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

Yeah, I know it's been a while.

Chapter 12

"Am I dead?" I whispered, bewildered by what I was seeing. Before me was a great lake filled with navy blue water, decorated with long reeds and strands of grass along the edges, like walls defending a castle. The horizon stretched further than I could observe, dissolving into colors the colors of the sky by its end. I looked overhead to find a sky that mirrored the dark blue of the lake, bereft of any source of light. Even so, everything was still clearly lit up as if a sun were still present, as evident by the shadows cast by the long grass and the shine bouncing off the water in the lake. "This is more peaceful than I thought it was going to be."

"You are not dead, boy," A gruff voice behind me replied.

I swung my head around to find a tall humanoid figure, with a transparent purple body covered in a thin layer of smoke and black bones that wrapped around the frame of the figure. It reminded me of the figure that showed up back when I met with the administrator. Although the head of the body was more discernible this time, it lacked any facial features, like a plain mask was covering it.

"Z," I surmised. "Where are we?"

"This is a space I created as an extension of your subconscious. I assume that because you've been knocked unconscious, your mental being has found it's way into my current residence."

I narrowed my eyes in consideration. "You created this as your home? Please tell me that creating this is not the reason you decided to block me out."

Z faced me with his featureless head and pulled his chin back as if to be in disapproval. "It was necessary for me to spend a good amount of time to understand all the knowledge you hold. I'd be a fool to not fully prepare myself otherwise."

I looked at him, then sighed. "Fine. But if you decide to do something like that again, tell me. There's already so much shit we need to deal with, and I don't want miscommunication to be the reason we end up dead. I doubt you would want that either."

Z paused a bit before he responded. "Alright then. If I need to look over this story once more, you will have a warning."

"Thank you." I then decided to start walking down towards the lake, curious to see more of it. However, each time I stepped down, a patch of concrete popped up to meet it instead of the verdant grass that surrounded the rest of the lake. As questions popped into my head, I decided to push them back, assuming it was just some fluke in my subconsciousness. I glanced back to see Z following behind. "So how long did it take you to make this?"

"Including how long it took to learn the workings of your subconsciousness, perhaps a week." Z tilted his head as if he also noticed the concrete around my feet.

As we approached the edge of the lake, a wave of purple mist stopped me. As I looked behind me, Z pointed at a small wooden table was set up with tree stumps surrounding it, just where the water met the earth. The table itself was round, with a unique carving pattern I couldn't confidently describe, wrapping around the base and along the edges.

I sat myself down upon one of the stumps, resting my hands on my thighs. My thoughts drifted back to the fishbowl, with a tinge of bitterness. "If I knew Hatz was going to be there, I could have been more careful, and maybe we wouldn't be in this situation. Hatz will be safe, right?"

Out of the edge of my eyes, Z's body shimmered, before turning his head toward the lake. "As long as Jin is there, your friend will be alright. He treats regulars quite well, compared to other rankers. As for us, there's no way you could've avoided that ranker, not as you are now. The ranker was most likely sent by Jahad, if Jin had not been there to intervene, your life, and consequently my life, as well as your friend's life would have met their end."

I wanted to ask Z about who this Jin person was, but there was something heavier on my mind. I took in a deep breath, straightening my back as I filled my lungs until they could not hold anymore. Then, I heaved my shoulders forward, exhaling in relief. "At the very least, we aren't dead."

"Yes, I suppose you are right."

I began to bounce my leg up and down as silence evened itself between us. A few minutes passed. "Am I just stuck here until I regain consciousness?"

"I could not say. This is the first time you've been here."

I shrugged. "Well, I guess now we can spend some time to talk. There are a lot of things I want to ask you. Like why are there people looking for you even after your death? Who is this Jin person? What kind of deal did you make with Headon? Where did I, and the tens of thousands of people that Headon killed get taken from?" I took in a breath. "Why am I here? Why are you here?"

Z stayed silent for a moment. "If you would like to know all that, we may as well start from the beginning. Do you recall what the ranker with the mask spoke about earlier?"

I scrunched up my nose. "When he was shoving his foot into my head? Mildly. He was talking about some person who worked for Jahad right? How he was covered up by the Jahad empire so that they wouldn't have to announce that he attacked Jahad."

"His summary is rather crude, but yes, that story."

I frowned. "Are you going to say that you are the person in that story?"

Z nodded his head.

I thought back to what the masked ranker had said before I lost consciousness. "Wait, but didn't he say that person was alive even before Jahad's empire was built? So wouldn't that mean that you're as old or even older than Jahad?"

"While I cannot say whether or not I have been here longer than Jahad himself, I can indeed say that I was around to see his era be built."

My eyes widened. "Wow. You are old old."

Z was not amused. Even if he didn't have eyes to glare with, I could still feel it. "Amongst other things, yes, but that hardly matters-"

"Hardly matters? You're as old as the family heads! You were there to see it all happen! The moment Jahad decided to stop climbing the tower, the formation of the ten great families, the creation of the Jahad princesses, Genesis," I nearly jumped out of my seat. "The Great War! You probably even met with V and Arlene, right?!"

"Calm down boy, I had only met with them on occasion, I didn't know them to the extent that you may be thinking. Even if I had wanted to, there was nothing I could have done concerning that war. The outcome was virtually predetermined from the start."

I reeled back in disappointment. There was still so much I wanted to know. "Hold on, the ranker said that you were working for Jahad. Why on earth were you working for someone like him?"

"That ranker made it sound as if I were Jahads servant," Z said with an edge to his words. "We were only persons of interest to each other."

"Okay… then why were you interested in him?"

The water on the lake rippled slightly. "There is a very big difference between the Jahad I knew, and the Jahad now. The era that our generation was entering was built upon the most gifted and blessed rankers of shinsu, who wielded the power as naturally as another limb, if that limb was capable of leveling mountains. Their bloody conflicts were what constituted the top levels of the tower during our time. However, irregulars come to rise and take over that era. Though the previous powers were severely weakened at the time, it was Jahad and the ten great family leaders, along with V and Arlene that took on the remaining opponents with ease and made sure they would never rise again."

"It was said that Jahad would bring about a new age to the tower, and perhaps even reach his hands on the very top. Establishing connections with the guardians, creating structure and cohesion within the tower, he brought about a special light to the tower that attracted people to him. I was just one of many who wanted to believe that he could bring something special to the tower and decided to align myself and my group with him."

Z paused to glance towards the sky. "And blinded by my goals, I paid for my mistake."

Although there weren't any distinguishing features on Z's face, it looked like he was mourning. His head hung weakly toward the sky like he was calling out to something in the sky. Glancing around, I noticed the sky darken and the earth slightly tremble as if the surroundings were responding to Z's change in demeanor.

Although I was unnerved by the sudden change in our surroundings, I was still interested in the rest of the story. "What happened?"

Z didn't answer immediately. "That's… a story for another time. More importantly, I need to tell you that there's something we need to do before we advance to the next floor. Something is telling me that you will be pushed out of this place soon, and I can't be sure when we'll be able to talk once more."

"What do you mean there's something we need to do? Isn't this floor finished?"

"There's someone we need to talk to."

Listening to Z's plan, I was shocked, and honestly nervous. But if everything went according to his plan, there was a chance we would be safe from any rankers while we climbed the lower levels of the tower, including the one that Hwaryun mentioned. As he concluded, I noticed my state of being slipping away. It seems Z was right; I wouldn't be able to stay here much longer.

"Alright, hopefully this works out." My voice suddenly felt very far away, and my vision was no longer clear.

"The tower is much older than what you know, and the people in it have lived for a very long time. This is one of the only options we have, otherwise we may not be able to make it to the later floors." Z responded.

I tried to acknowledge what he said but I couldn't feel any movements from myself any longer. The sky and the lake had both only become figments of what I had seen when I first entered, and the table where we had been talking disappeared. Z's appearance shifted into a small purple cloud of smoke, and I could no longer see any light that fell upon his home.

"…he didn't notice."

Ow.

Waking up to what felt like a thousand needles in my back was rather unpleasant. As I tried to take in a deep breath, I winced in pain from the pressure that put onto my back. Opening my eyes, my mind relaxed a little as I recognized the white ceiling in the medical bay. We made it out.

I brought my attention to the packed bandages tied around my right arm, acting as a cast that led all the way up to my hand. Other dressings were found strapped across my head, with smaller bandages planted on my face. I didn't have a shirt on, instead my abdomen and back were covered with thick bandages that made it difficult to move. All things considered; I should be grateful that I got away with only these injuries. Ignoring the shock of pain that ran through my back, I pushed myself onto the bed frame, noticing someone sitting in the opposite corner of the room.

"You're awake," Hatz quietly said. He had his arms crossed with one hand holding his sword.

"Hatz," A short wave of relief hit me. "You're alright."

"Somehow," Hatz stood up, and walked to the table beside him. He then grabbed a water bottle before making his way over to me. "You, not so much. How are you feeling?"

"Not great," I replied. Hatz twisted open the bottle before passing it to me. I greedily drank from the bottle, the cold water sliding down my throat like a snake. "How long have I been out?"

"Just over eight hours. Honestly, I'm surprised you woke up this soon after all the injuries you've sustained." He looked to the ceiling as if he was reminding himself of something.

"Eight hours," I repeated back to myself. Thankfully it wasn't too long.

Hatz dipped his head in thought. "There's been a lot that's happened since you've been out."

I nodded slowly. I guess it was time to see if I had changed anything. "How was the test? Is everyone alright?"

My gut dropped as Hatz's face darkened, with his grip on his sword tightening significantly. "Everyone who were dealing with the dogs and thieves are fine. The princesses, although fairly hurt, should be alright as well. But the only one who showed up from the fishbowl was Rachel. Bam didn't come out. Lero Ro told us that they couldn't find him anywhere after the test ended, and that it's likely he didn't survive."

Oh. My shoulders slumped further into the bed frame and my eyelids suddenly felt weighted. So, the result was the same.

"Even though the test was set up to succeed if both Rachel and Bam made it back, Lero Ro told us that Bam asked the guardian for the test to advance even if he died." He paused. "Those of us who were able to go to the meeting after the exam decided to try and repay Bam for the sacrifice he made for us and help Rachel go up the tower, just as he wanted. Shibisu went to tell all the others who couldn't be at the meeting, while I decided to stay here and ask you."

Hatz's words drifted over my head; my thoughts too wound up to fully hear what he was saying. I felt like a fool, to think that my actions were to cause anything different. Though I knew that it was very likely that Bam would've been taken regardless of any circumstance, annoyance trickled through my body.

"I'm sorry to tell you like this, I know that Bam was your friend," Hatz said. "If you need some time to think-"

"It's fine, I'll join you guys," I quietly cut him off as I hung my head. "It was Bam's last wish after all, right?"

"Yes, it was," Hatz replied with a twinge of sadness. He gave up a short sigh before grabbing a blue envelope from the table and passing it over to me. "This is from the ranker from before. He told me to give it to you once you woke up."

I gingerly held the letter, then looked back at Hatz. His eyes were filled with questioning and concern, yet it didn't look like he had any intention of asking me about the letter. I couldn't blame him, there was hardly any reason a ranker should be interested in a regular this early on… unless you were the illegitimate child of a runaway Jahad princess.

"Thanks," I thought back to the fishbowl. "Not just for the letter, but for taking care of me after the test too. It was probably you that had to bring me back after all, right?"

Hatz tensed up. "Yeah, you're right, but it should instead be me thanking you. Even though you were faced with a ranker, you risked your life to stop him, but I could barely move a muscle. If it weren't for the other ranker, we would have both been dead." He closed his eyes and gripped his sword even harder. "I don't know what happened to the test, or why there were rankers everywhere, but that doesn't change the fact that I was too scared to swing my sword. I'm ashamed to even think of myself as a swordsman."

Hatz then dipped his head. "It's only thanks to you that I might be able to learn from this failure."

I suddenly felt out of place, I didn't know how to handle someone lowering their head toward me. "Don't worry about it, I'm just glad we both made it out okay."

Hatz lifted his head back up. "Regardless, I owe you. I've done enough talking though, I'll let you rest for now. I'll go let Shibisu and Khun know that you've woken up. If you need anything, just contact me through your pocket." With his last few words, he promptly left the room.

As the door closed and the sound of footsteps eventually became a faint echo, I leaned my head onto the back of the bedframe. I turned my attention back to the letter, idly flipping it around. I could see it was handled quite a bit, the material being rough and scrunched up. There was nothing written on the outside of the letter, no name to whom the letter was for, nor a name from the sender. That ranker really believed this encounter would happen. After a moment, I placed it onto the desk beside my bed, along with the water bottle. Before anything else, there was someone I wanted to see. I flung the bedsheet aside and tried to move my legs to the edge of the bed but every small movement felt like I was using ten times the effort it normally was.

Eventually, I got my legs to hang over the side of the bed but I was hardly ready to fully stand up. Both my gut and back were stained with immense pain. Yet I was still determined to keep going. I didn't want to waste my time, I needed to the see the aftermath myself. Putting my elbows onto my knees and gathering my strength, I pushed myself to my feet. Blood rushed to my head, and I shot one of my hands to the bed to catch myself.

The next step was full of pain, I could feel every inch of my body screaming at me to stop. Doing my best to ignore my body, I limped slowly to the edge of the bed. I pushed most of my weight onto the arm that was on the bed, carefully shifting moving myself to avoid any excess force on my abdomen. As I reached the end of the bed, the door suddenly opened to reveal a bright display of red.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

My eyes widened. "Hwaryun? What are you doing here?"

Hwaryun rolled her single uncovered eye, crossing her arms with her gold staff in hand. She was wearing the pink one-piece dress I recognized from the manhwa. "I'm here to stop an idiot from injuring himself even more than he is. Now it's my turn to ask why the idiot thinks it's okay for him to be walking around after almost getting killed by a ranker."

I grit my teeth. "I'm fine. I just need to go find someone."

Confident I could back up my words, I pushed off the hand I had on the bed but ended up stumbling from the sudden pressure I placed on myself. I tried to pull one of my legs in front to catch myself but Hwaryun was faster and closed in to catch me, resting my chest on her shoulder.

"I think you need to revaluate your definition of 'fine'," She sighed. I could feel the warm air roll across my neck. Bitterness rose within me as Hwaryun placed me upright on the bed, but I didn't try to oppose her. I knew I wouldn't have the strength if I tried to do anything. After she put me on the bed, she sat down next to me, hanging her legs off the side. "Honestly, what were you thinking?"

I didn't have an answer for her, I was still surprised by the fact that she had showed up. A part of me thought I wouldn't have seen her again until after the time skip.

"Just so you know, she's asleep right now. That should be a good enough reason for you to stay put." Hwaryun said before I could lace together a response. I looked at her for a moment, then turned my head away. She was a guide after all.

"What are you doing here then?" I asked. "Aren't you supposed to be on your way to find the boy who lost his star?"

"Well, I will be, but there's no need for me to rush right now," Hwaryun nonchalantly replied. "I thought I would stop by and see how you were doing."

I narrowed my eyes. "What do you mean there's no rush for you right now? Don't you have to make sure that your precious prize survived the fall?"

"Of course the boy survived. You didn't think we'd leave him to die after everything we've done, did you? He's being cared for right now."

"Cared for? You mean he's not by himself?"

"No? Why would we have left him by himself?" Hwaryun looked at me oddly.

I went silent. I distinctly remembered Hwaryun being the one to retrieve him from the fishbowl. A cold shiver went down my back. Something was off, more than off, something had changed. Was it because of something I did? Or was it something else?

Hwaryun leaned forward to look at my face. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I did my best to reply evenly. I didn't want her to know.

"You don't have to be so stressed you know. It's not like Bam is being tortured." Hwaryun sighed. "Besides, you should be more concerned with yourself right now. Especially after you'd almost been killed. How are you feeling after all that by the way?"

I shoved the intruding thoughts away, grateful for the change in topic. "Besides feeling the worst pain since entering the floor of tests, I'm feeling excellent."

Hwaryun gave me an unimpressed look.

"What am I supposed to say? It was a ranker for crying out loud, I should just be glad I'm alive."

"And are you glad that you are alive?" Hwaryun softly asked.

I narrowed my eyes, taking a moment before leaning my head back slightly and sighing. "Yeah. I am."

"That's good."

After some silence, Hwaryun hopped off the bed. "Well, I think it's time for you to get some rest."

I sighed. "Fine, I guess you won't let me do anything anyway."

"You really are so stubborn," Hwaryun rolled her eyes. "Do you need any help making yourself comfortable?"

"Thanks, but I'll manage."

"Shun?" Hwaryun said, pensively.

"Yeah?" I looked back up at her, only to widen my eyes in confusion. There was an expression on her face that I hadn't seen before, something that I could barely describe. It looked like a mix of sadness and hesitance, with a sprinkle of anxiety. She had her lips locked together, and her eyes were hazy. But in less than a second all of it was gone.

"…never mind." Hwaryun turned around and walked out of the room, softly closing the door behind her.

I was stunned, probably more than I should've been, but this was the first time I had seen her that uncertain. For the past few months, anything she wanted to say, she'd say without an ounce of restraint. Every action I've seen her take was always full of intent and purpose, attributes you could expect from a guide.

But her leaving this conversation like that felt like being splashed with cold water after a day in the raging sun. I could say for certain that it was the most unfamiliar thing I'd seen her done, which only brought more doubt. What could have shaken her like that?

Hwaryun

As Hwaryun stepped out of the room, she could feel some heat raise up to her face. It was shameful, the way she almost gave herself away. Trying to shake the feeling off, she walked a little down the hallway until she was met with a corner, then pressed her shoulder onto the wall. She heaved a sigh, toying with the letter in her hands. She wanted more time to collect her own thoughts but she didn't have that luxury.

"I don't suppose you'll leave if I tell you to mind your own business, will you?" Hwaryun slowly asked out into the open.

"I don't plan on it," A stern voice responded out from the turn in the hallway. "Time is fleeting, and I'm not one to let it go to waste."

"I have to ask, is it really appropriate for a ranker to be so obsessed with a regular, to the point of standing guard outside their room."

"I could ask the same to you. I can only wonder why you were investing so much time and effort into helping a boy that you weren't even supposed to be guiding."

Hwaryun didn't reply.

"Honestly, I'm surprised," The ranker stepped out in front of Hwaryun to reveal his yellow hair and distinctive face marks. He subtly gestured to the letter. "I didn't think you would do this to him. Trying to copy a certain someone are we?"

Hwaryun did her best to quell the irritation that ran down her body to not fall for the bait. "Never mind my business, what are you doing here?"

"Nothing much," Lero Ro smiled. "Call it an outsider's curiosity. But I will ask you to hand over the letter."

"Sorry, but that won't be happening," Hwaryun evenly replied.

The ranker sighed. "I don't want to be the one to force-"

"That won't be happening because in exchange, I'll tell you something that will send you back to the person who gave you your blue bracelet."

Lero Ro's expression fell.

Hwaryun felt a cold sweat build up as though the air had suddenly dropped in temperature. She had not anticipated this sort of response.

Without warning, Lero Ro released a giant wave of shinsu pressure, too quick for her to get out of the way of. Hwaryun instinctively moved a foot back and lowered her stance, but she knew there'd be no way to make it out of his pressure on her own.

"This is why I hate being around guides," Lero Ro held his head down. "Maybe… it would be best if you were to be taken care of right now."

A moment passed before the ranker spoke once more. "But luckily for you, I value that information more than your life right now," Lero Ro released the pressure he sent out and held out one of his hands. "Go on then."

Hwaryun narrowed her eyes, miffed at the fact she had almost fell for the threat the ranker made. "The balance of the upper floors is starting to tip, with certain princesses beginning to become impatient. The mass requisition of regulars and workshop materials that has been going on for years is finally showing signs of slowing down. In its place, various parties and individuals are beginning to search for key players to gain any advantage they can, and the one who gifted you your bracelet is no exception."

Lero Ro tensed up. "She's been put onto a search list? That makes no sense. Even if they were to find her, they'd need over a dozen high rankers just to subdue her. No one would spend that amount of manpower for someone who's got no reason to participate in conflicts of the tower."

Hwaryun shrugged. "I'm only telling you what I know. It doesn't make much sense to me either, but it seems that she's become highly valued in recent times. Even the Wolhaiksong have taken an interest."

"The Wolhaiksong. Is that where I'll need to go to find her?"

"With how volatile the future will become, I'm not able to guarantee anything you might find. At that point it's up you, but they are most likely to find her before anyone else does. The floor they govern is probably the best place to start. At the very least, it'll be the best chance you've had in a long while."

Lero Ro went silent before rubbing his forehead with his fingers. "Finally, the fragile peace of the tower is showing cracks. No wonder FUG has kept a guide of your caliber close to their side during this time."

Somehow, this was not the response Hwaryun wanted.

"Alright then, just as you said, I'll let you go now," Lero Ro said.

Hwaryun let out a small breath of relief and started to walk past the ranker, yet after only a few paces past him, she stopped. A part of Hwaryun was thankful that was all she needed to tell Lero Ro to deter him, but another part of her started to suspect something. This exchange went far better than what she expected.

"Why wouldn't you take the letter from me right now?" Hwaryun surmised that there wasn't a risk in asking him now. He realistically could've taken the letter whenever he wanted.

"Now, aren't we both curious?" Lero Ro's voice echoed behind her. "Though I do admit that I was standing outside here, it wasn't for protection. I simply trusted you to meet with Shun before you moved up to the next floor. On another note, I wonder how you plan to maintain his trust after this."

Hearing Lero Ro's steps fade away behind her, she tightened her lips as she realized she was had. He wasn't here for Shun or the letter at all; he was here for information from her. Sighing in resignation, Hwaryun began to make her way out of the medical branch. Although she was heavily annoyed, at least there wasn't anything that she told him that would interrupt any of her plans.

Still, Hwaryun closed her eyes, replaying the last thing the ranker had said to her. She hated that she didn't have an answer to his inquiry. This was something she knew she had to do, even though it would cause her entire body to fill with guilt. A part of her idly wondered if she was going to have the same look on her face as Shun did when he saw Bam crying over Hoh's death during the ranker's test. She just hoped Shun wouldn't be the one to witness it.

A/N

Thank you for all the follows! Sorry, I haven't been keeping track, it's been a while.

Reviews:

BlueCore: Thanks! Appreciate the kind words, hope you'll enjoy this chapter and future (I promise) chapters as well.

A/N

I don't even want to think about how long it's been.

Any comments or suggestions are really appreciated!

Thanks for reading!