45 – She is Not a Friend

I walked into the empty classroom where Androssi and Baam were training. The chairs had all been stacked up near the front so it became a wide open space. They'd both changed attire since the Hide and Seek test, with Baam swapping his sweatsuit for a simple blue shirt and black shorts, while Androssi wore an open shoulder white top with orange sport shorts underneath.

Baam fell to the ground in a heap as he tried to dodge Androssi swinging a needle at him and lost his footing.

Androssi turned to me as I approached. "Finally. Where the heck have you been, Axion? Don't tell me you just stayed in your room for two whole days?! I wondered if you were even alive."

"Sorry, I had some issues to deal with. Quant really did a number on me and Derf," I said.

"We should sue him for damages," said Androssi jokingly. There was nowhere to file a lawsuit around here.

Baam got up. "I'm glad you're all better now, Mr. Axion!"

"Thanks, but that's a little premature. It turns out I have a more serious problem that isn't really Quant's fault. We should talk later, Androssi," I said.

Androssi smiled facetiously. "Oh, now you want to talk? After ignoring me when I was right at your door? I even brought you food to pay you back for before, you jerk!"

I had brought her food myself after Baam's attempt to bring her food resulted in it getting spoiled as they fought over it, so she must have tried to return the favor when I was the one apparently injured.

"Didn't you get my message? I said I would be in seclusion, not that I'd be in my room," I said. "But thanks, I appreciate the thought."

"Didn't you get my messages? Why didn't you answer?" She asked, now in a deep scowl.

"I didn't have my Pocket with me, that's what seclusion means," I said.

She didn't look like she believed me, so I added, "I'm really sorry, I should have explained more, but the circumstances were dire. I didn't know if I would be capable of returning alive at all, and I didn't want to worry you, nor could I really explain it properly because I didn't understand what was happening to me either."

There was a long silence, but Androssi's expression softened a bit, but crossed her arms, still frowning. "Didn't you think that I might be more worried that you seemed to be sick and then stopped answering at all? I had to find out from the stupid red head that you didn't just die in your sleep! How did she know, huh?"

"I didn't stay in contact with her either," I said, hands raised in a gesture of innocence. "Come on, she probably just knew because she's a Guide. I had no contact with anyone here while in seclusion, and I didn't tell her any more than I told you."

"Grrr…" Androssi growled and looked away pouting. "You're not getting off so easily with that excuse."

Then Baam spoke up. "You shouldn't stay angry at your friends, Ms. Androssi. We should be happy that he's safe and came back to us."

"Thanks Baam," I said. "How have you been? Anything happen while I was away?"

"There was a funeral for Hoh, and it was very sad. I don't understand why he did that to himself, but I am starting to understand his feelings. It hurts to lose a friend like that, and he lost everyone he knew. I don't like this feeling, I don't want to feel that way about any other friend of mine, or for anyone else to feel this way. I don't want anyone else to leave me," he said, clutching a hand towards his chest as if in physical pain.

"That's why I've got to work hard and make sure it won't happen again. Even though I don't know why everyone wants to go up the Tower or what's so great about the stars, I'll become strong and help Rachel and everyone else climb if that will make them happy," said Baam, now cheerful. "Miss Androssi has been kind enough to help me."

"I'm just doing it because we're going to be taking the test together," said Androssi. "I never agreed to be your teammate after."

"You big softie, not so evil now, are you?" I asked with a smirk, firing back her comment to me when I returned Hong Chunhwa's sword and alluding to the way she described herself to Baam back in the Hide and Seek test.

"Oh shut up. We'll talk but you better explain it properly," she said to me.

"Of course," I said, nodding.

"Will you also help me get stronger, Mr. Axion? You and Miss Androssi are the strongest on our team," Baam said.

"I can help a little, but I'll be pretty busy with training myself too," I said.

"Really? But you're already so strong, you even fought against Mr. Quant," said Baam.

"Can't get complacent, there's always someone stronger."

After that I took turns with Androssi doing some simple sparring with Baam.

O O O

"Okay, so let's talk," said Androssi, after we went to my room. She glanced around first, seeing that nothing was out of place, then placed one hand against her side. "Where did you go if you weren't in your room? We're not allowed to leave the test area."

"It's quite complicated, the short answer is that I went to see Headon. As for the long answer, I'll have to explain some things we talked about last time first…" I trailed off, then made a gesture, and the water spirits made the stealth bubble, though this time it was a little more subtle. Instead of doing it their normal way with magic, I got them to do it with a layer of Shinsoo. Rather than being a conceptual defense against scrying, it was just a soundproofed field around us.

"You're an Irregular too, right?" Androssi asked before I could say anything.

"Yes. How did you figure it out?"

"From the very beginning, you and Rachel felt different. Then we found out Baam's an Irregular, and he knew Rachel before entering the Tower, so obviously she is one too. Last time we talked about this, you were concerned about discrimination against the circumstances of your birth and hostile forces offended by your existence. So it makes sense. You're one of the Irregulars that the people in the Tower hate. Or rather, that Zahard's empire hates," said Androssi. "One Irregular is already incredible, but three at once? I can hardly believe it."

I nodded. "So now you know who my enemies are. I don't have any particular grudge against your father's empire myself—in fact, I couldn't care less about the politics of the Tower, but it's something that I'm forced to face because of my status."

"So did you ask for a different test?"

"No, I went to Headon, not the second floor Guardian, though Headon claims he's the one that designed the test anyway—I went for a different reason. Remember he gave me this Pocket in exchange for helping Rachel. It was on loan so I wanted to give it back to him because I needed to deal with my issue before continuing the task he assigned. You can ask him yourself if you want, to confirm I'm telling the truth, I really didn't have my Pocket," I said.

"I'm not going to ask Headon for something so petty, that's way too weird," said Androssi. "So I'll believe you. But then, what was the issue you needed to deal with?"

Before I went to find her, I'd already thought for a considerable length of time how I should proceed in the Tower, given my new circumstances. And so, I had already prepared what to reveal.

"The answer to that might be quite shocking, and a bit difficult to explain. First, you should understand that not all Irregulars come from the same place, and aside from opening the door to the Tower by ourselves, we're nothing alike at all. But all Irregulars are chosen by the Tower itself. For what purpose, I don't know, but that is how the door opens. I, however, am unique, in that I do not merely come from outside of the Tower, but from outside of this plane of existence."

"I don't understand," said Androssi, looking confused. "What's a plane of existence?"

That was a bit inconvenient. She had no modern scientific frame of reference to understand what I was talking about.

"What do you think the Outside of the Tower is like?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know anything about it, other than that it's where the Irregulars come from. Same with Zahard and the Ten Warriors in the beginning. I think I've heard before that it might be a place without Shinsoo, but no idea how that would work."

"I don't know much about it either—not because I was trapped somewhere like Baam, but because I come from somewhere outside of even that. But you can think of this analogy. Each Floor is ruled by a Guardian, right? They decide what the Floor is like, who can use Shinsoo, that sort of thing," I said.

"Sure."

"Now the Tower itself is like a Floor, of a bigger world. Ruled by something above all of the Guardians, with me so far? The Guardians set the rules of their own Floors, but there are rules even they have to follow, and someone or something set the rules of the Tower itself. Still with me?"

She nodded. "Some people say there's a god that is higher than all of them."

"Right, exactly. Now if we go beyond the Tower, there's a world out there, and you might imagine that the Tower is just like a physical tower in that world. I don't know if that's how it works, but the point is that there is a bigger world that we're in, and I don't know if it has something like a god either, but that world does have its own set of rules, which applies both Outside and inside of the Tower. It might help if you imagine the world Outside as just a bigger Tower, and this Tower is just one Floor in it."

Androssi scrunched her eyebrows. "So the plane of existence is supposed to be the bigger Tower."

"That's right."

"And you're from outside of that," she said slowly. I nodded in response. "So why is that important?" She asked, still looking confused.

"Because of the rules I just mentioned. I was chosen by the Tower, but I do not belong in this world, this plane of existence, at all. I am someone that should not exist, with powers that break the rules of the world and am rejected by it in return. Or to put it another way, I am something that should only be in books and fantasies, not something that belongs in this reality, analogous to an imaginary demon that stepped out of the pages of a story to become real, and reality finally noticed that this wasn't supposed to happen. That isn't really what I am, but the end result is similar."

Finally, a look of understanding came over her. "So that's what happened. You were getting rejected by the world?"

"Exactly. I used too much power in the fight against Quant, and the world—it noticed me. It tried to suppress me. Tried to make me less real—erase me because I shouldn't exist."

"So when you were gone, it was because you got erased?" Androssi asked with shock.

"No, no. I didn't let it get to that point—I escaped first and shifted out of this reality to a different plane of existence, to figure out a solution before coming back."

"Okay…I wasn't expecting all that…" She said with a short sigh, brushing some hair aside. "But thanks for explaining it. In summary, you had some Irregular problems, went off to do Irregular things, and now you're all better?"

"You could say that, though what I used was only a temporary measure. The world will notice me again eventually, especially if I get into that sort of high level fight again," I said.

"The way you're saying it makes me think you're expecting another fight against a Ranker? But Quant was just being an idiot, that isn't going to happen on every Floor," said Androssi, tilting her head, hand back at her waist.

"Yes, that brings me to the next critical topic. I found out what Hwa Ryun was warning us about. There really is an RED Ranker coming to kill Anak Zahard and retrieve the Green April and the Black March. In fact, he's already here undercover, and he's going to do it during the final test. It's Yuga, the Wave Controller Instructor, whose real name is Lo Po Bia Ren," I said.

Androssi's face turned sharp. "You're serious?"

I took off my visor and hung it around my neck, to look her in the eyes.

"I am. But that's not all. Just like you did initially, Lero Ro thinks I'm an undercover Ranker too. But worse yet, he thinks I was smuggled in as your retainer, and may have convinced Ren of this as well. The Lo Po Bia family has princesses of their own, and there's a good chance he'll try to kill me too to get rid of your perceived resource. And I don't think I can win that fight, even if I were at my best."

"But that's—he can't just—it's too soon!" She exclaimed.

Then there was a long silence as I sat down on the bed and just looked at her gravely. After a while, she grabbed the chair beside the desk and slumped into it.

"Hah…I was just starting to have some fun with these tests too…" She said with a dramatic sigh. "What are we going to do?"

"Same here, Princess. It was good while it lasted. Nice knowing ya," said Derflinger,

"What's that supposed to mean? You guys are just giving up?" Androssi asked, looking at the sword which stuck out of its sheath.

"Naw, who says we need to fight at all? That guy's just coming for the Green April and that other princess. We got nothing to do with that business, no need to risk our lives. Nosiree! We're just a pair of wandering travelers that met an impoverished princess and gave her a gift. We'll clear up the misunderstanding with the good officer and be on our way, right Partner?" Derf asked with a jovial tone.

Androssi looked unimpressed. "Very funny, buster. Do you really think it'll be that easy to 'clear up the misunderstanding'?"

"What's got your panties in a twist? It's just a dumb weapon, it can't even talk like I can. What's the big deal if you have to give it up? As for us, all we gotta do is stage a falling out with you and make the fight look convincing," said Derf.

Androssi's face was as if she swallowed a sour grape. "Don't tell me that really is your plan?" Then turned to me.

"Back me up here, Partner. We ain't fighting that guy, right? I'm too young to die!"

"You're six thousand years old Derf, and I've had a good run too. Maybe it's time to face the music," I said, patting the sword in its sheath lightly.

"Noooo, throw me away first then!" said Derf. "This holy sword can't be lost in these fetid waters!"

"I understand, sacred Excalibur. I'll return you to the Lady of the Lake, according to the ancient promise," I said solemnly.

"Good. I will remember you always, Partner. They will sing your stories long after your passing," said Derf, then he returned to his sheath.

There was a long silence, while Androssi seemed to be in a state of disbelief.

"You're messing with me," she said, finally. "There's no way you're planning to just roll over and die. If you were that scared, couldn't you just—I don't know—go to another plane of existence again? Or just ask for a different test from the Guardian by yourself?"

"That would mean abandoning you to face Ren alone," I said.

She paused at that, then bit her lip as if struggling to make a decision. Then she looked away and growled out. "I'll be fine. I'm a Princess, so he won't dare to kill me."

"Not even by accident?" I asked, curious.

She stood up. "Besides, your sword is right, you have nothing to do with me. We only teamed up for the tests, and it was going to end after this Floor anyways. So what if we have to end it a little early?"

"I know what you're doing, Androssi, but I'm not going to abandon you. We may not have done a friend list assignment, but that doesn't mean we aren't friends. There's no need for you to face this alone," I said.

"Shut up. I'm perfectly fine with being alone, in fact, I prefer it that way. I was just using you. And now you're of no use to me anyway, if you can't even fight at your best," she said coldly, walking to the door.

As her hands reached the knob, I spoke again. "What if there was a way?"

"A way for…?" She asked, hands still on the knob, back facing me.

"For me to be able to fight without restraints. The world can't suppress me if there is somebody to act as my anchor. A host who will form a contract with me, to summon me into this world to battle on her behalf."

She whipped around and put both her hands at the waist. "What? Why didn't you just say that to begin with?! Let's just do that then!"

"It's not that simple though. There is a cost to the host. They have to supply me with energy to maintain the anchor, and even more if I use certain abilities which the world rejects. Not just anyone is suitable to be a host either. They need to be strong enough to handle it, and the will to force the world to bend for them in the pursuit of their deepest desires."

She scoffed, "Like that'll be a problem for me. I'm a princess of Zahard. Do you have any idea what that means? Zahard's blood is too powerful, so no woman can bear a child for him. That's why he adopts princesses instead. Achievements, beauty, loyalty—all of that matters, but the most important qualification is the potential to accept Zahard's blood. I was strong already, but it's that blood which makes me even more durable than a Ranker."

Without gesturing, I bid the water spirits to shift the soundproof field into the conceptual anti-scrying bubble.

"You would be completely right—if we had met before you received Zahard's blood. But that very blood is now an obstacle," I said.

Suddenly she tensed, letting her hands fall, wariness obvious in her tone. "What…what do you mean?"

"As I said, the host must have the will to force the world to bend for them. They need to want something so much, or to believe that there is something deeply wrong with the world, that only by committing an even greater wrong, inviting a being like me, can the balance be restored and their wish fulfilled. It is pride, resentment, even arrogance—an absolute will to defy the order of things," I said.

"And by accepting Zahard's blood…I've accepted the order of things? Made myself a part of that order, just another shoe in his display cabinet," she said, eyes widening as the truth dawned on her, voice almost a whisper. "Have I become satisfied with my food after sitting at the dining table of the highest palace?"

"In a way, yes," I said, nodding. "But not only that. Although I don't know for sure, I suspect that if you truly did receive Zahard's blood—physically receive it in your body—then it may well have an influence on you. A second will, which could interfere with yours and cause the contract to fail."

There was a long silence, but soon the princess turned resolute.

"No, I can definitely do it. I waited a very long time after becoming a princess before I started to climb…but I'm here now after Headon chose me, after I obtained the right to climb the Tower for myself. I didn't really become a mindless shoe, that's just a metaphor. I chose to become a princess because I wanted the benefits that came with it. And if the point is to restore balance, why can't it be the other way around too? If I like the way I am and I want to keep what I have while getting more things I want, why shouldn't I be able to do that? If I can't qualify as a host because of something so stupid then there's clearly something wrong with the world and I'll defy that rule!" she declared confidently, then paused a bit to catch her breath.

"And, while on this Floor, I smelled a new kind of food that I'd never tasted before, that's still out of my reach even though it's in my sight. It doesn't look appealing at all, but I want to know why the people that tasted it look so happy. So there is something that I want, that I'll force the world to bend if I have to."

"I do see the logic in what you're saying. That might work," I said and nodded, though inwardly I was surprised that she'd made a decision so quickly. I had thought she might ask for time to think about it, as she did when we discussed my offer to team up.

"As for Zahard's blood, you wouldn't have brought this up if you didn't think it was possible. I just have to make sure that blood understands who's in control here, right? I'll do whatever I want, and daddy's not going to stop me, it's my blood now. There's no rule against princesses doing this, whatever this is supposed to be, anyways, I'm sure."

"Are you familiar with the concept of spells?" I asked.

"No. I've heard of people that don't have talent with Shinsoo using them though. Is that what we're doing?"

"Yes. But I also suspect that Zahard's blood serves as the medium for a spell on your body, one that binds you to his will. So in order to find a way around it, you need to know a few things about how spells work. In this world, they are governed by at least three important rules—or so says Hwa Ryun. The caster must not violate the rules of the spell once they are set. The spell requires the assistance of a powerful medium or a divine being. And the rank of a spell is determined by the power of the being or medium who helped with the spell," I said. "Based on the last rule, a spell can be broken by a higher rank spell."

"But if Zahard's blood was the medium, doesn't that mean we need something stronger than Zahard to break the spell?" She asked.

"Well, not necessarily. We only need something stronger than the amount of blood that's in you. And that's only if we used the rules of this world. There are other rules of magic that can be used—while I don't know if they'd work for anyone else here, I am a being that is outside of the normal rules of the world. My magic is therefore capable of drawing on foreign concepts. And one of the higher concepts of magic is that the strength of a spell can be understood as the strength of its Mystery. Just as the third rule says, a greater Mystery can overwhelm a weaker one. But the medium of a Mystery is not necessarily any singular being which the spell invokes. It is, in fact, the collective belief of every being that observes the spell, or has ever cast or participated in it, and even the world itself—as well as whatever particular vessel is used to anchor the spell. It is like a debate between all, of what is true and should be permitted. The one who empowers the spell is merely the loudest arguing voice with the largest force behind them, who imposes their will upon the rest. That does not mean that everyone else agrees, however, even if they win the argument for a time. And when there is a sufficiently strong argument or evidence against the truth of the Mystery, it can be interfered with, if not outright unraveled."

"I think I'm lost. What exactly can we do with that?"

"It's quite simple, actually. First, we need a spell of relatively close rank to counter the blood spell. Conveniently, there is such a spell we can use—the Thirteen Month Series weapons are enchanted with a spell so powerful that not even the Guardians can break them. And Zahard probably had a hand in them as well," I said.

"But that's only an 'equal' rank of spell, right? It wouldn't break it, there's no way it'd be that easy."

"Of course, which is why we then create interference with it by adding some additional firepower. You see, if Zahard's blood was meant to bind you to his will, then we need a piece of evidence that his will can be broken, that it has been broken, in spite of his blood, and we shall invoke that story and the spiritual imprint left by those who defied him to empower our spell."

"Evidence that his will has been broken? You mean…Anak Zahard," said Androssi.

"You catch on fast. Yes, that's exactly it. And conveniently, the same Thirteen Month Series weapon you have now, with the highest Rank of Spell on it, is a symbol of the one who defied Zahard's will, breaking the rules that govern Princesses. Even the act of taking that weapon was a great violation, and the Green April probably tasted the blood of those loyal to Zahard. It's the perfect catalyst, all we need are the right rituals to draw on the weight of its history. As its current wielder, you need only imitate its former wielder, sympathize with her experience, and reproduce the events of the past, culminating in the reenactment of its Mystery."

"Isn't that asking a bit much? I don't understand the original Anak Zahard at all, I barely knew her. How can I imitate or sympathize with her, let alone reproduce anything that happened before?" Androssi asked.

"It's just a ritual, you don't have to replicate everything. Just three symbolic actions that underpin her story are enough, one to close each of Zahard's eyes, and because three is a magically powerful number," I said. "So think, you know her story and the rules of princesses better than me, what were her most important acts of defiance? And are there three that you can imitate?"

"The most important ones would be taking a lover, getting pregnant, then having the child and refusing to give it up, all of which is forbidden," she said, a slight flush beginning to climb up her face. "But I'm not doing any of that just for some ritual! Unlike Anak, I like being a princess so I'm not about to start breaking the rules. This is just a…a strategy to deal with the RED in case he's corrupt. That's all."

"Of course, there's no need to do the actual violations she committed, but are there related actions which are symbolic of them? Just holding the Green April is probably good enough to be one, so you really only need two more."

For a moment she just sat there thinking.

After a while, her eyes lit up.

"…chicken pie. I need to eat chicken pie," said Androssi. "That's what Anak told me. Her mother ran away with the palace chef because she loved the chicken pie he made for her. So you need to make chicken pie for me to eat."

"Okay, that doesn't sound too hard. I'll see if I can borrow the kitchens around here. Just one more then," I said. "Well, I do have an idea that should add a lot of power to the ritual, but it can't be done now. We would have to do the ritual in multiple parts, and activate the final leg at the right time. Let me explain how we can set it all up…"

She listened attentively as I described the plan. In the meantime, before the contract was complete, I would simply focus on developing other abilities during training. It wasn't like I had many powerful foreign abilities to begin with anyways, and with the flag having been reset, I didn't have to get an invitation right away. We could wait until the conditions were fully aligned to create the best bond.

O O O