Chapter 366

When the Stars Alight the Sky (IV)

Daniel and Ethan lay on their backs, tearfully staring at the blue skies. Their entire bodies were beaten and bruised, but they still hurt less than what was truly hurt--their egos. They weren’t alone in the ache, however; the soft-spoken, yet incomprehensibly violent twins named Nature and Harmony had been wrecking them for almost an entire day without a break.

While both were quite fine with Cain shredding them without much effort, as they knew the man very well, the twins that came out of nowhere were a different ordeal. In fact, unlike Cain, who still gave them some room to breathe and preserve some pride, the twins... didn’t care.

They didn’t play favorites, they didn’t care for the classes--they beat everyone equally, making it seem as though everyone present was equally pathetic. This included Senna, who was beaten the worst--but mostly because she was always the first to her feet.

“Off your asses,” either Harmony or Nature said. “That’s enough rest.”

“It’s been like 13 seconds!”

“13 seconds too much.”

“Aaaah!!”

Senna gritted her teeth as she found herself on the ground again; no matter what she did, she was defeated within two moves. She--as well as everyone else--used skills, items, tricks, whatever they could think of just to touch the air around the twins, but they all failed--spectacularly. On the other hand, the twins just used their physical bodies and ordinary, wooden sticks they made from the branches of the nearby trees, to wipe the floor with them.

At the same time, there was no effort put into the attacks--just the ordinary swipe was enough to send them flying. There was no Mana expenditure, there was in fact nothing but just classic beatdown. Like they were children trying to fight their unjust parents.

Wiping the blood from her lips, she used Mana to temporarily repair her cracked ribs. Part of the test, supposedly, was that they wouldn’t be allowed to be healed until the twins decided so. No potions, no special foods, and especially no healers. As such, the longer they fought, the worse everyone looked as the injuries slowly began to increase steadily.

Standing up, she groaned in pain as she stumbled forward, holding onto her right side. Grabbing one of the swords from the spatial void, she used it as a cane to stabilize herself forcibly. Looking forward, she saw Jamal being flung backward like a bucket of rotten wood. The man flew uncontrollably for nearly fifty yards, rolling backward in the dirt like a ragdoll with no autonomy.

She was beginning to realize, to see, to understand the gap. Though she was always aware that she was much, much weaker than Cain, she believed that in part had to do with his items and titles. And even if he was a more skilled fighter, it wasn’t by much--especially after he took a nearly decade long break. And yet... she was wrong. She realized she was wrong when Cain fought them. But only now was she beginning to realize how wrong she was.

The twins, as well as that woman who was training the tanks, willingly accompanied Cain--that meant for each inch of gap that existed between the three of them and the rest of the raid party, the gap between them and Cain was likely much larger.

She was helpless. Bitter. Angry. Angry that she let herself believe, that she let it get to her head. Guardian fight after guardian fight, she outperformed the others, slowly creating a gap. The only ones who somewhat managed to keep up were still behind her. She let it get to her head, empower her, turn her arrogant. She was weak. Pathetically weak. This wasn’t a matter of a gap in levels--while others were complaining that they were being bullied by someone of a much higher level, Senna knew--levels had nothing to do.

In fact, she’d realized it immediately, that the twins matched their stats perfectly to the raid’s average. What’s more, they didn’t use a single skill, and didn’t use a single item. Their clothes were ordinary, Earth-made, off-brand garbage, not some high-level armor. Their movements weren’t of some god-gap level skill, but just basic movements that any human body can make.

The difference was... terrifying. What scared her the most that she couldn’t even fathom how such a gap could be created--Cain never showed her this large of a gap. Then again... she’d never seen him truly fight. Not for over a decade now, at least, anyway.

“Alright, we can stop here,” either Nature of Harmony spoke out.

“No, I can still...” Senna called out, but quieted midway through the sentence. She could what? Nothing, she knew. Her body was already on the verge of breaking. Pushing it any further would simply be moronic.

“I knew you lot were sewer-rat weak,” either Harmony or Nature continued, ignoring Senna. “But even with that as a standard... he really spoiled you lot, didn’t he? Letting you dream higher than your talents can afford. None of you here have showed me anything. Anything. You fancy yourself talented? You’re all blind. Do you want to know what talent really is?”

“...”

“Towers fell on our world six years before either of us were born,” either Harmony or Nature continued after the reply that was the silence. “By the time we were five, the gap opened up--and all the experts started claiming that was it. There was no catching up to the stars above. But, just like you, they were talentless hacks who didn’t know any better. We caught up by the time we turned thirteen, easily shooting past our world’s supposed superstars. That Guardian you are nearly dying to? Both of us defeated it solo before we turned twelve.”

“!!!!!!!!!!”

“By the time we were twenty, we were considering challenging the 80th floor’s Guardian.”

“...”

“What grounds do you have to claim yourselves even remotely talented? You are children standing in the shadow of a giant that has too large of a heart to let go.”

“Can I ask a question?” Senna suddenly spoke.

“... what is it?” either Harmony or Nature looked at her dismissively and asked.

“Are you--no, how weaker are you than Cain?” Jamal and those who knew who Cain was immediately looked toward the twins, curious themselves.

“It would be pointless to explain it,” either Nature or Harmony replied. “It would be like asking how weaker is an ant than an elephant. The comparison is null. He’s not competing with us in terms of strength. This training is not for you to catch up to either him or us. You can’t--not in this lifetime, anyway. It’s to see your resolve.”

“... resolve?” Jamal mumbled.

“Some here wish to climb the Tower simply for the wealth and fame,” either Harmony or Nature said. “Nothing wrong with that. Climb away. But, if that is the case, this is their last push. It doesn’t matter, though. Explanations will fall on deaf ears one way or another. In time, you’ll discover who you are yourselves. Everyone, go get healed, rest for a while, and come back at sundown.”

While others dispersed, Senna gritted her teeth and walked up to the twins, her eyes a fiery mirage. She didn’t like it. In fact, she hated it--the twins’ unfiltered belief that they had no business standing by Cain’s side. She didn’t struggle all this while to forever stare at his back from the distance.

“What? You’re a glutton for suffering?” either Harmony or Nature asked with a faint, playful smirk.

“I don’t know if it’s just some basic, shit-ass hazing you’re doing,” Senna said. “Or if you’re being brutally honest. But I’m not gonna stand back and just smell his farts.”

“You’re his kid, right?”

“Yes.”

“He talked about you,” either Nature or Harmony said. “Well, you and his wife and the other kid. Got kind of annoying, to be honest.”

“Kind of? I learned to just shut my brain off once he started rattling off his horseshit.”

“Really? I half-listened since some of the stories were funny. Like the time he caught this one watching porn.”

“Eh? Really? What happened?”

“She swore up and down it wasn’t her. What kids to.”

“... that’s really boring.”

“Yeah, but that’s because you don’t know what porn is. I figured it out.”

“What is it?”

“A recording of people having sex!”

“... goddamn!”

“HEY!!” Senna exploded, her cheeks flare-red. “COULD YOU FUCKI’ NOT?! Also, I can’t believe that shithead is actually telling that story!! Ugh, I’m gonna kill his ass!”

“Why are you here, kid?” either Harmony or Nature asked abrasively. “Is it just to recover a modicum of pride by making bold claims you’ll never live up, or to beg us to help you?”

“What makes you think I’ll never live up to them?” Senna asked.

“Well, mostly because you’re so weak I kind of wanna cry,” either Harmony or Nature replied. “And, what’s worse, you’re so stubbornly set in your ways that you are literally the only one who hasn’t made a single adjustment since the beatdown began.”

“...”

“Everyone else did something--stagger their attacks, try to be loopy, use their skills differently, experiment. You? You just kept at it. Flank from the ‘weak side’ while using it as a distraction to maneuver your weapons to the target’s rear, constantly bombarding the front while trying to push us into the position. Every. Single. Time. The only adjustments you made were to the weapon’s type and their speed. Nothing else. The worst kind of a fighter is the one of stubborn belief that their way is the best. Newsflash--it’s not. It sucks. It sucks so hard you’d think it’s one of those women in porn--”

“Hey! Enough with the porn stuff!” Senna interrupted angrily. “Cain taught me that. Are you insulting him?”

“I pity him,” either Harmony or Nature replied. “That he had to pretend this is some high-end shit that would make you the strongest. Face the bells, little kid: you won’t ever amount to anything. Be lucky that you got to be his kid and retire, live the life of peace and luxury. It should suit you best.”

“... fuck you,” Senna snapped. “Fuck the both of you, you ugly-faced cunts.”

“... yap, definitely his kid,” either Nature or Harmony said.

“I’m done with your training,” Senna said, turning around. However, she suddenly felt her body give way as the pressure of a thousand mountains crashed upon her very soul.

“Just because you project a fiery spirit,” a voice mockingly whispered into her ear. “Doesn’t mean it will do much, you know? Is this all, then? Is this the extent of your childish tantrum?” she hated the mockery in the tone, the words that put her down. Yet, no matter how hard she fought against the pressure, her Mana wouldn’t move. It felt frozen in time and space.

“Why is every weak schmuck’s first instinct to try and use Mana to diffuse their situation?” the voice asked with a cackle of laughter. “Ask yourself this--if your Mana was suddenly taken away from you... could you even kill a tiny lil’ boar? Let alone do much else.”

“...”

“You will never move your Mana, no matter how hard you try,” one of the two crouched in front of her, looking at her with a pitiful gaze. “You know why? Because I, quite literally, own the Mana inside of you. If I wanted, I could order it to start eating you from inside out. You know why? It’s not because I’m higher level than you. It’s not because my class is better than you. It’s not because of any of the things you’re imagining. Hell, it’s something so simple that even a baboon would figure it out, given time.”

“...”

“Here’s your first test, little one,” either Harmony or Nature added, caressing her cheek and wiping it of the coalesced sweat. “Figure out why your Mana won’t obey you in my presence. If you can do it within one day, I’ll extend you an olive branch and properly train you as one would a true prodigy. On the other hand, if you can’t figure it out in a day, I’ll lose the holier-than-thou attitude, shuffle to the rear of the ground, and obediently follow instructions like the dog that you are. Keep in mind that were you not his kid, I would have cut your head and put it on a spike as a message to the others. One day. If you figure it out, come find us. If not, join the others in the rear and stay silent. Bye bye~~”

The pressure lifted suddenly; Senna looked about, realizing that the twins were gone. Her head hurt, her body felt as heavy as lead, her muscles crying out in pain. It was as though she’d suddenly woken up from a hypnosis in which she ran for hundreds of miles without a break, her whole body breaking down. She hated it. The feeling of complete and utter powerlessness. And yet, there was only way out. She knew that it wasn’t just the twins that were testing her--in proxy, it was Cain, too.

Gnashing her teeth, she willed herself to her feet and stumbled away. One day. She had one day. One day to prove her worth.

She made a vow with herself--that if she did not figure it out in a day, she would retire on the spot. She had all the glory and riches she would need from the Tower, after all; the only reason she still struggled was so that she would be able to see new vistas by his side. If that was not a possibility... then there would no longer be reason to struggle. Life of calm, instead, would be a best fit for her, even if she loathed the thought with every fiber of her being.