𝖔 𝖉𝖔𝖑𝖔𝖗 𝖙𝖊𝖒𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖚𝖒, 𝖉𝖔𝖑𝖔𝖗𝖊𝖘 𝖆𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖊𝖒 𝖎𝖓 𝖉𝖔𝖑𝖔𝖗𝖊𝖒 𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖙𝖎𝖙.

ー・ー

Khun Eduan gasped, jerking awake and coughing dryly, as if every inch of his life that the Illuminium had stolen away had suddenly surged back to his dormant body like being crushed by mithril. His vision spun violently, heart pounding vigorously that he swore his ears would explode, but the ache possessing his paralyzed muscles were proof that that single call had brought his wandering soul from the Hidden Floor back to consciousness.

Yet, the sensation of the thick, viscuous, crimson, and the crispness of bitterly cold flesh coating his arms down through his fingertips almost sent him to a downward spiral if not for the burst of morning light from the bay window.

「 ... whom you’ve loved the most, shall be the one to end you. 」

Eduan’s sarcastic laughter roared around the walls of his personal quarters, tears staining his pale skin as he processed the irony that he was confined in the 111th Floor, which held the most endearing memories of V.

Soon, the emotion turned into apathy as the weapon caught his eye. Somehow, it was a pity that such a powerful dagger, rumored to even threaten a god, was no match for the conditions of his immortality contract. He might have preferred being astray— scouring through multiple possibilities where everything wasn't so complicated, permanently emancipated from the reality that a world where that happens will never exist anymore. What’s hilarious is that he actually wouldn’t mind being killed according to the prophecy, but here he was, perfectly unscathed.

The Khun Family Head averted his attention to his spare pocket, which had been receiving distress calls nonstop. Mentally, he might need to brace himself because he could only recall a handful of people whom he had given permission to contact him through the device.

“Are you hurt?”

‘Surely, things couldn’t get any worse than this, right?’

「 My Lord...? 」a hoarse voice, probably from excessive crying and sleep deprivation, which he had never heard from for a long while now, responded.

“Where are you?”

Bam chuckled, probably in both disbelief and relief, that the jeonsulsa, without any hesitation, was taking him seriously. 「 Won’t you even question me? Scold me for my incompetence? Berate me for failing to protect your son? 」

“Why would it matter whether I do that or not?” The older rang the service bell as he stripped the loose gown, the tone of his voice daring the child to refute which made the latter exhale exasperatedly. 

「 You never change, my Lord. You still overestimate me. 」

“Whether your life is threatened or not, whether you seek to pardon someone or desire their execution, my name is at your disposal.” That was the bargain Agnis' son asked for. Though, more than anything, he may have been trying to make amends for what he failed to do for V. After all those years he spent raising these saplings, he knew that there would only be one thing that would push them to the brink, lower their pride, and ask for someone else’s help— more so, a Great Family Head’s. “After all, are you not the Khun Eduan’s most cherished children?”

Khun Aguero Agnis was harmed.

「 In the 77th Floor, we met a FUG Executive who claimed that one of us had been cursed by the Guardian of the 134th Floor. 」The brunet’s voice cracked ever so slightly, but continued the explanation. 「 I know, it sounds impossible. But after the test, he caught someone who was out to kill either of us then themselves through a specialized bomb, which resulted to Aguero’s newly awakened powers running haywire. 」

On the other hand, it was quite fortunate that one of the attributes the high ranker mastered was the element of ice, which Aguero also seemingly inherited, making the monitoring of his progress all the more ideal to take place inside his own territory.

「 What if the curse was real? 」Perhaps, this was his karma, and they just bore the brunt of it, because the Tower of God always remembers its debtors. 「 What if Aguero did return from the past and this was the price he had to pay? 」

‘But, why? What for? And for whom?’ Was Khun Aguero Agnis’ past really that worth regressing for? That he, a pureblooded Khun, would exchange all the glory he had been rewarded, to face infinite uncertainties?

Still, the man maintained his composure, lest Bam finds all this confusion stressful. Plus, Eduan needed to set his priorities straight now that he had awoken from his comatose, and the first thing he ought to do was retrieve their children.

“Calm yourself. I will be awaiting your arrival,” he commanded, breaking the deafening static.

Perhaps then, he could at least set some things right.

“So you better not break, Jue Viole.”

Though, no amount of effort will amount to that one life he lost.

ー・ー

119th Floor ;
Khun Eduan ;

“RUN!”

In the midst of chaos, the anguished cries of the youth, the wounded, and those scarred by loss echoed through the desolate battleground, where the very air was tainted by the acrid blend of blood, dust, and the malevolent shinsu that had ruthlessly reduced the once-proud city to a grim wasteland. Little did anyone anticipate that the explosive clash between Jahad and Arlene Grace over the unlocking of the fabled higher floors would serve as the catalyst, igniting the inferno of the Great War.

But for Khun Eduan, that ominous revelation had been a constant, gnawing presence. The revelation of her pregnancy had long pushed the golden-haired fisherman to the brink, akin to a relentless storm that raged within him. In the heart of the maelstrom, the bluenet grappled with conflicting emotions, torn between duty and compassion, loyalty and ambition. He knew that he was standing at a precipice, but couldn’t have known that the choices he ought to make in the tumultuous days to come would shape the destiny of the Tower.

Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to sever the bond with V.

The irregular shrouded himself in a cloak, concealing any recognizable features, and seamlessly melted into the frantic throng of people. This place was now a labyrinth of intrigue and danger, and V had once more become a shadow, elusive and enigmatic— opposing the people he treasured more than life itself, in order to protect his unborn son.

Hours after travelling by foot, evading the imperial guards who were after their heads, they entered the hideout their fellow fugitives had prepared. The room was dimly lit, with the faintest shimmer of light casting a soft glow on the two figures at its center. Khun Eduan, his cobalt blue hair catching the feeble light, stood resolute, his gaze unwavering as it bore into V, whose exhaustion was as vivid as the blood red sky.

“Why are you here?” The wavecontroller, his expression a mixture of frustration and anger, took a step closer to the Khun, his voice edged with tension. “You must return before the Empire brands you as a traitor. I know someone who can contact your estate—”

“Don’t.” Eduan's response was swift and unyielding, despite the grasp the brunet had on his wrist. “You cannot fight Jahad in this state and you know that! Not with this decentralized army! Not when you know there is that slightest possibility that your son could potentially lose his father without ever meeting him!”

The aforementioned clenched his jaw, his eyes narrowing in exasperation. “Did you think I never considered that? Of course, I wanted to retreat! I wanted to go back to that time where what worried me most was how I would clean up after my friends after victory parties! If I could, I would have stolen my child from Arlene’s womb and go into hiding for the rest of our lives! But with you being added into the equation— it’s too dangerous! If news about Khun Eduan’s double-crossing reaches them, they will set everything that involves your name into flames!”

Eduan shook his head, his voice tinged with the slightest hint of relief that the brunet seemed to still subconsciously hold some sort of affection for him. “Then let them burn. I can always build another estate from ruins. I can always create another Khun Family. But, I cannot bear the thought of losing you.”

The tension in the room escalated, the air thick with unspoken words and unresolved emotions. The jeonsulsa took a deep breath, trying to keep his composure. “Before a Khun, I am your friend, V. So, why couldn’t you let me help you?”

Arlene Grace, much to both of their dismay, knocked on the room saying he was needed at the conference, cutting their conversation short, waiting until the wavecontroller went out of earshot before throwing barbs at the bluenet. Eduan's face remained stern, yet the resentment lingered inside him.

“Why are you so insistent in having a place in V’s life? Chasing after a man who had chosen to forget all the love he had for you— well, aren’t you so pitiful?”

If the ravenette wasn’t heavily pregnant with V’s child, then there would be no need for him to hold back. This woman, if not the cause, was the amplifier of everyone’s misery— constantly dividing the group with her unaccounted opinions, leading Jahad on for the longest time until he was too far gone, isolating V from everything that could grant him autonomy, and now relishing the fact that her sins have been essentially erased in everyone’s minds, all because the victim himself chose silence.

“Speak for yourself.”

‘What else could be greater evil than that?’

“Were your sheets now warm enough that you’ve forgotten the hell you've unleashed? How do you live so comfortably, Arlene Grace?” He spoke, no other emotion could be traced aside from scorching hatred.

“How do you sleep so soundly at night knowing you raped V?”

ー・ー

“The 77th Floor?” The King scoffed in bemusement, staring down at him, gauging for any sign of betrayal and weakness from the Khun Family Head before a crazed grin adorned his face which once brimmed of youthful— almost childlike, innocence. “As unstable as that place seemed, it was famed for its abundance of overpowering shinheuh. I must say, they’ve done well lasting this long with such a meager strategy.”

Eduan matched his stare with a complaisant one, chin tilted loftily atop his palm. If the pompous bastard was thinking now that his fate was sealed on the Tower’s highest seat, that he was widely revered and worshipped, he was now way out of their league. Well, he thought wrong.

There was only one irregular that best suited the title as King. That aside, there was nobody above Khun Eduan.

“So?” Jahad’s back straightened, legs crossed with an air of condescension. “How can I trust that you’ll hold up your end of the bargain? No offense, but you do know information like this can easily be fabricated, right?”

“None taken. Though, I am quite wounded that you couldn’t take my word for it. Weren’t we once companions struggling toward common goals?”

“That may be so.” The former tilted his head, flashing a sly grin. “But, who’s to say there wouldn’t be any lingering feelings?”

“Then,” The bluenet, aware of the King's obvious and poorly-constructed taunts, tapped his fingers on his cheek, as if in deep thought. “Should I personally bring them to you?”

This caught the blond’s attention, no matter how hard he tried to conceal it, when the subtle shift of his weight gave it away. “And how could you possibly do what none of my best generals have done?”

He smirked, mask perfectly intact, showing no qualms about dragging his almost to the pits of fiery hell that was the empire. Everything is simple, truly.

“You just need to provoke them enough that they come running back to you.”

ー・ー

57th Floor ;
Khun Eduan ;

Everything seemed to be conspiring against him in a cruel twist of fate.

He thought they had that momentary peace. That everything was under his control and they all could spend a whole day living as if they hadn't waged war against the most powerful entities that now had the Tower in a chokehold. But, a knock came on V's door when nightfall came, a box beautifully gift-wrapped in a luxurious black kraft and red grosgrain ribbon sat on the entrance accompanied by black dahlias, all of which seemed out of place amidst a desolate war zone.

“No... no... no...”

The onlookers could only watch as the box slowly became tainted with the most putrid of odors and color— of the pungent smell of blood and rotting days-old flesh. And never did Eduan hear V scream so heartwrenchingly after the night of his assault.

That was, until now.

Arlene knelt with him as the brunet clutched the contents tightly to his chest, weeping hysterically at the mixture of fluids soaking his robe. It was their newborn, broken in half. Neck snapped cleanly from its miniscule, underdeveloped, body. Its once supple, wrinkled face, decayed and riddled with maggots, feasting until the flesh hollowed, bones exposed.

“T-This isn’t him, r-right...? W-Where is h-he...?” he managed to choke out amidst his sobs, clinging onto her skirt with a bloodstained hand, bloodshot eyes brimming with denial. “This is not my son, stop playing a prank guys, it’s not funny anymore. HAHAHAHA! This is not my baby! Give him back! RETURN MY BABY BACK TO M—!”

Eduan and V’s vision met in that single pause, and the spearbearer bore witness how a wave of fury clouded his bejeweled amethyst eyes, swelling up in his chest. Who wouldn’t? His child, albeit unplanned and unwanted, had been taken away before he even got a chance to know the boy. The bluenet just failed to recall that Jahad had always been capable of doing something this inhumane. His eyes turned to the Khun, who stood a ways away with a stoic expression. The wavecontroller now suspected that he knew something, and it was only a matter of time before the last of V’s affection that once belonged to Eduan completely dissipate into thin air. 

But it must be done.

“You,” the former mouthed barely audibly. “You are involved with this, aren’t you?”

The latter looked at him with a predatory gaze, as if calculating his next move. Then, he looked back at the mutilated body of V’s son, and gave a vicious grin, clapping slowly as he emerged from the shadows. “Bravo, you finally figured it out, huh? You’ve been a fool for trusting me so blindly, my jewel.”

The brunet’s shock and disbelief turned quickly to seething anger. “Why...?”

V swung wildly at Eduan, trying to land a hit. The latter sidestepped, then delivering a swift kick to V’s chest, sending him flying back.

“Why?! Why?! Why?!”

V’s grief-stricken sobs turned into howls of rage, yelling incoherently. The man's sorrow was palpable, a thick fog of agony and loneliness enveloping him like a black shroud. It was as if a nail had been driven into his heart, each betrayal and loss an additional blow to his already shattered soul.

“I TRUSTED YOU!”

His purple eyes were filled with emptiness and despair, as if his spirit had been sucked clean out of him, leaving behind only a hollow shell. “... so much... I trusted you so much...”

The spearbearer’s gaze was wintry— as cold and rigid as the corpse V held. “You never were the best judge of character.”

“I know,” V mumbled, flashing a loathful stare which Eduan accepted in stride, because it’s one of the things the man gave him that only he owned. “After all, I loved you, didn’t I?”

The Khun wasn’t able to retort as he felt surges of shinsu directed toward him, as if one wrong move would result to his limbs being disintegrated. (Un)surprisingly, V, eyes still bloodshot, hands trembling slightly, with short, broken gasps as he struggled to maintain control, spoke before anyone thought of attacking.

“Leave.”

What seemed to be the executives of the Grace’s vassal families voiced out their complaints, and to be honest, the bluenet would be too if he were them. “Sire, a traitor must not live!”

“I do not allow my precious friends to die.”

“This is war and you are enemies!”

“He told me he was my friend first, a Khun second.” The emotion in V’s voice was visceral as he turned to Eduan. “Once you step outside the premises, our friendship will be over. You are a Khun, I guess it was only a matter of time that you’d act like one.”

“You’ll come to regret this.”

“I already do, my jewel.”