White Tower (3)
Kim Sung-tae and his group plunged into the secret chamber. They had braced for a storm-like dimensional barrier sucking them in with violent turbulence, but instead of any storm, they found themselves in an unexpectedly cozy environment. Everyone looked around in wonder.
"Uwaaaah! We're getting sucked in! The storm of spaaace-tiiiime...."
"Sung-tae, what are you doing? It's not even scary, so why are you yelling like that?"
"Just felt like it. Seemed like the thing to do."
"My lord. Is this truly alright? Throwing yourself into what might be a trap."
Garba, who had caught up late, asked Sung-tae. As a warrior, she knew full well that following a stranger's urging into a suspicious place was practically suicide. Even for a non-warrior, blindly entering some weird spot just because a first-time acquaintance suggested it was the height of foolishness.
"Garba, you felt it too, right? That the White Tower Lord's words were sincere."
"......Yes."
She should have been suspicious. She should have doubted, but Aurelie's words rang with nothing but pure sincerity. Life force magic was the essence of a person. One's essence couldn't be deceived, no matter what tricks were tried. Her words, wrapped in such life force magic, couldn't be tainted by lies, and listeners instinctively knew they were true. That's why she had so easily discerned the lies of the elite mages through their life force magic.
"If anything goes wrong, I'll handle it. Don't worry."
"Understood, my lord."
As they chatted briefly, they spotted a twinkling white light in the distance. Realizing it was the exit, the three entrusted themselves to the flow and headed toward it.
"So this is the secret chamber, huh."
Sung-tae squinted as he entered the light. The secret chamber was utterly empty. It was a world of pure white, like a rural landscape blanketed in heavy snowfall overnight. No way to tell ground from sky, and the only splashes of color were Sung-tae and his group.
"Not here for a vacation, so this setup works. Guess it's like telling me to hole up and study like some apostle prince."
The moment he resolved himself was the moment to act. He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.
"Alright. Time to get some training in."
"......"
Aurelie was left alone in her room after everyone vanished. She stared at the door for a long while, murmuring to herself.
"That girl's mana just now. It was definitely a hero's mana."
As the White Tower Lord who wielded life force magic, she didn't trust heroes. Heroes were those who had taken in mana from otherworldly beings. That alien mana corrupted them, altering their life force magic.
"So a hero's mana really stems from intervention by some non-divine entity?"
At least Mukkebi hadn't seemed divine to her, so she concluded her long-deferred definition of heroes that way.
But whether it was a hero's power or the demon king's power in that armor, the important thing was elsewhere.
"Is this truly the right course......?"
Mana wasn't a dead thing. It moved along paths incomprehensible from a human's microscopic viewpoint. Its flow was too vast for humans to grasp, but as the White Tower Lord who had long studied mana’s essence, she could sense it to some degree.
"Why did I do such a thing?"
She was kind but not foolish. She smiled at others but strictly separated personal and official matters—a thoroughly principled woman. Yet strangely, the moment she laid eyes on Sung-tae, an intense urge to grant his every wish had seized her.
"Does life force magic reach a point where it develops its own flow?"
A flow of mana beyond human understanding. Sometimes even ordinary folk, not Tower Lords, felt it. People called it fate.
"Is this fate as well?"
And in Sung-tae's golden sea-like eyes, Aurelie had felt fate. Teaching him about life force magic. Opening the secret chamber's door for his training. Once both tasks were done, she instinctively knew the thread of fate connecting them had snapped.
"Who knows. Mana's mysteries elude even endless study."
She stood motionless before the secret chamber door, waiting for Sung-tae. But as busy White Tower Lord, she couldn't just idle away.
"Aurelie!"
The door burst open without a knock. She turned an indifferent gaze to the intruder, noting the mages' uncharacteristic rudeness.
Of course. No White Tower mage would be so rude.
"Heard my kids are here, so I came."
"You're as brazen as ever."
"Shut it. Just hand over my kids."
The White Tower, a world of white, now hosted a man shrouded in a black robe. His speech and demeanor were savage and rough, the polar opposite of the serene White Tower.
"They're the ones who harmed the city. Plus, complaints about their behavior have been piling up."
"Who the hell are you to take my kids? If anyone's punishing them, it's me!"
The man's black beard quivered. He looked ready to erupt in fury and unleash magic any second. Aurelie called his name calmly, trying to defuse.
Not a name she relished saying—an unwelcome guest.
"Lord Huwiger. Maintain the Black Tower Lord's dignity. Sit, please."
"Hand over my kids right now."
Like locking a dog and cat in one room. The man and woman's sharpened glares clashed in midair, sparking flames. This wasn't mere nerves—it was a battle over unyielding authority.
"You know this, but Yuglatsil's laws are entrusted to the three Tower Lords. That's the emperor's decree granting autonomy. These mages we've arrested have long been flagged as problems. They've survived under the Black Tower's protection till now, but this time we couldn't overlook it, so we asked you?"
Huwiger, the Black Tower Lord, glared at Aurelie's sharp jab. It was true enough. His Black Tower mages had come crying to him about false accusations and White Tower tyranny, dragging him here.
'Did those bastards actually commit crimes?'
Aurelie's sincere life force magic conveyed the truth to him. But standing above others meant embracing all. As a man, he wanted to trust her and back off; as Black Tower Lord, he couldn't.
"Ridiculous! Who? My kids? They're all innocent lambs. You're just jealous our Black Tower's magic outshines yours!"
"Oh my. What nonsense? And didn't you abandon the city to wield dark magic, only slinking back now? Ah, no results, so back to the tower that fawns over you. Makes sense— they prop you up without effort."
"What!?"
White Tower mages rushed in to intervene, but how could they stop two Tower Lords on the verge of explosion? They could only hover anxiously nearby.
"Hmph. Hand over my kids now. Unless you want blood. We could crush you 'life force essence' researchers in a blink."
"If you're so mighty, why copy us? Isn't that right, Huwiger the 13th?"
"Grr...."
Huwiger ground his teeth, glaring. Her words struck at the Black Tower's sore spot.
"If you're copying, at least do it with style—like our four towers. What's Huwiger? Padding names with numbers. Ah, wait—with your level, four might confuse even you."
"We didn't copy you! It's succession of the founding lord's name...."
"Black Tower came after us, yet you claim 'no copying.' Fine, but what about your founder sneaking into our tower to steal?"
"......"
Huwiger shut his mouth. He couldn't win with words. How had the founder left this woman endless ammunition?
"Want to prove superiority that badly?"
Black smoke rose from Huwiger. Nearby mages broke cold sweats. Dark mana, the Black Tower's specialty.
"Fine, hotshot. Let's fight till one drops dead!"
"Barbaric. Is fighting all you want?"
Space warped around Aurelie. Radiant white life force mana flowed from her. A powder keg moment. But Aurelie withdrew her mana first.
"Whew. Let's stop."
"Scared now? Backing off?"
"Not that. Just have something important."
Her gaze flicked to the secret chamber. She worried the commotion might disturb Sung-tae.
"Hmph. Then bring my disciples."
"Lord Huwiger, impossible. They're the culprits. Many mages saw me take them for investigation. Releasing them without would make others question us."
Huwiger didn't argue. As one of Yuglatsil's three Tower Lords, he grasped the implications. Past cover-ups worked quietly before scandals blew up. But publicly shielding suspects in an open case after the White Tower Lord's investigation? Massive backlash, Black Tower authority in ruins.
"Still...."
"On my honor as White Tower Lord, I promise a fair probe."
Staking her honor. Huwiger swallowed, retracting his mana. He'd pushed hard to save face and reclaim his mages—not to actually fight. More would sever Black-White Tower ties.
A few troublemaking Black Tower mages versus total rift with White Tower. No contest.
'Tch. Should've moderated. Can't push further.'
"Fine. Trust you with it."
Face saved. Now just pray for leniency. As Huwiger turned to leave, a knock brought more White Tower mages.
"Lady Aurelie, a guest."
"Who?"
"They... haven't entered the tower yet. Suspicious identity...."
"Who is it?"
The hesitant mage met Huwiger's eyes. Tricky to say? Knowing the Black Tower Lord's temper, he held back.
"Incredibly potent mana. Dark mana, and claims to be the Black Tower Lord...."
"What!?"
The outburst came from Huwiger, not Aurelie. Impersonating the Black Tower Lord? Of all people!
"W-We know it's not you, Lord Black Tower, but the dark mana was real. Extremely strong!"
"Dark mana? Then one of ours. But daring to impersonate me!"
Huwiger surged ahead, scattering dark mana.
"Which bastard is it!"
'Is that guy really okay?'
At the White Tower entrance, mages whispered about the man claiming to be Black Tower Lord. He looked nothing like Huwiger. Guards memorized all city notables, especially their rival's face.
Blatant impersonation. But they couldn't chase him off casually.
'Mana's the real deal, though.'
The dark mana cloaking him was authentic—known for ultimate destructive power. Only the Black Tower Lord could wield that much. Problem: the real one had visited thirty minutes ago.
'Successor?'
'Maybe. But seems off in the head.'
"Yes, this is the place. The monster's mana vanished, so time to enter."
Muttering to himself with no one addressing him. To the guards, the self-proclaimed Huwiger looked insane.
'Tsk tsk. Black Tower's done for. Choosing that as heir?'
'Yeah. What a waste of talent.'
"Who'd think the loathsome White Tower really had what master seeks. As expected of master. Now then.... Ugh!"
The man collapsed with a short groan. Guards, alerted by his "loathsome White Tower" slur, rushed to support him.
"You alright?"
"Ahh, sorry, master. Right. No need for human customs. I forgot. Still mistook myself for human. Not human, so no need for manners. I blanked.... Ack!"
Writhing on the ground, he rolled in agony.
"S-Sorry! I spoke too much! Heading to 'that place' now! Forgive me!"
'Totally nuts.'
"Hah... hah... R-Really? Needed a sacrifice. My mistake. Then...."
His hood fell, revealing ecstatic face. Guards felt chills like insects crawling spines.
"Human terror... I offer to you."
Gray, lifeless visage. Wrinkled skin like leather over skull, icy cold without touch. Not of the living, but the dead. As he reached out, guards recoiled, sensing souls might flee.
"Wh-What are you!?"
"Ahh, White Tower mages. Remember well. I am...."
Dry teeth gleamed between lips. Dehydrated, caked in black soil like centuries-buried corpse.
"Huwiger. Founder of the Black Tower... and master's faithful servant."
His dark mana extended like tentacles, burrowing underground. Earth quaked. Tendrils wrapped the tower from base to peak. The darkness had grown manifold.
"Stop!"
Screeech! The tower, steadfast for centuries, cracked with screams. Guards and mages panicked as the man spoke leisurely in eerie tones, grinning like their screams were music.
"Die knowing that honor. Become his servants like me."
#dark