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

I'm just gonna pretend it hasn't been two months.

Chapter 9

Oracles weren't unheard of, at least in his time. They were akin to guides but could see a much greater future, given to them by the tower. Because of this, they were feared by regulars and rankers alike. Some grew strong, climbing the tower long before Jahad had begun his reign, with trusted companions who came to form the strongest groups within the tower. But as history was written, many of these groups went into very extreme power struggles with each other as they started to form their own territories and domains above the 100th floor. Many oracles were targeted, if not killed, and driven to the furthest parts of the tower during the beginning of this bloody era.

The wars that decorated the upper floors were the stories that he had read all about while he was climbing the tower with his own allies and companions. By the time they reached the top floors and were prepared to become rankers of their own, there were only fragments of the previous powers.

Jahad had done away with them by the time he rose into power and began to create his own empire. Although oracles were already extremely scarce, the Jahad empire was determined to fully exterminate them, carrying out orders routinely sent out by Jahad to search the tower of any rumors of an oracle and kill them. It was theorized that he did so because he was scared of them, that they foretold a terrible future for him. This also followed the idea why the Jahad family would use silver dwarves instead of red witches as guides. The fates that the red witches saw could have resembled those of the oracles.

He never thought that he would see the works of another oracle, believing that they were practically extinct. Even during his time, he had only met a single one. The oracle was incredibly secretive and paranoid, living in the shadows, never responding to the towers call.

So, it was an unexpected surprise to see a large piece of work named Tower of God embedded within the boy's mind, holding such crucial information. Of course, he was skeptical at first, but as the boy went through the events of the 2nd floor, more and more things lined up and he started to take the work seriously. First, he learned to move things around in the boy's mind so that he could focus on the story and all the elements. Then he took his time to read over every single detail within the story.

If all of the writing remained accurate, the tower had become much more complicated since he had left. To be brought back during this time, with the entrance of another irregular, he could only assume that the rabbit was behind this.

He learned a great amount from Tower of God, although the story seemed to have stopped. Perhaps something happened to the oracle who was writing it. Still, it was not a huge issue, considering the rest of the information he had gotten. Arlene's son had come back from being killed, while V's followers became the biggest crime syndicate in the tower under Luslec. Although he saw that Arlene's son could eventually become one of the greatest regulars, that would still be a long time away. With or without her son, his goals were going to become realized.

The 39th floor had not been spared during his absence, with many other floors ruled over by many of the ten great families. The bloody history of the Jahad princess had come about as predicted, and there were also a few rings of Jahad that seemed notable, but he was lost on the significance.

A couple other irregulars had showed up, Urek Mazino who seemed to lead the Wolhaiksong, and Enryu, who killed an administrator. This was a surprise, as no one he knew had ever dared attack an administrator, much less try and kill one. Well actually… there could have been one, but they didn't care much about the affairs in the tower. Regardless, administrators in his time were usually seen as bystanders who only followed the tower.

He did notice that there was no information surrounding himself and his team within the story. There was also very little on Phantaminum. Though to be fair, there was barely any mention of Macseth, Lupil, Quadrado, Ashul Edwaru, Luslec, or most the ten great family leaders. With the rabbit's interference it could be possible that the oracle didn't account for his return. It could also be possible that his return would simply be cut short as to have no impact on the story. If the guide held true to her word, and there was a ranker on their way, he wasn't optimistic about the outcome.

The host, the boy who called himself Shun. Of course, that may have been his fault, however. To be truthful, the boy had exceeded some of his expectations. Although he found that he was still able to control some shinsu, Shun had managed to handle the base of his own personal style of body reinforcement. Then he used it in a way which he could hold his own against a ranker, albeit handicapped. He who had no necessary training like a princess of Jahad or a direct descendant of one of the ten great families. Supposedly, he could simply have some sort of natural talent, or be a genius. But he would much rather believe what his intuition was telling him. The boy carried with him, a very powerful instinct.

The boy had grown well, considering he hadn't come from the tower. Still, at times he was incredibly reckless and transparent at times. The Jahad princess had him pinned almost perfectly. Well, that was something that he could help him with later on.

For now, he believed that he had read enough of Tower of God. There were still some parts of it that he wanted to review, but he needed to focus on the present with his host so that they had every chance they got to surviving the ranker hunting them. He started moving the story aside within Shun's mind to bring back the things he had tossed aside… which were nowhere to be found…

"Hello Rachel."

She turned her head towards me, stands of messy blond hair following her. The light from the window highlighted her freckles as she presented a look of slight surprise.

"Oh, hello. Sorry, I wasn't expecting anyone." She said evenly.

I took a breath. "I should be the one apologizing, coming in here without a notice. Can I take a seat?" I pointed towards the bench next to her bed. As she nodded, I continued. "I heard you were close with Bam before he entered tower, and I wanted to see how you were doing. He was really shaken when you got hurt."

She lifted up her lips into a small smile. "Bam's always been one to worry."

I held back in showing any suspicion I felt. "Can I ask you something? The tower is filled with powerful and dangerous people that will take any advantage they can get. Yet, Bam is willing to shoulder all the burden if it means getting you to climb the tower. I guess what I want to know is, what is Bam to you? If you are his light, do you feel the same about him?"

Rachel looked toward the ceiling with a sad expression on her face. If I weren't looking for it, I wouldn't have been able to tell that it was slightly practiced. "I met Bam when he was all alone. He was scared and miserable but seemed to light up whenever I visited him. We spent a lot of time together, but I saw my opportunity to enter the tower and left him." She paused, fiddling with her fingers. "I didn't expect to see Bam again, but when I did, I couldn't let myself… leave him again. So, I decided to help him during the crown game, although it didn't-."

I couldn't hold it anymore, dropping any hint of friendliness. "So why are you about to betray him?"

The air in the room turned icy as Rachel stiffened. I could tell she was slightly panicked, as her eyes widened. "…what do you mean by that? Why would I be about to hurt him?"

"I'm sorry, I don't have the patience for this. Rachel, I know that you can still use your legs. One of the test directors told me when I asked about your injury." I was bluffing of course, but I needed to keep her guessing. "So, I'll ask again. Why are you going to betray Bam?"

Rachel avoided any eye contact, gripping her blanket lightly. I knew what she was doing, it was something I've done before. She was very carefully picking out her words. When she decided to let her mouth open again, she looked to me with a pleading look. "Even if I were still able to use my legs, how would that prove that I would want to hurt Bam in any way? We've been friends even before we entered the tower, there's no way I would cause him any pain."

Before the tower. Her words were compelling, but it was unfortunate for her that I didn't believe anything she said. "Don't dodge the question. I don't want to have to drag you out of the bed just to prove a point. But if you'd like a threat, I hope this is appropriate." I gathered the shinsu in the room, condensing it and aligned it with the shinsu within my body. After a few minutes, I completed the body reinforcement, staring her down as she moved toward the edge of the bed in a cold sweat.

This is a very bold act Shun. Z's voice came into my head as the reinforcement became stable. I do not think you understand how serious the repercussions could be if you go through with this.

Oh, now you want to talk. I thought back towards him. Irritation rode up my neck as I remembered the lack of a response he gave me after the position test. I know what I'm doing, don't distract me.

Silence laid itself within the room, only a soft breeze from the window could be heard. "Do you really want to do it this way Rachel?" I leaned forward in my seat, preparing to grab her.

"Wait!" Rachel held both of her hands up and lifted her legs to her chest, revealing her fake injury. "I-I'll talk."

I sat back down, nodding my head. As I removed the body reinforcement, I could hear a faint disapproving noise which I could only assume Z made. I would have to deal with him later. Rachel was breathing hard, hugging her legs close to her body.

She took a deep breath. "I was going to… betray Bam because, because he took everything from me! H-He was not supposed to be chosen, he only got to go up because he was gifted by the tower! Why wasn't I chosen even though I was the one who wanted to climb the tower? I'm the one who's ready to give everything to see the stars, so why is Bam the one being favored?"

I stayed silent, continuing to stare at her. I was surprised that she gave this much away, but I reminded myself that the Rachel here was not the one who spent years of climbing the tower being hated by so many others. Right now, she was just a young regular.

She returned my stare with a hateful expression. "Go on then, call me a terrible person. All of you gifted people, especially you, wouldn't understand how much was taken away from me! Aren't you proud of yourself? That you were just given all that power you have now? Just because the tower liked you more than an ugly girl like me!"

I relaxed my shoulders and glanced towards the wall beside her. She wasn't exactly wrong. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I am undeserving of all the power granted to me. But I don't know if anything would change if I started believing in that now. I'm here, just like you, to make decisions that will affect myself and the others around me." I paused to take a deep breath. Rachel continued to glare at me. "I'm not going to call you a terrible person Rachel. After all, you haven't done anything yet. But if you decide to go through with whatever you have planned, that might change."

I went on. "Bam is a great friend, a hard worker, and a very quick learner. I'm sure that if you asked him to help you see the stars he would without a second thought. I guess I just don't understand why you would want to throw that all away." I stood up. "By the way, I won't go telling the rest of the regulars about your legs, but really consider how much harder your climb will be if you betray Bam."

Rachel lost the fire in her gaze and looked down. She didn't say a word as I began walking over to her room door. Of course, I wasn't able to actually do anything to her, but I had to hope that this would change the outcome of the guardian test. I doubt this would keep Bam away from FUG, but I wanted to avoid seeing that look on Bam's face again. I wouldn't let guilt run its course with me again.

"How did you know that she wasn't paralyzed?" My body froze instantly, hearing someone's voice as I was leaving the room. I slightly turned my head to see the test administrator, Lero Ro, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. I stayed silent, not daring to move a muscle. He sighed. "Perhaps I've gotten too attached to you regulars, since I was thinking about calling over a doctor to check up on her. I will still have him visit to confirm what you had found out, but tell me, how did you know?"

I grit my teeth. My mind was racing, trying to find a way out of this, but I came up blank. "Sorry, but I…I can't tell you." Please buy it, please for heaven's sake buy it. I could do nothing but hope he made up a conclusion on his own.

He walked up to me in his black and white uniform, towering over with a large amount of suspicion in his eyes. I had to stare back, not willing to back down. After a while he turned around, gesturing for me to follow him. "Come with me Shun."

I let out the air I was holding in and started to follow behind him with shaky legs. I thought, without a doubt, that he would continue to pressure me. We went through to the exit of the med bay, into a short hallway that would continue into the mess hall. As we entered, I noticed some regulars lounging around, including Endorsi who was picking up a drink from one of the vending machines. She was in her training attire, with black shorts and a white t-shirt from one of the Evankhell convenience stores, with her hair still tied up in a neat bun. We locked eyes for a moment before I pulled away, noticing I was struggling to keep up with the tall ranker.

As we made it out of the mess hall, Lero Ro spoke out. "Just so that you're aware, Bam was making his way over to visit Rachel when you were in the middle of your… confrontation. I told him that she was due for another medical examination, but you do know how messy it would have gotten if he reached the room."

I narrowed my eyes. Damn, I thought he would be training for longer. That would explain why Endorsi's taking a break.

"You weren't cautious enough. I wouldn't be surprised if the boy spent every minute trying to be with her in the times that he's not preparing for the next test. He cares very much about her, wouldn't you agree?" Lero Ro continued.

I didn't answer him. We made our way up a stairwell, past a few rooms labeled for the other test administrators, then entered a big office, covered in records and various musical appliances. The walls around were made up of a dark wood giving off a relaxing atmosphere, further emphasized by a ray of sunlight shooting through a window over the desk in the middle of the room. The desk itself was nothing short of neat, with a clean stack of papers and two pens parallel to each other. The only thing that seemed out of place was a blue bracelet with distant carvings near the front of the desk.

"Have a seat." Lero Ro gestured to one of the chairs facing his desk. "Would you like anything to drink?" As I shook my head and sat down, he made his way over to the side of the room, pouring himself a drink. He then placed the drink on the desk and pulled out the chair behind it.

"You won't tell Hansung Yu about this right?" It slipped my mouth before I could even think about saying it. Although I was pretty sure he wasn't the enemy, things could have changed.

Lero Ro let out a chuckle as he sat down. "No, I won't be. But it seems the test director has left you to be quite startled." He lifted up his drink, appearing to be pensive for the moment. "But perhaps you have good reason to be."

I relaxed my shoulders, slowly nodding my head. Lero Ro, a ranker who quit his job and decided he wanted to seek out some answers about the tower for himself. It really was a bad surprise when he caught me revealing Rachel's secret, but beyond just being caught, this could be a good opportunity. But I would have to play my cards right. "Mr. Lero Ro, if you aren't going to report what you saw to the test director, what are you trying to figure out?"

The ranker turned his gaze and stared me down for some time. His tall stature and scrutinizing look only increased the pressure on me. In the moment I started to regret what I asked, he looked away, and I could let out the breath I was holding.

"Well, other than how you know about the Rachel girl, which I assume will not be told to me, there are some strange things happening with the regulars in this group. Of course, there are the normal regulars that usually show up, such as members of the ten great families, special regulars from the outer or middle tower, and those who lack in any sort of talent." Lero Ro took a small sip of his drink. "But then we have 2 princesses of Jahad, which should not be possible, but has happened because one of them is illegitimate. A regular who doesn't feel like a regular at all, a guide, and although the crocodile is fairly odd, the one to top this all off is the irregular."

He paused to look back at me while my eyes widened when he mentioned a guide in the group of regulars. "Yet with all this excitement, the one who intrigues me the most, is a boy whose actions don't make sense and is only now becoming familiar with the power he has. I believe the tower has been due for change for some time now, and although I could be getting ahead of myself, maybe this is the start to that change."

I looked down. "I mean, with an irregular appearing, I doubt anyone would think otherwise. All the other irregulars were something special right?"

Lero Ro leaned forward to place his drink on the desk. "Yes, you're quite right. But I don't think that only irregulars can create change." He softly tapped the blue bracelet before moving on. "Change isn't only created by those who have been chosen by fate, it also comes to those who thirst for it. And in my own experience, the people who hold the latter are much scarier individuals."

Curiosity rose to my face. "Scarier?"

He nodded. "The tower itself is the ultimate barrier for those who try to reshape it, with the exception of irregulars. Anyone who tries to oppose this barrier is most likely a fool, but they are also the only ones with any chance to crack it. Then it becomes the question of whether it is better to live fighting to break that wall, or to leave it up to someone who doesn't have the wall in front of them at all."

Khun

"I think that we'll have a better defensive position if we keep the fishermen further back and have the first point of contact be the wave controllers." Shibisu pointed to a sheet of paper spread across one of the tables within the mess hall. Near him, was a bowl of mixed nuts.

"I suppose so, but with our limited wave controllers, I'd feel better if they were to hold out until another group met contact." Khun suggested. He had his own, cold refreshment in his hand. A mixed mango and peach drink. "Besides, we don't need to be conservative with our fishermen. The two Jahad princesses should be able to face most threats on their own. Shun is getting stronger as well, and if things get really bad, we can just throw in the crocodile."

Shibisu stretched his arms out toward the sky. "Ah, you aren't wrong I guess. I just hope we won't have to face something as strong as a ranker."

"I doubt we would, the administrator will probably have the test tuned around how well we can manage as a team in a high-pressure situation. We have all the brute force we need, with the decent amount of planning we're putting in, we should be fine." Khun waved his right hand while resting his head on the back of his other hand.

He and Shibisu had spent the entire morning and most of the afternoon planning out how the different regulars in their respective positions would function together. He had to admit however, with how talented their group was, he wasn't too worried about the final test. Granted, that was assuming that personality clashes wouldn't give them too much trouble.

"Hello Shibisu." Hatz came up to the table. He was breathing heavier than normal, with beads of sweat coming down his arms and neck.

"Oh hey, just came back from training Hatz?" Shibisu responded. "Come take a seat, I got some good snacks from the vendor. It's nice not having to pay for our food with points anymore."

As Hatz took a seat beside Shibisu, placing his swords on the table, Khun smirked. "Not very traditional of you to eat without cleaning up first."

Hatz glared at him before grabbing a handful of nuts. "Shut up earrings. I don't need you to be telling me what to do."

Khun rolled his eyes. "My apologies honorable swordsmen. Of course, you can act however you would like." As Hatz began to shoot daggers with his eyes, Khun met him and didn't back down.

"Ah, can't you guys get along at all?" Shibisu waved off the space between them and they both looked away. "Anyway, were you able to get a hold of Shun at all?"

"No, I haven't," Khun replied. "It's not just him, Hwaryun hasn't been around either." After the position test, they stopped showing up to the training room. It could be because Hwaryun didn't pass, which was unfortunate, but he thought she would stick around. It didn't make sense to him for her to put so much effort into the training, only to leave.

"Why were you searching for Shun?" Hatz interjected.

Shibisu crossed his arms and closed his eyes, rocking his head to one side. "We wanted to ask him about some strategies we were coming up with, and if he learned anything from fighting the ranker. I would ask Endorsi, but she scares me."

"Who scares you?" Hearing the voice, Shibisu let up a short yelp. His back straightened up and his arms flew to his side. Khun slightly adjusted his head to see the princess in question staring down Shibisu.

"Hmph, I'll take that as a compliment." She took a seat beside Khun with her own drink in hand.

"What causes the great princess to grace us with her presence?" Khun asked with the same edge of smugness he used against Hatz. "Already done training with Bam?"

Endorsi didn't fall for the bait, rather she seemed focused on something else. "For now, yes. He went back to see that Rachel girl again. I really don't see what's so special in her, but I guess it's none of my business. If you wanted to know about Shun though, I saw him walking off with one of the rankers yesterday."

Khun raised an eyebrow. "Really? What would he be doing with a ranker?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." She shrugged.

The group stayed silent for a moment. Ever since he met him, Shun was always an odd one, and Khun could never shake the feeling that he knew something everyone else didn't. Being called out by the administrator, and now a ranker, Shun seemed to be getting a decent amount of attention.

"Well, I doubt it was for cooking tips." Shibisu was the first to speak out. "That's strange, but then again, I've never really been able to figure him out."

"He's definitely not normal." Endorsi followed up. "That's why I wanted to ask if you knew anything about him Khun. You guys trained together for a bit right?"

Khun nodded. "He told Bam and I a few things. He's sort of like Bam, but instead of living in a lonely place before the tower, he says he can't remember the life he had before the tower. His first memory was being pulled into shinsu by the tower administrator. He cared a lot about finding his past when he talked to us, but now it feels like his goal is something else entirely."

"Geez, nothing before the tower… I can't even imagine that." Shibisu contemplated. Khun watched as Hatz's gaze move toward his swords.

"Well, that wasn't very informative. Now I'm even more confused." Endorsi sighed, getting up from the table. "Also, this is for telling Shun things you shouldn't have." Khun lurched forward as he felt Endorsi's hand strike the back of his head. He could hear the footsteps move away from them as he rubbed the place where he got hit.

"What did you do Khun?" Shibisu laughed. He looked up to see Hatz also giving away a chuckle.

"I didn't do anything at all!" Khun barked at them, heat rising up to his face in humiliation. But part of him ignored the feeling and thought about what the crazy witch princess said. What did he tell Shun?

A/N

Thanks for the follows from Alex T. Keeper, Vixter9339, Yuma911, Betoran, Noz123, Ranjin Okumura, Phantomdancer15, SaintNick91, Sandovalr77, Hiro Dragokid, THEBLACKDAB, trillisk, PervyPanda, sivan234, Sleepy Boii was taken, TerisLame, and Scarlett Uzumaki-Chan!

Reviews:

Scarlett Uzumaki-Chan: Thanks for the nice review! I'm glad you like it so far. It's nice having cool reviews as increased motivation. (English was really good btw lol)

So TOG is finally coming back, it's been way too long. Glad to see the latest chapter holds up!

Also, I'm not going to say anything about uploads because apparently, I suck at it. But I can at least say I'm not going to give up on this.

Any comments or suggestions are really appreciated!

Edit: 07/19/2021

Thanks for reading!