Worthy's feet dangled helplessly in the air as he was held in the embrace of the woman who just ignored the space between them. Such a strong ability had no business being on the First Floor, and yet it would not be the first time he'd seen something so potent. Nevertheless, this would make the second time he's caught the attention of someone who can freely travel through space uninhibited.
Ahead of them, Taivat and Oro were having an ardent discussion, in which Oro was the one doing most of the talking. Meanwhile, Taivat was nudging his head away from the man's voice that was on the verge of shouting. He kept his voice just hushed enough to not draw attention from the other Climbers filling the streets.
Worthy could hear it too. Oro was complaining about how Taivat would steal every woman in the tower if he kept trying to, in his words, bag so many of them. Taivat, naturally defended himself and pointed out that he'd never once intentionally drawn a woman's attention to himself. He blamed Oro's lack of charismatic charm as the reason why he struggled to find a woman worth hanging out with.
Perhaps if Worthy lacked this charm, he wouldn't be suspended in the woman's grasp helplessly right now. Her head was rubbing against his. The boy was carried like a girl's favorite doll, and he had no means of escaping with his own immature strength. Nobody bothered trying to help him either.
Through her not-so-humble introduction, the woman introduced herself as Asterie. She wasn't from the Devil's Den. In fact, she'd only entered the tower a few weeks ago. Asterie eventually found her way to Middle Town using her outlandish Reward and took a liking to the city.
Beyond that, he knew nothing about the woman. Everything he'd picked up was through her own words that she shared with the group as they walked. Also, because Worthy managed to get her to answer one or two questions while she squeezed his small intestines out of his throat.
"M—Miss Asterie… Please let me go." The boy could barely speak loud enough to be heard, but even his whispers could be heard from this distance.
"No!" Vehemently, the woman denied his freedom. She hadn't seen anything so adorable since she entered the tower. For good reason, actually. The First Floor was a living hell, and the monsters were worse than the vast wasteland of carnage Climbers were made to battle through every day. Worthy didn't have a doubt that the woman would ascend high in the tower, given her Reward. Even if she lacked an aptitude for fighting, she'd certainly make it high with an ability interacting with space itself — however oddly space worked inside the tower.
All of that led to one central problem. Throughout the tower, there was no beauty in sight. The First Floor was a wasteland of gore. The Second Floor was a frozen, apocalyptic Hell. Information about the Third Floor was rather inconsistent, but from what he'd gathered over time while traveling with the group, the Third Floor possessed a harrowing trial that tested one's patience and mind. Monsters there are supposedly not physical, thus the boy assumed they'd be something akin to poltergeists who toyed with the brain until one collapsed.
"This whole world is disgusting. It's creepy, it stinks, and nothing here is even edible, unless you're into cannibalism. It's entirely because of the weird laws of this place that we don't really need to concern ourselves with nutrients. Sure, Prime Settlements have food within them, somehow, but once you leave that's it. You're on your own. I wouldn't dare eat food here, that's how you get a craving. Cravings always lead you to doing stuppid things. Remember, cutie pie. If you're ever alone in the wild, don't eat anything overly delicious, or you'll make yourself more hungry the next day when you can't eat it again. Do you understand me? Hey. Hey! Cutie, why's your face changing colors?!"
The woman's babble paused when she looked down at the child's discolored face. He looked quite strange, didn't he?
'She's… holding me… too… tight! Can't… breathe…!'
Hiel, who'd been lingering behind Taivat and Oro's intense discussion, had noticed Worthy in a pinch and talked Asterie out of hugging him to death. She didn't put him down, instead opting to hold the boy in a bridal carry. Evidently, Asterie obsessed over anything appealing in this disgusting world.
'Y'know… I'm thinking that Ms. Esme might just be a picky eater.'
Talking the woman down wasn't easy. However, Worthy had quickly caught on to what the glimmer in Asterie's eye meant when her eyes captured someone beautiful in their sights. It meant she was enamored by them, viewing them as another beautiful component of the world that reeked of death. Hiel was added to this list of beautiful things, though perhaps not held to the same standard in the hierarchy as Taivat, and now Worthy. That placement granted him the authority to request the boy's freedom, in which Asterie reluctantly agreed.
Asterie's acknowledgement of Hiel might've bolstered his deflated confidence from Esme's rejection. In reality, Hiel was still working to earn the healer's heart. When she'd chided him from remaining so docile in the Devil's Den, he took it to heart and joined War Reaver on his expedition. He didn't know if he'd ever have the woman's love, but as long as there was a chance, he would not stop. Hell, he wouldn't stop even if the woman said he'd never earn her interest.
Esme reignited a motivation the Climber lost. Thus, he would not stop simply at climbing. No, he'd reach the top and have his wish fulfilled. From Worthy's perspective, the man must've thought Esme's affection would be a bonus. Truthfully though, there was no telling how accurate that assessment was. Worthy was a mere child whose assumptions stemmed from a childish and brutal understanding of the world, cultivated from years of fighting for survival in Malas Town.
He did not know how the ordinary person thought. He only knew how a survivor thought. In this place, there was little difference between Climbers and survivors, but that difference was still present. Climbers were ambitious, whereas survivors were hopeless. If you were in a state where you were forced to hang on, then you were a dead man walking. Worthy was like that too, before entering. Now, he was a Climber who chose to strive toward his goal at the end of the long journey.
All of that was to say, it brought Esme's standards to question. Worthy would never need to concern himself with falling into the woman's good fortune, since he was a favorable child that knew what to say, most of the time. Nonetheless, he assumed all the information he gathered in this place would be important at some point in the future.
As the group now walked, something was irking him more than the woman that'd almost crushed his ribs. It was the fact that everyone who was walking around seemed… happy. Perhaps happy was not the word best used to describe it, but their expressions were largely off-putting.
Some people smiled brightly at each other but did not say words. It was strange, but it was not by any means suspicious. Wordless greetings were commonplace where the boy was from, and so he knew that those silent greetings were a means of passing by without coming off as rude or inconsiderate. Common courtesy, the rich would call it.
Behind those nods, there was sometimes a different emotion to be seen. Some people were feeling impassive, others might have been frightened, and a few were perhaps even angry. However, behind the eyes of many of those that passed by, there was nothing. They were not impassive, but simply empty. Blank eyes that looked like they were trying to replicate emotion, and failing.
'I haven't been in the best headspace recently. I could just be overcautious.'
He'd been possessed in his unconscious state recently. Before his possession, his mind had been broken into countless fragments and sewn back together through unclear means. So, he was not a reliable source to seek out if looking to confirm suspicion. Nevertheless, he felt confident that there was something wrong behind the eyes of many of the people he passed.
Maybe he didn't know their names, and maybe they'd never spoken, but it was too off-putting for him to ignore.
'Well… I should keep an eye out. There's a ghost running around taking over people's bodies anyways. I can do that much, at least.'
He did do that much, in fact. The group went to several different locations: a pawnshop that allowed the trading of items for other valuables, a store that sold food created by several Rewards, a theater where actors and actresses were putting on plays in their freetime.
In all these places, he saw the same thing. Hollow eyes that did not reflect light. It was after the group visited their last location did he bring it up:
"I can't be the only person who's noticed. There's something weird about a lot of the folks we've met today, isn't there?" His voice lacked a bit of confidence when he asked. It was subtle, but even he was beginning to doubt it, because nobody seemed to have been paying attention to the people they passed.
"Something weird? I can't say I have, kiddo." Hiel denied noticing anything.
"Sorry, dumpling. I tend not to gawk at hideous things. I wouldn't know." Asterie shrugged her shoulders indifferently.
"Well… I don't know. I thought I'd seen something here and there, but I can't be quick to judge strangers. Everybody here has their own stories, Worthy. You'll figure it out as you grow older." Taivat apparently didn't notice anything either. His explanation was far more sound, since he'd spent a bit of time narrowly avoiding falling into Asterie's tight embrace.
It was not inherently unsettling. Worthy must have truly been on edge after hearing about his own possession. It was not an unreasonable sensation of fear he was feeling. After all, if he could be possessed, other people could be possessed too. He didn't know what was possessing people, or rather anybody else had been possessed in the first place. Hell, if not for the fact that his strength was increased during his fight against Cross, the boy wouldn't have suspected anything at all.
He could've attributed his rampage and boost of strength to a consequence of the Tower altering his body in addition to his mind after attaining forsaken knowledge. That theory was perhaps the next idea he was going to cling to… if not for the final person talking.
"You guys need to pay more attention to your damn surroundings, it sounds like. We've walked past a ton of creepy people. There was that tall, bulwark bastard who nearly bumped into us. The smile on his face was insincere as well. No, in fact, more than half the people we've passed today have been insincere."
It was Oro who spoke up about how strange the people they'd been passing were. Worthy did not know what the man's Reward was, or how it worked, or how long he'd been in possession of it. But, evidently, whatever that Reward was gave him a keen look into not just whether people were telling the truth, but also the ability to determine the sincerity of emotions outright.
"I mean, hell, even you!" Oro's hand rose, and his finger extended out and gave an accusatory point at Asterie.
The woman was dumbfounded, and for what seemed like the first time since they'd grouped together, fully acknowledged Oro and took in his figure. She pointed at herself and asked, seeking clarity, "Me? You pig, what about me? Don't go pointing your oddly large fingers at me with such scrutiny."
Worthy expected a vein to pop out of Oro's head after being insulted. The man kept his composure much better than he'd done the whole time.
Continuing, he elaborated further, "I mean you've been insincere. Earlier, you lied. You said that you don't gawk at ugly things. That was the truth. But you also said you wouldn't know… That was a lie, an outright lie, in fact. You know something about what he's talking about."
Oro spoke with a confidence Worthy didn't know the round man could muster. Hiel and Taivat studied him with complicated emotions. But, soon, Taivat was looking at Asterie with a concerned look on his face. It was like he was pleading for her to explain herself — he trusted Oro's judgement fully.
"...Surely this is just a misunderstanding. I know how your Reward works, Oro. There's no way it's that specific." Hiel attempted to de-escalate the rising tension between them all.
"Hiel, shut the hell up for a second." Oro shut down any attempts at de-escalation. Worthy witnessed in real-time as the emotions on his face changed and became more complicated. The man had always seemed lazy or immature in the past. Worthy knew he was intelligent, and placed his intellect above Taivat's, but even he was surprised by how much the man was uncovering with no answer to be given. All he did was stare into Asterie's eyes.
'...The eyes?' Worthy's heart dropped.
He'd been looking at everyone that passed them, but he'd only gotten a single opportunity to look into the woman's eyes until now. She'd been carrying him around like a doll, not giving him the opportunity to fully analyze her. Before, she had eyes that brimmed with affection, and did not doubt those emotions were true based on Oro's initial response to her appearance.
Beyond that affection of love she felt for everything beautiful, he couldn't put a pin on her feelings at all. It was a mistake of his own creation.
Worthy had assumed the woman was… two-dimensional. If Asterie was just a lunatic that was obsessive over beautiful displays, he'd have had no problem with that. They'd met one another recently, and he had no reason to seek out a deeper understanding of who she was as a person. Admittedly, she didn't give him that opportunity either.
Now, he had an understanding that this was intentional.
As the child looked into her eyes now, creating distance between them, he could see deeper into the void that filled them. The brilliant colors in which love and affection filled were nothing more than a veil, concealing her hollowed out emotions behind them.
Asterie was just as hollow as many of those they'd met today.
Worst of all, the woman did not defend herself. She stood motionless, her golden eyes staring down Oro with unexplainable emotions.
Soon, a familiar but twisted smile spread over her face. It was large, impossibly large. He saw the woman's teeth, which seemed to grow sharper and larger the more her teeth revealed themselves. It was like her face had been torn open, overjoyed by Oro's revelation.
"My, oh my. I've been found out. You fat, hideous lard. I can't believe someone as worthless and disgusting as yourself could see through me. Lord Edwin, he assured me that my beauty was flawless. How dare you? You should have just stayed basking in my glory as you were assimilated, you worthless pawn."
His chest ached. Worthy's heart was pounding, and he went to take multiple steps away from the woman. She did not stop him, and he knew why.
'Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!' No matter how much distance he made with her, she'd be able to close it whenever she wanted.
"You are right. I know all too well what is going on. We are being blessed. Lord Edwin has promised us the greatest affections and love, in return for our minds. Your minds are so resilient, even this sweet, munchable boy broke free of the Lord's grasp. It's the work of that Knight. That Holy Knight!"
'This is too much. Damnit, this is too much!' His mind thought back to Alice's memories.
The Blood Marauder had powers. He'd consumed an entire realm and taken all the powers of its inhabitants, save for Alice. However, even if the Blood Marauder did not have the mystical abilities of the First Craftsman, he had the attributes of a god. Alice was akin to a demi-god; a lonesome existence on the verge of divinity. Within that realm, the one they now reside in, the Blood Marauder had broken into fragments.
So, why couldn't some of its fragments have inherited a few of the powers its body once had?
'There is none. There's no reason at all! It can!'
"Nevertheless, it is okay. It is a bit early. Only a small sum has been taken over, compared to what Lord Edwin wanted. A thousand is more than enough, under his affectionate embrace. Lord Edwin loves you all, and he will have you in his hands one way or another. Hideous or otherwise."
Then, it happened. The sky screamed, and the space around them rippled.
Hiel and Taivat acted, but they could not act fast enough. As two figures began to form into reality, and sparks of light blossomed from Taivat's hands, Asterie's hand gracefully rose in front of her and pulled the sky like a string.
Oro's eyes widened, unable to process the sequence of space unraveling around him. The sky rippled, and in the next moment, blood was sent flying into the air. The round man's teeth grit together for a moment, and soon enough, he was falling to the ground — unable to stand any longer.
Sweat rolled down the faces of the remaining three Climbers. It was not just the sudden attack that left him disoriented and frightened. They could certainly beat one person, even with such a harrowing Reward. Instead of Asterie's lonesome, dreadful presence, the sight of hundreds around them was what left them troubled the most.
'Did we get lured into a trap? How? Shit, bad luck?! Did we end up in a nest out of bad luck!?'
Sadly, there was no time to question the nature of the trap they'd been trapped within. Because in an instant, two things happened: hundreds of Climbers approached in uniform fashion, seeking to capture the Climbers of War Reaver's faction. Most terribly of all, beyond the gates of the stronghold, a mountain made of bones was starting to stir beyond the thick wall that divided regions of the First Floor.