Disclaimer: Everything here belongs to SIU. Except for my OC.

Prologue

Headon

A small white figure paced slowly around a dark and musty cave. Large marble pillars stood at the edges, with aged carvings on the walls. There was no distinct source of light, yet a dim glow had made itself present. The figure stopped for a moment, looking towards the ceiling, as he prepared for a very special girl and boy to come into the tower. He cracked a lazy smile.

For hundreds of thousands of years, Headon spent his time choosing particular people to move up the tower. People filled with greed, anger, despair, and pain. Although there were those who were humble and righteous, their hearts always twisted into some shade of black as they paved their way up the tower. It was simply that sort of place; to remain untainted was almost impossible.

To unite those under the tower, that should have been Jahad's task. But he was only one of many who would gain an immense amount of power, only to create an empire. His will, along with the ten great families, is certainly praised but also cursed for the things they have done. With time, there would be others to help reconstruct Jahad's empire to what it was supposed to be.

The boy that would come to open the gate on his own, born from the hatred of Jahad, will rise and shine brighter than any star. To forge this path however, he needed the girl. Something so unattainable, yet so desirable for him, that he would strive to climb the tower even with broken limbs and blind eyes. The figure nodded in satisfaction. Then, when the time is right, the boy will meet his fate.

Yet there would be another aspect. Taken from everything they had known; they would serve to exist as the unknown factor. This one will come from the place that had insight into this world, with the help of ancient powers. When they enter this world however, they will be weak and fragile, unable to handle even the smallest bit of shinsu. To aid them, Headon knew that he'd have to give them an old power, almost as old as the Jahad empire itself. This power had previously been owned by someone who desired a change within the tower, who chose not to accept the fate given to him. If he is able to handle the power, he will grow with the ancient one and see for himself what the floors of the tower had to offer.

As they come together to combat the man known as 'God', they will reshape the tower, to see fit with what fate decides, and the chains of the highest floor will be torn apart.

CHAPTER 1

I knew I was falling, although there was no sensation, no sound, and no light. A deep primal feeling rose in me to scream for help, but sound refused to come out of my mouth. Deeper and deeper I sank, my desperation rising. Panic filled me, but with no way to escape, it felt as though I was going to implode. My will for action was met with no response and my thoughts were smothered. My body became my cage, never to be opened again.

Eventually, I met some sort of liquid substance and felt my body being pulled downward until I hit a stone-cold floor. The response was instant, and all my senses returned back to my body. Everything felt sluggish, as if I had just run a marathon. I struggled to open my eyes, but when I did, I saw the most ethereal thing ever to come before my eyes.

A bright stream of liquid moving across the space, leaving trails of colorful splendor along its path. The flow was natural and beautiful, like an artist let go of their brush and it began to dance freely. I couldn't keep my eyes off it. Suddenly, it separated into countless different pieces, like a hundred shooting stars came down in a single performance. Bouncing all throughout the air, it seemed to gradually make its way towards me. Once the stream was close enough, it entered my body, and a scorching pain rose up through my entire body. My body rejected it, uncontrollably convulsing along the floor, but the flow continued to force itself to circulate throughout my entire being. My gut twisted inward, and my head pounded with the sound of my own heartbeat. My fingernails dug deep into my palm, as tears began to stream down my face. I curled my body into a ball as the pain continued, my voice wailing in agony.

You're going to die. You're dead. This is hell. You deserve this. No you don't. Why? Hell hurts so much. Pain. Pain. Pain. Can't breathe. Can't move. Can't stop it.

As though a gift from God, the pain suddenly started to ease. The liquid finally began to exit my body, leaving me in a quivering state. I tried to calm down the shock my body and mind had been through by breathing slowly but to no avail. With my blood still pounding, my vision blurred by tears and grime, I stayed on the cold floor until I calmed down. Several moments passed before I placed my hands and knees to the floor and belatedly looked up at where I was.

The place was dimly lit, with massive pillars that seemed to reach towards the highest ceiling. I attempted to make out several markings and inscriptions on the walls of the place until a white figure with a gold staff came into my view, grabbing my attention.

"You seemed to be in a great deal of pain, so I lifted up the little shinsu that was present. How pitiful your existence is, unable to handle even this amount of shinsu." The figure spoke.

Although I struggled to focus on the speaker, it didn't look human, with ears extending far past its extremely narrow head. It resembled some kind of humanoid rabbit. After a few moments, a crack on the figure's head revealed a smile. "Hm, I suppose we'll be trying once more." It cackled a little. "I wonder if you'll be the one to climb the tower."

Trying what? There's a tower?

From behind the figure, it pulled out a small ball with an intricate pattern on it. Six distinct stripes directed towards the middle. The ball shimmered, distorting the space around it. "Let's hope that you aren't like the other ones."

I could feel my body scraping the floor as I was being lifted up from the ground by some unknown force. Why can't I move my body? Dangling, I was held there effortlessly as I couldn't feel my feet on the floor. I breathed heavily, dread filling my mind. I wanted to shout or scream but once again, no sound came.

From the corner of my vision, the figure placed the ball on the end of his staff and stabbed it into my chest. The explosive pain that I was so thankful to have gone, came back a hundredfold.

For what seemed like hours, losing and regaining consciousness, my body finally stopping shaking and I could feel the cold floor once more. I gripped the ground as hard as I could, afraid of going back to hell. Blood and dirt filled the undersides of my nails. I couldn't be sure of the time that passed before I was sure that the misery had gone away.

My mind began clearing as I sat up slowly, wiping off the immense amount of sweat and tears on my face. I still had trouble believing that I was safe for the moment, as if this were an illusion before I plunged back into the nightmare.

"Ah, finally." The white figure smirked. "You do know where you are, no?" I stayed silent, pathetically attempting to keep my wits and gather my surroundings. I looked at the figure and found myself questioning my sanity to see a character I've only known from a certain story. There's no way that thing is Headon. I'm going crazy.

As if he read my mind, he responded accordingly. "Good. Seems that the most important part of you is intact for the moment." Headon cackled. I reeled back, scrunching my face in confusion.

"Wha- how- who are you?" I breathed shakily.

Headon shook its head. "Like you said, I'm the tower administrator, Headon. While I am sure you would like more to know, you need some rest, and I'm about to be very busy. On the floor of the tests, I've told some someone familiar to you that you will be coming. Do try to get along."

A bright light came into view, and I began losing consciousness once again. "I wonder what makes you different than the others. Although, it could just be luck." I could hear the smirk in its voice before the light overcame me.

Others?

Golden grass surrounded me as I regained consciousness, lying flat upon the ground. I sat myself up, shaking off my drowsiness, unable to tell how long I was knocked out for. Looking at my surroundings, I found the golden grass to stretch across the plain endlessly as a soft warm wind hit my face. The pain that I had been so heavily subjected to was reduced to a tolerable ache. I gave out a sigh. The rabbit, this field, tower, shinsu… you've got to be kidding me. Uncertainty washed over me, and I suddenly felt very lost.

*Doink*

Something hit my head from the sky, disrupting my thoughts. I picked up a ball wrapped in cryptic engravings. Suddenly the covering removed itself in a spectacular light and the ball began hovering beside me. Is this…? Words began to show on the ball. 'All of this must be hard to take in, but the longer you take to accept it, the less likely you'll be able to survive. Do yourself a favor and recognize this as your new world. You have work to do.' - Headon. I read the message multiple times before testing out the functions."Invisible mode." As I spoke, the ball disappeared. Whoa it worked. "Visible mode." The ball reappeared. I changed the ball back to invisible mode, feeling the slightest bit overwhelmed and confused.

"Testing, one, two, three. One, two, three." I looked up to the sky as a loud voice came bellowing down. "Hello regulars and welcome to the second floor, Evankhell's floor! This floor, otherwise known and the floor of tests, will also be the place where you will take the final test to see if you are qualified to go up the tower!"

Just accept that this is happening eh? Easy for that rabbit to say. If this is what I think it is though, I don't have time to worry, I need to survive. I thought to myself.

"There will be things to know later, but for now let's start the first test!" The voice continued. "The rules are simple but listen carefully. There are 400 regulars here, narrow that number down to 200! The test will end when there are 200 regulars left! Without further ado, begin!"

Taking deep breaths trying to calm my anxiety, I began testing my movement. Steadily, I started stretching, finding most of the pain gone. I can still feel some throbbing in my chest, but I feel good. Each breath I take feels like I'm taking in more energy. Cautiously, I began taking a few stepsin front of me, relieved that I wasn't able to spot anybody. In the distance I could hear the disturbing sounds of cries and gunshots.

After a while, I noticed a person in a full black leotard and a strange mask with aquamarine jewels on the front, fighting against a group of people. The leotard stuck to the figure's tightly, as if it were their own skin. I've seen that outfit before… The figure moved smoothly, attacking fluidly with a gold staff that seemed to have a mind of its own. All I could do was stare in amazement as the person decisively took out the group of people one at a time. As soon as the last person fell, the black figure turned their head towards me.

Shit, shit, shit! I tried backing away but the person moved up to me in an instant. I braced for impact as they began swinging their staff towards my head. The staff never connected to any part of my body, as I ducked down to avoid it. "The guide," I managed to breathe out before she could complete her second swing. The staff stopped within inches towards my face.

I stared it down, then moved my eyes to the strange, jeweled mask. I could see the person tense up as they kept the staff directed at my face. Moments passed with no movement from either of us until a soft voice came out. "So, you are the person I was told I would be meeting. You don't look very impressive."

She must be who Headon was talking about. I narrowed my eyes. "Considering I almost died the moment I got here, I don't think I should have to be. You're Hwaryun, right? I'm…" I thought for a bit until it came to me. "I'm Shun."

She lowered her staff. "Yes. Headon did tell me that you know more than a guide ever could, someone who knows of certain people and plans they shouldn't, but I can't say I believed it."

Before I could reply, we both turned to a rustling in the grass to find a man with brass knuckles coming out. "Look at you two, taking it easy. I'm going to enjoy killing you!"

As I prepared myself, the guy came at me throwing out a wild punch. I attempted to dodge and surprised myself with reflexes I didn't know I had. Moving around his punches, I had to adjust to a body I wasn't used to. For a while I quickly maneuvered around his attacks.

"Damn, you're a fast-little shit aren't ya!" The man yelled, as I continued ducking around him carefully. I became more familiar with my body, gradually distancing further away from him. My actions feel smoother now. If I can do this, then maybe… I stopped for a bit, then burst towards him, catching him off guard. I then punched him in the gut as hard as I could. I pulled back, only to see his fist barreling towards my face. Damn it. I thought as I hit the ground. That fucking hurt… but at least it's nothing compared to what happened to me earlier.

"Hah, you almost got me with that one runt! Too bad I'm just stronger than you." The man blared out obnoxiously. I got up steadily and could see Hwaryun standing still, with no intent on intervening. As man rushed me once more, I readied myself, prepared to attack. While he was making his attack, I panicked, swinging with my fist as hard as I could, unintentionally closing my eyes in the process. I hit something and looked to see my fist smashed into his jaw. The man crumbled and I backed away in awe. Good on me, I guess.

"Good job." Hwaryun noted.

"Hah hah, yeah no thanks to you." I quickly retorted while out of breath.

"Well you probably weren't going to die. Better to see what you can do so far."

"Were you sure I wasn't going to die?"

"Nope."

I gave her a dirty look as a loud ringing came from the sky. "Everyone stay where you are!" The same voice from the sky came out. "The first test is now over, stop what you're doing and listen here! Anyone who is still fighting from now on will be eliminated! To the surviving 200 regulars, congratulations!"

"It may be sudden, but the next test will be carried out momentarily! As well as with the last one, this test will be really simple! Find two teammates out of the remaining 200 regulars to pass this challenge! Basically, make a team of three! For your information there will be a five-minute time limit to this challenge. You must be touching some part of your teammates' bodies when the time limit is over to be considered a team! Good luck!"

"So, I should be able to assume we're good to be teammates? You don't seem to want me to fail for now." I asked Hwaryun.

Hwaryun nodded. "Our other teammate should be coming along soon."

Just as she finished her sentence, a man with long hair in a ponytail holding two needles came into view. He held a strong and tall physique, with shaggy pants, and a black tank top. "I saw both of your fights, you two aren't bad." The man smirked. "How about we team up?"

Both Hwaryun and I agreed and soon, the second test ended quietly. The announcer came on after the five minutes once again, and we were promptly escorted to the mothership. For the first time since entering the tower, I was able to relax just a little. I let my thoughts wander, thinking about what the hell was going on, and what I was going to do. I couldn't yet stomach the fact that this was real, and it suddenly weighed heavily on my shoulders that my old life was completely gone.