212: The 10th Floor (part 1)

The 10th Floor (part 1)

2A few moments ago.

Upon his arrival on the 10th floor, Aito was welcomed by warm sun rays passing through the rose windows of a grand cathedral, much like the one on the 5th floor, but bigger, more magnificent. 

The interior basked in a glorious divine glow like it would in fantasy movies. Polished white marble pillars supported the entire building, probably measuring fifty or so meters tall. 

On the far ceiling was a painting of an enormous map, 3/4th of it covered in wobbling dark matter, seemingly threatening to fall at any given time while never doing so.

The remaining 1/4th of the map, however, depicted multiple cities, valleys, mountain ranges, seas, forests stretching from one end to the other. 

Even at floor level, Aito could distinguish the minute details, attesting to the size of this painting that looked more like a 3D projection than an actual drawing.

The painting wasn't just a simple fixed image, but an animated one.

Surrounded by darkness, Four Great Fortresses stood in defiance of black tides coming from four different directions with the clear intent of swallowing all the gods' creation.

To the Farwest, floating isles hovered over the clouds depicted with such details, Aito could almost feel the wind in which they bath. One majestic structure on the map particularly stood out from the rest, a name shining on top of it. 

Blitz, the Flying Fortress. 

To the Farsouth, myriads of islands populated the vastness of a humongous ocean. The waves depicted on the map crashed against the hull of a tiny ship that appeared to travel nowhere at first until something the size of an island emerged from the abysses. 

Vai, the Sea Fortress. 

To the Fareast, volcanoes rained fire on the lands that appeared barren at first glance, but when one looked closely enough, they would see vegetation thrive in unusual places, in one of those areas, a particularly large volcano covered in ash towered over a sea of magma and desolation.

Brulmar, the Ashen Fortress.

To the Farnorth, frozen lands span over a distance scaled at thousands of kilometers on end. Icy rivers winded through white forests spread across the northern land. In between two mountain ranges forming a natural pass with ever-falling snow was a great castle carved from a snowy peak surrounded by multiple layers of walls.

Englad, the Frozen Fortress.

These were the Four Great Fortresses protecting the mainland, otherwise known as the Cradle of Civilization, from the incessant tides of Fearmongers, of the Corruption. 

It was Iris, the promised new land.

"Oh my…, this is magnificent," Elizabeth declared, gawking at the ceiling like the other challengers. 

"So this is Iris," Ogor said, so amazed he dropped Sam to the floor like he would a potato sack. Too captivated by the map, the baldie barely objected and stared up to admire the craftsmanship.

"What a sight to behold," George smiled warmly, leaning on his club. 

They had all been fighting for their lives until now, with a few goals in mind. Finally, one of them seemed to be within grasp as they gazed upward towards the map.

[The Cradle still stands tall after all.] Valinar commented for only Aito to see, or maybe it was only out of nostalgia. [What a relief. What a relief….]

Aito smiled. It truly seemed like a relief if she was willing to repeat it twice. 

'I thought something dreadful would befall us after entering the 10th floor,' he said mentally. 'However, I sense nothing. Not a soul lives here apart from us. No wait, there is something else... the painting.' 

[It's normal. The map has been infused with souls to give it a life-like feeling and to connect it to Iris. You thought your weapon was the only Soul Item in existence? There exist myriads of them out there. What you've seen in the Tower is barely the tip of the iceberg. Be it in terms of threat or weapons.] 

'Still…, the fact that I sense no enemy in this place makes me anxious. This floor smells Belmand's shit.' 

[... again with your disrespectful insults. *Sigh* The worst part is I'm starting to get used to them.] Valinar declared, seemingly in desperate towards his attitude. Then… something seemed to attract her attention. [Aito, I can feel one of four candle pieces is close by.] 

At those words, he stopped staring at the map and scanned his surroundings. 

Standing at the entrance of this place, he could see ten great pillars supporting the great cathedral. A grand hall, surprisingly filled with a lot of nothing, surrounded them. White plain walls with no decorations framed the building. 

'Weird, compared to the ceiling, the ground-level looks empty,' Aito thought before eyeing the four great statues at the far end of the hall. At their feet were golden plates with their divine names written on it. 

Belmand, God of Sloth. 

Filona, Goddess of Love. 

Brutalina, Goddess of Pain. 

Zalon, God of Wisdom. 

At the center of the Four Gods' statues was another one, a broken one, where another goddess's statue should have been. It had no upper body, only parts of her slender legs remained. The sole indicator of her identity was the name at her feet. 

Valinar, Goddess of Bravery. 

Apart from her statue, Aito had the urge to destroy at least one of the others for some reason, but that urge was suddenly replaced by disbelief when his gaze reached the center of the hall. 

[What is this merchant doing here?] 

There, the marble floor shaped a great circle, diverging from its usual straight pattern, apparently highlighting something that should be displayed there. 

But instead of something, someone stood in the middle. 

"Hello there, black challenger! Been a while!" Roan said, waving amicably with a beaming smile. 

"You!" Aito exclaimed, more in surprise than anything else, striding towards the merchant wearing his usual fedora hat and blue coat. 

"Me!" The red-haired man said, opening his arms wide as if presenting himself to his audience. 

Myriads of questions popped up in Aito's mind as he saw the ginger man's grinning face. The first question being…

"What are you doing here, Roan?" 

"My job, as always," he replied with his signature smirk. 

*Cringe* Although glad to see him, Aito felt the urge to pummel that smirk back where it came from. The merchant had been and still was a weird person. But, if it weren't for him, Aito might not be where he stood today. 

Now that he thought about it, Roan had been a great help. More than what an actual guide should have provided on the 2nd floor. 

He had been the one introducing him to Ainar, informing him about the floors and, particularly about Gwen. Also, his previous words at the ramen restaurant had given him much food for thought, accompanying him on his journey until now. 

'You look afraid to fail, Aito. But failure is a necessary step towards success. Nobody ever accomplished anything great without failing first.' 

Aito had pondered these words many times over, without getting the meaning behind them. He didn't know if they hid a deeper wisdom or were just supposed to be taken as is. 

Moreover, he had already accepted his failures on the island and has done his best to overcome them until now. 

He had the feeling those words were somehow destined for his growth, telling him he was missing something crucial.

[His presence here doesn't make any sense,] Valinar commented. 

True that, but Roan was the kind of person that didn't make any sense in the first place. He was shrouded in mystery from head to toes. 

For instance, Aito hadn't felt and still couldn't feel his soul even with his skill Domain at level 4.

"Well, well, well. So you made it till here. Congratulations are in order," Roan winked. 

Aito wanted to reply when a loud voice echoed in the hall. 

"YOU!" Sheyla strode furiously towards the merchant. 

"Me!" Roan opened his arms against only for his grin to disappear when an arrow dislodged his fedora from his head. 

Gulping, he quickly hid behind the black challenger, using him as some sort of meat shield for a threat soon to come. 

Aito wondered what got to her until he remembered that small incident with the sect triggered by Roan at the time. 

Apparently, Sheyla hadn't forgiven him for that one. 

Also, Aito had noticed that she was particularly on edge since the labyrinth. Perhaps she was unconsciously just doing this to loosen her tension. He didn't think his little previous mischief deserved such treatment. 

After all, the sect would have attacked them, anyway.

"Stop hiding behind Aito, you coward!" Sheyla nocked an arrow, ready to shoot.

"May this humble merchant know what he did to deserve such hatred?" He said, peeking from aside Aito's wide shoulder. 

"Do you even need to ask!? You were the one who jinxed us on the 2nd floor!" 

Aito sighed, "Sheyla, lower your b—" 

At that moment, another loud voice echoed in the hall, a masculine one this time. 

"YOU!" George came striding like an angry colossus. 

"Me!?" Roan asked from behind his hiding place. "I'm sorry but… who might you be, my big fellow?" 

"Don't pretend you don't know me! Where is the inventory pouch you promised me!?" The bulky man said, obviously he wasn't one to forget his due. 

"Aaaah! You're that fellow! Well, as you can see, I have no wares at the moment. BUT, if you are willing to wait just a tad bit, I promise to compensate for your patience!" Roan exclaimed.

"I have a better idea. You let me beat the shit out of you and we'll be even."

Making himself small, Roan whispered, "Psst, black challenger, a little help?"

Aito rolled his eyes. He didn't exactly agree with Sheyla's reason, but George wanting to beat the merchant was legitimate. 

"What do I get in exchange?" 

"Information?" 

*****

"Farwest, Farsouth, Fareast, Farnorth. These are the names of the four regions surrounding the Cradle of Civilization where Central, the Silver City is based. Well, it's more like where pompous people gather, really. A great place to sell wares and swindle the rich into buying overpriced items. Of course, I've never done such a thing." 

Extract from, "Yggdrasil Chronicles, The Woodcutter of Iris," by Roan the Merchant. 

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