Tower of Endless: Death Granted Entry

Ed sat, watching the exchange... knowing well Moon was unaware of his presence, yet he also enjoyed their banter, for he was also interested in Samuel’s research over the years.

Still, he couldn’t help shaking his head. ”I thought the beating was about to start, but these two played me again, back and forth,” he sighed.

”Now, Samuel, tell me, what opportunity does this condition of his offer?” His eyes gleamed softly yet held deep interest.

His thoughts matched those of Moon. ”What opportunity?” he asked the same question.

Samuel didn’t answer immediately; instead... his hand moved, producing a cup of water from thin air.

Moon watched as Samuel held the cup and, with a flick of his finger, it was filled with water to the brim.

”This was the state of your body when it was filled with Echo before the seal,” Samuel said, before a portion, more than half of the water, left the cup.

He compressed it into a small orb that almost looked solid. ”Now, this is your 9 value of Death Echo, sealed and compressed.”

Samuel let the cup float between the two of them. ”What do you think the opportunity is?” he asked Moon, who looked on with widened eyes.

He seemed to have understood something.

”My body has so much room for Echo now?” Moon asked back.

”Precisely,” Samuel answered flatly.

”But what if it comes as a black mess again?” Moon wasn’t optimistic about the theory Samuel had come up with.

”I refuse to believe the Tower would even taint someone with Death Echo. Death Echo was never a natural state and shouldn’t exist in the first place.” Samuel spoke with unwavering certainty.

”But, how did I—”

”Your situation never made any sense entirely, and as a matter of fact, the Tower doesn’t control or recycle Death Echo. Thus, it never held ownership of it... and accordingly, it cannot use it as a reward.” Samuel again calmed Moon’s doubts.

”For long years, I came to a few conclusions about the Tower and the reward system.” Samuel began another wave of clarifications.

”First, the Tower will always fill your Echo to the maximum capacity your body can handle.

”Second, the Tower cannot recycle Death Echo; it’s like an invasive energy that was never traced back to ancient times... or maybe it wasn’t as awful as it is now, or at least, wasn’t part of the rules of the Tower yet.

”Last, your maximum capacity contributes most to the difficulty of the first floor.”

The last line slammed Moon on the head like a hammer. How hard is a 16 Echo value for me to fight thousands when I already had 7 before the trial?

Moon questioned in his heart, but couldn’t voice his concerns.

In the end, it all came down to the abnormal state he found himself in...

He didn’t even know what Unrecorded Entry meant, but considering he might also be the only one, he refused to ask the question.

He looked dazed for a while. Samuel didn’t talk and waited for him to process everything.

”You are saying the Tower believes that everything is meaningless as long as the user has a high Echo capacity?” This was how he understood everything Samuel had said.

”In a way, yes.” Samuel nodded.

”The Tower doesn’t believe in talents, only energy,” Samuel spoke slowly, in a very low voice.

But to Moon, something didn’t add up... something didn’t make sense entirely.

”How are you so strong, then?” Moon asked, remembering his talk with Ed back in the eatery.

He clearly remembered that Ed said Samuel was probably the least talented... or maybe even not talented entirely to begin with.

Moon asked, even though the answer was already flashing in his mind. It was an obvious thing considering everything Samuel spoke of and his certainty.

Before Samuel answered, Moon asked, ”Did you really empty your body of Echo before the trials?”

To Moon, it was something that wouldn’t ever cross his mind. Going through this pain even he couldn’t comprehend... not only that, but operating through this pain and inflicting it on oneself.

Only for a moment, though, before Moon remembered what he, himself, did in the first trial.

How he started treating the entire reversal, the fact that death couldn’t take him, as a game.

How he decided to play with his own life, knowing too well he wouldn’t die for real, and how he just ignored death and became familiar with it after so many reversal cycles and loops.

Moon suddenly found a chuckle escaping his lips.

Pffft~

Hahaha~

Moon laughed loudly all of a sudden, under the unwavering gaze of Samuel.

Up at the top of the audience seats, Ed watched this scene with complicated emotions; even a slight frown was written over his face.

”Samuel, my friend... you’ve been suffering in silence for so many years; before or after disbanding, you kept suffering alone without complaining,” Ed whispered to himself.

”It makes me feel like I’ve become a complainer. You make me feel bad, you edgy asshole.” He shook his head.

”It’s about time the two of you recognise one another; the two of you are of the same kind, cruel and vicious to yourselves.” Ed, even though he anticipated this and even tried to lead them to recognise each other, held a hint of bitterness in his tone.

”You tricked the Tower, scammed it!” Moon pointed his finger at Samuel while laughing. His laughter echoed louder.

Samuel wasn’t bothered, nor did he look annoyed or displeased. Instead, he went on with his teachings. ”My fighting style wasn’t heavily Echo-reliant; I wasn’t handicapped in the slightest,” he explained, before adding, ”For long years I kept looking for a path that was my own; Ed must have told you about how different I was from them.”

Moon nodded while drying the corners of his closed eyes.

When they opened again, the way he looked at Samuel was entirely different.

”Once you learn how to properly operate these seals, there will be more things that could be taken.” Samuel waved his arms, stretching once again.

Moon had a question that he wanted to ask now that he understood Samuel better... The word gruesome he spoke a while ago now held a different weight.

It suddenly started pressing on his mind; if someone like this said it outright, it meant something closer to a disaster, or certain death.

As a matter of fact, a normal person would use this word lightly, but a person like Samuel...

”Wait, wait!” Moon extended his hands. ”You said gruesome, I remember you said this word...”

”Yes.” His voice went low. ”And I meant it in every literal possible meaning the word holds.”

Moon pursed his lips. ’Ah, my life... why is everything trying to kill me, dammit!’ he cursed in his heart.

Samuel wasn’t going to delay any longer; he had finally said everything he needed to... Things may have dragged longer than usual, but it was now finally time for them to properly exchange fist for fist.

So far, each may have recognised the other as one of the same kind, but verbal recognition and the one that comes after crossing arms and bleeding are entirely different.

Ed waved his hand, producing another round of snacks. ”About fucking time.”