Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You get one wish. You can wish for anything. Money, power, fame…….godhood, immortality. Do you want your wish or do you want to skip it once more,” The god asked the brown haired man.

“Hm,” Was his only answered. His full eyes staring at nothing. They looked like dull and cold. Almost like a doll.

 The poor innocent poor boy! Forced to keep climbing until everyone who knew him died. They wanted him to be famous! To become a name that got respect! But all he got was pain and suffering. No one knows him. After he defeated the false god, people praised him, sang of his glory. 

Then the greed took over. They needed to keep climbing. And the only one who could was this boy. So they forced him. Telling him, he would free so many people, give his friends a chance of a normal life outside. And then! The Khun boy died! Oh how sad! This poor boy lost himself in grieve! He became a god, climbing without thinking, losing his sense. And when he got it back….he lost everyone! His friends, all gone! Only the people who put him in chain survived! And desperate, to keep some people alive, he listened to them!

Silly boy! Doesn't he know? No one can keep up with a god. 

Oh how the gods pity him! Not this one. This one was amused. They tried to forced to become a god, when this boy was a clear mortal.

“No wish? Maybe next time the-"

“I want to return to a time where all my friends were alive.”

The god frown a bit before grinning. 
“Things won't be the same. You might not friends in this timeline. You might be enemies,” He told him.

The false god just stared at him and the god wanted to shudder. 

Jeez, that lifeless gaze was so creepy!

“Fine! But I need you to do me a favor!” 
Bam frowned but nodded. He had nothing to lose. The god knew this. 

The god gave him a malicious grin.
“Go cause some chaos for me, alright?”
And with that, Bam disappeared.

To say that Zahard was surprised when a body landed in front of him was an understatement. When he saw the body land in front of him, he let out an unholy screech and jump back and somehow fell. 

While the others stood around in shock and then slowly shuffle closer to the body, Eduan and V stayed by him.

“Are you okay, Zahard?” V asked, trying to help him up while Eduan snickered.

Zahard glared at them both and brushed V away. He felt a bit embarrassed and shame. Why did he have to be the only one to react?! Do the others see a body fall from the sky, every day? Do the gods do this every so often cause they get bored?!

“I’m fine! Worry about the body,” He snapped. 
V looked a bit hurt but nodded and left to see the brown hair boy that fell.

He turned and started sweating.  Eduan was looking at him, looking angry and eyes dark. When he saw that Zahard was looking at him, he quickly went back to his cool façade and smiled at him, coolly.

“How uncool,” and with that Eduan left. 

Zahard was left alone and he felt an ugly feeling. Of course, he wasn't as close as the others.

He shook his head and went up to the body. The boy seemed a bit older than them and had long brown hair. He almost seemed familiar……

“Hey Arlene? Do you have any sibling we didn't know about?”, He ask her. Arlene lightly frowned before shaking her head.

“Not that I know about. Mama and Papa never mention having a sibling either,” She said, staring at the boy in wonder. 

“What about you V? He kind of looks like you,” Hana asked softly, looking at the boy and V. 

V only shook his head. 

“Same as Arlene. Father was an only child and Mother’s siblings…….were turned,” He said, shifting, looking uncomfortable. We were all silent until Yurin broke it, grinning a bit.

“What if he is somehow both your sibling? Maybe part of your grandparents?”

V and Arlene looked at each other in horror before looking at the boy. 

“We can ask him, when he wakes up,” Arlene said.

The rest of us agreed and we were about to give him room, when the boys eyes snape me. 

His eyes were golden. 

Okay, so the boy was kinda cute. 

The boy, ignoring all the commotion of him waking up, looked around and when he saw him standing next to Arlene, he groan before muttering, “Fuck the gods.”

Zahard doesn't know why the boy even said that but he couldn't agree more.

Chapter Text

To say that Bam was tired was understatement. 

He lost everyone. And he had the luck of getting his wish granted by the a trickster. He instead of granting his wish sent him to the past. 

To say he was bitter was better.

He didn't ask to be a irregular. He didn't ask for be a god. And sure as hell didn't to be sent back in time when his maybe parents and killer were kids! 

(And even so, he couldn't bring himself to kill this Zahard. This kid was innocent. Not like the ‘god' that killed so many of his friends. Not like the monster that killed Wangnan. This one looked a bit like how he used to. Bright eyes and very lonely.)

So to some up all his bitterness and make sure he didn't burst in tears and kill this kid Zahard, he said something to sum up all his feeling.

“Fuck the gods.”

He heard someone cleared their throat and by instinct he quickly gets up. When he sees its Headon, he relaxes a bit. 
Okay, so Headon is still alive and looks the same. Good……wait.......shiiiiiiittttttt.

This will be awkward when Bam sees him in the future

Headon stared at boy, amused. Seems like Naj is back. History is repeating and Zahard is going to have a hard time believing it. The boy he kill, being the person  He cared about the most. The Trickster most have planned this. He always needed a good laugh from everyone's misery.

This Naj seemed weaker. And more innocent. He wasn't as guarded as the old Naj. 

He liked the older one. This one was taking to long to wake up and he had to deal with that annoying girl.

He saw Naj starting to stir and smirked.

Show time.

“My, my- It's been a while since there's been a visitor like you here,” He said, amused at his own joke. It’s been a while since any new irregulars arrived and even longer since anyone seen Naj. 

He saw Naj turned around quickly and he wanted to frown. That wasn't like Naj. 

But…

That girl needed a show. She didn't know. 
“Who's there?!”, Naj said, fear in his eyes and voice.

Oh.

That answered his question.

Eh. He’ll deal with it when it comes down to it.

“Well, if isn't a interesting turn of events. What is your name, mysterious boy?”

Should he gave his real name?

Did he even have a real name?

Like- who names a kid a date?

“Naj. My name is Naj,” he said. Well there went his chance to have a normal name that didn't have a trauma.

Headon pause before saying, “That is an interesting name. I am the guardian of the first floor. Why are you here?”

“…..I want to change my fate,” He lied. Well not exactly. If….. if he could somehow make sure that Zahard doesn't go to the evil side, he could change his fate. The new Bam would be able to live a new bright future. The new one would not have to suffer as much. 

He saw Zahard perk up a bit. 

He will need to pretend not to know them all.

Oh boy, he never learned how to lie. He was never a good one. Not for long. He could lie to a stranger and he could about his feeling but to people that he gets to know? Not so much. 

Khun always called an open book.

He blink away his tears and stared at Headon, ignoring the rest of the irregulars. 

“You will find whatever you wish for at the top of the tower. However I most warn you all. It’s a dark journey. You will all change and not for the better. Do you still want to climb?”,

Headon said addressing all of us.

“I won't give up! As long as my dream can come true…..as long as it can come true, I’ll do whatever it takes!” Zahard exclaims, clinching his fist and his eyes burn with a fire.

The others murmur with agreement and other make other remarks but Ba- Naj can only focus on Zahard. 

Was he like that when he started to climb? 
And then he started to feel curious. Was his mom that important to Zahard losing her, make him lose his humanity?

Was she like Khun for him?

Or did he lose it along the climb like him?
When Zahard notice him staring, he grin at him.

“What about you Naj? Will you continue and climb with us?”, he ask, hope in his eyes.

Naj wanted to smile but holds it in. They weren't friends. His friends were in the future and he will probably never see them again. 

His reason to smile dead.

“I got nothing to lose,” He said shrugging. 

Headon grinned and tapped his staff. 

13 White Armored Eels were swimming around. They were rumbling and snapping at each other.

“This are White Armored Eels. They are usually calm buuuut it’s time for mating and they are all very territorial,”

‘So do yo-"

Before Headon could even finish his sentence, Naj was already running.

Headon smirked as Zahard and Naj ran towards the eels. The others were slightly hesitant but seeing those 2 ran, they began.
This test should what kind of people they were. 

The ones who had nothing to lose were always the ones who ran first. Then the ones who followed.

So this group had 2 potential gods. This was a first.

Headon already knew it, this would change history.

For the better or worse, he doesn't know.

Chapter Text

What if he didn't dodge?
 

That was something he would always ask himself.

What if one day he stop dodging and let the hits land. 

But then he would dodge and hit his enemy, killing them or wounding them. 

After Khun's death, he stopped caring. He fought and killed, not caring about anything. He just wanted to finish the goal. 

Khun was killed in the war against Zahard. 

He died trying to defeat Zahard. 

He died following Bam. 

He died…..he died….in Bam's arms, telling him to never change. As if he could remain the same while his last piece of humanity died. 

Bam felt his heart turned bitter and he could only blame 3 people.

Himself, Zahard and the one who killed him. 

The last one was easy. He ripe the person to pieces till they had to push him away from his their remains. He made sure that they would never recognize them. 

Zahard was harder. Bam had made sure to kill him, willing his body not to give up till Zahard died. 

Bam losing Wangnan to Zahard only made him even more bitter.  

Bam could never kill himself no matter how much he tries. 

So while the eels rush at him and the others, he wondered if he could let them kill him. They were able to kill them last time. But once again his body doesn’t listen.  He time reverse all the eels and while all they were frozen form shinsu orb and killed them.

While the others gasp and give him looks, he slightly wondered how they got through last time.

Zahard weakly punched the eel. His vision was slightly blurred by the blood running down his face. 

As he huffed and clutch his right arm, that he was sure was broken, he felt fear.

Fear that he would die, fear that Headon would  banish them outside and the people and gods would punish them. 

They would probably turn them. Making them those ‘priest’ that supposedly the gods use to help the people but in reality were the gods food. The gods eating all their energy till they turned to dust.

He wasn’t going to allow that. He wouldn’t allow that to happen.

The eel swam towards him and he wasn’t fast enough to dodge. 

Disgust and fear gripe him. He was about to be swallowed alive. He tried to climb out but the tongue was to slippery. 

He couldn’t die. 

Not yet. 

He wanted to scream. God dammit! He couldn’t die yet!

He began to scratch at the eel,  getting desperate. 

As he kept on slipping, his panic grew. 

Suddenly he felt something……something bright inside of him
He reached for it and suddenly everything went bright.

Eh… he will probably never know.
“You all pass,” Headon said after a long silence. 
Fuck. He forgot that he was there. 
Well at least he is acting as a normal irregular.
And with that thought he and the others were taken to the next floor.

When he saw Naj kill those eels, Zahard didn’t really how to feel. 
He wanted to be mad, Naj just took his opportunity to show off! But at the same time….It was really cool! He just froze 13 eels, made little orbs appear and kill them off!
  Then a bright light made him pass out.

Chapter Text

Eduan was the first one to wake up.

With a groan, he sat up and when he saw the others were unconscious and Naj was making dinner, he quickly got up.

Naj glance at him before returning to the food.
“They aren't use to being teleported. They’ll wake up soon,” he explain as he stirred some weird looking soup.

Eduan relaxed before shooting him a fake grin. 

 “That's good,” He said sitting down next to him. Naj gave him a look, looking slightly puzzled before returning to the food.

They sat in silence for a while. Naj making sure that the food didn’t burn and Eduan looking at him

Naj hair was in a small ponytail. It looked like it wasn’t taken care of that much, looking dull. The same could be said about his eyes. 

Eduan prided himself in being able to read the eyes. He knew when rich assholes were faking kindness, a certain greed. 

Naj looked sad. It wasn’t very visible but he wasn’t trying to hide it either. He looked mad too. This one was more suppressed. His eyes were more dull. That’s what made them different from Arlene. Her eyes were brighter. His were more dull. 

His clothes were slightly worn out. They weren’t dirty but just old. 

Naj looked to be around their age but at the same time older. He seemed to be stronger and not just for what he did in the last floor. Their was an air around him of maturity and slight anger. And sadness. 

All in all Naj would be a good ally. However he could still turn into a enemy if he wished to and Edison was sure that their little group wouldn’t survive if they got Naj mad.
“Where are you from?”, he asked. Naj just glance at him and then returned to the food. Looking a bit amused.

“I'm from the outside,” Naj said. 
Eduan nodded. So that meant he was like them. However, there was something not adding up. Naj knew how to fight against the monster. He used an orb to fight. Something only someone who knew a lot about the tower would know.

Or someone who was the inside of the tower.

He didn’t like not knowing. Naj could easily be a ally and at the same time, he could be an enemy. But why would he help them? 

“Why did you help us?”, He ask, going straight to the point. 

Naj paused before stirring the soup. Or whatever he was cooking. 

“I didn’t help you on purpose. I wanted to pass and those eels were in the way,'’ Naj said. 

Eduan scowled before giving him a cold smile. 

“Of course! Except you only had to kill one. Either you were trying to show off or you were trying to help us,” He retorted. 

Naj finally paused and looked at him. He sighed before shrugging.

“I don’t know why I helped you. I just did,” Naj said, sound frustrated. 

Eduan narrowed his eyes at him. He didn’t want to believe him. No one would help anyone for no reason. There had to be a reason why he helped. 

But his eyes were sincere and Eduan couldn’t help but believe.

There was a tension in the room as they looked at each other.

Then Eduan nodded slowly, “I believe you.’’

Naj nodded before returning to the soup.

V and Arlene were the next to wake up. 

They looked at Naj in wonder before going to sit. 

“Hello! My name is Arlene, this is V,” Arlene said giving Naj a small smile that seem a bit hesitant. She seemed to be searching his face for something before she relaxed. 
V just glanced at Naj and nodded in greeting, returning his gaze to the floor.

Eduan stared at him. V was acting a bit weird. He would usually be trying to be friends with him.
Naj glance at them before nodding.

“Nice to meet you,” He muttered. 

There was a silence before Arlene broke it, obviously uncomfortable in it.

“umm Mister Nah? I was wondering…..how did you create those orbs? And how did you freeze those eels? You don’t have to tell if you don’t want too!”

“It had to do something with the air, right? “

At that they all looked at V. When he notice that he gained all the attention, he looked a bit sheepish and shifts.

“I notice that it’s different from the outside……more…..heavy yet lifting. Its hard to explain,'’ He explained.
Naj looked a bit surprised but nodded. 

“Yeah. Instead of air, in the tower there is shinsu. It basically divine water. It can take different forms and is basically used for everything in the tower,” Nah said, as he made a bit of water float around him. Arlene gasp in amazement while Eduan and V stared in wonder.

“You can also change it to make it appear as fire, lighting or in my case an orb,” he said making the water leave and reappearing the orb. 

They both stared at Naj in wonder while Eduan stared at V. It was slightly amazing that V already notice that. Eduan didn’t even notice it, and now that he thought about, it felt a bit weird to breathe. 

V looked like he wanted to keep on asking questions but restrain himself. Eduan felt a bit amused. Once he was interested in something, it was hard for V to stop asking questions or stop talking about. There was probably a lot of questions that he wanted to ask.

“That is so cool,” Arlene said, breathlessly, staring at the orbs.

Naj shrugged and had a ghost of a smile.

“I guess,” 

“And you can just control it, so easily?”, Arlene asked, amazed.
Wait….was she trying to get some answers or was that just him? 

“Once you learn how to, it’s easy,” Naj said, blandly. He was starting to look uncomfortable. Arlene noticing this, apologized.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean make you uncomfortable!,” She said ducking her head down and blushing. 

“Its okay. When I first heard of shinsu, I had a lot of questions too. However let’s wait for your companions first before I tell you anything else,” Naj said.

And it was almost quiet after that, with the exception of Arlene and V quiet mummering.

What Arlene first notice of Mister Naj was that he was sad and tired. 

She has seen many people like him. Tired and sad veterans who had fought in many unjustified wars. 

Mothers of the turned.

She had seen many people like Mister Naj but somehow he seemed more tired. Like he had lived for millions of years.

It awoke something in her. She wanted to help him. To make him smile.

It wasn't like how she wanted to make V smile. This was more platonic. 

Sure, she would always wanted to help the people that came to her family's bakery. She would always try to help them, giving them discounts and sometimes even giving them the pastry for free but never this strong. 

"Is this how a sibling would feel?" She thought, looking at Naj. 

When she saw that ghost of a smile, she wanted to cheer. 

Arlene was determined to befriend Naj and when a Grace was determined for something, they always got it.

Chapter Text

Today was the day! Zahard was determined to tell Naj his true feelings.

.

.

.

He just forgot how dense Naj was.

“How many Valentines have you tried? Just give up,” Eduan stated, staring at Zahard blankly.

Zahard just ignored him. He wasn’t going to give up.

And dear readers, you may be wondering what this fool is doing. Well….

“How the fuck are you going to inflate 2000 balloons?!?!?! And how in the hell is he even going to take them all to the next floor?!?!? And then also make strawberries which I wouldn't even touch?”

Honestly, Zahard was annoyed. Eduan didn’t get that it was about the details.

“Shinsu, how else?” he answered distracted, trying and failing to make chocolate strawberries. Maybe he should have asked Arlene. She has mad them before.

“Whatcha doing Zahard?” Zahard jumped, hearing Naj voice.

Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit shit s-

“Is this for Ari? That’s so sweet!” Naj said before smiling at him sweetly.

Zahard felt himself blush but he didn’t know if it was from Naj still thought that he was in love with Arlene or that Naj caught him. 

“Want me to help?”

Before he could embarrassed himself, Eduan swiftly cut in, “Actually Naj, I was wondering if you help with Bri’s gift.”

Naj stared at blankly him before smiling softly and nodding.

“Sure! I’m glad that you’re acting more serious with Brianna now. But only if Zahard doesn’t need my help since…..you know, I already offered,” Naj, the beautiful and kind angel said and turn to look at him.

Zahard for once kept his mouth shut and just shook his head.

Naj grin at him before leaving with Eduan.

And yeah, maybe Zahard was a bit jealous but it was totally worth it when Naj and him snacked on the strawberries together.

And, he took all 93 balloons that Zahard made to the next floor. 

Zahard stared at Eduan smugly. Eduan mouthed 2000.

Naj hadn’t realized his feeling yet though.

Zahard could remember that Valentine’s day. He was an idiot back then. Still is.

“You know those strawberries are not going to make themselves,” Eduan drawled behind him.

“Shut it,” He snapped, turning around to face him. He was irritated. He doesn't understand why, there was an itch to fight something.

Oh yeah. Naj was sick an getting sicker. And he was so damn afraid that Naj leaving their house would result in him dying.

Eduan just smirked.  

(Zahard never found out but Eduan felt the same. So so afraid that Naj was going to get hurt. And knowing that Zahard was feeling the same.......well it was good to take out their frustration.)

“Consider yourself lucky that the others decided to leave today. Naj is still sleeping. Why don’t you surprised him. Maybe he will finally realize your feeling,” he taunt.

Zahard snapped.

He lunged at Eduan and they tumbled for a bit.

He doesn’t know how long it lasted, just that they just fought with their fist.

“Stop it! Stop it both of you!” A voice cried out. Eduan pause and Zahard took the chance to punch his nose. Someone pulled him off and he turned at punch them too.

A silence followed once he realized who it was.

Naj.

“NAJ……I’m so sorry….I didn’t realized it wa-“

“Are you done?” Naj asked him coolly, his face not revealing anything.

Zahard nodded and clench his hand. Damnit.

“Good I’m going to leave for a bit. Don’t wait for me,” Naj said before bursting into a coughing fit. Zahard rushed toward him, but Naj just shook his head.

“I’m okay,” He said hiding his hand but Eduan snatched it up, revealing a bit of blood.

Naj cursed while Zahard felt his heart stopped.

“Naj……We can go wherever you want. Zahard can stay and cool off,” Eduan teased, putting his arm around Naj’s neck.

And Zahard felt a bit hurt even though he knew that Eduan was trying to give him space. That he was giving him the chance to make more strawberries in peace.

(He ignored the scared part that Naj might decide to leave him. Naj finally had enough of him and left him. Even though not really. He didn’t have to put up with him. He could just stop talking to him and stop hanging bout with him)

Naj rolled his eyes but he smiled.

“Don’t try to act innocent either Eduan. Zahard wouldn’t fight you without a good reason. Sides, we can’t just leave Zahard here. I wanted to go by myself anyway. Something I wanted to do,” Naj gently scolded him. Eduan just shrugged and smiled a bit.

“Your condition won’t let you out by yourself. We can all go eat,” Zahard heard himself saying.

Naj looked a bit startled then he looked at him.

Naj let out a huge grin and Zahard himself relax for a bit. Things would be okay.

Zahard let out a gasp as he woke up.

Those dreams……..they felt real.

Too real.

Almost as if Naj was still with them.

As if they still climbing the tower

But no……..Naj was gone.

Zahard curled up once more and clench his eyes shut.

He wanted to go back. Go back to when all he really worried about was wooing Naj.

Hell! Even that time when Naj got sick, if he could, he would returned to those days.

Naj was still with them back then. Naj was still alive those days.

And if Zahard let out a tear, then one more and then a sobbed. No one was there to judge him.

Chapter Text

Did Bam already say that he hated the Gods?

Especially the Trickster.

He was waiting for the others to wake up so he could answer some questions when a huge wave of shinsu grabbed him.

One moment he was in front of Eduan, V and Arlene and the next he saw the Trickster. Who seemed a bit younger and a little more insane than before. 

“You shouldn’t be here, little traveler. How did you even get here without being born yet?” The Trickster was looking at Bam like he was an exotic species.

Bam bristled and step toward him, ignoring the way the Trickster’s grin sharpen and his eyes turned slightly more maniac. 

“You brought me here! You told me to make things more interesting and brought me here even though it wasn’t part of my wish,” Bam hissed.

The Trickster ( who Bam will now call Jinx)  blinked at him blankly before pouting.

“So things are so boring in the future that I mess up the timeline? This sucks!” Bam stared at him in disbelief.

Jinx sighed dramatically before waving him off, “Well, off you go! No need to worry your little hea-“

“So you aren’t going to send me back?” Bam interrupted.

Jinx stared at him, his eyes narrowing before sighing. 

“I’m not. You’re not really in my reach yet since… you aren’t of this time. Plus,” Jinx smirk at him, “-

You haven’t made things interesting yet.”
Bam glared at him, getting more and more annoyed. 

“I’ll let you decide on the 52nd floor. Now leave before you give me a headache,” Jinx said and with a flick of his wrist, Bam was back.

“Mister Naj!”

“Naj!”

Someone let out a shriek. It was most likely Zahard.

Someone let out a few curses.

Bam wasn’t paying attention to that though.

His heart was hurting like crazy.
He groans before collapsing on top of Zahard.

“Naj! What happens?! You suddenly disappeared and now you’re here!”

Bam just groaned again.

His heart felt like it was on fire. Was he dying?

This was Jinx's fault, wasn’t it? He knew it.
Suddenly everything went dark. 

Bam hated those gods.

Something was wrong.

Something was wrong and Bam didn’t know what it was. It was starting to bother him.
He was finally relaxing and something was bothering him. Like he forgot to do something important but he forgot what.

Let's see. He rescued his master. Zahard’s army has been quiet. A little too quiet but it's been giving them time to think and slightly relax. He was supposed to be meeting up with Khu-.

Wait. Something happens. But what? It had to do with a battle and Khu-

“Are you okay Bam?” Khun asked and just like that, most of his worries went away.

He smiled brightly at him and shook his head. 

“It’s nothing! I was just thinking that’s all!”

Khun gave him a soft smile before sitting next to him on the floor. 

“That’s good. Say Bam, what are you’re plans after the war?”

Bam tilted his head and slightly frowned. 

His plans after the war? 

He couldn’t think of any. He spend so long chasing after Rachel, learned a lot of stuff, and then got stuck in a war. To be honest he doesn’t know if he could have a normal life. 

But…
 

It would be nice to be able to climb the tower in peace. Not have to worry about destiny. Not have to worry about his friends dying.

“To be able to enjoy my time with you guys. Maybe get a house…Oh! One of those cozy little cabins you know? But to be honest, I’ll do whatever you guys decide. My biggest wish is to be able to be with you guys,” He told Khun, grinning.

Khun stayed silent before smiling at him. 

“Me too. I wish to spend more time with you. After the war… after the war, we will get a cabin, ok?”
 

Bam grinned at him.

He felt happy. Now he had a reason to live after the war. Seeing Khun and his friends. Getting a cabin. Sure life will be chaotic but he wouldn’t mind. 

Wait.

No.

No

 No

He…..He remembers now! After this talk…they go to another battle and Khun…

Before he says anything else he is suddenly in a different place.

With a bleeding Khun in his arms.

No…..no, please.

Not this memory. 

Please

“You know…before the battle, I started to think of the cabin…the one you were talking about. The princesses would probably break things daily and Isu would keep trying to keep the peace. I would probably get a migraine every day but ….it would be nice. I’m kind of sad I won’t be a part of it,” Khun rasped out, a little blood coming out of his mouth.

Bam bite back a sob and shook his head.

“You will ok?! You will be there. Who else would keep the peace,” he said shakily, trying to hold his tears in.

He knew how this was going to end yet he wants to deny it.

Khun lightly frowns before weakly reaching up to him and putting a hand on his cheek.

“Hey now…. Don’t cry. I’ve never liked to see you cry. Evening more at my expense. I want you to keep smiling ok? Even…even if I won’t be able to see you. Cause…seeing you smile… always made me feel happy. I’ve always wanted to protect that smile. So please…please let me be selfish and let my last memory of being of you smiling,” Khun whispered.

Bam forced himself to gave Khun a fragile grin.
Khun gave him a faint smile back before slowly closing his eyes.

“Khun? Hey Khun! Please wait a  little more okay! We’ll get you to help ok?! Khun? Khun don’t you dare close your eyes! Don’t you dare! Please…. I need you. I need you here. Please… don’t leave me…please”

Both Bam and Khun’s hearts stopped beating. 

Only that Bam resumed and Khun's didn’t.

 Bam let out a scream and he felt time stop.

Khun died.

Khun died.

Khun died.

Khundiedkhundiedkhundied

He wasn’t able to protect him.

After what felt like hours he looked up and the war was still going on.

He felt calm.

He felt empty.

Bam saw the person who killed Khun and a snarl left him. He gently put Khun’s body down before he got up and went to destroy the man.

And there was red. So much red and he couldn’t breathe. He felt like he was drowning and he couldn’t breathe and everywhere he looked there was red and why couldn’t he breathe?!?!
Was this his future? Always be surrounded by red and never –

“You need to wake up Bam!”

Khun?

Han noticed that Naj liked to appear out of nowhere. When he finally woke up, the boy was gone and Arlene, V, Eduan, Zahard, and Gustang were slightly freaking out.

And ok. He gets it. Naj knew a lot of the tower. 
Even so, the others were acting as if Helen was taken again.

And there was no Paris to blame this time.
But strangely Han wasn’t worried and neither was V.

Maybe it was because Naj left his backpack. 
Who knows? 

So instead he turned to his cousin and asked,” How long do you think before they notice the backpack?

Arie continued to look at their 5 panicking friends while grinning.

“I’ll give them an hour the least,”

“An hour? You have no confidence in your friends.”

“Must of them are idiot, of course, I don’t believe in them,”

“What did you say?”

Oh. It seemed that they gathered their attention.

“I was just telling Ari how all of you are idiots. You didn’t even notice that Naj’s left his backpack,” Arie said giving Zahard a sadistic grin.

Zahard glared at him darkly and that was Ari's sign to intervene.

He loved his cousin but he was a little too ready to fight for Ari's taste.

But then again, the whole Hon family was.
Maybe that’s why the Hon family never grew up? 

“Hey calm down. We are not looking for a fight. No, stop looking at me like that Arie. We aren't going to fight with any of our teammates. But seriously trust Naj. He can handle himself. He was strong enough to beat all those eels,” 

Just then Naj appeared and fell on top of Zahard.

Zahard let out a shriek.

Naj, let out a scream.

And Ari went to Naj cause his scream sounded a bit more painful. 

The boy was clutching his chest where his heart was and he let out another bloodcurdling scream.

Ari felt his friends panicking and quickly took control.

He pushed through the barrier towards Naj and quickly took off his shirt. He must have an injury there. 

Instead, he saw something slightly more horrifying.

Something was being carved into Naj’s skin.
Ok right.
It wasn’t bleeding. 
It looked more like something like a tattoo.

He reached into his bag and got some numbing cream. 

He got some paper, spread the cream, and put it on Naj.

By now Naj was unconscious.

“It looks like a hare,” Yurin said after a beat of silence. 

And yeah it did. 

Ari checked for his pulse which seemed fine. 

His pupils were also fine.

“Other than the surprise tattoo, he seems fine,’’ he told the others who were just watching him.

“Didn’t know you were a medic,” Zahard after a while and Ari let out a bittersweet smile.

They probably just let him join the cause of Hon huh?

He lets out a shrug,” My cousin’s family is obsessed with swords. We just learned that we need to have bandages and stuff to treat them. Later we started to learn more serious stuff.”

“All of you should be thanking me honestly. I manage to snag the best of the best. He manages to heal all of my wounds,” Hon said smugly leaning again him.

“They were minor cuts at best Hon. But don’t worry. I've been training since the moment I could walk,” he said wryly.

“We’ll be in your care then. Please take care of us,” Yurin said brightly and slightly bowing.
Ari just smiled at her and slightly bowed too.
“I'll be in your care then,”

 Suddenly the moment was broken by Naj.
Who started to slightly whimper and shake.

“Don’t…. Close your eyes….. Don’t leave me…please,” Naj rasped out and he started to shake more. 

At this Hana quickly stepped up and started to shake Naj.

“Naj….. Naj wake up…NAJ!” She practically yelled while firmly shaking him.
The boy quickly opens his eyes and lets out a few curses while wiping his eyes furiously.
While this happens Hana gave the rest of us a look.

Don’t bother him about this

Which fair.

“Hey, where did you go? You had us all worried,” Arlene asked softly.

“One of the gods. He was wondering how an irregular already knew about Shinsu and why a huge group of irregulars entered at the same time,” he answered.

“Irregulars?”

Naj nodded, “That’s what those who forced themselves into the tower are called.”

 Huh. Good to know.

“Hey ya know how to get to the next floor?”
 

Zahard asked awkwardly.

Ah to need advice from the guy who was probably having a horrible nightmare.

Did Ari already say he loved not being a leader? 

No? 

Naj nodded.

“We need to make a contract with each floor guardian.”

“Floor guardian? Like that rabbit?”

“Yeah except that these look more like whales.

What happened to my shirt?”

Ari sheepishly shrug.

“Thought you were dying. So I ripe it.”

Naj stared at his new tattoo blankly before letting out a tired sigh. 

“Fair enough. So to contact you need to say ‘Contact the guardian of this floor’ and-“ suddenly they were in a dark place with a whale.

“There!”

“You called?”
Ok wow. The voice seemed to come from nowhere yet everywhere.

“We would like to advance to the next floor? I’ve been told we need to take a sort of test?”

“Yes, of course, but first a contract. What will you do if I let you pass?”

What were they supposed to give? 

Naj just gave the guardian a look.

“I’ll let you keep control of this floor. Plus I won't kill you!” He said cheerfully.

What?

What in the ever-loving-

They were going to die.
It was dead silent and Ari was saying sorry to his mom. 

“Fine,”
 

What

Naj nodded and suddenly he and the others were out of there. Only Naj remain and only for a few seconds.

No one said anything.

“So are you guys ready for the test?” 

Chapter Text

The walk was awkward.

That’s the only way that V could describe it. 
His friends kept on glancing at Naj, but kept quiet.

Understandable since Naj had this aura around him.

As in, ‘Get away from me, before I force you.'
Arlene, Zahard and Eduan didn’t seemed to have notice, however.

When they talked earlier, V was trying to force himself not show any of his fear.

Naj seemed to be an okay person , otherwise.

He helped them in the first floor, fed them and help them navigate the forest.

He even offer to let them rid his flying disk but everyone declined.

Naj seemed to be used to going fast but even Zahard got a little green while he was flying. 

And Naj seemed to be going than normal.

However, V could not handle the silence for to long.

He quietly cleared his throat and flinched when he noticed all eyes snapped towards him.

“So, Mister Naj,” Naj glanced at him before slightly tilting his head, “ How are we suppose to beat this floor?”

Naj eyes widen in surprise before looking apologetic, “I'm sorry. I must have forgot to tell you. We’re suppose to find a statue and return it to its original place.”

Zahard stopped and looked back.

  “That’s all?! Why did that stupid whale send us to find a dumb statue! How are we even suppose to find it?” Zahard rambled angrily.

   Eduan hit Zahard’ head and shushed him, “Are you even more stupid than I thought you were? Why the hell are you insulting the whale? Do you know what it might do to us, now?” He yelled angrily. Zahard let out a shriek and threw himself at the bluenette.
   

Naj watched them, amused. He seemed to have been reminiscing about something for a few moments and V wondered what it was.
   

   What was  the memory and why did it leave Naj with a bittersweet look?

 V glanced at the boys.

Naj must have had friends before. 
He couldn’t help but wonder what happened to them. 

Did they leave Naj to climb this tower by himself? Or did Naj do it so that he could protect them? 

V could see it, Naj sacrificing himself for his friends.

He seemed like the type to do it.

Maybe his friends were no longer alive?
Maybe that’s the reason why Naj is climbing the tower.

The Gods claimed his friends and there was nothing that Naj could do.

Having to watch helplessly as they all turned into zombies.

And having to be spared.

Because you were the only one not chosen.

V has seen it happen. An entire family being chosen and only leaving one survivor.

What was it he said before?

Wanting to change his fate? 

Maybe he was about to be chosen too,  so he escape so his friend's death wouldn’t be in vain.

“It’s a small owl statue, however it’s filled with a lot of shinsu. So much that it fills the surrounding area. It was placed somewhere so the whole floor could benefit, however someone stole it. We need to get it back and return it,” Naj  said, causing the boys to stop fighting to look at him.

V's thought process also broke and looked at the boy in question.

The whale must have told him that.

Now the bigger question was ,where could they find it. However, Eduan spoke up.

“The place where the statue must have more shinsu than usual now. So there must be some changes there now. Also the place that the statue was is probably more dead than before since it can’t sustain the place anymore, “ Eduan said, slightly tilting his head in thought. 

Yurin jumped in, “The new place must also be slightly unhealthy too. It must be growing more than it’s used to, so there must be some obvious changes. Unless it’s not just one person.” 

Naj nodded absently, mind lost somewhere.

“I'm trying to sense it, however it seems to far away,” He said, giving them a look.

V cringes and looks away.

The others don’t seem to want to ride that disk of death either.

The only way to hang on was to hug each other and pray to everything that you don’t fall off or puke.

“Well, we’re in no hurry! Besides it gives us more time to get to know you,” Arlene says cheerfully, saving them from having to look for an excuse.

Naj frowned and the dark aura formed around him again.

He didn’t seem aware of it, acting as if he didn’t really care.

Naj just shrugged and kept walking but now he felt dangerous once again.

The others slightly froze and walked cautiously, as if Naj would attack at any moment.

Zahard, having no survival instincts, however, just walked up to Naj and slung his arm around his neck.

Naj froze and the air suddenly turned colder.
V was certain that Naj would have killed Zahard with the way he slowly turned to look at him.

But before he could intervene, Zahard brightly said,” So tell us a bit about yourself, Naj!”

Naj raised his eyebrow tensing slightly, “What do you want to know?”

Zahard stayed quiet for a second before finally answering, “What’s your favorite color?”

Naj stopped walking to look at Zahard.
He seemed to be in disbelief and slightly amused.
It was a pretty silly question to ask. If it had been Eduan, he would have asked about how he learnt about the tower or something serious.

Arlene would have asked about Naj's friends or family but made it lighthearted enough so that Naj wouldn’t be spook.

“What?! I’m not trying to interrogate you!” Zahard huffed and pouted.

Naj force down a smile and looked away.
He seemed to be sort of dramatic. Either that, or he wanted to appear to be distant from them.

Or maybe he just didn’t know how to interact.

They were strangers after all. 

“Its blue,” Naj hesitated before looking up at the sky. His guard seemed to have deflated and the bittersweet look returned.

“A bit lighter than the sky,” he said and V looked up.

The sky was an almost pastel blue. 
It was a nice color, V thought.

“That’s a pretty color, “ Zahard said, “Mine is red.”

“I could tell,” Naj said dryly, giving Zahard’s outfit a look. 

Zahard had a red scarf, with a red shirt and some weird red glasses.

Zahard  shrugged, “To be honest, I was expecting your favorite color to be orange."

“Really?” Naj asked, tilting his head. He continued to walked, making the rest walk with him.
Naj had somehow become the leader of the group, V thought amused. 

Understandably, Naj seemed to know most about this world. 

It was kind of funny, since most of the group didn’t seem to trust him and Naj kept his distance.

“That’s my second favorite color, actually,” Naj said, shrugging lightly.

“And what are you thinking about?” Eduan asked V, appearing out of nowhere.

V jumped slightly and gave his friend a smile.

“Nothing,” he said, slightly embarrassed.  
“You sure you’re not trying to be detective with the new kid?” Eduan teased .

V simply looked away and examine the place.

The first floor just a forest. 

Many of the trees were so huge they almost seemed to reach the sky.

“No,” he answered at last and willed his blush to go down.

Eduan didn’t bother with a response, he just started to cackle.

V sped up, trying to escape Eduan laughter, his ears burning red.

Arlene glanced at him and gave him an amused smile. 

“Got lost in your head again?” She teased.

V made a pitiful sound and looked away,

“Don’t tease me too. Eduan got it covered,” He said, glancing at his best friend. 
He wasn’t laughing anymore but he seemed amused, giving him a smile when he noticed V’s look. 

“So what do you think about Naj?” 

V turned to look at Arlene, missing Eduan’s frown. 

V frowned and looked at Naj.

The boy was talking to Zahard.

The latter was grinning wildly, and moving his hands all around.

“He seems okay, just a bit scary,” He paused a bit before lowering his voice, “I can’t figure him out and it’s kind of scary.”

V wasn’t a genius. He wasn’t some superhuman that could tell if a person was good or bad just by a glance. 

However, he was good enough at noticing little details. Good enough that he could tell that if a person was dangerous.

And Naj was certainly dangerous. He was powerful enough to kill those eels by himself.

He also didn’t want them there. If was obvious with the way he seem to tense and uncomfortable.

Plus, V knew that they were weighing Naj down.

However, Naj wasn’t a bad person.

He didn’t seem angry with them and he protected them.
Naj protected them as if it was the most logical thing to do. And he didn’t seem annoyed about the questions. 

So, V was willing to follow him.

Naj wasn’t a risk right now.

Arlene hummed before grabbing his hand.
Suddenly all of V’s worries flew away.

“It might be a little naïve of me but I think Naj is a good person. There is something about that seems good,” Arlene said, giving him a big smile.

And V wasn’t as worried.

There was something about Arlene that made you believe in whatever she said.
So V just nodded and return her smile.

Chapter Text

They had to set up a camp at the end.

Naj was obviously more in tune with shinsu, and he felt that they were close.

The area seem to be overflowing with shinsu. It was almost unhealthy.

However, it was still to far and it would take a while to get there.

“Hopefully the people there aren’t too hostile,” Naj sighs.

The others would be too tired to really defend themselves and Naj needed to be careful. He would need to be protecting them and also make sure that he didn’t accidently hit them with an attack.

“I’m sure they’re not going to be too bad,” Arlene said, as she sat next to V.

They had all gathered around the fire, trying to keep warm.

Bam notice the little groups and found it interesting to see how different they were compare to the future.

Eduan sat next to V who was right next to Arlene. Arlene sat right next to Hana and Yurin who had been whispering nonstop since they had sat down around the fire. Han sat right next to Yurin and Hon sat next to him. Tperie sat next to him but he seemed to be mostly annoyed with Hon’s yelling. Truamerei sat next to him but seemed more focused on what Lok was doing. Next to Lok was Blossom and then finally it was Gustang.

However, the surprising thing was, that Zahard chose to sit next to Naj.

Naj wasn’t so close to the fire even though he was the one to light it. He sat slightly away from them, far away to have his own privacy but close enough they could see him.

And for whatever reason, Zahard had chosen to sit right next him.

He didn’t seem to be to close with the others, seeing as he had been asking Naj some questions and then talking a bit about himself.

So far Zahard found out that Naj was a pretty good cook and that he had been alone for a while.

Naj also explained a bit more of shinsu but not to much.

Naj learned that Zahard is an orphan and that he had been wondering for a bit before meeting Arlene. He talked a lot about his travel and the things he saw.

And Bam internally cringe at the fact that they were so similar again.

He had been compared to Zahard so much during the war and afterward.

How he was so strong like Zahard and how they once shared the same goals.

How he might become him in the future.

It was exhausting. He had spent so many nights wondering and hoping that he wouldn’t turn into him.

However, he immediately felt bad for thinking that.

Zahard had felt a connection with him and here was Naj feeling irritated for having another thing in similar with him.

“Hey let’s play a game! Have you ever heard of Twenty questions?” Zahard eyes were basically sparkling with excitement as he lean in and asked.

“Yeah,” Naj said, and he almost smiled.

Khun and him played that game when they met and then reunited.

Then it became something they did whenever they were separated for more than a week.

Naj almost wanted to say no just because it was a Bam and Khun thing but he held himself back.

“Sure,” He nodded instead and watched as Zahard cheered loudly. Loud enough that the others turned around to look at them.

“Something happen?” Arlene ask with a smile.

“Naj agreed to play twenty questions with me,” Zahard hesitated before asking, “Want to play with us?”

The others looked at each other before they all came over.

Tperie and Arlene seemed to be the most excited and Naj suddenly realized this could get a little messy.

Tperie loved information, Eduan was a genius but hide it, Gustang was a genius and loved digging into things he didn’t know and Naj had basically doomed himself.

Great.

It’s fine, he could gain some information too.

“Me first since I thought of it,” Zahard quickly said when he noticed Eduan opening his mouth.

“Where are you from?” Zahard ask with a grin.

Oh, this was a fun answer.

“I don’t know to be honest. I was basically alone in a cave for most of my early memories,” Naj said blandly.

There was a silence that followed his answered.

“You’re joking, right?” Arlene asked horrified.

“I wish, I just woke up there one day and stayed by myself for years before I was found,” Naj explained.

He couldn’t really remember who found him nor her name.

He remembers that he cared for her a lot and that he kept getting betrayed by her. And that she kept on getting on his way.

But he can’t remember her name nor how she looked.

However, she did a few good things.

She led him to his friends and taught him things.

“My turn?” He asked and the others nodded with hesitance.

“Why are you climbing the tower?”

Naj doesn’t know to much but climbing the tower was something people did when they were desperate.

Or to gain something.

And Urek had wanted to go back.

Was there something different from before?

And seeing everyone’s face darken, he could see that there was.

“The outside is really dangerous. At any moment, you could be killed by the outside Gods. So we decided to get stronger. There is no place that is more dangerous than outside. And if it came to it, at least we could grow stronger to fight back,” Zahard said with a grimace.

“People on the outside would randomly be used as sacrifices for some Gods. They would randomly come up to people and say they were chosen. That person would have their life slowly be eaten away by the Gods until they died,” Arlene explained quietly.

There was a somber mood afterward and Naj felt bad.

“I apologize,” Naj said quietly and Yurin waved her hand.

“It’s fine, plus you didn’t know. Now it’s our turn!” Yurin said with a grin.

“How do you know so much of the tower?”

Eduan asked quickly. A few threw him a dirty look but Eduan ignored them.

Naj stared at him blankly. How the hell was he suppose to even answer that?

“Some group decided it was my destiny to climb the tower and kill someone. They basically train me in everything they knew and made sure I was ready,” Naj sort of lied.

The others stared at him in disbelief and Naj sighed.

“After I escape the cave, I wondered around for a bit before meeting my friends,” Naj hesitated from telling them this since his memories were precious but still. He needed to explain.

“Then this organization found me and basically forced me to train for this. A lot of stuff happened but at the end, I’m here now because of them,” He sort of explain.

Most of them still stared at him in disbelief and a little bit of pity but Naj ignore that.

“So what is your names? I know Arlene and V but that’s it,” Naj said somewhat sheepishly.

“Oh! Well my name is Zahard!” Zahard quickly introduce himself.

“I’m Khun Eduan and this is Po Bidau Gustang,” Eduan said, smirking a little when he heard Gustang grumble that he could introduce himself.

“I’m Arie Hon and this is my cousin Ari Han. He’s the one that treated you,” Hon said, pulling his cousin close.

Han gave Naj a small smile and waved.

“Oh, I forgot to thank you for that. Thank you for helping me,” Naj said genuinely.

Ari shook his head, “I didn’t do much really.”

“But it was still something,” Bam replied.

Ari just nodded, looking a little flustered but accepting the thanks.

“And I’m Ha Yurin! It’s nice to finally introduce myself,” Yurin said with a grin and a small bow.

“My name is Yeon Hana. It’s nice to meet you, Mister Naj,” Hana said softly with a smile.

And Naj had to basically hold back tears because he was suddenly having flashbacks of Yuri and Yihwa.

With Yurin basically looking like Yuri and Hana just reminding Naj of Yihwa.

He misses them so much.

“Eurasia Blossom,” Was the only thing that Blossom bothered to say before continuing to look at the fire.

“Lo Po Bia Traumerei. And this is Hendo Lok Bloodmadder,” Traumerei said quickly, not really looking Naj in the eyes.

Naj just nodded.

“And my name is Tu Perie Tperie. It’s nice to finally have introductions out of the way,” Tperie said with a grin but his eyes seem to be analyzing him. His eyes had a certain glint in them that Naj didn’t like.

“It’s nice to finally meet all of you,” Naj said politely.

“Okay, our turn! What do you know about the tower?”

To much yet so little, Naj thought wryly.

“You would need to be more specific with that question, “ Naj said instead.

“How dangerous is the tower,” Hana clarified.

“It’s really dangerous. You have to fight in all the floors and the test are determined by your wish,” Naj explained.

The others grimace but Zahard just looked even more determined when Naj said that.

“However,” He continued, “They won’t make them impossible to pass. It will be difficult but it’s manageable.”

The others perked up at that, their hopes renewed.

“Okay, your turn!” Arlene said, smiling.

Naj, however stayed quiet.

What could he ask now?

To be honest, there were to many questions they couldn’t answer now.

None of them could. Not yet at least.

“I’ll skip my turn,” Was his response.

Zahard was about to protest but Arlene was faster, “What’s your favorite food?”

Naj stared at her, surprise.

After a pause, he answered with a small, “I mostly like Korean and Eastern.”

Arlene gave him a huge smile.

And for whatever reason, Naj started to relax a little bit.

That maybe, he should enjoy this time when he can finally meet his parents.

That moment was ruin however, with Blossom yawning.

And then Naj noticed how everyone seemed tired.

And then Naj remembered that they were sort of normal kids.

They aren’t use to staying up late because they were in a war and might get ambushed at any minute.

And that they aren’t use to having to fight for days straight.

Oops.

“We can continue this tomorrow. We need to rest right now. I’ll keep first watch,” He told them.

“Oh, I didn’t notice the time. He’s right though. We need to go to sleep,” Arlene said surprised, with a slight frown.

Some of the others grumbled but listened to Arlene.

However, V noticed that Naj just kept on sitting next to the fire.

“Aren’t you sleeping?”

Naj shook his head.

“I’ll keep watch. Just in case something appears,” Naj said softly.

V hesitated a bit before saying, “I can stay up with you.”

However, Naj shook his head.

“I’m use to staying up with little sleep. However, you guys will need all your energy tomorrow,” Naj explained.

V looked at him for a minute, looking worried before nodding and going over to go camp with the others.

And it took a while for the others to sleep.

It was an unfamiliar place, so Naj understood.

However, sooner than later it was just Naj.

Once again being alone, Naj thought dryly.

Surprisingly Zahard was the first one to wake up.

Wangnan woke up after everyone else.

The only time that he would ever wake up early was when someone was upset.

Then Wangnan woke up and comforted them.

Whether it was Miseng or Prince with a nightmare or Naj having some existential crisis.

He always woke up early.

It was something weird that Wangnan didn’t notice until Miseng pointed it out. Viole never even found out how Wangnan did it.

However normally Wangnan would wake up late.

So Naj was surprise when he saw Zahard shuffle next to him.

He had his blanket wrapped around him and it seemed as if he was still really sleepy since Zahard could barely keep his eyes open.

“You aren’t sleepy, Naj?”

Zahard could barely ask that, yawning so much.

Naj shook his head, “I’m use to staying up for days.”

Zahard just frowned, “That’s concerning.”

And..

“Viole, I have had enough!” Wangnan yelled out, slamming his hands against the table.

Viole had just blinked at him, “What do you mean, Mr. Wangnan?”

Viole hands were around his coffee cup but then Wangnan swiped that from him.

“Hey,” Was Viole's weak response.

“I know your secret, Viole. You aren’t tricking me,” Wangnan said, narrowing his eyes at Viole.

And Miss Yiwha perked up at that.

Arkaptor sighed, “Wangnan leave poor Viole alone.”

“No!” Wangnan slammed down Viole’s coffee down and Viole just made a pitiful sound as he watched a bit fall down.

“Viole had not been sleeping!” Wangnan yelled out, pointing his finger at Viole, “If my calculations are right, then he has not slept in a week! A week, I tell you! This ends today!”

Arkaptor made a concern sound and turned to look at Viole.

“Is this true, Viole.”

Viole knowing what was coming, just shrugged.

Arkaptor sighed, “Well that ends today. No more coffee for you until you sleep at least 8 hours.”

Viole just stared at him blankly.

Was this the infamous grounding?

“Okay?”

And it turns out that Viole crashed afterwards and slept for the entire day, scaring Miseng and Prince.

And afterward Wangnan, Geoseng and Arkaptor guarded the coffee from him.

Naj let out a small smile while remembering that.

While it might have been somewhat tiring during that time, Naj held that memory close with him.

Sweet and Sour ended up telling Khun later on and Khun had banned caffeine from that point.

However, it just took Naj begging for an hour before Khun allowed him a cup a day.

He misses Khun so much.

“You okay, Naj?”

Naj turned to look at Zahard, luckily Zahard didn’t notice him spacing out.

“Yeah, and there is nothing to worry about,” Naj said quickly.

Zahard stared at him for a while before shrugging.

It was silent for a bit before Zahard said, “I can’t believe the others took over the game so quickly.”

Naj turned to look at Zahard and the future king was pouting while looking at the fire.

“You did invite them to play,” Naj pointed out.

“Yeah but they weren’t playing right! They were basically interrogating you instead of getting to know you. Only Arlene asked a good question. Other than me,” Zahard whined.

And Naj didn’t say anything, because what could he say?

Naj wasn’t expecting anything else, he knew that it would turn into an interrogation the moment that Zahard invited the others.

“We can play again later? When you guys are more familiar with the tower,” Naj compromise.

And Zahard smiled, “Good. But we won’t invite Eduan, Gustang nor Tperie. They’re idiots, and they will probably ruin the next game too!”

Chapter Text

When they finally got to the village, it was empty.

It almost seemed as of they left in a hurry, seeing as there were a lot of things left behind.

After the group looked around, they reunited at the town square.

“It’s honestly so creepy,” Yurin said with a shiver.

“It’s so quiet too. I hate it so much,” Arlene said, with a frown as she looked around.

Zahard nodded and looked at Naj.

Naj had been quiet the entire time.

He had been the only one to not look around, instead staying at the square.

He looked deep in thought and Zahard wondered what he was thinking of.

“Noticed something?” Gustang asked, also noticing Naj’s oddness.

“Well, I was hoping that they would at least hand it to us but if they prefer to hide, we can just take it,” Naj said thoughtfully.

There was a pause until Hana broke it.

“Can you explain?”

“There are a lot of people here but they’re hiding. I mean, I’m not complaining. This might make this mission so much more easier,” Naj explained.

“How can you know?” Tperie asked.

Naj shrugged, “With Shinsu, you can start knowing when there are people around. And you can tell if there are a lot,” Naj said dryly, “This usually happens if you were in battle or had many people after you.”

Zahard winced.

He still remembers the weird things that Naj had said about his past.

It almost sounded like Naj was lying but Zahard was sure that it wasn’t.

Naj looked to young to have dealt with all of that.

But the way that Naj looked proved that he wasn’t lying.

Naj looked tired and it was how he usually operated.

Sort of how Zahard looked before he decided to stay in town.

However Zahard looked less cool and dangerous.

And also Naj knowledge of shinsu.

Naj knows so much of shinsu but doesn’t really know how to explain it.

Sort of how you can’t really explain something that comes with instincts.

Naj knew so much but he doesn’t know how to explain it because he’s known it for so long.

Which was sort of weird considering that Naj hadn’t been in the tower long.

However, Naj starts walking so Zahard rushed to catch up.

“We’re going to get the statue?”

Zahard asked as he finally caught up and was walking to Naj.

Naj nodded, “It’s in the big white building over there,” Naj said and pointed towards a large white building seemed to have a hole in the middle of it.

Zahard scowled when he saw it.

It looked like a sacrifice platform except the ones outsides were much more grand and big.

“Let’s get this dumb thing so we can leave,” Zahard muttered.

Naj glanced at him but didn’t say anything in response.

Which Zahard was immensely grateful for.

He didn’t really want to explain why the others were also quiet and the only sound was their footsteps.

When they finally reached the building, everyone hesitated going inside.

Zahard even saw Arlene clutching V’s arm.

“I’ll go by myself. There might be traps in there. If you see anything, just yell,” Naj said and began to climb the steps.

And Zahard finally relaxed and instantly hated himself.

He was here to climb the tower! To get stronger!

And yet he couldn’t even confront the past.

Zahard scowled and sat down, facing his companions.

He noticed that they were all relaxed too, some of them choosing to sit down.

Honestly, he only knew Arlene and V from here.

The others were a surprise but Zahard wasn’t complaining.

To much.

Eduan seemed like a jerk and so did Gustang.

But that might have just been Zahard’s hatred of rich people talking.

 Zahard was actually happy that Naj had asked for their name since Zahard wouldn’t have.

He would have probably waited until someone said their names to finally learn them.

“Naj sure is quick,” V said blandly.

Zahard turned around and saw that Naj was already at the top and was about to grab the statue.

“Wait!”

They all turned around to look at the voice and saw a girl standing in front of Naj.

She was huffing, seemly running all the there.

She was standing in front of the statue, holding her hands out.

The girl had long blonde hair and a fair complexion but other than that, Zahard couldn’t really see her features.

“Naj!”

Naj turned to look at him after Zahard screamed.

The statue levitate before landing in Zahard’s hand.

There was a pause because what?

What was he supposed to do with this!?!?!

Eduan started to snickered and Zahard glared at him.

“Give it back!” The girl screamed and she started to run down the stairs.

Before Zahard could really panicked, Naj ran downed the stairs and jumped.

And somehow the dude just landed in front of Zahard.

How? What?

The girl ran up to Naj and glared at him.

“I need it back,” She said and after a bit of hesitance, added, “please.”

“Are you the only one here?” Naj asked looking around.

The girl hesitate again, “Yes.”

Naj shrugged, “Then no. This place is becoming unhealthy with how much shinsu there is. It’s selfish of you to destroy this place.”

The girl glared at him before getting into a fighting stance.

Naj just raised his eyebrow, not bothering to move.

“Icarus, stop. It does look selfish from an outsiders perspective,” An old voice said.

Zahard turned to the voice, and saw the stereotype of an old man.

“Everyone, you can come out now. We’ve been discovered from the beginning,” He said loudly.

Suddenly more people appeared around the old man.

Huh.

That’s something.

Zahard looked at Naj, who didn’t even look surprise at the amount of people.

“Want to talk somewhere more comfortably?” The old man asked kindly.

Naj didn’t respond, but glanced back at the group.

“I wouldn’t mind but how about you?”

Zahard hesitated before shrugging.

“I don’t care.”

“We should go. They stole it for a reason so if we help them, then it should all be fixed,” Arlene said, determination burns g through her eyes.

And we’ll, everyone agreed after that.

Arlene had the effect on people.

Icarus moved past them and quickly went to go help the elder.

However, she kept on throwing glares at Naj, which he ignored.

The villagers all seemed scared too.

Not just of Naj but of everyone.

They kept away and kept on whispering.

Annoying.

It was sort of annoying.

It reminded Zahard of some other towns.

With him traveling alone at a young age, it wasn’t hard to guess what had happened.

They would whisper and stare but none of them would offer him even a cup of water.

However, Arlene had been different.

She seen him and given a meal.

“There’s been a war,” Naj said quietly, next to him, “That’s why they’re scared. They seem to be nice though.”

Zahard gave him a startled look, “ How would you know?”

“The way they look at us. It’s not with disgust but with fear. Plus they preferred to hide instead of fighting,” V chimed in.

Naj gave him a surprised look but nodded, “He’s right.”

“That’s amazing! You were just like detectives, the both of you!” Zahard exclaimed, amazement clear in his voice.

V blushed and slowed down to talk to Arlene instead while Naj shrugged.

There was a weird look in his face.

However, Zahard knew how to mind his own business so he didn’t ask.

The people took them to a little hut that had 2 rocking chairs.

The elder sat on one and said to Naj “I see you’re the leader, sit so we can talk. My people will help yours.”

And there was a stunned silence.

Because they had been following Naj lead but damn.

“I’m not the leader. If you need to say something, the others will need to it hear too so we can vote on it,” Naj said, but Zahard could see he was uncomfortable.

The old man looked puzzled but nodded.

“As you already know we had stolen the sacred Owl statue that belong to the forest. But please try to understand, we felt as if we had no choice. Guerra tribe has been trying to fight us. They keep hunting us down and won’t stop,” The old man said sadly.

Naj didn’t say anything.

“We cannot stop you if you do try to take it away from us. But at least think of the children here,” The old man begged.

However, Naj continued to stay quiet, only glancing at them.

“I think we should stay and help. If we do, we can stop this from repeating. However, I’ll follow whatever you guys decide,” V said awkwardly.

“I’ll follow V's decision,” Eduan sounding bored.

“We would need weapons though,” Gustang protested.

“Our villagers are amazing blacksmiths. They can help with that,” The elder said, finally paying the others attention.

“Well, I think we should do it. But we also need Naj’s opinion on it. He’s going to be the main force of the fight,” Zahard said staring at the brown hair boy.

Naj nodded, “I’m in.”

The elder seemed to relax.

“We can discuss this tomorrow but today, you rest. Icarus can take you to the place, you’ll be staying,” The elder said kindly.

The girl seemed startled but nodded and quickly walked off in front without saying a word.

The others started to follow her but Yurin and Zahard stayed behind because Naj hadn’t moved at all.

Naj and the old man were staring at each other, like a show down.

It was sort of funny too.

The old man was smiling gently while Naj just had a deadpan face.

“I’ll see you guys in a bit. There’s something we need to discuss,” Naj said suddenly.

Zahard nodded and kept walking while Yurin stood there a bit more before she kept on walking.

Icarus showed them to a hotel like place.

“This is where you’ll be staying,” She said blandly.

“Oh, you guys will need to be paired up for the rooms,” She said.

“Well me and Hana will share the room,” Yurin said suddenly.

“Me and Blossom can share,” Arlene said.

“I’ll share with V then!” Tperie said smiling as he went to stand next to V.

V just give a nervous smile but didn’t complain while Eduan glared at Tperie.

“Me and Han can share,” Hon said, shrugging.

“Lok and me can share,” Traumerei said.

Eduan sighs, “Guess that leaves me with Gustang.”

“So I’ll be sharing with Naj?”

It was a dumb question but it was better to ask.

Arlene shrugged, “He seems more comfortable with you. Unless you don’t want to?”

Zahard shook his head, “I don’t have a problem with it.”

Icarus showed them all the rooms.

The rooms were all very basic but none of them were going to complain.

It was better than sleeping outside.

The rooms had 2 beds and a small window with a small desk in-between the beds.

“Since your roommate is still talking with the Town Leader, you’re getting the room closest to the staircase,” Icarus grumbled.

Zahard glared at her, “Do you have something against Naj?”

Icarus returned his glare, “His pride is going to kill the villagers here. He doesn’t care about anything other than his own goals!”

Was she blind and dumb?

“And how are you any different! Moving the statue meant killing a bunch of things that depend on it! Plus you killed more things that couldn’t stomach to much shinsu!”

Zahard yelled back harshly.

“I care more about my people than some dumb plants and animals!”

“And Naj cares more about us than your greedy ideals,” Zahard stated angrily.

Icarus huffed before stomping away.

And Zahard slammed the door shut.

He went to lay down on the bed closest to the door and curled up under the sheets.

He ignored when Arlene came knocking and ignored V when he also came up.

He didn’t even say anything when Naj finally came back.

He popped his head out when Naj sat down on his bed.

“Would you have really left the villagers alone if we had taken the statue back?”

Naj didn’t seemed startled when Zahard asked that.

“I would have not asked you to fight but I would’ve tried to help them,” Naj replied.

“Why?”

At that Naj paused.

He seemed to be lost in thought.

Naj did that a lot.

He seems to be living in the past and only be in the present for a bit before leaving.

“I do not want you guys to fight a fight that I decided on. It would be selfish of me,” Naj said quietly.

He had a bitter look on his face as he said this.

“Is that what happened to you before?”

Zahard didn’t need to mention that it was about Naj’s past.

“Yes, and a lot of loved ones died because of it. I don’t wish that upon you nor the others,” Naj said, the bitter look returning and now mixed with remorse.

“I’m sorry for asking,” Zahard quietly said.

“No need to apologize,” Naj replied.

The room went quiet again as Naj was about to get into bed before someone was knocking again.

This time, it was more aggressive and loud.

Naj gave him a confused look and Zahard just shrugged.

Naj went to open the door and Zahard sat up.

Outside was Yurin with a determined look. She was wearing some boy sleep wear which was just some shirt and shorts.

“Please train me!” She yelled and bowed her head.

And for the first time since they met, Naj looked flabbergasted.

“What?”

Yurin stopped bowing and looked at him in the eyes.

“I don’t want you to be force to keep carrying the team. It’s unfair, plus we can’t keep doing it,” She said firmly.

“Okay,” Naj said nodding.

Yurin looked shocked for a minute grinning, “Thank you! And good night!”

With that she ran to her room.

Naj stayed there, making sure Yurin made it to her room safely before closing the door.

However, Zahard notice that Naj looked deep in thought and somewhat nervous.

“You okay? You don’t have to teach her if you don’t want to,” Zahard said.

He heard that some people were protective about their customs or fighting styles.

Maybe Naj was like that?

“It’s not that,” Naj said deadpan, “I’m just a bad teacher.”

Oh.

Chapter Text

Naj had always been surrounded by amazing teachers.

Aguero had been amazing teacher, teaching him about the tower.

And Jinsung and Evankhell were also amazing teachers and he is grateful to have met them.

And then those teachers that taught him for a bit.

They were all amazing.

However, Naj was horrible.

He didn’t know how to teach.

And he didn’t think that beating them until they learned was a good idea.

However…..they might learn that way.

He did anyways.

Naj waited until Zahard when to sleep before getting up. He went to his backpack and grabbed some paper he had there.

Zahard had been a fisherman, right?

And Gustang was a wave controller.

Wait no, he was a light bearer, right??

Gustang seemed liked he would like to be a light bearer.

Naj groaned and lightly slammed his head against the wall.

Okay! He got this!

Naj divided the paper to 5 parts.

Naj frowned and wrote defender.

He sort of remembered that Bloodmadder was a defender.

Naj took a deep sigh and felt despair fill him.

He forgot that this people invented these positions.

And Naj couldn’t really teach someone how to be an Anima since he himself wasn’t one. Or how to use magic since he couldn’t use it.

He would have to wait until later for them to actually figure it themselves.

Okay.

He wrote Light Bearer first and wrote Tperie.

Under wave controller he wrote Blossom, Gustang, Arlene, Hana, V, Traumerei and himself.

Next he wrote Scout.

He hesitate before writing Yurin.

Yuri had been an amazing fisherman and he knew that Yurin was a lot like her but still, he knew that Yurin was proud of being the first scout ever.

Next he moved on to spear bearer.

He wrote down Eduan.

He got to the fisherman and wrote down Zahard, and Hon.

And then Naj froze because where was he even suppose to put Han??

Han was a pacifist in the future and didn’t even bother to help Zahard.

He hesitated before writing medic and writing Han name.

And then he realized that he had basically worried for nothing since only Yurin asked him to teach her.

He threw the paper away and flopped to the bed.

He was so so done.

Luckily his efforts didn’t go into waste.

Once the others learned that he was teaching Yurin, they also decided, they wanted to be taught.

Unfortunately, Bam was still a bad teacher and he had 13 people depending on him.

Well, Zahard was looked like he knew this was going to be a train wreck and he was ready to be a part of it.

Naj envied him and then felt a little sick.

Because no. He would not envy Zahard.

Naj cleared his throat before speaking, “I’m going to start how I was taught. There are 5 main groups. Light bearers, fisherman, scouts, spear bearers and wave controllers. I decided to put you in what groups I think you guys would work best in,” He paused because he might honestly be ruining the dynamic if he got a position wrong,” However, if you guys don’t like where you are place then you can ask me to change it. And you can master more than one but I’ll only let that happen if you mastered your first position.”

With that, he pulled out the crumbled paper and gave it to Eduan to show the others.

“Defenders wasn’t one of those,” Yurin muttered.

“There are some special positions. I think that Bloodmadder would work good as a defender,” Naj explained.

Bloodmadder looked a little sad but didn’t comment.

“And how come Tperie, Eduan and Yurin are the only ones in their positions?” Gustang asked.

Naj raised his eyebrow, “Have you guys ever fought together?”

There was devastating silence.

“How about who works better alone or in groups?”

Once again, silence. Naj nodded.

“And who here knows how to fight. Like has been in actual fight?” He asked.

At this, Zahard and Hon raised their hands.

“And who here thinks can avoid attacks and tell the others?”

After a bit, Yurin raised her hand.

He gave the others a stare down and they finally relented.

“And you guess can change positions. And sometimes if the time comes, you will need to change it,” Naj said, “For example, I’m a wave controller but I can also do other positions.”

The others nodded and now the real problem began.

How was he suppose to teach them?

“I’ll teach in groups first. So first will be the wave controllers and Tperie, then the fishermen along with Yurin and Eduan, Then I’ll teach the individual positions and see where we are at” Naj said and the others agreed.

However.

Naj looked at Han, apologetic, “I didn’t know exactly what position to put you in so I put you in as a medic. And there is nothing I can teach you there. However , if you see a position and you want to learn it, I can put you in it.”

Han shrugged with a smile, “It’s fine, I don’t like fighting anyways.”

Naj nodded, relaxing a bit.

“All right let’s begin!”

The 13 kids sat on their training ground in silence.

They were either laying down or sitting, exhausted.

Naj had left once again to talk to the elder. He asked them to stay so they could discuss the next day and to relax.

“So,” Hon started slowly, “How was everyone’s training?”

Almost everyone gave him an dead stare and he nodded, “Just as bad as us. Good.”

“I mean, it wasn’t to bad. Just mentally taxing,’ V said carefully.

“We had a pretest that was basically having to fight Naj as he commented on our fighting style,” Yurin complained.

She had been group with the fisherman since it was close enough training.

“Then I had to dodge some of his attacks. He was going slow but I still feared for my life!”

Naj had told her that he would go slow but then he blasted attacks at her!

Yurin barely avoided the attacks!!

“It’s hard for Naj to teach,” Blossom observed quietly.

She and V had the most success in their classes.

Blossom had been able to create 2 Bangs right away while V’s had been the most powerful.

“I mean… Naj must have been a prodigy at this? He basically had to learn all of this before and he was able to master all of it the moment he arrived,” Zahard said quickly, defending Naj, “It’s like trying to teach someone how to breathe or blink. You can show them the motions but it’s not something you can really teach.”

Eduan rolled his eyes, “Zahard, I think you’re the only one that wouldn’t know to blink if someone tried to show you how,” Eduan said.

The yellow haired boy looked like he was about to attack Eduan before the blue haired boy continued, “But he’s right. It’s hard to teach something that comes naturally.”

Naj had tried to teach Eduan how to strengthen his body with Shinsu but he had gotten them both confused.

When Eduan had asked Naj to demonstrate, Naj had agreed.

Nothing seemed to have changed except that when the brunette ‘lightly’ put his foot down, it created a dent on the dirt.

“That must’ve suck,” Icarus said, startling them all.

The blonde girl was standing next to them and was holding a basket.

She gave them a gentle smile and showed them the basket, “Naj asked me to bring some food to you guys.”

There was a pause before the others cheered.

“Finally! Food!” Zahard cheered, getting up.

V sat up and gave Icarus a smile, “Thank you.”

Icarus blushed slightly and looked away.

“It’s nothing! It’s the least I could do for you guys!”

She set down a blanket and then started to put the food on it.

It was all very simple, sandwiches and some fruits.

But for the hungry kids, it looked divine.

“Oh and Naj told me to give this to you guys,” She said cringing slightly as she handed them each of a purple drink.

Zahard smelled it and immediately gagged.

The others leaned away and stared at the drink in horror.

“Do we need to drink this?” Yurin asked as she stared at hers.

Icarus shrugged, “He said to give it to you but I won’t tell him if you don’t drink it.”

Immediately Bloodmadder, Blossom and Traumerei threw theirs to the grass.

Zahard hesitated before gulping it all down and then gagging once again.

The others hesitate before Yurin scoffed, “Naj isn’t the type to do things for no reason.”

With that, she was also gulp it down.

She made a face but otherwise didn’t react.

The others followed suit and also had horrible reactions with V almost throwing up.

Icarus gave them a pity smile before pointing to the food.

“Well now that the horrible is out the way, enjoy the meal,” She said brightly.

They all started to eat except Hana and Arlene.

“Aren’t you also going to eat?” Hana asked noticing that Icarus was only watching.

Icarus tense before laughing, “ I’m not hungry but thank you!”

Hana looked ready to protest but nodded and grabbed a sandwich.

When they had finished the meal, Icarus brought up the topic she had been thinking about, “You know, I could teach you. At least the basics and Naj could take it from there.”

At that they all paused.

They all looked hesitated and Zahard even looked a little mad.

“Really?”

Hana asked, looking reluctant.

Icarus nodded happily, “Yeah! I had to teach some of the younger kids and I’m good at it!”

At this Gustang and Tperie looked intrigued but not convinced.

“You would have to ask Naj first though. We couldn’t just trade him out,” Zahard said.

Icarus froze slightly at that but nodded, “I’ll make sure to ask him later on.”

At this the others relaxed.

Icarus didn’t know it but she had been lucky.

They weren’t as protective of Naj on the second floor.

She stared at the remains of the unlucky person, trembling a bit.

They had tried to replace Naj, not knowing it was a dumb choice.

Or how they would react.

And even though she was a puppet, she still felt fear because this is the reality she barely avoided. She glanced over at Zahard who wasn’t even looking at the body anymore.

He was arguing with V.

“We didn’t need to kill him!”

Zahard scoffed, “And let him get away with thinking that Naj is replaceable?”

V flinched but didn’t back down.

“A simple no would have been enough,” V argued back.

At this Zahard glared back and got close to V.

“We already let that puppet of yours live. Don’t ask more of us,” Zahard said angrily.

Icarus looked away at that.

“What happened here?”

They all look at Naj who looked a bit horrified.

“An enemy attack. He tried to ambush is but was quickly dispose off,” Icarus lied with a smile.

Realization dawned on Naj and he nodded in understanding.

“Such a shame. He seemed like a good guy,” Naj muttered but was soon distracted by Zahard leading him away.

“Why did you lie?”

V asked softly walking up to her.

Icarus gives him a weak smile.

“I don’t want to know what will happen the day that Naj is no longer around Zahard. And unnecessary killing is the closest way to achieve that.”

Naj arrived at the training place after they had finished eating.

He seemed a bit irritated but not to much.

“Hey, I brought up the Elder’s decision but they said they needed your approval first,” Icarus said before any of them could even greet Naj.

Arlene frowned but didn’t say anything.

At the mention of the old man, Naj’s mood seemed to sour but he sighed.

“I think it would be a good idea. I need to make a certain weapon for Tperie and the others for the fight. But I will see their progress in 2 days,” Naj said tiredly.

V perked up at that, “I could help with that actually! My family were blacksmiths.”

Naj seemed to consider it and nodded his head, “Fine but only after your classes.”

He then turned to Tperie, “You can also come since one of the things is going to be for you.”

Tperie looked surprised for a second before nodding.

“Why exactly would I need a weapon,?”

“For protection and to make the job easier in the future,” Naj explained.

Tperie seemed a bit confused but nodded either way.

There was this silence that followed.

It was sort of comfortable.

Arlene noticed hat Naj was finally looking a bit more relax.

It was however broken by Yurin who stretched and groan, “Well, I’m beat! Are we doing anymore training or can we leave?”

Naj looked at her surprise before noticing that the sun was setting.

“Huh, didn’t even notice it was so late. We can go, it’s not good to train to much,” Naj said wryly.

The others got up and trudged back to te hotel like place.

However, Naj caught up to Arlene.

“Arlene can I talk to you?”

Arlene gave him a confused look but nodded.

She slowed down and waited until the others were out of hearing range.

“Is something wrong?” She asked.

It was probably about training.

Arlene understood the basics but she couldn’t really do it.

And while the others had gotten a shinsu ball, she only got half a ball and that soon fizzled out.

Even Naj was confused when it happened and that was sad.

“Nothings wrong. I actually needed a favor,” Naj said, looking a bit nervous.

A favor? What could Arlene possibly be able to do?

Arlene nodded.

“I’ve seen that you write in a journal. Would it be possible for you to nor write about me?”

And Arlene was mortified.

“I am so sorry!” She squeaked out, her face burning.

“It’s no problem! It’s just that I don’t want to leave any traces behind,” Naj said, somewhat calming her down.

At this Arlene looked puzzled.

“What do you mean?”

Naj sighed, looking even more nervous, “I’m not suppose to be here. Not yet at least. So I will need to leave, some time during our travels. But I could get in a lot of trouble if someone finds traces of me,” Naj explained, not looking at her.

Arlene nodded, “It’s no problem. And yeah, I can change the pages I wrote about you or scribble out your name,” She said.

Naj would be leaving them?

She never thought he would.

It was weird but Arlene didn’t think he would ever need to leave.

“Thank you. Now let’s catch up with the others before they worry,” Naj said, looking even more relax.

They started to walk in quiet before Arlene broke it.

“Hey Naj? Will we see you again after you leave?”

They would miss him, Arlene thought sadly.

Naj froze but then continued walking.

He shrugged, “We will definitely meet again,” He said sounding amused.

Chapter Text

The villagers were peculiar, Naj had observed.

After spending two weeks in the village, they quickly warmed up to Naj and V.

The villagers would often stop Naj and V to chat, their voices filled with curiosity and excitement. Some girls, their cheeks flushed, would shyly offer them treats before scurrying away.

Something that Naj had found quite weird.

Yet, the villagers maintained a distance from the others, their interactions minimal and their avoidance noticeable. 

They tolerated Tperie, but barely, only having a few words with him before scampering away.

They might have only liked Naj because he helped a lot.

Since he only had to keep training Zahard and Arlene and help build the lighthouse, he spent many hours helping around.

V stayed a lot in the blacksmith, helping and running small errands when he could.

So, it wasn't too strange that the villagers liked him more than the others.

Except that Zahard and Arlene had tried to help but were rejected quite harshly.

And they got quiet when Naj mentioned training and tried to change the subject.

They didn't seem to like the idea of war or fighting.

"Naj? Are you okay?" Arlene's voice snapped him out of his trance, and he looked at her.

Arlene was sitting crisscrossed and was looking at him, tilting her head slightly.

"I'm fine, just thinking of something," Naj said quietly before focusing on Arlene again.

Arlene and Zahard were the ones who had the most trouble with Icarus's training.

Arlene seemed to understand the concept and could make shinsu balls, but she could not attack with them. It was just a useless skill.

Zahar seemed to do better in the military training that Naj gave out. He barely advances with Icarus, but it almost seems purposeful.

However, that was none of Naj's business, and he kept training Arlene.

"Ah, Naj. The Village Elder wants to see you," Icarus says blandly behind him.

Arlene's eyes open, and a shinsu ball flies towards Icarus, who barely manages to avoid it.

"Oh, good job.," Naj praises her before getting up, slightly stretching.

"Can't he wait? Naj is busy right now," Zahard complained. He had been sitting beside Arlene and observing with a bored look.

Icarus hesitated before shaking her head, "It is urgent, and he cannot delay."

"Don't worry, and keep on training. You are making a lot of progress," Naj said before walking away.

To be honest, he was also very annoyed with the frequent meetings with the Elder, but he would not admit it to anyone.

As he walked, the villagers greeted him, and he gave a polite nod in return to most.

He kept his polite mask until he arrived at the Elder's house before showing his real annoyance.

"Do you need anything? I was helping the others train," Naj said, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

The Elder smiled, "Come sit down and enjoy a cup of tea with me."

Naj stared at him before sitting down.

"You don't need to train the others anymore. Icarus got them handled," The Elder said with a smile before taking a sip.

"Some of them struggle more than others. I can't have them fall behind," Naj said blandly, eyeing the cup of tea.

"They will soon catch up, though. It just takes time. How have the villagers been treating you?"

Naj huffed, "They have been extremely kind. So much that I can't help but wonder if someone told them some lies."

The Elder just smiled before taking another sip.

"Listen, I appreciate the kindness you have shown us, but I cannot stay here," Naj told him.

"And why is that?" The Elder's mask was slipping, and his voice no longer radiated kindness.

"I have my own goals I need to accomplish, and I can't do that staying here," Naj explained.

"Naj, you are extremely powerful. My village needs you. You can have anything that we have. Money, power, jewels, anything your heart desires. We need you to protect us," the Elder pleaded.

"I cannot stay. We can leave right now if you want, though," Naj said firmly.

He knew what sort of life he would get if he did bother to stay.

He would be isolated, giving him respect but also being fearful of him.

They hated that he knew how to fight but admired his strength.

He would be like a bird in a cage and couldn't return to that life again.

The Elder sighed before nodding, "I understand. You don't need to leave but tell me. When will you get rid of our threat?"

Bam thought about it.

He could go right now, to be honest. The other Tribe had been getting more anxious and closer to the village. Close enough that they could observe them but not trigger the alarms the villagers had installed.

He also needed to check on the strength of the others. They should have advanced a lot if they had been taking the potion.

"Tonight, but I must leave," Naj warned him.

The Elder looked scared, and Naj couldn't help but pity him.

 Sure, he was annoying and didn't seem to understand subtly, but he did all this for the village.

It was a lot of responsibility for an older man. For just one man to bear at all.

"Nothing will happen to your village; I can promise you that," Naj said.

Finally, the older man nodded.

"I will hold your word on that, Mister Naj," The old man said, sounding exhausted.

Naj nodded before getting up and walking out. He didn't bother with any more words of comfort to the older man.

After all, his problem would soon be solved.

He just needed to tell the others soon.

He walked around for a bit, helping around as much as possible. He talked and acted as if everything was normal, but inside, he was puzzled.

He would need to act as bait.

The other Tribe knew that he was one of the strongest, so they would want to take him out first.

The others might freak out or panic, but it is the best choice.

Naj wasn't about to risk their life on being captured after all.

Zahard might complain a bit, but Arlene would calm him down.

But that was it; he just needed to calmly explain to them that he would need to act as bait for a while.

Making plans for what they could do to infiltrate the other village.

It would be easy.

He had arrived at the clearing without even noticing. The others were training while Zahard and Arlene sat down and watched them.

It would have been useless if they had tried to join in since they didn't do well with Icarus's training.

Arlene was the first to notice him, looking up and waving at him.

But Zahard was the one to run up to him.

But before Naj could wave back, someone dragged him away.

Naj almost killed them before reconsidering.

It would make things slightly more complicated, but Naj trusted them.

The others would find him soon.

Eduan, Tperie, and Gustang were good strategists, so they would be in good hands.

So, Naj went limp and let himself get kidnapped.

It was embarrassing, to be honest, but what could he do?

He watched as Zahard froze, staring at him horrified before yelling at the others and running to Naj.

"LET HIM GO, YOU BASTARD!" Zahard yelled, sounding desperate.

The others were running now, yelling, but it was all mixed in.

Naj tried to commit with his eyes that everything was okay, but…well...

It didn't seem to work since it made Zahard even more panicked.

Oh dear, hopefully, this didn't create some trauma.

The only one that almost caught him was Zahard, but right before he could, the kidnapper teleported them away.

He felt something hit him, and suddenly, everything went dark.

Oh great.

"What even happened?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

Zahard at Eduan.

Naj had somehow been kidnapped, and everything was falling apart.

"It must have been the Guerra Tribe," Icarus said, barely loud enough for everyone to hear.

The others were talking, their voices overlapping, but Zahard wasn't paying attention.

He was too late, too slow.

If he had been faster, or even better, Naj would be fine. He would have been with them right now instead of wherever he is.

It was his fault.

And now Naj was probably being tortured or something.

Zahard remembers the look in his eyes.

Even when in danger, Naj was trying to comfort him.

He felt his hands start to tremble, and he clenched them.

This was worse than the outside.

On the outside, he didn't have any hope. He knew that he couldn't save any of the chosen.

But with Naj, it was different. He could have saved him, or at least given him enough time to break free and attack.

But he didn't.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He looked up and saw V.

"Naj is stronger than us. I am sure he is fine and just waiting to meet up with us," V said with a weak smile.

"It's true. It's sort of suspicious that Naj got kidnapped that easily. This is probably something he planned," Eduan said, tilting his head in consideration.

Zahard scoffed, "Naj may be strong, but he isn't unkillable. And just because he is stronger than us doesn't mean he is the strongest out there. Hell, he even got taken by some God before."

He hated that they thought that Naj was indestructible.

He felt like they were somehow dehumanizing him, even though they didn't mean it like that.

Plus, he had seen how they asked for favors, but the moment he talked about his training, they would get scared of him.

And Naj?? He would get this sad and tired. As if he was used to it.

Plus, he felt they were jinxing Naj, and he hated that.

"We shouldn't even be arguing about this," Yurin groaned in annoyance, stomping her foot, "Stop squabbling about whether this was unintentional! We need to focus on the facts! Naj was kidnapped by the Guerra Tribe. We need to get him back. It doesn't matter if Naj planned this!"

Hana nodded, "Yurin is right. We need to focus on getting Naj back before anyone tries anything."

Zahard looked, seeing everyone quiet.

"We are going to have to talk to the old man," he said quietly.

"He was always called Naj over, and he lived here longer. He should know something."

Eduan glanced at Icarus. She seemed to be uncomfortable, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

"Or we could ask our dear teacher over here. She probably also knows a lot, considering that she is always with the Elder," he said, smirking when Icarus tensed up.

However, she stood confident, raising her chin a bit, "The Elder of the village would never sell out Naj if that is what you are wondering. He is too much of a good person for that."

Eduan just smiled, "Funny you say that since none of us even asked or said anything about that. We were just going to ask him what he knew about the Guerra tribe."

Icarus glared at him, "But you implied it."

"I implied that I knew that you were training us, but it was not something you did because you were some kind person. And the Elder isn't either. You were trying to get closer to us for whatever reason and then reporting it back to your Elder, "Eduan said coldly.

The others froze, and Zahard just glared at the girl.

From the start, he knew something weird was going on, which is why he failed, whenever she taught.

Sure, Naj's training was brutal, but at least he didn't have to spend too much time with a liar.

"Enough of this! We need to focus on saving Naj! Just tell us what you know about the Guerra tribe and if you know where they are," Hana exclaimed, exasperated.

Icarus sighed before beginning, "The Guerra tribe are fighting fanatics. Most of their rules and traditions involve training and fighting. I know where to find them, but it is a long journey.  Especially since we need to avoid detecting and retrieving someone they are probably guarding with their lives."

She hesitated before continuing, "To be honest, if you plan to win, we will need make sure that Naj can fight. None of you guys are ready to fight them at all. No offense. And I can help you find them. They normally don't move, unlike my village."

Tperie sighed, "Well, you and Naj have done your best. And Naj already gave us equipment. So, let's get this started and save our friend."

With that, the others cheered and sat around Tperie.

Icarus grabbed a random stick and started to draw shapes.

"This is where we are," she said, pointing to a drawing of a house, before moving her stick to another house with an angry face. And this is where the other Tribe is. It would take us two days to arrive, at the very least."

"Naj already made the positions clear, but now we just need to worry about formation," she informed them.

And now Tperie took over.

He drew more shapes and gave them names.

Soon, the plan to help Naj began.

Waking up in a random place wasn't anything new to Naj.

When he was Bam, he would train until he fainted, and someone dragged him to bed.

There were times when he would be so sleep-deprived that he would pass out, and they sometimes left him there, moving him into a more comfortable position.

When Khun… died, this became a new norm. He would fight until he didn't know what was happening or who he was fighting. He was barely conscious enough to know who his ally was.

And afterward, he would pass out when his body deemed it was safe. Only to wake up and continue the cycle.

After losing everyone, he would wander around.

Fighting and completing the quest, sometimes passing out in the middle and not knowing how he got there.

So, waking up and finding himself in a room that was not his own wasn't alarming.

Well, the most alarming thing was waking up in a room that wasn't his room.

Then the memories came back, and so did his annoyance.

Hopefully, the others did not freak out about this.

He also noticed his hands and legs tied up, so he rolled his eyes.

Honestly, that was lazy.

His old kidnappers were a lot more creative, like making sure he couldn't use shinsu and draining his energy. Or threatening his loved ones so he would stay.

But just using rope? Super lazy.

The only credit Naj could give them was that the rope was super tight and well done.

Seriously, his hands were slightly red because of the rope burn, and he barely moved. He was sure that he was slowly losing circulation in his hands.

3 out of 10, please do better next time.

Or here's a thought. Just leave him alone and not kidnap him.

Naj liked his second idea better.

Suddenly, a presence started to get close to the room.

Naj tensed, feeling the familiar presence closer before relaxing and closing his eyes.

He wasn't expecting to meet him right now.

The person marched inside before sitting down elegantly in the chair.

"Hello, my name is Luslec," the young boy said coolly, "We need to chat."

Chapter Text

Naj had to admit, meeting young Luslec was… weird.

Luslec was that weird uncle/sibling.

He had tried to help him, but there wasn’t much that he could do.

He couldn’t show favoritism because that might get the other FUG members to hate on Bam and then it would create a whole mess.

But simultaneously, Bam knew that the man cared for him. So… it created a relationship like an uncle who barely visited and was a little weird.

But then the uncle was also raised by his parents and gave small cryptic stories out of nowhere.

The dude even named him after his parents before Bam realized he didn’t just magically spawn in the cave. (Which was a roller coaster of emotions he didn’t even want to get into).

Yet this kid? He was nothing like the Luslec that he knew.

For one, he wasn’t dressed as if he just got out of bed. Or as if he wanted to upstage some peacock.

In other words, he was dressed formally. He also seemed tired. There was no reason why a kid should have eye bags deep enough to store things.

Secondly, Naj and the kid had been having a silent staring contest and this was the quietest Naj had ever seen him.

“I’m Naj. Can I know why I am here?”

Luslec raised an eyebrow at that before scoffing.

“It would have been shameful to kidnap your weaker teammates,” Luslec said arrogantly.

Naj sighed, “Well, what do you need? It would have been better if you just came up to us. To talk. The kidnapping was unnecessary. Like, ropes? Really? It’s like you’re trying to insult me,” Naj complained before breaking the rope without even flinching.

Luslec shrugged, “To return the favor. You knew that we were there, yet you ignored us.”

Fair enough.

“We need to talk to the other village’s leader,” Luslec said scowling, his eyes darkening.

It was sort of weird seeing that angry look from a little kid.

It sort of reminded him of Annak. He misses her.

Naj gave him a bored look, “Well why should I? I have nothing to gain if you meet him or not?”

Luslec just stared at him.

“You have nothing to gain if you help us,” he countered.

“I’ll lose the respect I have from my companions,” Naj said.

Luslec frowns at that.

Once again, Naj noticed that the poor kid seemed worn out.

Naj was almost sure that the brat would pass out if he closed his eyes longer than a blink.

He sighed, “Why don’t you try talking it out with the old man?”

“Don’t you think we try that?! That damn coward just keeps on hiding from me,” Luslec snapped.

Naj frowned at that. Interesting.

“How about a duel?” Luslec suddenly said. Naj raises an eyebrow at that. “If I win, you just take us to the village. If you win, we can wait until your friends come and then I can compromise with the old fool instead of killing him.”

Naj mulled it over before nodding.

“Great! We can do that tomorrow. For now, follow me,” Luslec said before getting up and opening the door.

Naj followed him cautiously.

He had been kept in some barn.

Outside was filled with people. It seemed as if everyone was busy.

No one really paid attention to the little kid leading him around.

Some people glanced at him before resuming their task.

Weird. This was weird.

“You look really weak, that’s why they are surprised to see you, “Luslec stated before stopping in front of a hotel-like place.

“This is where you will be staying for now. I’ll come to fetch you tomorrow for the duel around the afternoon so be ready,” The child said as they walked in, the man behind the counter heard this and got Naj a key.

What even was happening? Just like that?

“What? So, I get a room just like that? What if I try running away? And they just give me a free room like that?”

Luslec looked surprised, “Well, we can’t really keep you in that barn. Of would be a disgrace if you lost just because you weren’t in your best condition. And you can’t run away. People would notice then your friends would be in trouble.”

“So, I’m getting a free room because I need to be in peak conditions to fight you?”

Luslec shrugged, “Pretty much. Plus, they need to listen to me. I am the leader of this village.”

Naj stared at him in disbelief.

“What.”

Luslec sighed sounding annoyed, “My name is Luslec, and I am the leader of the Guerra tribe.”

WHAT IN THE EV-

Traveling was so different now, without Naj.

Before there was silence but it was bearable.

Before the only sound would be Zahard talking to Naj and Naj’s short responses.

 But then slowly the others opened up and it would be filled with chatter and laughter.

Now Zahard was quiet, and no one bothered to talk.

Even Arlene was quiet.

On the third day, Yurin broke the silence.

“So, are we going to address the elephant in the room or not? Because if I have to deal with the pure quiet, then I am going to lose my mind,” Yurin exclaimed.

“Which one? The one where the villagers were trying to keep Naj, the one where Tinman here was supposed to replace him or that Naj got kidnapped,” Zahard spit out, glaring at Icarus.

To Icarus’ credit, she didn’t even flinch at the insults.

“You can’t be lashing out right now. We need to be a united front for when we fight,” Arlene gently scolded Zahard, grabbing his arm.

But Hana noticed that even she didn’t try to defend Icarus.

There was a bit of silence before Eduan broke it, “I wonder what Naj is doing. There is no way that that guy is just sitting down and being held hostage.”

V snorted at that, “He is probably fighting someone right now. I can’t decide if it’s a verbal or physical fight though.”

There was a bit of laughter at that.

“Honestly, I think that he is somehow winning the hearts of the people there. He is probably going to be in some grand room, and we are going to have to kidnap him back,” Arlene said, “He somehow won over the other villagers, and he was the strongest one of us.”

They all didn’t know that they were all right in their own way.

And that they weren’t going to kidnap Naj but a different person.

Naj spends most of the second day silently dying inside.

Luslec never told him he was the chief of his own village.

At a very young age. Like seriously, he should not be leading a military-like tribe at his age.

But then he remembers a small memory.

“Why did you care for my parents so much?”

Luslec didn’t seem to be surprised at the question.

It was one of the few dull moments in the war and the others were resting.

However, Bam couldn’t really sleep. Plague with the thoughts of his parents.

“Well, they cared for me. Showed me a whole new world, different from the ones that I lived before. Terribly boring. Being a warlord isn’t very fun,” Luslec said.

He seemed to mull something over before he continued, “They would have loved you. Hated that you were forced down this path,” he said softly and with a small hint of regret.

Bam shifted uncomfortably at that, they never really talked about his parents too much, a small uncomfortable topic. Adding emotions to it? No, thank you.

“Is that the reason why you decided to climb with them?”

Luslec looked surprised at that before bursting into laughter.

“Oh no. They kidnapped me,” he said joyfully.

Bam stared, “What?”

“Yeah, they kidnapped me! One moment I am leading this tribe and the next, I am on the third floor and helping them pass the next test,” Luslec explained.

“Is that why you thought it was okay to fake my death and kidnap me on the second floor?”

Bam was horrified at that point because what?????

Luslec tilted his head, “It wasn’t, okay?”

“I was traumatized, Luslec,” Bam said deadpanned.

Luslec laughed, “Oh well. Karma sure is a bitch, huh?”

“I DIDN’T EVEN DO ANYTHING!”

…. Okay.

Time to be positive. Naj could now somehow change the narrative.

He would not kidnap young Luslec and would teach him that kidnapping was bad and shouldn’t be done.

It was okay, he could lie his way through this.

Naj was ready for this challenge.

Well, he was until he saw Luslec. The poor boy didn’t seem to have slept at all and seemed worse than before.

Naj stared at him, deeply concerned.

Was this some sort of test? See if he was somehow as honorable as the Guerra Tribe.

And fighting Luslec would fail him?

“Are you sure that you are okay to fight?”

Luslec looked bewildered at the question, “Of course I am. No need to worry about me.”

Naj crossed his arms and sighed, annoyed, “Well I am not fighting you. It would be wrong of me to fight you while I am well rested, and you are clearly not.”

Luslec seemed about to argue before pausing and nodding, “Well you are right about that. I am capable of fighting you, but it would be dishonorable to not be in the same fighting conditions as your opponent.”

Naj nodded, relieved that the younger boy accepted that.

“Very well, we shall fight tomorrow at the same time?”

Naj nodded, “Sounds great to me.”

And they both left but not before the crowd booed at them.

And that was supposed to be the end of that.

Naj was allowed to explore the village and Luslec left.

But while he was walking around, he came across Luslec who was walking around, barely awake and being surrounded by older people.

The poor kid looked as if he would fall asleep any second with the way his head was bopping as he walked.

And Naj felt something inside him break.

He quickly walked over and smiled at the people.

“Ah, hello! I came over to see how Luslec was feeling for the fight tomorrow. So, he needs to rest…. To be able to fight,” Naj said and looked at how the purple-haired boy squinted to look at him.

One of the men scoffed, “Our leader doesn’t need such a thing to beat you. He wouldn’t be a leader if he did.”

At that, Luslec tense before standing up straighter and looking more alert.

Naj stared at the man, “So you are saying that he should not be in the same condition as I am? Maybe we should fight if you are making those claims.”

Before the guy could say anything, Luslec cleared his throat, “Naj is right. It would be wrong not to show him respect. I will retire tonight and finish everything later.”

With that, Luslec started to walk, the others finally leaving him alone.

“You look busy,” Naj commented before lazily following Luslec.

Luslec glanced at him before shrugging, “Making sure a village is stable isn’t easy. Especially after a war.”

Naj perked up at that, “There was a war?”

Luslec stopped, “The other place didn’t tell you?”

Naj shook his head, “Nope. I could tell there was some fighting, but I didn’t know there was a war.”

The kid scoffed at that, “Figures. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to tell you, “He said before continuing, “So the other tribe and we were on good terms before. When my father was the leader. Then we were attacked.”

Luslec shrugged, “Why? We don’t know why. Maybe they thought it would be an easy fight. It was mostly so. One day, we received a SOS from another tribe. We quickly responded and went to help.” Luslec's face darkened, “That battle, we lost more men than in any other fight. And when we asked for help later? Not a single response. We had to finish the war by ourselves.”

“We lost a lot of men. And when we try to confront the others? They ran and hid. And then they developed that thing to help them hide. Which means one of two things,” Luslec said holding two fingers, “One they developed it during the war and chose not to share it with us. Or two they developed it after. Which meant that they could have developed it during the war and chose not to.”

Naj stayed silent, not sure what to say. There were a few things that were slightly wrong with his logic, but he knew that feeling too well.

“Were you the leader during the war?”

Luslec shrugged, “No, my father was but then he died during one of the battles. And since I was his only kid, the position was passed to me, “He smiled then and it wasn’t very pretty, “Others tried to take it but.... they were weaker than me.”

“Huh, good for you,” Naj stated.

They kept on walking before Naj remembered.

“Oh, right! I had something I needed to tell you, “He said suddenly.

Luslec tilted his head to show he was listening.

“You mustn’t kidnap people,” Naj somewhat said.

Luslec stop walking, no longer looking sleepy, just flabbergasted.

“What??”

“Kidnapping people isn’t honorable at all. It’s admitting that you are weaker and using underhanded tactics,” Naj explained, “I have been kidnapped and those people were not honorable at all.”

Luslec kept walking and mulled over his words, “Well you are right. Okay.”

And just like that, he solved Bam’s many problems.

Hopefully.

“We can’t kidnap him,” Luslec stated, sitting back and sipping his wine.

Yu Han Sung simply stared, “What? Why?”

“It’s not honorable,” Luslec explained as he stared at his cup.

“Sir, we are a crime organization.”

Luslec sighed, “We cannot set a bad example for him. I don’t care what you do, find another way to bring him here without kidnapping him.”

And then he hangs up on Yu Han Sung.

The coffee addict stared at the phone, wanting to pull his hair out.

After that conversation, they arrived at Luslec’s house. It wasn’t different from any other house except that it was slightly less taken care of.

Luslec didn’t seem to notice, he just said goodbye before walking inside.

Naj stared at the house a little more before walking to where he was staying.

So, he would need to find a way to get Luslec to go with him. Kidnapping was out of the question since it would contradict what he just said.  

On the third day, the fight finally happened.

It was anticlimactic.

“So, any rules?” Naj asked, slightly concerned over the kid.

He no longer looked as if he would fall asleep but still.

Was he eating right?

Luslec thought about it before answering, “No killing. You win if your opponent is unconscious or can not get up…and no help from outsiders. Do you need anything specific?”

Naj thought about it for a minute.

“No shinsu?”

Naj wasn’t used to fighting with it and not harming them extremely badly.

And Naj didn’t want to kill the poor kid.

Luslec nodded and that was that.

Luslec picked out a rock, “The moment that this touches the ground, the fight starts.”

Naj nodded and Luslec tossed the rock up.

The moment that the rock hit the ground, Luslec rushed towards him.

He was fast, Naj noticed.

If he was any other regular, he might not even see him.

But Naj was faster.

Naj quickly moved out of the way and kicked him.

Luslec barely dodged and tried to strike him but Naj dodged and hit him.

Luslec fell but he then quickly got up and tried to kick him in his legs, but Naj moved and kicked him.

Once again, Luslec didn’t dodge, and he went flying.

Luslec slowly got up and Naj frowned. The poor kid was bleeding.

Maybe he should end this now?

With that thought, he waited until Luslec attacked again before dodging again hitting him on the head, and quickly knocking the boy out.

There was dead silence.

No one talked or even tried to help the kid.

After a minute of waiting for someone to retrieve the boy, Naj sighed and picked him up.

As he walked away, others made space and didn’t even bother to stop or help him as he walked towards Luslec’s house.

When he got in, he noticed that the place was dusty.

As if no one had cleaned it for a while.

Naj frowned as he noticed a bunch of documents on the kitchen table and over the living room.

After looking for the bedroom for a bit, he finally found it and wasn’t amused.

More papers.

He threw the papers that were on the bed, into the floor and laid down Luslec.

And then he stood there awkwardly because he didn’t know what to even do.

Leave?

He then noticed all the papers and the weird feeling hit him again.

He carefully picked them up and set them on the desk and before he knew it, he began to clean the house.

After half an hour, Luslec began to awake.

Naj was in the kitchen, cooking with the little ingredients he found. Seriously, this place looked barely lived in.

Luslec stumbled into the kitchen but stopped when he saw Naj.

“You’re still here? Why are you still here?”

Naj shrugged, “Didn’t want to leave you in the street.”

Luslec frowned when Naj didn’t answer his question but didn’t bring it up.

Naj just gestured to him to sit down, “The food is almost ready. I’m making some soup.”

Luslec looked confused but didn’t argue, sitting down and watching Naj do the last details.

“Do you want to be the leader?”

Naj choked at that. He turned to look at Luslec surprise, “No? Why would you ask that?”

Luslec shrugged, “Usually when the leader is defeated, they must step down and be the strongest leader. Or the leader grants them a wish.”

Naj nodded, “Well, I don’t want to be the leader.”

Luslec sighed, “Thought so but I had to be sure.”

Silence reigned in again and Naj served the plates.

They ate in silence before Naj spoke up, “My companions… when should we meet them?”

Luslec stopped eating, “Well they are close right now. We can wait for them to arrive, or we can meet them halfway to talk to the elder right away. Your choice.”

At Naj’s raised eyebrow, Luslec grinned, “We have someone trailing them, it will take them at least two more days before they arrive.”

Naj thought about it.

“We can meet them tomorrow.”

Luslec nodded and they both continued to eat.

Naj spent the whole day helping Luslec out.

And even if Luslec wouldn’t admit it, they had gotten closer.

The next day, Naj made sure to pack some food before Luslec and he started to head towards the group.

Once again, it was a peaceful silence.

That was until Zahard spotted them.

“Naj!!”

The shout was the only warning that Naj got before he was tackled by a yellow flash.

They almost fell but Naj managed to steady himself.

“Hey there,” Naj greeted before slightly putting some distance between the two.

“Are you okay? You aren’t hurt, are you?”

Zahard fretted, looking him over.

Naj shook his head, “No, I’m fine.”

With that, he turned to Luslec who was watching everyone, unamused.

“This is Luslec. He is the leader of the Guerra tribe.”

There was a bit of peaceful silence before the world became noisy again.

“Why is a child the leader?!”

“Was he the one that kidnapped you?!”

“Why is he even here?!”

“Are you taking him to my home?!”

“Is no one else shocked that the leader is a child??? He looks as if he still has baby teeth?!”

Now Naj looked at them unamused.

After a while the others quieted down, “He agreed to talk with the Elder and not fight right away. So, we need to go back,” Naj explained.

“We can’t take him back to the village. Who knows what he will do to the Elder and the villagers!” Icarus protest.

Luslec sneered at her, “If my main mission was to hurt your people, you wouldn’t be standing here right now.”

Icarus glared, “This is what I mean.”

Naj sighed, “He’s not going to hurt the villagers. He will keep his word.”

Luslec huffed but nodded.

“Why do you hate the villagers so bad?”

At Arlene’s question, Luslec glowered, “They are a bunch of backstabbing no good people.”

Icarus stepped up, “Don’t you dare insult my people like that!”

“Then they shouldn’t be so easy to insult!”

Icarus grumbled, “Either way, I won’t allow you to go to the village. Not while you have someone who hates us too much.”

Naj sighed before looking at Traumerei.

“How about a bet?”

The others looked at him, confused.

“Whoever gets the village wins,” Naj said simply.

Icarus glared, “Why would I play?”

Naj looked at her, “Because this is the only way you even get to warn your people. Luslec here wouldn’t mind killing you and I wouldn’t stop him either.”

Icarus stared at him stunned.

No one talked for a solid minute.

It was Luslec who broke the silence, “What’s the bet.”

“We camp together tonight. Then in the morning, whoever gets to the village first wins, “Naj explained before pointing to his companions, “We have to arrive together before you arrive.”

Icarus seemed to be thinking it over.

She probably thought that Naj was overestimating his group’s skills.

However, it was much simpler than that.

He glanced at Traumerei, it was meant to make her think that she had a chance of winning and giving her a small chance of winning.

At least his trauma with Traumerei was worth it.

After a while, Icarus nodded. “Deal.”

Naj nodded, “So truce for today.”

Arlene clapped her hands to bring the attention to her, “Great! So, let’s unpack and rest for tonight so that we can be ready.”

The others quickly agreed and it was sort of peaceful. There was an obvious tension but Naj ignored it.

“So Naj,” Zahard started with a grin, “What did you do in the other place. And how did you get free?”

Naj shrugged, “Nothing really. Just fought Luslec and then we came to find you.”

Zahard stared at him stunned, “You fought a child?”

Naj gave him a look, “It was either that or the child would go and kill all the villagers. Not a hard choice.”

Zahard looked stunned at that, “Luslec is the most murderous person and old Betty would kill anyone who insulted her ugly dog.”

Naj gave him a weird look, but Zahard waved him off, “Don’t ask.”

And Naj didn’t because he knew better.

It was around early morning that Naj woke everyone up. But even then, Icarus was gone.

“There is no way that we can beat her now!”

Naj ignored Zahard and looked at the others, “We are going to have to use the disk.”

That shut him up and everyone looked at him sick.

“It’s the only way to beat her, “Naj explained.

Eduan’s eyes lit up, “So that was your plan this whole time?”

He laughed when Naj nodded and then bulldozed through everyone’s complaints.

“Do you guys really want to lose to her?”

Everyone got quiet after Eduan asked that question and Naj stared at them.

He wasn’t expecting them all to hate Icarus this much.

Zahard sighed, “Well, let’s do it. Ain’t no way I am losing to her.”

And with great reluctance the others agreed.

Naj was nice and made it into a bowl shape so that the others wouldn’t fall.

Luslec, who was watching everyone unimpressed, was the most amused with the ride, laughing while the others looked as if they would throw up.

They arrived late at night.

The village looked different while everyone was inside.

Luslec didn’t seem to care, walking quickly towards the Elder’s house.

Upon arriving, he entered as if he owned the place. The others entered awkwardly.

When they found Luslec, he was staring at the Elder who just woke up.

“Hello Arthur,” He greeted with a sunny grin, “We have a lot to talk about.”

Chapter Text

Eduan slightly cringed as the kid and old man had a stare-down.

Urgh reminded him of those awkward family dinners where the kids defied the elders because of some of their opinions.

Eduan gets it. The Elders are clearly wrong, but they are also about to die at any second, and Eduan wants to eat his food without someone storming off.

It's great entertainment, but it gets repetitive.            

Anyways!

It was quiet, no one daring to say anything.

"Ah, this sure is a reunion. Please tell us how you guys know each other.

It was Naj that broke the silence.

See, this is why Eduan misses Naj! He was sassy while wearing a blank expression—what a riot.

The old man looked away face.

"Luslec is… is my grandson. He was the result of a union to bring peace to both tribes."

Someone gasped, probably Arlene. Or maybe Arie. He liked messy dramas.

"Not that it lasted long," Luslec muttered as he sat back and glared, "Father died at the battle, and Mother died of a broken heart. Which you could have prevented… and you didn't."

Lords, this was messy. Eduan glanced and noticed the horrified and pitiful looks that most sent the young boy.

It was weird. This was like… a regular heated discussion for the holidays.

"You only care about your money."

"You say you care about Ama, but let this bastard stay here."

"Mari left because you tried to marry her off to an old man…. blah blah blah."

"Blah blah blah, you, something or whatever, are cheating just like your sperm donor, something."

Eduan was more surprised that he still had to see this drama after leaving the Khun's manor.

They had somewhat 'normal' childhoods then, he concluded, loving parents and all that.

He glanced at Zahard and Naj.

…Except those two. There was something slightly wrong with those two.

 He tuned back into the conversation and saw the kid standing up.

"I demand compensation. My tribe is ruined because of your cowardliness," The child declared.

The old man sighed, "I can't do that. Hatred burns in your heart, and you are surrounded by greed and jealousy. How can I know that your tribe will not attack mine later?"

Luslec scoffed, "We keep our word. And do not insult my people when yours uses people while still treating them like enemies. You were trying to use Naj. Treating him like family while thinking of how useful he is."

Eduan glanced at Naj to see he looked surprised but wary to be brought up. Zahard and the others looked more upset about what the civilians planned to do than he was.

Luslec glared harder, "I won't repeat it, Arthur. Apologize and compensate, or else you will pay."

The old man sighed, "And I will repeat this. I cannot do that. So it seems that we are at a standstill."

Eduan squinted at him because what?

He could help.

Eduan thought about it.

The old man was right. It would be stupid to help, knowing that the other tribe would still be mad and might attack later. And he seemed to know a bit about who the kid surrounded himself with.  So, it would be a dumb idea to help and lose resources when the others attacked. If they did, which is a high possibility

However, he still has impressive technology at his disposal. The way they made themselves invisible was incredible, and Naj might be the only one who could look past it.

If they were able to keep the secret to that or how to break it, they should be okay.

So there had to be something else.

On why the Elder didn't want to help.

He looked at Luslec's enraged face.

Oh…

The poor fool was still mad.

He lost his daughter to some tribe. He thought he was entitled to their help because they took something from him, and he didn't want to lose more to them.

Not his resources, not his time, and not his tribe.

Probably.

Eduan suddenly hated him.

Suddenly, a loud clap broke the tense silence.

"How about a game? To break the difference between you two?"

Naj's voice rang out.

He looked bored and irritated.

"Why should we play when I can kill this fool right now?"

Luslec asked as he pulled out his knife from who knows where.

"I don't feel comfortable leaving this place while there is a war to break out, "Naj said before handing Zahard something.

The owl statue.

The one they were supposed to put back.

Naj looked at Luslec with a sad look. It wasn't full of pity but of sympathy.

"He was telling the truth. Your advisors are snakes, who are waiting for your downfall. They are running you down and not helping when they should. And you know this too, Luslec. It's time to wake up. The state of your tribe can be blamed on Arthur, but the reason why you cannot recover is on the advisors, "Naj stated before glaring at the old geezer, "I can leave right now and let this village be ruined, but my companions are kind people who wouldn't want that. This game can let the both of you lose with a good reason."

Luslec teared up at Naj's speech before nodding slowly. The old man gave him a sad look and almost seemed to try to comfort him, but Arelene beat him to it. She wrapped her arms around the boy, and he broke down.

He started to wail as if letting out all his sadness and stress.

No one said anything, letting the child cry.

After calming down, Luslec nodded slowly, embarrassed.

"I accept the game, "He said before scowling at the old man, "And you better too, or else your village is ruined."

The old man sighed before also nodding.

While Naj didn't smile, there seemed to be amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Let's go outside to play then."

"The game is simple. There are two parts to it, and they decide different parts of what Luslec is asking. The first one is simple. A simple game of chess. If Luslec wins this, then you have to compensate his people. If not, you are free," Naj said before looking amused, "The next is also simple. A simple game of kicking the ball, if you lose this then….will you have to do an apology in Guerra's style."

"How is that any different from a normal apology?"

Yurin asked, slightly tilting her head.

Luslec glanced at her.

"It depends on your action. He caused many of my people to die, so he has to die now, "He said simply.

The others stayed quiet, and Naj understood. They didn't exactly like him, but they didn't want him to die.

Which was so different from their future self.

He glances at the greenette.

Some were willing to kill to force others into their family or because they saw others as annoying bugs.

He looked at Zahard, or because they were the baby of a couple that betrayed them.

But killing someone that caused other people to die?

That was too far.

… Bam was almost offended, but Naj got it.

They weren't strong enough to lose their humanity.

Naj almost envied them. They were still not considered gods. They still had a lot of empathy.

Naj had to cling to the last bits of his humanity, to the memories of what made him.

He knew that he had forgotten a lot of them.

He forgot the name and face of the person who freed him from the cave. He forgot who spent their time teaching him.

He knew they had betrayed him, but he couldn't be bothered to remember the hurt and anger it caused him.

He had forgotten a lot of what happened on the second floor. Of those he met.

And honestly, he had forgotten many of his companions' voices.

Was Endorsi's eyes brown or hazel?

Did Hak have a mole on his face's right or left side?

The only one that he never forgot was Khun, and that was with a lot of effort.

He had two pictures of them both. One of when they just met and some others during their journey. He had lost the other images he had during a fight. He also found a recording of Khun when he made some plans. He had more recordings of the group, but those were lost in his original pocket.

He snaps back to attention and looks at his old enemies.

"We need someone to play the ball game," he told them, "I would do it, but…. That would be an unfair advantage to Luslec."

The others look at each other with unease, except Eduan.

He just mostly looks bored.

"I'll do it," He sighs.

He looks at him, surprised. He wasn't expecting anyone to volunteer.

Naj nodded and was about to turn to the old man, except he saw Luslec.

Who was barely awake, and oh yeah.

Crying sessions take a lot of someone, and he barely slept.

"Ah, someone should also take the chess match," He said blandly and Luslec looked at him sharply.

"I can fight my own battles," He retorts.

Naj gives him a tired look, "You want to fight for the honor of your tribe when you aren't in peak condition?"

That shuts the boy up, and Naj looks around, "Traumerei, can you do it?"

The boy looks at him, surprised, "Why me?"

Naj holds back a weary smile.

"I just think this is something you should do."

Plus, he was the best chess player here. Not that any of the rich-looking ones would like to admit it. Probably… Naj wasn't taking his chances with argument.

Traumerei looked hesitant, but he nodded.

"Ah, that man will try to unnerve you. That's how old people are. They just love guilt-tripping you. Don't let his words mess you up," Naj said and pointed to Eduan. His life depends on it."

Traumerei paused, unnerved, but agreed.

Naj nodded and looked up at everyone, "The game ends when the chess game ends. And that can only end when someone wins or one of the players dies."

There was a pause before Icarus screamed, "What do you mean 'die?!"

Naj raised his eyebrow, "Don't think I didn't know of your dirty tactics. You aren't noble enough to let the old man lose his life of pride. I'm just giving the others the knowledge, too."

Icarus fumed before the old man said, "Enough, Icarus, get in position."

The blonde girl fumed but didn't argue and just went to stand in front of Eduan. Eduan was stretching, his hair in a small ponytail.

The others stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do, and Naj sighed.

"Can someone clean up the table outside? So that they can play comfortably. Ah, Gustang, you will be watching over the game. Make sure that no one is cheating. No foul play from anyone. Yurin, you will need to get comfortable to watch over the other game. Zahard, you will need to watch over Traumerei. In case any flying balls come over. Everyone else, make sure no one disturbs the games," Naj instructed, and the others perk up, happy to have something to do.

"What will you do? And who would stop the game?"

It was Zahard who asked the question. More worried about Naj than anything.

Before Naj could stop himself, he patted the blonde's head.

"I need to return the owl. We have been dragged into this mess for too long, and it is time to leave. It's no longer my issue," Naj said coldly, looking directly at the old man.

The old man didn't even flinch.

"Can I go with you?"

Zahard asked, sounding desperate.

Naj's gaze returns to him, and his gaze softens. "I need you here."

Zahard deflated but nodded, stepping back.

"Mister Naj! It's ready!"

Arlene's voice called out. Naj turned to look at her and saw that the others had already set everything up.

Naj nodded and turned to leave.

"Naj! If you don't come before the match is up, we will go to look for you! So, hurry up," Zahard said, sounding determined.

Naj nodded but was confused.

Why would the boy even say that? Did he think that Naj would abandon them so quickly?

He would, but he wasn't blaming it right now. He did not trust them, and he did not have a chance to teach the kid that there is a different way to make people go with you.

Eduan doesn't say anything as Icarus glares at him.

Outside, he looks bored, but inside? He was regretting everything.  

Why did he agree to this?? He doesn't know.

He knows that Naj looked relieved when he agreed to it. Plus, Zahard was pouting when Eduan got to play.

Seriously, the boy was growing attached to a stranger.

Sure, Eduan thought Naj was okay, but Zahard seemed too attached to a stranger.

Eduan didn't move when Icarus moved, kicking the ball and running.

He was still thinking about Zahard's obsession with Naj.

He ignored the other's yelling.

And now there was a kid.

Was Naj going to adopt that brat?

They could barely defend themselves. Well, Naj could protect them.

Plus, the brat was probably stronger than them right now.

Jeez, that's depressing.

Oh… he should probably do something now.

Icarus was a little too close.

Before the girl could blink, Eduan moved and stole the ball from her, kicking it straight to the goal.

"Bastard, stop being so lazy!! You had us worry!! You better stop daydreaming, or else I'll play!"

Eduan rolled his eyes.

See? There he goes, trying to act all tough.

"I got the goal, didn't I?"

Icarus stole the ball from him, but Eduan tripped her lightly, so she faceplanted, and he grabbed the play and started kicking it to his goal.

He felt someone grab his ankle, and he looked down, barely stopping himself from falling.

Icarus was grabbing his ankle with a terrifying smile.

She yanked his ankle, making him fall.

The blonde robot got up quickly before kicking the ball towards her goal.

“… Hey Yurin… Shouldn't you have stopped Eduan? Or Icarus?"

"Hmm? Why would I? Nothing was saying they couldn't play dirty. As long as no one picks up the ball, they are fine," Yurin responded, sounding confused.

Eduan smiled, and it wasn't pretty.

That was why Naj picked her up to look over the game.

Well, this was perfect for him.

The Khuns weren't known for playing clean.

"I know you're here. What do you want?"

Naj asked the moment he stepped out of town. There wasn't an answer, but a crow landed on his shoulder.

Naj grimaced before roughly shaking it off. The bird flew off and started flying a few inches from his head. Naj wanted to swat it away but resisted the urge.

"We aren't that close yet," he rudely said.

The crow just laughed, "So mean, mister time traveler."

Naj glared at him, "You've been watching us all this time. What do you want?"

"I was just amused. You're making them play a game for their life. Isn't that cruel?"

Naj snorted, "Is it? I didn't know. These types of games are common in my time. Even crueler than my game."

The Trickster stayed quiet after that.

It was weird to think that this wasn't common yet.

Playing games to survive was the norm.

Naj was sure that half the people died on the first floor, though he couldn't remember why.

"Your times sure must be interesting," The god said wistfully, and Naj snorted.

"In my times, bloodshed is normal. Even the strongest had gotten bored of it," Naj said.

"How dull," The bird said.

"What do you need?"

Naj said, feeling done with the god already.

The bird stayed quiet for a bit before answering, "It's not good to change the past too much. I don't know what exactly you're doing, but you're already pulling and snapping strings for the things yet to come."

If Naj were someone weaker, he would have felt afraid. The bird started looking wrong. He still looked like a bird, but wrong.

The air was heavy with danger and a wrongness that he couldn't explain.

But he was Naj; he used to be Bam, and because of that, he felt no fear.

So, he just looked at the bird straight into its eyes, "I thought you wanted me to make things interesting?"

The tension left, and the bird cackled, "This is just a warning but not a threat. I am not the one you will have to weary of. Instead, fear time; that will be your biggest enemy. "The bird laughed, "Some of your actions will have consequences that will follow you. You might not notice until you leave. That's all I wanted to tell you. Now have a safe travel, and be sure not to feel too much regret."

The crow flew off, and Naj watched it.

Then he cursed.

Stupid gods and their stupid riddles.

He made his disk and flew towards where the owl belonged.

He would ignore the warning for now.

There hasn't changed much yet, so he was okay.

For now, he had to focus on finishing this stupid game.

Yurin watched, amused, as the game continued.

It wasn't too bad yet.

Blueberry had managed to score nine goals, while the robot had only scored 5.

He was doing surprisingly well for a rich brat.

He was fast, and with his training, he was good.

Lemonhead had to catch the ball 3 times, barely making it in time for Lettuce not to get some head trauma.

All in all, a boring game.

Even Mulberry, who tried his hardest, fell asleep. Poor kid probably needed more sleep.

And then it happened.

"I won."

It was said quietly, Yurin barely being able to hear it.

She whipped her head and saw the finished chess match.

Both the old man and the lettuce head were sweating.

However, kelp head was barely smiling in victory.

They won…. THEY WON.

Yurin stood up, whooping in victory, while the robot fell in despair.

Blueberry also fell, groaning, "Lords above, that was the most exhausting game. Next time, I'll let Zahard do it."

Lemon head sputtered something, but Yurin didn't pay too much attention to the lemon head.

Where was Naj?

He should be here to celebrate with them, at the very least.

She shook her head; he was still probably going to put the statue back.

He couldn't be here in such a short time. Still, it felt wrong for him not to be here. 

She turned to the young kid and gently shook him away.

The boy quickly woke up and grinned when he saw the old man lost.

Tears sprang from his eyes, "They can finally find peace," He muttered before quickly getting up and walking to the old man.

Not before thanking her, though, and asking for Naj.

"He's still gone," Yurin answered truthfully.

Mulberry looked worried, "It's been 3 hours. He should be here by now."

Yurin smiled. "He probably will. We don't know the exact place, so it can be far."

Poor kid nodded, but he still looked worried and sad.

He slowly walked over to the old man.

He was hesitant as if he didn't want to his death.

"NO!"

The robot suddenly stopped him, rushing in front of him and standing before the old man.

"You can't kill him! I won't let you! I'll wake up the whole town if I have to!"

She wasn't crying, but she seemed close.

Could she even cry, Yurin wondered.

"And let them get massacred? Are you really willing to let others die for this one life that is about to expire?"

Naj's voice rang out, and Yurin watched as the kid visually relaxed.

Icarus hesitated, but Naj wasn't looking at her; he was looking at the old man.

It was as if he was asking the old man those questions.

Are you willing to let your people die for you?

The old man didn't hesitate, "Icarus, stand down. I knew the risk when I accepted the games. Don't take away my honor."

The blonde girl flinched before moving away.

Mulberry looked conflicted before walking over.

With the old man sitting down, they were both the same height.

"Does he really need to die?"

It was Chocolate who asked that, looking scared.

V was next to her, not saying anything but also looking conflicted.

"That's for Luslec to decide. It is his revenge, after all," Naj said firmly before looking at Luslec.

Luslec turned to look at him. His lips were trembling, and his eyes were watery.

"I have to kill him. He was the reason my parents died," Mulberry said softly, as if he was trying to explain himself.

Naj gently grabbed his shoulders, "Don't do anything that you will regret. That is all I can tell you. Kill him or don't, but don't let other people influence your decision. Do it if you will truly feel satisfied. However, if you kill him just cause of what others have said, you will regret it."

Mulberry wiped his tears angrily, "I don't understand! I was okay with it a few hours ago! What changed?"

Naj shrugged, "Death is much closer than it was before."

And it was quiet once again, the kid staying by Naj.

No one said anything, but they were all looking at him.

"I don't want to kill him," Mulberry said finally, barely audible.

Naj relaxed, "Then you don't have to."

Mulberry sighed, "My clan will be disappointed."

"Let them be. If you don't regret your decision, that's okay," Naj comforted the boy.

Naj seemed to hesitate before continuing, "Come with us."

Mulberry looked up in shock, "What?!"

Even Lemonhead was shocked, "WHAT?!"

Mulberry spluttered, "What about my clan?"

Naj shrugged, "What about them? They have other people to lead them, and this one will be forced to help them."

"I can't just leave them," Mulberry tried to explain.

It was futile; it seemed as if Naj had already made up his mind.

"Luslec, you aren't sleeping nor eating right. "You are slowly deteriorating, and it seems as if they want to squeeze everything they can of you, "Naj said.

Mulberry seems to be thinking about it for a minute before slowly nodding.

He seemed hesitant, but he still agreed.

And that was enough for Naj.

"Okay, good. We were leaving like now, "Naj said deadpanned and everyone stared at him.

"WHAT?!"

Naj just shrugged, "I put the statue back and some things to protect it. There was no reason to stay here."

"So no one is going to deck him?! Can I do it? He was an annoying old geezer. Just one punch," Lemonhead begged.

Blueberry snickered, "Always thinking of violence."

Lemonhead stared at him and deadpanned, "You cannot talk. You pulled Icarus by the hair about five times. You probably gave her three different bald spots now.

Okay, so mission accomplished.

Naj didn't kidnap Luslec. So, the boy wasn't likely to kidnap in the future.

 They returned the damn statue, and Naj made sure no one was going to get it.

No one.

And Gramps was now sporting a brand-new bruise curtsey of Luslec.

Just because he didn't want to kill the old bastard didn't mean he wouldn't hit him.

Anger wasn't that easy to let go of.

"Naj, I have one more favor to ask of you," the old man said just before they were about to leave.

Literally, the bright was on, and slowly, it lifted them.

They were about to leave in seconds.

Zahard voiced his frustrations, groaning loudly and dramatically, "You couldn't have asked before?! Just take a nap, old man!"

The old man ignored him and continued, "Take Icarus with you."

The robot looked confused and scared, "Elder?"

The old man didn't respond to her, still looking at Naj.

Naj scoffed but nodded, "Only if she also agrees."

The Elder directed his gaze at Icarus, and she wilted before scampering towards the light. It was apparent that she didn't want to go with them but chose to follow what the Elder wanted.

Hopefully, she would soon learn to speak up, or she wouldn't make it far in the tower.

Zahard booed, along with Eduan.

Arlene didn't say anything, but it was clear she was annoyed.

Naj stayed quiet, closing his eyes and squeezing Luslec's hand.

Their mission here was completed. Hopefully, the next floor was less of a soap opera.