He heard it with his ears and saw it with his own eyes, but his head processed it one beat later. No, honestly, Yoon-seok still couldn’t understand.
“You made the Tower…?”
“You heard it right.”
The meeting which he had been looking forward to was taking place at a completely unexpected timing and place. The owner of the mysterious Tower and the being closest to God Yoon-seok had ever seen. This was how he would meet them?
“Please don’t look at me like that. Because I’m not the origin.”
“Origin?”
“Simply put, I’m also a fake made by the Tower.”
Among the reproduced beings he’d met in the Tower, some of them were aware that they were reproduced. So that wasn’t surprising at all…
“…You’re reproduced even though you’re the Tower’s owner? How is that possible?”
“Owner? You might think so if you don’t know what the Tower is.”
Yoon-seok felt somewhat discouraged by the answer. He’d been through so many things while searching for memories of his past life. He might not know much, but no challenger would know as much about the Tower as he did.
“Then what is this Tower?”
Yoon-seok decided to ask simply. It wasn’t that this guy couldn’t lie, but Yoon-seok had a hunch he wouldn’t.
“Before I answer, I want to hear your opinion. What do you think this Tower is?”
“A training center to kill the Queen.”
When Yoon-seok answered without hesitation, the man nodded slowly.
“You’re not wrong, but that needs to be corrected. Rather than calling it a training center… yeah, it is similar to the computers in your world.”
“…Computer?”
“I think I have to tell you about this cemetery to make you understand.”
“…”
“This is a place where souls rest for a while before they go to their new lives.”
In other words, it was the afterlife.
“Then what are you? Who made this place?”
“Well, I also want to know who made it. When I first opened my eyes, I was here, and the only thing in my head was to protect this place.”
The man spread his palms out. Then, a blue bead was pulled out of the tombstone and floated by. Inside the bead, an unknown man’s life unfolded.
“It was an infinite time where any beauty would feel fleeting. We’ve been looking into the memories and knowledge of the souls sleeping.”
“We…?”
“There was one more person here. I’m sure you can guess who.”
“The Queen…”
Yoon-seok muttered the answer. The man nodded.
“She was already here when I opened my eyes. She was the one who taught me how to read memories. I loved those times. But maybe she didn’t, as she wanted to leave.”
“…”
“She wanted a real, one-time life, not looking into the countless lives in here. And she achieved it. One day, she left without saying a word, and I was alone.”
When the man blew air on it, the soul hovering above his palm returned to where it came from.
“The story gets longer, but please bear with me because it’ll be over soon.”
“There’s nothing to bear with. I’ve been waiting for this.”
A time when all his questions were answered. He would wait happily, even if it took hours. However, the man mostly spoke in fragments as if he didn’t want to discuss the future in detail.
“After a long time, she returned. And she said it was right for this place to disappear and tried to destroy everything.”
“It’s right? Why did she say that?”
“I don’t know. How would I know?”
That’s what he said, but the man knew. However, rather than asking why he hid it, Yoon-seok listened silently.
“Anyway, I somehow kicked her out that day, but it was evident that she wouldn’t give up. So, I had to find a way.”
“…”
“That’s why I made a Tower protect this place. No, it’s not right to say that I made it. It was a coincidence that the Tower was built.”
“Coincidence…?”
“There was an opening while I was forcing her out. I connected the souls of the cemetery as if I were building a wall to block the opening.”
As the person who protected this place, messing with the souls who came to rest was forbidden. But he still tapped into them with the thought of protecting this place, and that was the beginning.
“At some point, the walls of the castle became stronger and stronger, sucking in souls from the cemetery. My intention didn’t matter anymore. I just wanted to stop her, but I decided that this Tower would be an enemy to get rid of her.”
In time, the wall became a Tower, and he drew souls in from different dimensions, turned them into soldiers, and used all the knowledge in this world to give them strength. To kill the Queen. Learning like an AI computer, it continued to evolve endlessly through failure.
“In the first match, I learned that I can’t use it properly even if I put a lot of force into it. That’s how the trials were made.”
“But most of them only settle down at some point after gaining so much power.”
“We needed competition. Even better if there was a clear enemy.”
“Challengers who showed potential were also recycled differently.”
“I also realized that it was more efficient to use their desires than to impose obligations upon them. I’m sure you’ve heard somewhere that the Tower will grant your wish.”
“But in the end, there were those who didn’t move as I intended. So the Tower began to hide its purpose. We cleverly arranged trials for challengers to naturally regard the Queen as an enemy.”
As he learned about the nature of this Tower, Yoon-seok felt goosebumps prickling up his arms. He could see why he used the expression computer earlier, but there was still something he couldn’t understand.
“Then, why are you telling me this?”
This wasn’t a story to be told to all the 23rd-floor challengers. Lee Su-yeon had no idea about this. Then, why?
The man immediately answered.
“Because I know what you’re thinking.”
“…?”
“You want to destroy the Tower.”
Not necessarily. In case the Tower was an enemy, he made preparations. While contemplating how to answer, the man asked.
“Have you ever thought about why the Tower gave you such power? To the soul who used to be her hound?’
Had he thought about it? Of course, he had, and he was sure the Tower was not omnipotent. But was that not the case?
“Looks like you didn’t know. The Tower gave you that power despite knowing everything. As long as you achieve your goal of killing her, we decided that what happens next doesn’t matter.”
“…”
“But I don’t want you to destroy the Tower.”
“…?”
“After she dies, the Tower will only serve the purpose of protecting this place. There will be no tragedies or other sorrows by calling in challengers.”
Rather than answering hastily, Yoon-seok turned to look over the vast cemetery. This place where a soul lingered before going to the next life. What would happen if this place disappeared? There would certainly be a major calamity. Well, that was under the assumption that everything this man said was true.
“How can I trust you?”
“Because the Tower was the one who let you reunite with the child.”
“The child?”
“Elizabeth Lorwen. I mean that poor child.”
Yoon-seok’s eyes narrowed at Elle’s name, but the man continued.
“There are no tasks related to the child in this mission. The Tower arranged it to instill hostility toward the Queen.”
Thanks to Elle, he met James, and he implied that Rick was used for the Queen’s scheme. Then he committed suicide before he could ask about anything else. Even Yoon-seok could not stop him. Seeing this, his perception of the Queen worsened. But all of that was planned?
“Why do you think I am going against the Tower’s purpose to tell you this? Because I don’t agree on how the Tower operates. Of course, we need a Tower separate from this… at least I should tell you everything and wait for your response.”
“Does that mean you won’t stop me even if I try to destroy the Tower?”
Instead of answering, the man nodded slowly while staring Yoon-seok straight in the eye.
‘What is this?’
It was the Tower and Queen he had been suspicious about. But no matter the circumstances, he could feel their sincerity in a few words? From a reproduced being?
“Who are you? Are you the Tower itself?”
“What does that mean?”
“What did you do to me?”
“…”
The man just stared at Yoon-seok when they were staring at each other; Elle, who was observing from a distance away, called Yoon-seok.
“Yoon-seok! They’re coming!”
The sky walls were torn asunder, and the army of destruction swarmed in.
“We’d better talk about this later after the situation is sorted out.”
Was he being way too self-conscious in thinking the situation wasn’t entirely coincidental? Maybe, but nothing bad would happen if he were careful. It was better to overreact than to slow down, and since he’d heard enough opinions from the Tower, shouldn’t he listen to Rick or the Queen’s perspective at least once?
‘He said he’d tell me everything, and yet he cleverly hid why the Queen wanted to destroy this place.’
The more he thought about it, the more new questions emerged. But summarizing these questions could only be done after the current situation ended.
‘Anyway, does this mean that guy is over there…?’
Yoon-seok shifted his attention from the man and drew his sword. Whether it was the Queen or the Tower, seeing how they kept trying to persuade him gently, at least one thing was clear. For some reason, the person holding the sword was him.
「Group mission (8/15).」
「The army of destruction broke through the dimension gap and revealed themselves. Help the spirit keeper protect the cemetery until the dimension switch is working again.」
Protect this place until reinforcements arrive. He felt more comfortable because the goal was clear.
‘It’d be comfortable to get rid of both the Tower and the Queen, regardless of the truth…’
Suddenly, he thought of that with a smile. A solution to eliminate the problem because it was difficult. Maybe not Elle or Lee Su-yeon, but at least it was clear that Cheon-ma would praise him for thinking well.
However, Yoon-seok could not do so even if he wanted to.
「As you ascend the Tower, discover the truth between the Tower and the Queen, and choose your side. If you antagonize the wrong party, a terrible disaster may occur.」
「Current information collection rate 85/100.」
「Special challenge Secret of Past Life has started.」
Several messages flashed by.
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