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

5th Floor

Shibisu placed his head into his hands.

Khun sat in front of him, with his arms on his knees. After a few weeks of thinking about whether he wanted to tell Shibisu about what he had learned, Khun decided he should. He was the only one who knew about Rachel after all, and Khun wanted another perspective.

"This is…" Shibisu trailed off.

"Yeah, I know," Khun sympathized. "This is a little harder to stomach. It was cruel enough with just Rachel, but with Shun as well…"

"Why didn't he tell any of us?"

"I don't know."

"Khun," Shibisu looked up. He wore a pained expression. "Do you think they killed Bam?"

Khun sighed. It was something he had been contemplating for a while. "Against what I'm feeling right now, I think there are some things to consider. First off, this is more evidence that something has been happening behind the scenes, with the administrators, with Rachel, and with Shun. I don't know what, but something has been up with the floor of tests. Secondly, they don't know what happened to Bam, all they know, is that he was grabbed by some black tentacle into the fishbowl."

"And this raises the question of whether Bam is truly dead or not." If looks had any power, Khun would have burrowed a tunnel into the floor by now.

"Bam…Bam could be alive?"

"I know how it sounds Shibisu but-"

"No, no," Shibisu cut him off. "You don't have to justify it, Khun. I know you were hit the hardest when we were told that Bam was dead. If you say there's a chance, I know there's a chance."

"…thanks," Khun nodded. "If that tentacle was sent to kill Bam, then both Rachel and Shun are suspect, and I plan to go with the original plan. You will send the rest of the team up while I build another team with both of them and lag behind. In that time, I'll confirm whether or not they killed my best friend. But if that tentacle was sent to capture Bam for whatever reason instead…"

"It complicates things, because we can't confirm their intentions, and we won't know where Bam is," Shibisu surmised. "Damn it."

Silence settled in as both of the regulars dwelled in their own thoughts.

"It really is hard to imagine," Shibisu said. "To think that Shun could've killed Bam. I can't really think of why he would do something like that."

"I think we could all say the same about Rachel," Khun dipped his head. "No one would've thought that the person most precious to him would've lied and potentially killed him."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. What…what should we do now Khun? If we know there's even just a chance that Bam is alive, do we keep going up the tower?"

Khun thought for a moment. "I think we should. At least for now. We shouldn't tell anyone else though, I don't know how they would react if they knew Bam could be alive. This is the only way to keep the team that Bam wanted to protect together." Khun ran a hand through his hair. "Even if we know he could be alive, we can't do much about that. We don't know who captured him, or where they are. Besides, I think it'd be a little dangerous to try and go back down to the floor of tests. We don't know what or who could be down there."

"Regardless, if he's alive, I think that we should trust that he will make his way up the tower eventually." Khun bit into the nail of his thumb. "In whatever circumstances he may be in, we'll just have to deal with it as it comes up."

Shibisu nodded. "And with Shun and Rachel?"

Khun didn't have an answer. This was a lot of information, and there were too many unknown variables. All he knew right now was that if he talked to Shun right now, things could get out of hand. He didn't have the peace of mind currently to give him the benefit of the doubt. Regardless of his reasons, Shun withheld information that caused Bam to fail the guardian test. And that wasn't something Khun was ready to forgive.

"I think we'll leave them for now. I'll keep an eye on Shun and see if anything develops, but other than that… I can't say."

"Okay," Shibisu breathed out. He pulled a hand up to his face and shook his head. "Why did this all have to happen to us?"

"If anything, it's because Bam's an irregular."

"And irregulars have always caused waves with the tower," Shibisu let out a heavy sigh. "This is something much bigger than us, isn't it."

"Probably." Khun felt something burning in his chest. "But no matter what happens, if Bam is alive, we'll get him back."

Somewhere beneath the 2nd floor

"Where is our God?"

"In the training cave, seems to be knocked down again," a man with a cigar in his mouth replied without turning away from the lighthouse in front of him. He wore a simple imperial red dress shirt with his sleeves rolled up to display two large black tattoos of a tentacle. "Hey, could you ask Hansung if he has anything else to drink other than his instant coffee? Ruins the taste of my smoke."

"Ask him yourself," Hwaryun moved by the ranker who grunted in annoyance.

It wasn't a far walk away, the space that FUG had occupied underneath the floor off tests was fairly small after all. Once she approached the entrance of the scarcely lit-up clearing, she found Bam laying down in the middle of four cores of the stone dolls. His progress really was a sight to behold.

"Always on the ground, aren't you Viole," Hwaryun called out. She wasn't sure if he was dead or just unconscious with how battered he looked. She knelt down after he didn't reply and took his pulse. Seems like he was still alive.

"Are these the lengths you would go to every day just to see your friends again?" Hwaryun asked.

Expectantly, no reply came.

Hwaryun sighed as she went to lift up Bam by wrapping his arm around her shoulder. She carried him to the edge of the cave, where a small makeshift bed lay. "You can't be dying until you kill Jahad."

She reached into her pocket to grab some medicinal supplies. Cleaning and bandaging Bam's injuries seemed to be part of her daily routine now. She didn't even need to think about it anymore. Instead, her mind began to wander. "You need to stay alive to fulfill the wishes of these people. Isn't that cruel?"

Once she finished, she laid him down and pulled a blanket over him. The boy twitched in pain and his face scrunched up as if he were having a nightmare. Hwaryun sat down on a nearby stool and observed him for a while, placing her head into the open palm of her hand, her gold staff secured in the other.

"I just wonder if I've made a mistake…" words escaped her tongue before she could think about what she was saying.

"It's rare to hear a guide say that." A voice came up behind Hwaryun, causing her head to snap back. She glared at the person walking towards her. "It's even rarer to hear you say that."

"Making eavesdropping a regular thing?" Hwaryun felt some heat rise to her face. Things had been slipping from her far too often. Maybe the days were catching up to her.

"Not in particular," Jinsung Ha said as he hunched over to examine Bam. "Just checking up on my pupil. Maybe I shouldn't have taught him how to put those dolls back together, he doesn't seem to know how to rest."

"Isn't this what you wanted? For him to gain as much power as soon as he can?" Hwaryun remarked.

"Maybe. But it's not exactly pleasing to see him throw himself into the edge of death over and over again."

"What else is he supposed to do? He thinks that if he doesn't, we'll kill his friends."

The ranker didn't have a response. Instead, he inhaled his cigarette and blew out some smoke from his mouth.

"Maybe we should send someone up," Jinsung Ha said nonchalantly.

"And what, make him lose his incentive to become our God?"

"At least then he wouldn't need to go on this path."

Hwaryun lazily raised an eyebrow. "Your concern is twisted."

He shrugged. "Well, it has been a long time since I've looked over a student. Probably been a few hundred years. And it's been even longer since I've taught you."

She stiffened. "You can still remember that?"

"Well, something happened to jog my memory recently. It took me a while to remember, but you're wearing the same expression you had when I first started to train you." Jinsung Ha took another puff from his cigarette. "I thought I might've been imagining it you know. After looking over you for so long, I never saw something like it again. Until I came down to the floor of tests. I don't know what you've seen, but it seems as though you're still carrying around your shackles, aren't you?"

Hwaryun didn't say anything at first. Her heart sank as he hit the bullseye. "Are you someone who can say anything? Clinging to revenge after your love was sold to the ten great families, you killed an entire branch of the Ha family. Even now you stick with FUG in hopes to fulfill the hole that was left inside your heart."

In response, Jinsung Ha mirthlessly chuckled. "Maybe I'm not one to say anything. But take this from an old man who's lived most his life weighed down by his own burdens." He moved towards Hwaryun and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You don't owe this tower anything. Even if you are a guide. Neither you nor your mother has ever owed this tower anything. Just like everyone else, you're free to chase the things that you desire."

The staff in her hand suddenly felt heavier, and her heart felt like it was about to protrude from her chest. She closed her uncovered eye. "Aren't you being just a little hypocritical? Telling me that I can be free when you're tying this boy to the desires of others?"

Jinsung Ha lifted his hand from Hwaryun and scratched his head. "Just as much as I want you to be happy, I also want this boy to be happy. But he needs strength to do so. With how many people looking at him right now, he won't be able to lead a peaceful life without it. I'll give him the strength he needs and eventually, he'll be able to leave FUG of his own volition."

Hwaryun let out a weak chuckle. "You're being too selfish, old man."

"Maybe." Hwaryun didn't have to look at him to see the grin on his face. She sighed. Was it that obvious that she was still bothered by what happened so long ago? She could barely take Jinsung Ha's words to heart, it seemed so far away from what she knew. This tower was her anchor, as well as her chains.

6th Floor

There was something in the air. It smelled weird; rainwater mixed in with a certain something. Something ashy, but also something metallic, I couldn't really pinpoint it. I never was good at identifying smells.

My body felt heavy as if there were layers of sand poured onto me. I couldn't lift myself up, not that I tried. I just knew I couldn't get up for some reason. But there were still things I needed to do the next day, so I tried to rest and closed my eyes.

*BANG*

*BANG*

I snapped up violently in my bed, my breathing rapid and ragged. I pulled my hands up into my face to calm myself down and noticed sweat dripping down. Again? I thought. I haven't been able to find a good night's rest in the past few weeks. I pulled my knees in and hung my head down. A dull pain throbbed in the front of my head, but I didn't pay it any attention. I've grown used to how it felt.

The night was still ongoing it seemed, with a silver light shining through the window of my room. I climbed out of my bed, groggy and tired, deciding to try and clear my head with a walk. I can't remember what was happening before I woke up. Whenever this happened, my head would be filled with static. Anything I tried to remember would be like chasing after the wind.

Opening my bedroom door, I was met with the night lights surrounding the railing of the building, and a cool breeze that wrapped around my body. I glanced to my right and left, seeing doors that belonged to the other regulars. It was convenient, going up the tower with a princess of Jahad, as well as a few members of the ten great families. Finding places to stay has been no trouble at all.

I climbed down the stairs of the building and started making my way into a nearby forest. It was interesting, the way these floors had operated. There was always a central hub for regulars on their ascent, with various segments of land privatized for different families or for various businesses. It made sense the way these early floors were set up, with most things being made for immediate access. Compared to the 3rd and 4th floors, the 6th floor was a lot quieter. Most teams were finalized, and regulars were much more settled into the tower.

The central hubs were relatively small, however, and it was fairly evident how underdeveloped the rest of the floor was. Even looking out beyond the residential building that Khun had rented out, there wasn't a ton of evidence of human activity. Structures were scattered throughout but it was obvious that you had to get to the middle area if you wanted to see more of the floor.

"The middle area…" I whispered to myself. It was probably somewhere I had to go to find the flowerless garden mentioned in the letter whenever we got to the 10th floor. I rubbed one side of my face at the thought. I didn't know how I was going to get there or how things were going to pan out. Who was the Sun Scorcher? Why was he on the floor of tests? Why does he know about the ranker within me?

And that ranker within me, why was he acting so strange? Anytime I tried to contact him after the 3rd floor, he would answer briefly and cut our conversations short. He always seemed distracted, as if he were trying to prepare for something. I guess it was reasonable, this was his second chance after all. It just felt like I was being cut out of something. Maybe I was… maybe eventually he would take over this body. This body that I can't even recognize. Maybe he was only being helpful towards me, so I'd cooperate, just like Hwaryun…

I sighed and backed up into a tree. I slid myself down and filled my hands with the soft grass. Finally, I resigned myself. The story had changed, in more ways than one, and I didn't know why. A sharp pain entered my gut. What was I even doing here? I don't belong in this tower, and I don't think I will ever belong here.

"You look pathetic, Brown Turtle. Hardly worthy enough to even be considered prey," A gruff voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Rak?" I exclaimed as he walked up beside me. I didn't see him at all while we were on the 3rd floor, all Khun had told me was that he went off on his own. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm the mighty Rak Wraithraiser! I go as I please!" He bellowed hard enough to make it seem like the trees were bending. Although he was in his compressed form, he could still generate a ton of noise. "I'm here to do as I always have. Hunt my prey."

"But Black Turtle is gone," I said simply.

He scoffed. "My prey only stops being my prey once they're hunted by me. If he is truly worthy of being hunted by me, he will show up again. It's clear to me, after hunting all these other insignificant prey in this tower, he is the worthiest of being hunted." He suddenly brought his spear up and put it against my throat. "You, however, I thought you were more than a turtle. But rather than becoming worthy prey, you slunk further into your shell."

I stared down at the spear. There wasn't even the slightest inclination in my head to move it away. "Maybe, you're right. The world outside is too big, and I've lost my grasp on it. And I'm too much of a coward to even try again. Or maybe I'm just too tired." I thought back to the fisherman test, where I eliminated a regular whose name, I didn't even know. "Maybe, instead of me, someone else deserves to go up the tower."

Before I could fully process it, Rak had grown to his full size and lifted me up by my shirt. As I opened my mouth, he fully extended his arm with me in his hand and flung me into a tree. My spine smashed against the trunk, and pain rushed up into my head. I pummeled to the ground, landing on my hands and knees, gasping for air. "Wh-what the hell was that for?"

Rak paid no mind and began to stomp his way towards me. "You're arrogant, Turtle. Do you think you get to decide who deserves to go up the tower and who doesn't? Your spirit is lost, and if you can't find it, I'll drag it out for you!"

"What the fu-" before I could finish my sentence, he swung his spear into my abdomen and launched me into another tree.

"COME ON TURTLE!" Rak roared. "GET UP! FIND YOUR SPIRIT!"

He started to piss me off. What did he know? Dragged into this world by some rabbit bastard, used as a vessel for some random ranker, no desires, and no memories. I didn't belong in this world, in this story. This tower doesn't recognize me, I can't recognize me, what the fuck did this stupid crocodile know about what spirit was inside me?

Something clicked inside my head. Despite not sleeping properly for weeks, I felt more awake than ever. The shinsu in my body snapped into place, and the hair on my skin flew up. I didn't focus on how clean the reinforcement was, I just wanted to pummel this damn crocodile into the floor. "Don't blame me if you can't hunt after this."

I launched myself towards him, crushing into his stomach with my shoulder. He swung down with a fist, but I swerved around to his side and stuck his leg, causing him to fall onto his knee. I grabbed onto the falling arm and pivoted to swing his body into the forest, where he crushed multiple trees with his body weight. "How's that you overgrown lizard?" I shouted.

Rak slammed his staff into the ground and lifted himself up. "Not nearly enough turtle. Show me more, show me why you deserve to be hunted. SHOW ME WHY BLACK TURTLE BELIEVED IN YOU!"

This absolute bastard.

"What's going on?" Khun yawned right after he asked his question.

"Looks like Rak's came back, and now he and Shun are fighting," Shibisu replied, laying his arms on the railing of the building.

"They interrupted my sleep for some brawl?" Endorsi exclaimed. "My skin!"

The noise from down below had woken up a number of the regulars and dragged them out in their nightwear. Khun and Shibisu were wearing simple t-shirts and shorts, while Endorsi had her hair pulled back by a hairpiece and wore a shirt that went down beyond her waist. Hatz was still wearing his usual clothes with his signature robe wrapped around. Khun couldn't help but think that it'd be uncomfortable to sleep in his clothes.

They gathered by the edge of the railing, watching the crocodile and Shun duke it out in the forest nearby. A number of trees had fallen down, which was probably going to add to the cost of the rental. Khun sighed. He didn't expect to see the crocodile again honestly. He thought that he'd be gone for good after the incidents on the floor of tests. His prey had disappeared after all, and Khun assumed that he went off to find some other prey.

"We should probably stop them now, right?" Shibisu asked.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just get this over with," Endorsi scowled. "I want to get back to bed as soon as possible."

Khun hesitated as the others began to make their way down the building. He wanted to watch the fight a little longer, part of him didn't mind seeing Shun getting his face smashed in. Khun took a breath, he needed to calm himself down. Although he knew that it wasn't 100% that Shun had betrayed Bam, he still felt like he wanted to take an inch off of his life.

"You guys take care of the crocodile, I'll hold off Shun," Endorsi said as they approached the clearing of knocked-down trees.

"I'll go with you," Hatz added.

"Wait Hatz, shouldn't one of you guys stop Rak instead of me?" Shibisu nervously called out.

"You guys will be fine. Besides, you have your deadly martial arts, don't you?" Hatz ran off to where Shun was. Khun narrowed his eyes at the hint of sarcasm hidden in the swordsman's voice. He didn't know he was capable of that.

Defeated, Shibisu hung his head. "Argh, maybe I should learn some actual martial arts."

As he and Shibisu made their way toward the crocodile, Khun noticed the large number of wounds that appeared on his body. Shun was bleeding around his body as well, but Khun hadn't seen Rak look this beaten up before. On the other side, Endorsi and Hatz grabbed ahold of each of Shun's arms, restraining him from walking forward. Hatz looked like he was having trouble holding him back, while Endorsi just looked annoyed.

"Don't you see? You measly Turtle?" Rak shouted, but it wasn't at the same volume as before. It was obvious that the fight had taken quite a bit out of him. "Your spirit is still fighting! So why are you resigning yourself to be prey?"

"Shut up!" Shun shouted back. "What do you know? I don't even belong here! There's no damn spirit within me!"

Khun narrowed his eyes. What was he talking about?

"You're wrong, Brown Turtle. You do have it. Something desperate inside you. Something that caused Black Turtle to see something in you." Rak's eyes looked as if they were about to pierce a laser into Shun. Khun thought about what he said and agreed, there was always an air of desperation around Shun. But he didn't know what was causing it.

"What could Bam have-," Shun slammed his teeth down and cut himself off, an action that did not go unnoticed. He seemed to struggle less against Endorsi and Hatz, to the point that they let him go and he fell to the ground on his hands. "I just, don't know what you're talking about."

As Hatz crouched down and put a hand on his shoulder, Shibisu moved to check on Shun as well. Endorsi looked down at Shun with concerned eyes, before glancing up at Khun with a mixture of suspicion, worry, and confusion.

"Let's get you two patched up," Endorsi said simply. "No more fighting for today."

Rak, although seemed like he wanted to say more, didn't argue, and compressed down to his smaller self.

"So, you're back?" Khun asked. "What's the occasion?"

"It's clear to me that Black Turtle is prey that cannot be replaced. If I'm with his other turtle friends, he'll eventually come back for me to hunt." Rak said confidently.

"You believe that he's alive?"

"Without a doubt."

A/N

Don't know how this happened.

Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks for reading.