Lifeblood Chaos [LitRPG Apocalypse]

Ray took a moment to understand what the Marauder was suggesting. He had said that everything Ray had worked towards had peaked to this moment. To the next few days where he would face his strongest challenge yet. And yet… yet was this what everything he had done in the Tower so far supposed to lead to?

Maybe, from one perspective, sure. He had faced off against the Sylvans from the beginning of the First Floor. They had always been his enemy. He had foiled their plans and killed all three of their Floor Lords.

It was almost poetic that he was determined to take a stand against the Tower Lord now.

But was that it? Was stopping the Sylvans what the Tower represented to him? Was that what was supposed to be his goal here?

"No," Ray said. "I disagree."

The Marauder cocked his head to one side. Several of the blocks changed to make his head look like he had a ghostly form with demonic horns. Ray wished he could tell if the blocks were supposed to represent the Paragon's state of mind or something. "You disagree? Which bit do you disagree with?"

"I disagree that this is what it's all been building up to."

"Oh?"

"Yes." The more Ray talked, the more he felt certain that he was right. "This isn't my goal. Stopping the Sylvans isn't why I'm fighting against them. That's not my real goal. It's not what everything I've worked for. It's not what everything I've done is supposed to culminate to."

"Is that right? Then do you care to illuminate me as to what it is you've been working towards?"

Ray thought about his drive to win the tournament. He recalled the way the Sylvans had moulded the Floors of the Tower of Forging to suit their warped needs. He remembered how the Mary had died, as had her sister, as had Randall.

But more than that, he remembered the fights. He remembered his battles against the Duskshell, against the Viledrake, against the Spirespine, against the Demon of Humanity most recently.

Against the Sylvans. Against the First, Second, and Third Floor Lords of the Tower of Forging.

In each of those fights, he had felt alive. He had wanted to win. He had won. He had preserved. He had controlled his own fate. Ray hadn't just beaten others because it had been the right thing to do or because he had needed to for whatever exterior reason. It wasn't even because he had sought to grow stronger and more powerful every step of the way in the Tower.

"Control," Ray said. "It was all because I was taking control. Right now, the Tower Lord thinks he controls the fate of all those in the Tower. That everything here will work as he wants it to." Ray laughed. "Maybe the System was right all along. I thought I was controlling my path, my journey. But that's not it. Not just, at least. I'm done letting people like these Sylvans control more than they deserve. Against them, I will be Tower Conqueror."

The Marauder stared at me, his head angling back to look at me straight on.

"What?" Ray asked. "Nothing else to say to me?"

"Oh, I have a great deal I could say to that. You are a mere mortal, after all. I, as a Paragon, have my own perspective on such a topic. But that is neither here nor there. Plus, it isn't like me to bandy my arrogance. Instead, let us turn to more productive matters. Such as the real reason you decided to pay me a visit." He grinned. "After discovering that treasure of yours."

Ray's mouth twisted. That anchorlike treasure still intrigued him. A treasure that could call down a Paragon into the world.

The only catch was that the summoner would need to give up their body to said Paragon.

"A part of me doesn't want to ask you to come down," Ray said. "But if that's what the Sylvans intend, if the Tower Lord wants to become some weird vessel for the Fleshcrafter, then I won't be able to stop him. None of us will."

"Not without your own Paragon on your side, yes?"

"Did you know something like this was going to happen? That there would be a need for you to be able to step in because how else would whoever you choose to support stand against the Fleshcrafter?" Ray's words turned into a growl. "Because if you had told me ahead of time, then I would have done my best to prevent a situation like this from arising in the first place?"

"Perhaps…" The Marauder chuckled. "You have such a poor opinion of me, it is almost funny. You know, even now, you have the power to prevent something like that from happening. You still possess the treasure. Even now, if you truly desired, you could prevent anyone from using it."

"But we both know I can't. At least, not if I don't want to make things ridiculously difficult for myself. Because we both know that if I hide the treasure or prevent the Tower Lord from using it somehow, he's going to turn the whole place upside down."

"Correct. The most ideal scenario is stopping the Tower Lord at the very moment he uses the treasure and beating him at his own game. A Paragon versus Paragon showdown. Where no one would dare interrupt your battle."

Honestly, Ray was almost being taken in by the Marauder's words. He could picture it so clearly. Standing in the very arena that the Tower Lord had prepared for his fucked up, Paragon-possessed ascension, facing off against him and stopping him at his own level and proving that his plan fucking sucked.

It was a vivid scene in his head. But one thing was clear in his head. He almost laughed. It always came back to the same thing for Ray, didn't it?

"But you see, Marauder," Ray said. "I wouldn't be the one in control in a situation like that. I don't want it to be a Paragon versus Paragon battle. That's a fight between the Tower Lord and me."

"Perhaps, but the Tower Lord isn't going to agree to an honourable duel between him and yourself, now will he? He has no reason to." The Marauder leaned forward. "Besides, do you think you can truly defeat the Tower Lord even if it was a battle between just him and you?"

"I can."

That took the Paragon aback. His mouth stretched like he wanted to laugh, but the seriousness in Ray's expression made him pause. "You're serious? Truly?"

"I am. How come you're so surprised? I mean, you were the one who told me I already had everything I needed to win."

"Hmm, I suppose I did. And yet, my expectations certainly took a hit after seeing your performance against the Floor Lord and then the Demon of Humanity."

An interesting little reveal, that. The Marauder was basically admitting he kept enough of an eye on Ray that he knew the details of Ray's encounters, not just the broad brushstrokes of his experiences.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"You're misunderstanding what happened in the dungeon," Ray said. "I took some time to think it over myself. You know, once I wasn't desperate about just surviving and I could think clearly."

"Oh? What is it you learned?"

Ray shook his head. "It's not about learning. It was just a realization that this whole tournament schtick in this Floor has been so different from what I normally experience in the Tower. From how I normally go through each Floor. And that's why, when push came to shove and I faced overwhelming odds, I kind of forgot how I'd normally overcome them."

It was true. On the First and Second Floors, he had gone through the majority of the Floors on his own. Sure, he had worked alongside others at times when needed, especially during major undertakings like beating another faction or taking down the Sylvans as a group.

But even then, whenever he was faced with true challenges, Ray made sure that he rose to the occasion. He had defeated both Floor Lords with his own strength and ingenuity, regardless of the difference in their levels and experiences. Against monsters like the Viledrakes and Duskshells and the Spirespine, Ray had proven his singular superiority without relying on others.

That… had changed here, on the Third Floor. It wasn't a bad thing to have others he could trust and work with. But he had done so for such an extended time here that he had forgotten a crucial part of what had driven his rise up the Tower of Forging.

He had forgotten, at least in the Tier 38 dungeon, that he could always rely on himself to overcome whatever threat he faced.

"And that's what I'm going to do against the Tower Lord, Marauder," Ray said. "I'm going to step up and win and I'm going to do it on my own terms."

"Ah, interesting. And here I was thinking your experiences on this Floor would let you learn to divest your selfishness and learn to trust others, but perhaps I was mistaken."

"You are mistaken, because that's not the point at all. Everyone has their own part to play, and I trust my friends and allies to play theirs." Alright, any statement with trust needed some nuance when there were people like Sameer involved, but this wasn't the time for that. "The point is that I remembered by role."

"Which is…?"

"To be ready to take down any challenge I'm facing, no matter what it is."

They stood in silence for a while after that. It looked like the Marauder was chewing on everything he had heard. Almost like he was coming to some kind of decision.

"So in the end, you want to beat the Sylvans because you're tired of letting them control the Tower as they see fit," the Paragon said. "And you are also confident that you can defeat the Tower Lord in one-on-one combat. You seem to have already taken preparations for that to happen. All save for one issue, which is where I come in."

Ray nodded. "The issue of the Fleshcrafter."

"Then we seem to be at an impasse."

"Maybe… that is, if you don't care what happens to your Tower Node."

All the blocks making up the Marauder stopped shifting, pausing mid transformation to make him look like an insane hodgepodge of things. Ray couldn't even begin to identify the majority of them.

"I see," the Paragon said. A sharp edge needled along his words now. "You were prepared for this meeting too."

"Of course. The treasure won't make the form permanent. A Paragon's only permanent source of influence is their Tower Node." For the first time in this whole conversation, Ray actually felt a grin slowly widening his lips. "That's why your little rival was so insistent about stealing your Tower Node from me at the end of the Second Floor."

"And now you're blackmailing me with it?"

"I'm not blackmailing. It's more like a deal. I can make sure your Tower Node is the most important Tower Node in the Tower of Forging. But only if you successfully take care of the Fleshcrafter when the Tower Lord tries to summon him."

"And if not…?"

"If not… well, I have a buddy who's desperate to destroy all Tower Nodes, and I can't say I can keep stopping him if the Tower Nodes stop behaving…"

The Marauder considered that for a few seconds too, then laughed. "The sheer audacity of one such as you threatening me." He tutted, shaking his head. His mannerisms once again made Ray think there was something really human about the guy. "But alright, fine. I have no mechanism of stopping you, and really, my only goal is to stop the Fleshcrafter."

"Then we've got all our bases covered."

"So it would seem."

"Then I'll see you on the day we stop the Sylvans for the final time."

The last thing Ray saw before he was de-summoned out of the Marauder's strange cosmic space was a grin made of blocks that looked fully, entirely human.

Sameer stood at the edge of roof. One more step and he would fall. The plummet was at least a couple hundred feet to the ground. His hotel was rather tall.

But the fall wouldn't last for long. After all, Sameer had his portals to rely on.

The door to the roof opened, admitting his large, huffing Sylvan proprietor. He took a moment to gather his breath before speaking.

"I have been looking everywhere for you, competitor," he said, clearly doing his best to hide his annoyance.

"Didn't Eliza take care of the last payment?" Sameer asked.

"This is not about that. This is far more important."

There was a significant change in his tone, even besides the fact that he was regaining his composure. Sameer turned. In the Sylvan's hand was a pure black letter. A shiny golden seal still prominently displayed a symbol that Sameer distantly recognized.

"Is that…?"

The proprietor nodded. "Yes, the Tower Lord is contacting your directly, competitor. If this was merely an official message, I would have left it in your room. But the stamp in the corner signals urgency and discretion. I would counsel you to stick to those directives as well."

Sameer took the letter. He waited for a moment, until the proprietor got the hint that Sameer was not about to read the letter until he had some privacy. The Sylvan grumbled under his breath before leaving.

Only then did Sameer carefully rip open the envelope and read through the contents of the letter a few times.

He hadn't fully formed his thoughts, even after reading the missive a few times, but his eyebrows had risen high in amazement. Before he could decide what to do, Eliza came up to the roof as well.

"You done moping yet?" Eliza asked.

"I was not moping," Samere said.

"Sure, and I wasn't coming up to the roof to ask if you're done moping or not."

Sameer just stared at her.

"What's that you got there?" Eliza frowned. "Wait, is that from the Sylvans?"

Before Sameer could decide whether it would have been more prudent to hide it and not reveal the contents, Eliza had snatched it out of his hand. Her eyes widened as she quickly read through it. He sighed as she looked up questioningly at him.

"You're not thinking of agreeing are you…?" she asked.

"And what if I am?"

Sameer couldn't hide the bite from his voice.

Eliza stepped up, tapping his chest hard with the letter. "Didn't you fuck up enough in the dungeon?"

The dungeon. Thoughts about everything that had happened in the Tier 38 dungeon, in their final attempt to win the Immortalizer Tournament, made his brain short-circuit. Sameer was pretty sure he'd snap if he responded immediately, so he held himself back for a minute. There. All calmer now.

"I didn't see you making things better," he said.

Alright, perhaps not as calm as would have been ideal.

Eliza only sighed. "Biting each other isn't going to help, Sameer. We decided we'd do our best after exiting our Tower, didn't we? That we would make sure we progressed through whatever challenges we faced, same as we did in our Tower? And we did that, didn't we? Sure, we didn't accomplish all our Objectives, but we did succeed. Didn't we, Sameer?"

He stepped back, running a hand over his face. Eliza wasn't wrong. They had grown, they had fought and won, and most importantly, they had survived.

They had left the memories of their Tower behind and were ready to make more in what awaited them after all this.

"Don't show that letter to Karkatrix," Sameer said.

Eliza walked around until her glare was right back in his face. "You still haven't said if you're agreeing to it!"

Sameer growled. "I am agreeing to it."

"Why? After everything we've gone through?"

"You're just blinded by the fact that you've got a crus—"

"Don't you dare go there, you asshole."

Sameer sighed, running his hand over his face once more. Oh, yes. Not calm enough at all. "Look, I won't implicate you in this. But it's an opportunity for me, and I want this. You can do whatever you want. You can even run along to your new friends and tell them all about it. But I'm not going to give up this chance because of some stupid morals."

Eliza's mouth remained closed for a moment, but she had this weird tick of twisting her lips when she was really angry. Too angry for actual words.

She did talk eventually though.

"Fine," she said. Every word felt like a hammer hitting the nails of accusation on Sameer's chest. "Do what you want. I'm going to remember the promise I made and act accordingly."

She stalked away from him. Sameer wasn't normally one to blame himself, but he did wonder for a moment just how much he had fucked up here.

"Just know this, Eliza," Sameer said as she weas about to leave. She didn't pause so he went on quickly. "I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who received this letter. Not the only human competitor who was contacted by the Tower Lord."

Eliza did pause at that, but only for a moment. Clearly too angry to continue conversing any further, she left.