Northern stared down with an indifferent, blank expression, watching two figures leap from below and latch themselves onto the Tower’s underside.
Northern closed his eyes briefly.
’Let’s see... what defense chanisms does this Tower possess?’
Since the Tower’s Control room sat nestled within his consciousness, Northern held direct access to its contents through his mind.
All he needed was to sift through his mories like searching through files. Within seconds, a smile crept across his face.
’Found it.’
***
The mont Azzut and Aszdan launched themselves upward, they clung to the ship’s base like geckos—their hands seeming to stick to the surface. They began scaling the concrete hull at an utterly inhuman pace.
Just as they neared the ship’s bow edge, one of the layered hull bricks groaned and split open.
Aszdan froze, glancing down with narrowed eyes.
"Ignore it," he commanded.
As he turned his gaze upward again, a fierce gust erupted from the opening, battering both climbers. Being Paragons, re wind couldn’t dislodge them—though it slowed their progress. The ship’s rim lay only five more handholds away.
More hull bricks creaked open. The wind grew savage, their black coats snapping violently in the tempest.
Then the very bricks beneath their grip split apart, plunging them into the yawning darkness before they could react. The Tower swallowed them whole.
Koll observed from below.
He clicked his tongue in disgust.
"Useless things."
His scowl deepened as he studied the airship with sharper focus.
Recognition sparked in Koll’s eyes like a struck match.
’Ah... isn’t that the Tower of Traml?’
His expression darkened further.
He’d overlooked it initially—such a sight wasn’t common in his long existence. The Tower had wandered endlessly until the Origins seized it, transforming it into a prison for the Chaos Prince.
Later, the Chaos Prince claid it as his domain.
’That brat.’
Still, how Northern—bearer of the Chaos Prince’s vestige—had stumbled upon such a relic puzzled him.
’Fate...? impossible.’
Koll shook his head slightly. Fate lacked the cunning for such elaborate sches. This had to be the Chaos Prince’s doing...
’The Chaos Prince is dead. Don’t overthink this.’
Naturally, his imnse power left remnants that still shaped the world. The Leviathan lurking beneath the Crimson Cloud was born from his body’s decay. His soul’s vestige—the one Koll had carefully orchestrated Northern to absorb—would draw all chaotic forces, ready to be fed to Kryos upon his awakening.
His frown shifted, realization dawning.
’What if... it was drawn to the Vestige?’
That explanation made perfect sense for why Northern possessed the Tower of Traml.
Since the Tower had grown intimately familiar with the Chaos Prince, after its master’s death, it could have wandered through the Underworld into the Upperworld, seeking the Vestige—explaining how Northern stumbled upon it.
That ant the Tower likely knew how to traverse between worlds.
Koll raised an eyebrow.
’Fascinating.’
Yet he seed uninterested. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t return to the Underworld whenever he wished.
Still, the Tower of Traml was a remarkable structure. Owning it would prove invaluable.
A Paragon behind him finally spoke, shattering his thoughts.
"Boss. Should I go instead?"
This one sported purple hair cropped short, with sharp, slanted eyes—small and eerily calm. Too calm.
Koll didn’t turn around.
"Pointless. You’ll et the sa fate."
The young soldier bowed respectfully.
"What do we do then?"
"We wait."
The three behind him exchanged bewildered glances.
The one with black, wavy hair spoke up.
"Lieutenant, we didn’t co here to wait."
Another chid in:
"We can’t just stand idle while the Academy burns. We must play our part in carving history."
Koll turned back, his expression sour.
"So... you want to charge down there and slaughter instructors too? All for our cause?"
The calm one lowered his head slightly.
"I dare say—that’s exactly what we’ve been doing all along. What’s different now? Because they’re instructors or students? Boss, don’t tell your friend’s death is making you soft?"
Koll’s jaw clenched. If he didn’t need these fools, he’d have killed them all on the spot.
Of course, it wasn’t that they couldn’t kill—Koll simply didn’t want to waste precious ti cutting down fodder. He’d frad it hoping they’d show so restraint.
Apparently, they were too far gone for morality.
He sighed, watching flas devour the Academy below.
"You know what... go do your thing. Storm the Academy and destroy whatever you please. I have sowhere else to be."
The three bowed and vanished.
Koll exhaled shakily, releasing his sweaty palms before looking up at Northern.
The Tower ship hovered over the chasm, nearly across completely. Yet Northern’s gaze remained fixed on Koll—or rather, Lieutenant Dante, as everyone knew him.
Northern watched as Koll turned away, beginning his descent down the mountain.
A flicker of concern crossed Northern’s mind.
’Where is he going?’
He harbored a vague suspicion but remained curious about Koll’s true destination.
Even more intriguing was how Koll knew of that place’s existence—if indeed that’s where he was headed.
Northern sighed, facing forward.
’First, I must help Annette.’
He walked slowly to the ship’s bow, leaping onto its rim. Hands at his sides, he stared at the gaping wound in the Academy’s walls. He still rembered his first arrival—not even two years ago—when everything had seed so perfect.
Those walls had been heavily fortified, reinforced tal. He’d thought nothing could breach them. Who would have imagined that the very thing capable of tearing them down lay caged beneath?
Northern’s gaze drifted to the chasm’s dark, hollow depths.
"What could have been down there..."
He paused, touching his chest.
"...and why does my entire body feel so heavy?"
Sothing writhed inside him, like a caged beast clawing to break free through his ribs. The sensation had only begun minutes ago as they’d reached the mountain chasm.
Northern fought to keep himself steady. He couldn’t understand why Chaos was suddenly stirring, but he was certain it connected to whatever creature had escaped from the chasm’s depths.
This made Northern question how the coming battle would unfold—especially when he did not plan to unleash any ability tied to Chaos and Void.
Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.co(m)
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