicious that the final test of the tower was such a weird and unexpected test. "Yes, as you know I don't get any visitors at all. So I grew quite bored, I would love to hear your stories if you don't mind" ask Khaliq as he manifested three chairs and sat down in one of them. So with no other choice, Bam and I sat down as we took turns retelling Khaliq all about our journey in the tower. We told him about the time before Zahard, the Zahard empire's history, FUG history, Yuri meeting with Phantaminum, Yuri climbing the tower, Yuri meeting with Urek, Wolhaiksong history, Bam's arrival, their meeting with each other, Bam climbing the tower, and finally the war against Zahard.
We told Khaliq all our stories, he became thoughtful and silent as he listened to us talk, his smile never disappearing. Finally, when we arrived at our meeting with him, he finally spoke again. "As a reward for reaching me and telling me such moving and exciting stories, I will grant you one wish". Bam and I could not believe our ears. For just a fraction of a second, we imagine what our wish could possibly be. But before we could ask what Khaliq meant by that. He suddenly stood up, "Very well, A contract for it has been made. You will get a second chance to climb the tower and change your and your friends' destiny," said Khaliq, shocking us. How could he give us a second chance to change destiny just like that? Though that may not be much of a challenge to the creator of the tower, it was still unbelievable.
Before we could ask Khaliq to explain, we were suddenly frozen in place and unable to move or talk. "Hmph, but it would kind of defeat the purpose of the tower if I just grant you a wish without any sort of test or challenge. After all, if you knew everything that was gonna happen then it would not make for a fun or difficult climb. After all, the fun of the tower is its difficulty and unpredictability. So, we are gonna have a special test and rules in exchange for this chance." said Khaliq while looking intensely at us, his smile never leaving. "I know, I am going to send you back to Headon floors to climb the tower again. But this time, You will take a special test on each floor to regain your lost memories and relearn all the skills you have previously learned. But I am not a cruel being, you will not forget everything at the start. This test will work separately from the guardian test required to climb the tower. I look forward to the new adventures you will have" replied an excited Khaliq. "But don't worry I am not going to make the tests impossible, I will give you some help to pass this test apart from your old memories and skills via a special item unique in the tower, this will allow you to climb the tower a little easier than last time. But it would still be much more difficult than you think. Good luck and hopefully we will meet again with more stories to tell me." a delighted Khaliq told us. As the force that stopped us from moving disappeared, we were suddenly falling through a rainbow color warp gate when everything went black.