Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Khun shined his Lighthouse beam on the Mangdol Madame’s main cavity. The creature’s wrinkly body hugged the walls of the cave; the light beam bounced off of the blue and purple thick skin and its disgusting orifices — buttholes, aptly named by Rak — that lined the exterior. They were not sure which one Rachel and Baam would exit from, so Khun shifted the Lighthouse’s angle every once in a while to cover the area.

The trio in the cave was led by Rak, his shoulders back and his crocodilian head held high. Rak hoisted a red spear, the tip glinting under the Lighthouse. Khun had come to appreciate Rak, not only for his abilities as a Fisherman, but also for his courage, sound judgment, and loyalty to Baam. Not that Khun would ever tell him this.

Falling behind Rak were the quiet Chunhwa, a brunette Fisherman bearing a sword ignition weapon, and the chipper Nare, a blonde Scout whose Shinsu fish breeder skills had helped them earlier in the test.

If some mishap had occurred, thought Khun, this was a solid team that covered most positions. All they needed was a wave controller. Baam was waiting for them.

Rak was the first to spot something moving. He bellowed, “Turtle! The turtle’s out!” 

The Mangdol Madame had spewed out its prey with a loud slop. 

No doubt, the bodies would be covered in that green phlegm, but at the very least — Khun hoped Hansung Yu had not lied to them — Baam and Rachel would survive the Madame’s digestive tract, their newfound team would pass the test, and everything would be perfect. 

After all, his plans were always perfect.

Chunhwa and Nare turned toward the noise. Khun leaned closer toward his blue screen and moved the Lighthouse’s beam closer.

Khun could make out only one body.

His hands felt cold.

Rak’s booming outburst and Nare’s gasp only confirmed his reaction. 

Their voices pierced through Khun’s screen like a sharp siren against white noise. Rak’s initial excitement — “Turtle!” — was followed by uncertainty — "Why...is there just one...?" — and then, finally, quiet horror.

“Hey female, why are you alone?” asked Rak. “Where’s the other turtle?”

In the dark cave, a blonde, freckled girl was laying on the floor like a drowned kitten. The girl — Rachel — avoided looking at the three expectant pairs of eyes staring at her. She was hyperventilating, barely able to get the words out. Rachel explained that the bull had attacked them suddenly just before the end. Baam, always the hero, tried to protect her, but the boy fell off of their raft into the dark tank below. And Rachel could not save him.

Khun paled.

“Do you mean...that the turtle’s...dead?” said Rak, his armored back shaking.

The last word sliced through Khun. 

Echoes of Rak’s shouting drowned out his thoughts. The Lighthouse vibrated with Rak’s roar. Nare and Chunhwa covered their ears. Khun clenched his hands, his fingernails digging into his palms as he stared through the screen in vain. Khun’s plan had been perfect. All he needed was for Baam to make it through. 

“What happened to my prey?!! Answer me!!” screamed Rak. 

Rachel stayed silent.

Briefly, Rachel’s eyes flicked up to glance at Rak. Her yellow eyes glowed under the Lighthouse beam.

Looking back, Khun would have described Rachel’s gaze as menacing, nothing like Baam’s warm, golden eyes. But at the moment, Khun took Rachel at her word, and Khun was more angry with himself than at anyone else. He was sitting here, comfortably staring at events unfolding before him through a screen, while Baam was in all likelihood bleeding to death or, in the worst case, truly and irrevocably dead.

There had to be a mistake. There must be hints, signs, something, anything in those dark walls of the cave that said Baam was alive.

Khun’s eyes searched the screen.

Rachel, her head facing down. Rak, with his red spear threatening to break the Lighthouse if he was not careful. Nare, with her sobbing as she knelt down to help lift Rachel up off the floor. Chunhwa, who supported Rachel from the other side as they lifted her up together. Rak’s roars shaking the walls of the cave.

Khun wished the events would happen the other way around: a world in which Rachel sacrificed herself for Baam. Or perhaps, a world where both Baam and Rachel survived. If they waited long enough, maybe Baam could come out from the monster’s cavity. And all would be well.

But Khun’s gut feeling was that Baam was never coming back.

Baam was gone.

And like the Test of Doors, there were no more hints.

***

Word got around quickly that Baam did not arrive. The tired Regulars made their way to the entrance of the break room. Most of them milled around outside the door, reluctant to go in. 

Khun was not sentimental, yet even he felt like entering the break room was like admitting defeat. He wanted nothing more than to run back and search every corner of the tank for Baam.

The rest of the team barely spoke, but there was a silent camaraderie in the hallway. Not for the first time, Khun envied Baam’s easy ability to bring people together. Baam’s naive selflessness had charmed the other Regulars. Now, without Baam’s presence, a heavy weight settled over the group. Small, reluctant conversations bounced around the hallway. Khun heard many apologies but mostly long sighs and unspoken words. 

Baam was gone.

Khun sighed and stared off at the wall, at a small fleck of paint that was peeling away. 

Nare was the first person to speak to Khun. 

She had caught him in a pensive mood and smiled at him. Khun did not smile back. Rak knew the truth about Khun's loyalties, but the rest of the team was still wary of his cold demeanor. Khun did not feel the need to be friendly to them.

“How are you feeling, Khun?” asked Nare, taking the spot next to him, leaning against the wall.

Khun looked down at her. “Tell me what you’re here for.”

Nare let out an amused laugh. “You’re not the only one who lost a friend, you know.” 

“Maybe this was for the better,” Khun found himself saying. 

He had grown so used to hiding his emotions that he did not bother correcting himself. Khun lifted an eyebrow, daring Nare to challenge him. He received a disapproving grimace in response.

“All of you Khuns are the same,” said Nare. 

“Is there a problem with that?”

Nare glared at him. “If you are going to be a Khun, then I will treat you like one. I did my part during the test, so I want your Manbarondenna.”

The tiny, blonde brat would have been cute if she had picked a better time for their deal. Even though he was not in the mood, he admitted that Nare’s shinsu fish breeding skills helped the team during the test. A promise was a promise. 

Khun summoned his inventory and took out the prized briefcase, his thumb touching the leather handle appreciatively before letting it go. He remembered when he broke into his father’s stores and fitted almost everything he wanted in Manbarondenna. Large chunks of floating stone. Diamonds and rubies to be sold for profit. Gold, the most precious of all. 

And he was handing over the key to his fortunes, just like that.

In some ways, Khun was giving up another symbol of his ties to the Khun family. He was already helping an Irregular. And this was all for Baam.

“Don’t let my father catch you with it,” said Khun. “He’ll hunt you down for stealing from his treasure troves.”

Nare frowned as Khun offered the Manbarondenna. The sudden weight of the briefcase almost pulled her off of the bench, but Nare held onto the handle with both hands and hefted the case against her thighs.

“A heavy burden, isn’t it?” said Khun, a wry smile playing on his lips.

Nare ignored him and left to stand by Chunhwa’s side, away from Khun. She was glaring at Khun, as if waiting for Khun to destroy the rest of his relationships with the team.

But Khun let the heavy silence fall. Nobody else spoke or moved.

***

When Paracule arrived, he was the first to enter the break room. The green man looked positively giddy. Khun felt the urge to stab him with his knife.

The rest of the team filed in after Paracule.

Khun took a seat on the bench at the far end, feeling the eyes of every Regular that came in through the door. Khun did not usually care what other people thought of him, but he felt apprehensive toward everybody today, half wishing they could leave him alone and half wishing they could grieve for Baam together.

Chunhwa and Nare came in after. Nare, who was glaring at Khun, must have told Chunhwa what Khun had said. The two were giving him looks of disapproval. He ignored them.

Finally, Rachel entered the room, with her hood covering up most of her face. She floated through the entrance on her white chair. She avoided making eye contact with everybody, much like Khun was doing. They both had, after all, lost their best friend.

A brief thought popped into Khun’s head. Khun had not paid attention to Rachel before. Rachel had seemed ordinary to him. A blonde girl with freckles and a flat nose. Not from the ten families. Unremarkable. True, she was his opponent as a Light Bearer. Decent at manipulating the Lighthouses. Knowledgeable about Baam’s history. And, although Khun was reluctant to admit it, she was Baam’s closest friend. But until Khun learned that she was an Irregular, Rachel seemed to him quite, well, regular.

Then again, Baam had seemed ordinary too. 

Khun considered that it was polite to say “sorry for your loss” or something sentimental.

But that feeling quickly passed when Khun realized that he was not sympathetic with Rachel.

Khun was wary of her. 

There must be hints, signs, something, anything in those dark walls of the cave that said Baam was alive. 

Khun thought back to the cave, when Rachel’s eyes looked up. Replaying the memory in his head, he remembered how cold Rachel’s glare had been. Khun considered something else. What if it was not Rak that Rachel was staring at...

What if it was Khun?

An unsettled feeling coiled in his stomach.

Maybe it was his lack of trust, as that damn Hansung Yu pointed out. Maybe it was experience, knowing how selfish most people could be. Or maybe it was a genetic fear of Irregulars, and their threat to the Tower and Zahard and the ten families. Khun brushed those thoughts aside. He would consider the issue of Rachel after Mr. Ro's debriefing. Whenever the man decided to show up, that is.

For the next ten minutes, nobody else came into the room.

The continued silence dug at Khun, so he said, “I remember the director said that all the regulars should be here. How come this is it?”

He knew that everybody was feeling awful — except for Paracule, of course — yet Khun could not help the anger that bled into his voice. He was accusing them all of something that was not even their fault in the first place.

Khun scanned the room, looking for some visible facial reaction. Hatsu stared at the opposite wall, ignoring him. Rachel, with her face hooded, remained silent. A flicker of guilt passed through Shibisu’s face, and despite his misgivings of Shibisu, Khun was appreciative of it.

“Um, Khun, Androssi and Rak are…,” began Nare.

“I know,” said Khun coldly. “I’m not expecting them. They never participate in this kind of thing.”

Rak and Androssi had not shown up, and while Khun couldn’t fault them, he could not help but feel slightly hurt. If Khun had not felt the need to see this through, he would have stayed in his bedroom as well. 

“How...how can you...how can you say it like that?!” shouted Nare. “Please understand how they feel!” 

In the corner, Hatsu scoffed, “Typical Khun.” 

Khun stared at the floor and avoided looking at anyone. “I’m sorry, but I’m not in the mood to understand anyone else.”

Nare opened her mouth to retort, but she was interrupted by Shibisu. 

“Stop, both of you,” said Shibisu. “Now’s not the time to go after each other. What’s important is the future. So let’s think about what we’ll do going forward. Um, for now, since the test is over, well...what...we should do…”

Paracule interrupted, asking, with all the tact of an impulsive child, whether they had passed the test. Hatsu jumped in with a retort and soon, a fight ensued. 

Hatsu drew his sword, levelling the blade against Paracule’s face. Paracule, with his stupid, green face, had the audacity to look around the room for support. He received none. Khun glared at him, channeling memories of his own father’s disapproving face.

“Don’t say he’s dead,” said Hatsu. 

Khun made a mental note to forgive Hatsu for his comment earlier. 

Paracule wilted away under Hatsu’s glare. 

Another voice interrupted them: “Didn’t I tell you not to fight during the break?”

A blond man in a white coat and black harem pants stepped into the room, and all the Regulars, who had been focused on the fight, were now looking up at the Ranker who stood before them. Even Hatsu drew back a step.

The Ranker with two black marks on his cheeks — Mr. Ro — seemed as tired as they were: his face was lined and, if possible, his blond hair looked unkempt. Khun always imagined Rankers as cold and powerful beings like his father or Maschenny Zahard. Yet he got the feeling that Mr. Ro was sympathetic to their cause.

When Mr. Ro spoke, his voice was steady.

The first order of business was that their team had passed. Paracule cheered, and the other Regulars looked simultaneously guilty and happy.

The second order of business was that they passed because of Baam’s deal with the administrator. Khun is not surprised that Baam would make such a deal. The boy’s generosity, it seemed, knew no bounds.

But Khun was not really listening until Mr. Ro explained the full details, “If Baam died during the test, he wanted the rest of you to go up to the next floor, no matter the test results.”

If Baam died during the test?

“Wait—” began Khun.

“Yes, I’m sorry to tell you...but Baam...is dead.” Mr. Ro said, pausing between the words. “We looked everywhere after the wine glass emptied out. But we couldn’t find him...sorry, but there’s very little chance that he’s alive.”

Khun barely heard the rest of the commotion. There was only one fact that mattered.

They couldn’t find the body.

Baam could be alive.

***

For the rest of the day, the team spent their time in Rachel’s bedroom. Rachel, who had fainted upon hearing the news of Baam’s death, was still asleep on the bed. Hatsu leaned back against the wall, his arms crossed. Khun sat on the bench next to Shibisu. 

Nare, who was no longer speaking to Khun, stood beside Rachel. She soaked some towels to place on Rachel’s forehead.

Shibisu said something and nudged Khun with his elbow, expecting Khun to respond. Khun did not.

“It must be a lot more shocking to her,” muttered Shibisu. “She probably thinks that Baam died because of her...she hurt her legs and lost her closest friend...it must have felt like her whole world came crashing down.”

Khun wanted to tell Shibisu that Rachel was not the only one whose whole world came crashing down. Baam was Khun’s best friend too.

But he couldn’t say those words out loud. 

So when Shibisu went around the room asking what everyone’s plans were — “Hey Khun. Will you join us?” — Khun hesitated when the question turned to himself.

Khun knew that everybody thought that he was cockier than he had the right to be. Khun was conniving, manipulative, and sneaky. He always believed that to be evil was to be born evil. He grew up in a family that was unforgiving. After all, one destroyed the dreams of other people to climb up the tower. They would never hesitate to abandon anyone if it meant achieving glory and power.

But Khun Aguero Agnes was already an abandoned child.

“Of course,” said Khun. “I can’t let things end like this. Whatever happens...I‘ll take Rachel to the top of the tower for Baam.”

Shibisu’s shoulders relaxed, and he even smiled at Khun.

“Okay, then it’s all settled now,” said Shibisu. “I’ll talk to anyone who isn’t here.”

As Shibisu went out to find the others, Khun was left to his own thoughts. The background conversations drifted away.

Khun realized that Baam had a knack for attracting good people. Shibisu was not only a loyal friend, but he was capable as a leader in his own right. Capable of keeping the rest of the team together, of respecting other people and their emotions. Shibisu was making sure that there would always be a group of friends that Baam could return home to. Something that Khun was not able to do right now.

Baam was one lucky guy.

Let Shibisu take care of the team. Khun knew, with absolute clarity, what he had to do.

Baam, don’t worry, thought Khun. I will make your wish come true.

Even if he had to strangle the god of this tower, he would take Rachel to see the stars, because that’s what Baam would have wanted.

Chapter Text

“You look like you have another plan,” said Mr. Ro when Khun stepped inside of his office. Khun greeted Mr. Ro with a curt nod. He did not know how much he could trust the blond Ranker. He would have to see.

Nothing had changed since the last time they met. The office resembled a meeting room: at its center was a large wooden table surrounded by brown leather chairs. To the left was a long shelf displaying Mr. Ro’s collection of limited edition speakers and gramophones. Mr. Ro offered Khun a mug of coffee and sat in the leather seat furthest from the door. Khun took the chair opposite of him. The long wooden table separated them. Khun sipped his coffee — not instant coffee, thank God — and said nothing.

“I see you no longer have the Manbarondenna,” noted Mr. Ro.

“It was worth it,” replied Khun, even as his right hand reached absently to the spot next to him. He missed the familiar feel of the briefcase. Khun settled for resting his hands on the arms of his chair.

Mr. Ro observed Khun for a moment, wanting to ask what Khun had traded the briefcase for. But he did not ask further.

“I’m heading to the next floor with the team,” began Khun, leaning back and crossing his legs. “You said you had something to tell me?”

“Any new memos you’ve picked up? Interesting facts about your teammates?”

“I wish there was.” 

Khun half expected the Ranker to chuckle, but when he saw Mr. Ro had a serious expression on his face, Khun sighed loudly. “Look, I had nothing to do with Baam’s death. So if you’re suspecting me—”

“I agree.”

Khun looked up from his coffee mug.

“Nothing has been right about this exam from the beginning. Two of the thirteen month series. Two princesses of Zahard. One daughter of a princess of Zahard. Two Irregulars. The presence of a Royal Assassination Unit... Rankers interfering with the test.” 

Mr. Ro practically spat the last sentence out. It seemed Khun wasn’t the only one who needed to get some things off his chest. Khun already had an inkling of what happened: people more powerful and dangerous than they were have been pulling the strings. Mr. Ro simply confirmed Khun’s suspicions. 

But what Mr. Ro said next was entirely unexpected. 

“When I spoke to Rachel’s doctor,” continued Mr. Ro, “he told me that Rachel’s legs were fine.”

Khun almost dropped his mug.

What?

He must have not heard right.

“Sorry, could you repeat that?” asked Khun, setting his mug down on the table. An image of stabbing Rachel flashed through his mind.

“You heard me. When Rachel fainted, I called a doctor to have a look at her legs. The doctor told me that the wound was not that deep, so she could walk and even run. He said that her type of wounds don’t even need treatment.”

Khun stood up, knocking his knee against the bottom of the table and sending the mug of coffee flying. “Shit,” swore Khun. The mug had toppled over and cracked into pieces on the hardwood floor. His knee was going to bruise tomorrow. 

“Mr. Khun, please, sit down,” said Mr. Ro. “I know you’re upset—”

“ None of this was supposed to happen!” shouted Khun. “Don’t you understand? If it was not for Rachel, my best friend would be alive, and we could climb the tower together!”

Great. He had just yelled at a Ranker. One who could annihilate him with the snap of his fingers. And he had broken his mug.

Khun’s face flushed. 

He reluctantly sat down and muttered an apology and buried his face in his hands. Embarrassing. He even admitted Baam was his dearest friend. His father, whose opinion he barely cared about, would have looked at him with shame, not only siding with an Irregular but wanting to climb the tower with him.

Mr. Ro said gently, “I’m sorry.”

Somehow, that made it worse.

“I can pay for the mug.”

“There’s no need.”

“You’re a Ranker,” muttered Khun. “A test administrator no less. Shouldn’t you have known?”

For someone who never behaved like a child even when he was one, Khun felt childish. He was asking questions that he knew the answers to, but needing to hear the answers anyways.

Khun remembered the last time he was in Mr. Ro’s office, asking for a way to bring Rachel with them. Mr. Ro had seemed quite powerful then.

That was a long time ago now.

“If I may offer you one piece of advice,” began Mr. Ro. “We Rankers, especially test administrators, are not invincible. You, Mr. Khun, of all Regulars, should know that the more powerful we get, the less we care about those weaker than us. You stole from Khun Eduan before. You fooled Quant. You know we are not invincible. So that is my advice. Do not trust us. Be wary of us.”

Khun stayed silent. He knew all that. He did not trust Mr. Ro for a second.

“I once had a conversation with Mr. Baam,” continued Mr. Ro. “He asked if he could meet other Irregulars if he kept climbing. I told him that ‘Everything exists up there.’ And certainly, power exists up there. Wealth, fame, glory, revenge, all the wishes of residents in the tower. But whether something like...love exists, I’m not so sure. If I could meet Mr. Baam again, I think I would tell him a different answer.”

This conversation was not going in the direction Khun had expected. He did not like what Mr. Ro was insinuating. It was getting too personal. He did not know whether to be proud or embarrassed. Perhaps both.

“Then I have a question,” said Khun, his blue eyes narrowing.

Mr. Ro looked at Khun thoughtfully. 

“Mr. Ro, I want you to tell me honestly. Not the...the bullshit that everyone else has been telling me. Was climbing the tower worth it for you, Mr. Ro?” 

“That’s a rather personal question, Mr. Khun.”

“Well, was it?” Khun stared down at his hands, now clasped together on his lap.

Mr. Ro hesitated, but finally said, “Ask me again when you’ve climbed more of the tower.”

“Is that what all Rankers tell their students to avoid giving answers?”

Mr. Ro smiled. “Yes.”

“Then the next time we meet, you will tell me the answer, even if I have to threaten you to get it. And if I found out that you lied to me about Rachel, I will kill you.”

Mr. Ro laughed. “Taking my advice already,” said Mr. Ro. “I look forward to it.”

Khun thanked the man who walked him out and told Khun to take care of himself. Among all the test administrators, the Ranker who told him that Rankers could not be trusted was, ironically, the most trustworthy among them.

***

Khun woke up late. His sheets clung to his torso. He had sweated the night. The white walls of his bedroom seemed to taunt him.

He stretched out his stiff legs on the mattress and rubbed his temples for a while. He had a migraine. But he had to settle things.

He showered and got dressed. Took out a toothbrush and brushed his teeth. Flossed. Exfoliated his face. Rubbed moisturizer onto his cheeks.

It was comforting, this daily morning routine. Every action felt mechanical, but it gave him time to think. He took up his iron and began the long process of straightening his hair.

The best case scenario was Rachel not surviving the tower. In that case, Khun could abandon her at some point, make it seem like an accident. The worst case scenario is that Rachel survives, continues with them, and betrays them at some crucial moment.

There was no explicit evidence, but Khun knew.  

Rachel was a murderer.

He would not put it past Rachel to betray the rest of Baam’s teammates.

But what Khun could not understand was why? Why would she throw away Baam, who cared for her — loved her, really — and was going to help her climb the tower? 

Khun could not understand. 

Khun set the hair iron on the vanity and stared at his reflection. The paleness of his blue hair only emphasized the dark circles under his eyes. Even though it had been a day, he felt a decade older. 

Time to begin the new day, he thought, fastening his blue earring onto his earlobe. Today already felt like hell.

***

Khun went to the cafeteria and spent his remaining points on lunch. He had missed breakfast. Not that he cared.

While waiting for his food order, Khun weighed the idea of having Shibisu run another team. That could work, splitting the team to keep Rachel from hurting the rest. Did Khun trust Shibisu to keep Rachel at bay?

A voice pulled him from his thoughts: “Your pork bowl is ready, Mr. Khun.”

Khun thanked the serving lady and headed towards the tables. A number of other Regulars were scattered around. Nare and Chunhwa were sitting together and (thankfully) did not notice Khun was there. Rak and Shibisu were nowhere to be seen. 

Androssi was sitting alone. She stared off into space, twirling a strand of brown hair. The girl, who normally was the most put together on the team (after Khun), looked like she had not bothered today. There were no copious amounts of concealer to hide the bags under her eyes or pink lip gloss to mask her chapped lips. 

In front of Androssi was a half-eaten eel bowl. 

Khun couldn’t help but smile. He called out to her and asked if he could join.

“What do you want, Khun?”

“What, no greeting?”

“I don’t want to talk to anyone, least of all you.”

“I was wondering if you found anything strange about Rachel.”

Androssi huffed. “You’re still angry at me for not keeping them apart.”

“I am not saying anything,” said Khun, calm and easy.

They sat in silence. Khun kept eating from his bowl. Androssi, to Khun’s satisfaction, also began to eat from her bowl.

When they began talking again — Androssi broke the silence by bringing up the eel bowl incident — they mostly talked about Baam and their memories of the boy. They had a good laugh about the eel bowl. Khun did not have the heart to tell Androssi that Khun orchestrated the whole thing and told Baam about most girls’ obsession with being thin. 

“So what do you think of Shibisu?” asked Khun, getting to the main point of discussion.

“Shibisu? Really? Come on, Khun, that is a ridiculous question.”

“If you had to choose, me or him, to be the leader, who would you pick?”

“What are you trying to do?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Androssi squinted at Khun, wary. Khun shrugged and kept eating.

“You know,” said Androssi. “Baam told me about why he follows Rachel. Did he ever tell you?”

Khun was taken back by the change in topic. Baam had never given him a clear answer.

“No.”

“Baam used to live underground,” continued Androssi, “and at some point, Rachel found him. Baam lived in the darkness and then Rachel became his light.”

“Don’t call her that.”

“What?”

“His light.”

Androssi looked at Khun strangely. “Is there something I’m missing here?”

Khun did not know how much to trust the Jahad princess with. He settled for telling her part of the truth and testing whether another theory of his was true.

“I want you to keep away from Rachel,” said Khun, “Baam likes you too much for that.”

Androssi blushed but glared at Khun. It was an endearing look on her.

“If you tell anyone, I will have to kill you.”

“Likewise.”

“The Khun family was right to exile you.”

“I knew you were a dangerous woman.”

“Then you should leave me alone.”

Khun smirked, excused himself, and left. 

He replayed Androssi’s words in his head. Baam lived in darkness. Khun remembered how, when he and Baam had waited in line for the Door Test, Baam had stared up at the roof of the floor in absolute awe.

“I’ve never been in such a bright place.”

Khun grew up with the artificial sky, fabricated from shinsu and glowing balls. Skies were the stuff of legends. But Baam had stared up into that strip of propane blue as if it stretched forever. 

Bright places, thought Khun, needed the night for you to appreciate them.

There were so many questions Khun wished he had asked Baam. Now, he couldn’t.

***

Among the Regulars on their team, Shibisu kept the most level head (aside from Khun). Khun decided that Shibisu was the only person he could trust for now. And depending on that meeting, he would tell Rak information on a need to know basis.

Khun knocked on Shibisu’s bedroom door. 

A muffled “Wait” and the sound of something crashing later, Shibisu appeared at the door, wearing the exact same blue shirt as the night before, if the armpit stains were anything to go by.

“I never thought I’d say I miss your tracksuits,” said Khun.

Khun regretted saying this when Shibisu ecstatically pulled open the door to his closet, revealing to Khun a row of twenty copies of the same color tracksuits. In that horrendous eggplant color. Shibisu went on about how he was going to wear one tracksuit for each floor before Khun interrupted him.

“I’ve got something to tell you,” said Khun. “It’s important.”

Shibisu’s face fell. “It’s about Baam, isn’t it? You’ve got that face.”

Khun ignored him.

Khun barged through the door and took a seat on Shibisu’s bed, the mattress creaking as the foamy edge sank down. Khun gestured at the bench. 

Shibisu seemed affronted that Khun would take the comfier mattress, but nevertheless sat on the bench, resting his elbows on his knees. Shibisu listened in perfect silence as Khun explained the situation. That Rachel was not what she seemed. That Baam might be alive. 

That Rachel was not to be trusted.

“What...do you mean, Khun?” said Shibisu. “Do you mean Rachel lied to us? Are you crazy?”

But as Khun explained it further, he knew Shibisu understood the implications. 

“Then Rachel pretended to be hurt even though she’s fine?! Why would she?!” 

“I don’t know why she fooled us...or what her reasons are...maybe she’s being threatened by someone. I’m sure the supervisor knows about this. There’s something between them.”

Shibisu covered his face with his hands. “Darn...what’s all this about…” He looked up at Khun. “So what will you do, Khun? We all promised to go up the tower with Rachel, but if it’s like this…”

Khun gave some thought to his plans. If Shibisu was in agreement that the status quo could not be left alone, they needed to take action. This was something Khun could not do alone.

“You guys go up the tower, Shibisu,” said Khun. “I’ll form another team with Rachel.”

Shibisu and Khun spent the rest of the day planning out the teams. Shibisu suggested that Khun take Androssi on his team, but Khun argued that having Androssi on his team was dangerous. They went back and forth until Khun won the argument, and Shibisu reluctantly accepted. In return, Shibisu suggested that Khun should not immediately leave, or the situation would look suspicious. They did not know who was behind Rachel's presence in the tower, or the resources that she had access to. Khun reluctantly agreed. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.

“I am the cruelest one of us. I will watch Rachel," said Khun. "You worry about everybody else."

Shibisu groaned loudly and ruffled Khun's hair, which sent Khun reeling and flailing his arms. He had spent an hour straightening his hair that morning.

"Goddamn it, Shibisu!"

“You know, Khun, you’re really not a bad guy,” said Shibisu. "So stop pretending you are."

Khun glared at Shibisu, who only gave him a thumbs up and a shit-faced grin.

Suspecting that Rachel killed Baam, such a thing was too cruel. So this task should only be carried out by the cruelest of us. Khun mentally apologized to Baam, hoping that wherever the boy was, he was in a better place. The tower did not deserve him.

“Cruel people don’t take vengeance on behalf of their best friends," said Shibisu.

“Good people don't contemplate murder."

Shibisu surprised Khun by laughing sardonically. Maybe there was hope for the tracksuit-wearing man after all.

Chapter Text

On the last day, everybody gathered together with Hansung Yu, who was sending their group off.

The ground below them had concentric rings carved into it; beyond them, Khun saw a murky, dark Shinsoo wall that stretched into what seemed to be an infinite beyond. He had seen plenty of those walls when he was living with his family. He had always wondered what existed beyond them, out in that vast nowhere.

“All of you are qualified to go to the next floor, regulars,” said Hansung Yu.

This was said with fake warmth and confidence, as if he actually cared about their suffering. The Ranker stood before them with his hands held elegantly behind his back. He looked as he always did, his blue and gold hanbok neatly pressed and his blonde hair held in a bun by a red hairpin. Khun wondered idly how many hopeful Regulars were waiting to go up the Tower, how many times Hansung had delivered this speech. And how many of their hopes he had destroyed. 

Despite his grief, Khun couldn’t help but feel a little joy. Mr. Ro was right, this was a special group: had there ever been so many people passing the test together? Had there ever been another group who chose unnecessary danger for the sake of a friend?

“Hmpf, do you think we’ll be moved by your words?” scoffed Khun. “Wait here. When I become a Ranker, you’re the first one that I’ll come back and kick out.”

Hansung’s eye twitched as though he was a little nervous. Khun counted that as a win.

“Oh by the way,” said Hansung, reaching into the folds of his robes. “I almost forgot to give you these.” 

A jewelry box fell into Khun’s hands. He lifted the lid, revealing a simple metal band inside. Looking around, it seemed like everybody else received the same ring. “Looks expensive,” he heard Nare mutter.

Khun snorted. “Is this a marriage or something?”

“It’s to commemorate your graduation,” said Hansung, who smiled and added, “So now that I’ve given you these rings, it’s really time to say goodbye.”

The warm spear of light above began to flicker. Droplets of light drifted down like snow onto their shoulders. They heard Hansung’s voice in the distance, growing fainter as they transported to the next floor.

“I hope your journey...will be full of blessings.”

The world grew brighter around all of them. Khun closed his eyes. 

“Bye-bye...regulars.”

And then the light swallowed him whole.

—-

Khun felt a lurch of seasickness; despite standing on what felt like solid ground, he felt like he was drifting on a rocky sea of Shinsoo. He saw Androssi clutch her stomach and Shibisu curl up flat on the ground, motion-sick. Khun tried to focus his vision on something further, something that wasn’t rocking back and forth: the furthest islands seemed continued onwards until they were sprinkles of stars on the horizon.

The team had arrived on a floating archipelago. Wooden bridges hovered around them, stationed between each pair of islands. The islands themselves were home to either large coniferous trees or flat grasslands with short trees producing dangling red, spherical fruit and smaller plants. Before them was a huge forest of pine trees and a flooring of large ferns. The trees were overwhelmingly tall, and the forest foreboding. In the far distance behind him, Khun could see a few villages on some of the other islands, but overall, they appeared to be uninhabited ghost towns. There was nothing visibly moving.

Khun had heard rumors that the 3rd floor was much easier to pass than the 2nd, and he hoped that they could get through this quickly, but the empty towns were not a good sign.

Despite his protesting stomach, Khun took out his knife and braced himself the best he could. Everyone else was armed as well (except Shibisu and Laure, both of whom were lying on the ground but for different reasons). 

Suddenly Rak — now back in his large form — roared loudly and shook his spear. “Ha, you weak turtles! Now this is a proper area for hunting!”

Khun covered his ears. In the distance, a flock of red birds — a smudged mass of blood against a pale sky — ascended from the forest and rocketed towards the Regulars. 

“Shut up, alligator!” Anaak grunted and punched Rak on the shoulder. 

“I’m not afraid of birds!” protested Rak.

But the birds’ squawking were far louder than Rak ever was. Ears ringing, Khun summoned a Lighthouse, anticipating the mass of red growing larger and larger. 

Echoing around him, the squawking transformed into raw human screams. The “birds” were humanoid. From their backs sprouted large, feathery wings. The rest of their bodies were dressed in red robes that whipped around in the cold air. Each one was barefoot, but their ankles and wrists had broken gold chains dangling from them, as if having just been freed from a gilded prison. From those bare feet, the humanoid birds rode on large wheels of fire.

The birdmen summoned flaming orbs from their wheels, each crimson sphere shrieking down as they showered into the crowd of trees like comets.

Fire rained down on them. “EVERYBODY RUN!” shouted Shibisu before vomiting over the edge of the island.

Androssi leapt out of the way as the first fireball struck down. Rak hurled his spear into one of the creatures, puncturing its wing. 

From the corner of his eye, Khun saw Anaak reach for a needle — the Green April that she no longer held — only to grasp the open air.

“Here!” shouted Khun, tossing Anaak a standard needle. 

She grunted her thanks and slashed at the air, sliding through the wings of two more creatures.

Khun threw his knives and got rid of another creature. Behind him, Laure was yawning and sent a rippling ball of Shinsoo at a cluster of winged bodies, knocking them from the sky. Bits of feather in flames burned his skin.

A purple Lighthouse drifted above and from it, a feminine voice echoed around them.

“Regulars, cease fire against the holograms.”

Cease fire? Not a chance, is she joking? he thought.

Then a large fireball hurtled down aimed right at Shibisu, who was turned around and still motion-sick on the ground.

“Watch out!” shouted Khun, shoving Shibisu over who turned around just in time to see the fireball grazing Khun's back. As flecks of flames rained down around him, he watched in dismay as the fire destroyed one of his Lighthouses and singed his shoulder. Another creature grabbed ahold of Khun's jacket and never stopped slashing its sharp talons against his back. He was barely dodging with his Lighthouses and blocking them with his knife. 

Conveniently, that was the moment that the winged creatures shimmered and suddenly disappeared in a smoke of static Khun idly rubbed his shoulder where the burned area was still swollen and warm.

Anaak muttered, “Holograms, my ass.”

Shibisu stood up and offered Khun a hand before pulling him upright. “Thanks, man, I owe you one.”

Khun nodded, and looked around to see how everyone else was faring. Hatsu was sheathing his sword but it’s clear that one of the fireballs had burned the side of his leg. Laure was back inside his blanket, from which only his mop of brown hair was visible. Anaak, unharmed, stored away the needle Khun had loaned her, while Androssi, who was also uninjured and looked the least exhausted of all of them, stared angrily at the purple Lighthouse, arms crossed. The others followed her gaze.

Sitting on the Lighthouse was a dwarfish girl in a Gothic dress. She smoothed her lace headband over her purple, long hair and readjusted the black blindfold around her eyes. Her ears were pointed and pierced with dangling skull earrings. She looked no more than three hundred years old but Khun knew she must be a Ranker.

“Well, aren’t you all trigger happy,” she said, clapping her hands together. “I don’t know what they’re doing down there on the second floor, but there’s too many of you. I don't need eyes to see that."

She lounged on the Lighthouse and stretched out her arms like a cat. Then she opened the Lighthouse and reached in for a pair of red glasses and a notebook. Removing the black blindfold and setting the glasses on the bridge of her nose, she began to flip through the pages of some sort of guide book and read the instructions. Despite her glasses, her eyes never opened. Khun wondered what she was seeing.

“Right, so the rules of this floor are simple. We evaluated your performance just now. To see your results, each one of you will check on a wrist band that is being provided as we speak.”

Floating in front of them was yet another jewelry box. Already wary, Khun reluctantly opened his and took out a simple, metal band with a square glass screen like a digital watch.

“Contained inside that wrist band is your own personal egg and hmm, flipping through this section...we can skip this too...mm, alright. And now please press the glass surface.”

Khun felt a pang of annoyance at her attitude but he said nothing. He pressed the glass surface, and the wristband projected a literal golden egg in front of him. He draws his fingers through the hologram egg; they pass through the shimmering air like a hot knife through butter.

“Some of you will have real, physical eggs. That’s the top three Regulars who endured the least amount of damage from the holograms before.”

Androssi laughed, the physical egg hovering up and down over the watch. She plucks it from the air and holds it up. “So that means I’m one of them?”

Looking around, Khun sees Laure also received a solid egg, as well as Anaak. Damn.

The purple-haired girl continued, “The top three Regulars pass. Everyone else will wait for the next exam, now if you’ll excuse me—”

“WHAT!” Rak shouted from the back, waving his claws through his hologram. 

The girl sighed loudly, setting her glasses and notebook back into her Lighthouse. She turned, eyes still closed. “What’s with you Regulars, always so demanding. There will be more tests, you just need to wait. You’re just unlucky, that’s all.” 

Khun vaguely remembered Mr. Ro’s Shinsoo wall and his speech about luck. Maybe Khun could press his luck a little more and twist the rules.

Khun raised his arm to get her attention. “You sound like a reasonable Ranker, so surely you wouldn’t just fail all of us without properly assessing our skills,” said Khun. “When will the next test be?”

She turns to face him and hums in interest. “Oh, a son of Khun? I've always disliked those."

The Ranker leapt down from the Lighthouse and paced toward him. She was a good head shorter than Khun but she commanded a level of respect as if she was a Princess of Jahad. Her eyes were closed despite the red glasses but she seemed to be staring intently at him despite this fact.

“Why yes, I suppose I too would be frustrated. Is that...sorrow?" she said.

Khun flinched but calmed himself. It had felt like she could read his emotions or his mind but it was a logical guess. They were all frustrated. Anyone would be. It didn't mean anything.

"Four children of the Ten Families, but only three slots, tsk, tsk.” She glanced around the group and smiled. “Son of Khun, you are the unlucky 4th I’m afraid. Your father must be disappointed." 

“He already is.” Khun shrugged. “I doubt anything I do now would change his opinion.”

“The next time a group from the lower floor arrives here is when we will hold another test.”

“That could be forever.”

“Likely not. People are always climbing. even though everything up there could hardly matter.”

A nasally voice protested from the back. “Please, Miss Ranker, please reconsider!” Rachel was seated in her wheelchair with Hatz guarding her with his sword. She weighed down on one of her arms to lift her body a little higher, craning her neck over the crowd.

The Ranker tilted her head to seemingly stare past Khun. “Oh, the freckled girl. You don’t look like you’re from one of the Ten Families.”

“I am not, but we have taken the Administrator’s exam. And passed,” said Rachel firmly.

The Ranker blinked and laughed, throwing back her head. “Oh God, what's with you people? There's no such thing--"

Khun interrupted, “You're lying. We've already taken an Administrator's exam on the previous floor. The Administrator of this floor might intervene if you are jeopardizing our chances of ascending."

"What--"

Khun smirked. "You must have heard of us, since we're the notorious team that passed an Administrator's exam." At a great cost, he thought, but she didn't need to know what.

The Ranker pursed her lips and tapped on her chin, as though deliberating a tough problem. 

"Ever since Evankhell left, this place has gone to the dogs. Very well," she sighed. "I don't keep up with Hansung Yu so often because he's a disgusting man, but I see you speak the truth. I don't like it, but well." She opened up her guidebook again and replaces the blindfold with her glasses. "Says here that should there be too many Regulars even after the 3 have been chosen, I can devise a game if I want. I don't like the Administrator of this floor... Very well, I will deliberate over this and you may all wait here."

And without saying how long they would be waiting, she left.

***

Khun was handing out some snacks from his Lighthouse when the Ranker returned. It was evening and none of them had eaten yet. Amid the sounds of crinkling plastic wrappers and bags, the archipelago looked to be full of trees and plants and therefore, likely something edible could be found if they ventured into the forest. Or even better, they could have ventured out into the residential area to buy food like civilized people, but in case this disqualified them somehow, they chose to wait in the same spot instead.

He handed a bag of instant ramyeon to Anaak, who tore it open and crunched into the block of noodles like nothing. 

The five hours of waiting had been long and slow.

When the Ranker stepped closer to their group, Anaak made her opinion of this quite clear when she hurled her pack of ramyeon at the purple haired girl. The Ranker just caught the pack in the air. Instead of wearing the red eyeglasses, she currently had a black blindfold on but Khun could feel her stare pierce through the fabric. What is that blindfold, Khun wondered. What could she see through it that made her choose to place it back on instead of the glasses?

"Oops, sorry," said Anaak. "I was aiming for that tree over there."

The Ranker smiled,"What do you know, ramyeon is my favorite."

"Oh really?"

"I could have been a princess too, you know," said the Ranker. "Are you happy being a daughter of a princess?"

"What does happiness have to do with anything right now? Are we taking a test or not?"

"Considering happiness is part of this game, you should pay closer attention," said the Ranker. "But in the grand scheme of life, who knows. Alright, gather around. Form a circle please."

The group went in a circle around her. "I can see you all have gone through some grief." Then her voice took on a different tone when she turned to face Khun. "The Irregular Baam, is it? Well, I can tell you, Mr. Khun, I am no red witch, but I can predict paths too." She raised her voice again as she turned around to everyone. "You all must be wondering why I wear this black blindfold. I wear it to check if someone is lying. Among other reasons. This cloth was gifted to me by the Administrator after I tried to assassinate him."

Several Regulars gasped at this. 

The Ranker laughed. "The Administrator of this floor was no fool. I suppose I'm not the first to attempt it. We do not speak of the incident often but I like to bring it up on occasion."

"The Purple Turtle could kill such a large prey?!" asked Rak loudly.

The Ranker shrugged. "The Administrator deigned to allow me to be the floor examiner. It's strange the places that life can lead you. If I was an Irregular, perhaps I would have succeeded in killing him."

Khun paled. A chill ran down his back, as he thought of Irregulars and Black Marches and the way they seem to change everything around them. Khun had heard rumors of a floor where the Administrator was actually killed by an Irregular, but he had not put so much stock in it. His father, after all, was known to lie all the time. Then again, he had met an Irregular, and he had never expected to until after he became a Ranker.

"Alright, enough questions. Everyone except the top three Regulars will turn their watch faces clockwise please. You three, stand here by me."

Androssi, Anaak, and Laure step to the side, still carrying their physical gold eggs. "You three are free to choose whether to participate and earn extra points. Unless you tragically lose your life somehow in this game, your passing is guaranteed."

Khun looked down at his watch and rotated the watch. Instead of an egg, a black piece of cloth arose from the hologram. He reached out expecting his fingers to pass through but they caught the fabric -- silky and light. It looked very similar to the Ranker's blindfold.

"Please line up in a row, facing me and then put on the blindfold. It is a non-negotiable part of this game. You will not have to move, so do not worry."

They did so, Khun lining up beside Isu and Rak. Across from them, he could see Androssi, Anaak, and Laure all chose not to participate. Just my luck, Khun thought, grimacing.

Khun drew the blindfold over his eyes and tied it around the back of his head. He was immersed in darkness. He opened his eyes and saw nothing through the fabric. It was very strange.

Khun didn't like having his sight cut off -- how else could he operate the Lighthouses without reading the screen? -- but it seemed like it was part of the test. Maybe it was more of a mind game, he thought. The Ranker did say that the purpose of this exam was one's happiness.

He heard the Ranker's disembodied voice around him. "Now I will test you one by one." Everyone fell silent, but he could hear the Ranker pacing up and down the line. 

Every so often, she would call upon a name and the silence continued. She didn't announce who had passed and who had failed. Sometimes her footsteps neared him only to walk past him to someone else. Khun clenched his fists, feeling the sweat on his palms. The silence felt worse than the lack of sight.

Then, she finally stopped for him. 

"Khun Aguero Agnis, you're next."

---

The darkness behind the black cloth was quickly replaced by the most brilliant lights above. Before him was a luxurious room filled to the brim with beautiful furniture and glass displays of jewelry. 

Khun recognized it instantly: this was the central room in Khun Eduan's vault network, and every meter screamed luxury, from the gilded moldings on the walls and ceiling and the intensely intricate lacework of the many tablecloths. Large sculptures and art were suspended in the air. He'd forgotten how much Eduan loved suspendium. Khun would never forget the place after he had spent a whole year memorizing the floor plans. He even recognized the paintings and jewelry cases and the expensive rugs beneath his boots from the time he had seen them in person.

Was the goal of this exam to escape the room? The first and only time, Khun had barely gotten out of the vaults, and that was only after having less than a minute to stash away anything in his inventory. But he was one of the few who had escaped Eduan's vaults even before becoming a Regular, let alone a Ranker. Surely he could do it again.

He heard a voice inside his head.

"The exam is simple. If you could only choose one thing in this room to take outside, what would bring you the most happiness?" asked the Ranker. "The criteria to pass is simply to answer this question."

Khun snorted. The question was ludicrous, how could the Ranker even tell what made him happy if he himself didn't know? Happiness wasn't part of the equation when the goal was to ascend the tower. Happiness was a question only Rankers had the luxuty of considering once they had reached the top.

Khun began to wander through the vaults. He was vaguely aware of his exterior body not moving while this interior representation of him was. 

Alone with his thoughts, he idly wondered how this imagery had been constructed. Had she been inside the vaults before? Khun had never fully explored the vaults in their entirety due to obvious time constraints, but the details of this imaginary world fit with the blueprints exactly. Perhaps it was the way dreams worked, how they somehow felt real in the moment even when the world was hazily constructed from fragments of memories. Now this was a funny thought: were these vaults were from before or after he stole from them?

He wandered over to the case where the Manbarondenna was supposed to be. The brown bag sat inside the glass case exactly where he had first seen it. That increases the number of things that he could potentially answer. Perhaps then all of his current items were still in this imaginary vault. What about his knife? Or the suspendium earrings that Baam once asked about? Maybe what would bring him happiness is a gift for a friend? But no, Baam didn't particularly care for anything inside the vaults at all, not Baam, who grew up with rags and darkness and loneliness and only sought friends to spend his life with. If it was Baam, he would know the answer to this question. But Baam wasn't here right now.

"What happens if I answer incorrectly?" asked Khun out loud into the room. His shaking voice echoed through the vault chamber.

"Your reasoning matters much more than a correct answer," said the Ranker. "But I think you will know. Besides, I will see if your heart is in it or not as you tell me your choice."

What if these vaults weren't the same as when he was there before? He stopped walking. What if there were more rooms, more hidden doors and traps than in the original vaults? Or perhaps more objects, some he had never even dreamed of? 

While walking through, Khun easily dodged the false floor squares, but some of the glass displays emitted odorless poisons when opened incorrectly, and those he wanted to avoid as much as possible. 

The Ranker's question was quite clear though. He didn't actually have to escape with the object. He only needed to verbally say that one thing that brought him the most happiness. So what was that thing? 

It couldn't be the most expensive jewels or artwork here, though certainly selling something to make money would be useful. After all, all of that money could buy him the ability to search for Baam too. Perhaps something deadly and powerful, to climb the tower with, to destroy Rachel with. That was also valuable.

One answer came to him. 

Of course, stealing the Opera Lighthouse would be the most powerful. It would extend his Shinsoo field to infinity and was the ultimate weapon in the hands of a competent Light Bearer (such as himself). Only three of them are in existence. It could see through the entire tower with no limit. Khun could use it to search for Baam. That would bring him quite a bit of happiness. He'd rescue Baam after all. And then they'd be able to see the entire tower and climb it. Rachel would never escape him should he wish to destroy her. He would be one of the most powerful Light Bearers in the tower.

He wanted to answer the Opera Lighthouse, he really did. But something felt missing. With a lurch of guilt, he wondered what if Baam wasn't alive anymore? What if using the Opera Lighthouse just confirmed the worst, that there was no hope of Baam being alive? That would bring even more grief.

"What would bring you the most happiness, Khun Aguero Agnis?" asked the Ranker again.

He didn't know what answer the Ranker was looking for.

Because all of these things were part of some self-inflicted sense of loyalty to Baam. His reasoning for each object had nothing to do with his own personal happiness independent of others. It felt a little like lying. Did half-truths count? Sometimes, in his private, worst moments, he wondered if life would be better had he never met Baam. Maybe that Khun would have answered something differently. He would have chosen the most valuable object in the vaults that would ensure he could take down his family. That would have brought him immense joy, surely. He would have never known a world with Baam in it. He would just be like every other Regular.

It was as if his life was split in two and Baam was the changing factor. He didn't have a purpose before Baam, and now he did.

After Baam, his happiness and his sorrow seemed so closely intertwined with his friend that everything felt like a half-truth. What if nothing in these vaults brought him happiness? But that could not be true, the Ranker clearly wanted an answer from inside these vaults so what else could be in this vault that--

--Oh. He was being obtuse and overthinking again. Khun could hear Rak's voice inside his head. Because if it were Rak answering the question--

"Myself," said Khun. "None of these things are useful if I am not outside of the vaults with them. And besides," he allowed himself to smile a bit before adding quietly, "If I had not escaped these vaults alive, I would never have met him."

Khun heard a distant laugh from the Ranker. She knew, he didn't need to say who the "him" was. He could practically feel the smile in her voice. 

"Congratulations, son of Khun. You pass."