Soul Nexus: A Fantasy Tower Ascension LitRPG

The drop down the shaft was longer than the climb. My claws dug into the walls to slow my fall. There wasn’t a need to waste energy from falling so far down and testing if having six legs was enough to disperse my weight to keep from damaging myself from the landing. Once I reached the bottom, Mistress’s true body was waiting for me.

If I had a heart, it would’ve soared at the sight of her. If I could cry I would’ve.

I leaped into her mane. “Mistress, I missed you. I missed you so much.”

“There there, pet,” her voice purred. “I’ve got you. You’re back where you belong. You’re such a good girl for coming back to where you belong.”

It was so nice to hear that straight from her. I buried my face further into her fur. The metallic feel of her fur brushed against my mana fur, leaving an almost imperceptible spark.

“Did everything go well? What’s got you all worked up? Tell me all about it.” She eased me to the ground and wrapped a paw around me. “Take your time and tell me when you’re ready.”

I clenched my jaw for a fraction of a second. “It’s Orange…” She didn’t say anything. I could feel her urging me to continue when I was ready. “She—she wants me to be angry to kill people, including Tavor.”

“She does?” she asked with obvious amusement in her voice.

“Tavor also wants to kill me when he thinks you’ll have no more use for me.” I made myself even smaller against my mistress. “He says I’m just a pet. Once you’re no longer amused with me, you’ll dispose of me. But I know that will never happen. If you ever need another body, I can give you one. But what if you never need another body? What happens when you get so powerful that nothing can stop you? Is he right? Will you dispose of me then?”

My voice rose. “But I’m a good girl. I did what you wanted. I talked to the sphinx and he agreed to leave you alone as long as you agreed to have fair fights in the colosseum. He isn’t going to fight us. I did good, right?”

“Shh.” Her shadow clone appeared behind me in a hug and placing a finger to my lips. “Yes, you did good. You’re my good girl. And Tavor has stepped out of line with that one. He was useful, but loyalty is far more useful than proficiency. But, I think he can have his chance.”

I pivoted my ears. “Huh? A chance for what?”

A wickedly sharp, toothy grin spread across my mistress’s face. “To face you. But we both know he doesn’t stand a chance if I let you have all your magic. And since the sphinx wants fair, you’ll just have to do it as you are and not use any extra magic. He still won’t win, but he will at least think he can. Will that help?”

I blinked at her. “But Orange wants that. Are you really giving Orange what she wants?”

Her grin grew wider. “Yes. My curiosity is peaked. I can’t very well see what her goal is if I don’t let her have some victories in her plan. Besides, Tavor won’t be a huge loss. Maybe Orange knew that and is rooting out the dissidents for me. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

I bowed my head. “Okay. I’ll kill him then. When am I supposed to fight him?”

Mistress curled her wing over me. “Not now. For now, I want you to calm down and relax. You’ve been a good girl today. Good girls deserve treats. How would you like to eat some tasty deep yaks?”

I liked my lips. “Yes please.”

Even without a physical body, I wanted to hurl. “Yuck. Is this really what you wanted, Orange?” My alter ego was busy eating, so I had time to talk to Orange. “You want to fill me in on the plan now? Because it looks like Elveil is going to let you go a long way before stepping in.”

“Correct.” Orange sounded satisfied with that result. “That’s part of the plan. But it’s a dangerous plan. If anything goes wrong, you’ll be stuck as her pet forever. But it’s our best option. Even if Elveil steps in, it won’t stop everything. All we can do now is wait and see.“

My alter ego finished eating, licking her chops clean. She purred as my mistress rubbed her chin. The way she leaned into it made me want to gag.

I tried to distract myself from what my alter ego was feeling. “So, what is the goal?”

“The sphinx is our best shot at separating you from Elveil. And the colosseum fights are the best way to do that.” Orange’s calmness was irking me. “The problem is, there needs to be a reason for the sphinx to help us. So far, we haven’t done anything that will get us on his good side.”

“So it’s up to her.” My alter ego turned her head to look at my mistress. “She’s the one who needs to do the most work.”

“Yes. And that’s why I want you to keep using Elveil’s voice to coax your other personality to action. The more you use it, the more she trusts you. We need her to eventually become wrathful. The more we get her angry and willing to kill, the less work it will be to shift her thinking into that of a blade demon.”

I rolled my imaginary eyes. “My head’s too crowded for all this. You know, when I upgraded my voice box, I never, ever imagined that I would be impersonating the voice of a monster of a woman who turned me into her pet. I’m starting to wonder if the sanity stat is actually a thing.”

Orange gave me a mental smile. “It’s all in the effort of getting free. Now, we have a plan. Don’t let your emotions cause you to lose sight of the plan like you did last time.”

I winced, the memory fresh in my mind. “Don’t remind me. That was an awful plan that almost killed us. This one might just end up killing us too. But, we’re out of options.”

“Yes.” Her tone was somber. “We are.”

I sighed. “First step, get Elveil to let my other self out of her sight again. It looked like she was starting to question being her pet after such a short time away. But the moment she was in Elveil’s sight, that all went away.“

“So now, we wait.”

Days later, my mistress and I stood in front of the sphinx. It was still just as intimidating as the first time I saw it. There was a certain feeling in the air as it eyed me more than it did my mistress. It had been waiting for us.

A crowd gathered around the arena. It was a small wonder how quickly it was cleaned up and repaired. They were excited to watch people kill each other again, but there was a sense of unease. Not everyone was here because they wanted to be. But a good majority of them had no desire to resist. It was hard to find anyone who wasn’t afraid of Mistress.

As they should be.

Mistress spread her wings wide. “Welcome, my subjects.” She lowered herself to the ground so that she could speak directly with the sphinx. “You wish for the fights to return. I have gathered those you wish to fight. The only rule is that this is a fight to the death. You don’t get to leave this colosseum unless it’s dead. Does this please you?”

The sphinx grinned widely, showing off his razor teeth. “For as long as the fights aren’t rigged. It is a good start.”

The shadow clone walked over to me and grabbed the collar around my neck. She rubbed the back of my neck. “And you remember our deal, right, pet? You’ll do what I ask and be my good girl. Right?”

My ears flicked back. “Of course, mistress.”

I lowered my head as I walked closer to her. I licked the inside of her wrist.

“Good girl. Now, go out there and entertain our audience.” She pointed to a door leading to the arena. “Make him beg for me to order you to kill him. Show him why you shouldn’t insult me by insulting my pet.”

I gave her one last nuzzle before walking over to the door. My claws clicked against the stone floor with each step. Mistress wants me to fight Tavor. But I’m not just supposed to kill him. No. I’m supposed to hurt him enough for him to beg my mistress to permit me to kill him.

I was supposed to be the opening fight. As I walked into the arena, standing in the middle waiting for me was the sharkman with a very wide grin.

"Well, look at what we got here,” Tovar said, cracking his neck. The way he looked at me was unnerving. The glint in his eyes wasn't malicious; it was predatory. He was looking at me like a meal.

He's been a bad boy. Mistress wants me to punish him.

The door slammed shut behind me.

Tovar cracked his knuckles. "I told you that she would send you my way. I challenge you to the death, pet."

That word lit a fire in my mind. I am her pet. But that's not an insult; it's a privilege!

“I accept.”

There was no point talking to him. I bolted forward, my body moving with perfect balance. I aimed for his gut and swung my clawed paws at him. Circulating the plasma from my claws into my shadow form added a trailing orange glow to my attack.

Tovar’s grin never left his face when my claws shredded his golden plate. I made sure the cut was deep, but not cutting him in half deep. When my paw hit the ground, I whipped my tail around to slap him into the ground. He bounced off the ground before I swatted him with the second tail.

The wall caught the sharkman. Blood poured from his wounds, and I could see how he had a very obviously dislocated shoulder and elbow. Tovar laughed weakly as he pushed himself off the wall. He had a huge grin on his face.

“You're good.” He spat some blood on the ground. “But it's not enough to stop me.”

His arm and shoulder popped back into place. That's all he did to fix himself. He didn't even try to use mana or health potions. That means he wants me to fight him more. I guess I need to hit him a little harder.

I fired off a couple of shadow projectiles. He tried to dodge the first one but failed. It grazed his leg and left a trail of blood in its wake. The second one landed a direct hit on his other leg. The smell of burned flesh filled the air.

Tovar let out a sharp grunt as his legs buckled. He held onto a wall, keeping himself upright. He glared at me. “It’s going to take more than that.”

He’s right. Mistress said I had to make him beg.

I bolted forward again. Instead of going for a cut, I went for a slam with my tails. He blocked the first tail by crossing his arms over his head, but that gave the second tail free reign to slam him into the ground. His bones cracked from the impact.

“Is this all you have?” Tovar asked, his voice muffled by the blood in his mouth. “You’re just an animal. Come on.”

Animal? That word sent a chill down my spine. No. I’m a good girl. My mistress loves me. He’s trying to piss me off.

“Kill him,” Mistress’s mimicked voice said in my head.

He’s disrespecting me, and more importantly, disrespecting Mistress.

“Then if this is all you got,” he coughed up a glob of blood. “I’ll show you how real monsters fight.”

Tovar pushed himself off the ground. His muscles bulged and rippled as he slammed the ground. The stone under him cracked, and it spread to where I was standing. He jumped up and lunged at me.

I tried to move, but the floor beneath me was shifting. My front paws caught the edge of a rock. Tovar was already behind me. He grabbed my neck and slammed me into the ground.

His other hand aimed to slam into my side. My tails wrapped around it and I slashed with my hind legs, severing his arm off at the elbow. He wasn’t smiling anymore.

I rolled us over. He pulled his arm out from between my tails and punched me in the face. My head tilted to the side and avoided the impact. When I bit down on his arm, I tasted blood. He tried to kick me off, but I bit down on his arm harder and ripped it out of his socket.

His scream rang in my ears. He didn’t have Mistress’s permission to hurt me.

I slammed him into the ground again and again. He stopped moving at that point. That didn’t stop me. I kept slamming him into the ground until I stopped hearing bones breaking. I took a step back from him.

The ground was painted red with his blood. He was still breathing.

“How?” he wheezed. “How… did… you…”

Mistress said he needs to beg. Did I not hurt him enough?

Tovar started to laugh and break into a coughing fit. I tilted my head at him. Why isn’t he begging? Is it because I haven’t broken his spirit?

“Good girl.” I heard the voice again. “Now, kill him.“

No. You don’t get to give me orders. Only my real mistress can tell me what to do. Not you.

I walked over to him and placed my paw on his head. Mistress never said how I was supposed to break his spirit. Maybe I could make him suffer for insulting her. He did want me to kill him after all.

I activated my mana claw and slowly cut off his other arm. Then I moved to his legs and did the same thing. Once he was in four pieces, I left him there. The plasma burns prevented him from bleeding out.

Tovar stared at me. “Why… are… so… strong?” His voice was barely above a whisper.

You’re just that weak. “You disrespected my mistress.” I lowered my head to his ear. “You called me an animal, so I treated you like one. You’re right, I am her pet. But I carry that as a badge of honor. You’re just the trash she no longer has a use for. I’m here to dispose of you. But not until I am given the order.“

I backed away from him.

Tovar tried to glare at me, but it didn’t work very well. “You’ll… never… be free.”

I chuckled. “It’s a funny thing. I used to think I’d never be free again. But now? Now I can’t imagine myself being anywhere else. Now, you get to die. But, I won’t do it until my mistress tells me to. I know she’ll keep you alive as long as possible, but you’ve already lost too much blood.”

“No… please… kill… me…”

There it is.

I raised my head to look at Mistress. She shook her head. I turned back to him. He needs to beg more. He hasn’t begged enough.

I walked over to him and grabbed his head with both paws. Then I raised him up high so that everyone could see how pathetic he was. He struggled in my grip, but he couldn’t move. His mouth was clamped shut.

“You aren’t allowed to die until Mistress says you are! Do you understand?!” I hissed, my voice echoing through the colosseum. I looked to my mistress. “You’re not allowed to die until she says so.”

She nodded. “Now I want to hear him scream.”

“You heard her.” I slammed Tovar into the ground and stomped on his chest. His rib cage cracked under my paw. He screamed in agony as blood shot out of his mouth. “Scream for her!”

His screams were music to my mistress’s ears, given the smile on her face. I raised him up and slammed him into the ground again. Then I did it again and again and again. His screams got quieter each time, but he still wasn’t dead. I turned back to my mistress. She was grinning like a cat.

“Good girl. Almost,” she purred. “Skin him.”

I took a claw to the back of his neck. With surgical precision, I started removing the skin of his stump of a torso. The screams that came from him were almost enough to make me stop. Mistress said to do this. I’m a good girl.

The smell of burning flesh filled the air. It smelled wonderful. My stomach growled. I licked my lips and looked up at Mistress.

She shook her head. “Finish first.”

I went back to work. Each piece of skin was carefully removed and placed next to him. He never passed out from the pain, but I could hear his pulse, even through the screams. Once all the skin was gone, I stepped away to grimace my work.

Tovar’s chest heaved with every breath. He was covered in pinpricks of blood and exposed muscle. His eyes rolled back in his head, but he was still conscious. The surrounding ground was painted red. His muscles twitched involuntarily.

“Do you wish to die?” Mistress asked, her voice echoing throughout the arena.

He didn’t answer. His eyes focused on her. They held a silent plea.

“Will you beg for your life?” She asked again.

He closed his eyes. “Please,” he whispered.

She smiled. “Louder.”

“Please.” His voice was barely audible.

She shook her head. “No.”

His eyes widened. “Please… kill… me…” Tears streamed down his face.

Her smile turned wicked. “Pet, eat him. But take your time.“

“Yes, Mistress.”

I bent down and started to eat him alive. His screams were muffled as I bit into the stump where his leg was and ripped it off a chunk. I chewed slowly, savoring the taste of his flesh. Each bite was more delicious than the last. He didn’t taste as good as the deep yaks, but he was still delicious. I made sure to make his suffering last as long as possible.

I only stopped eating him once he was completely gone. His screams had long since stopped, but his taste lingered on my tongue. His death earned me two stat points and fifty-one thousand one hundred and three shards The crowd was completely silent at the show. I looked up at my mistress and waited for her praise.

“Good girl.” She gave me a nod of approval. “You’ve done well.”

“Enough of this farce.” The sphinx’s voice boomed. “This is not your torture room. This is an arena. You promised even combats; this was nothing like one.”

Mistress spread her wings wide. Her shadow clone flew over to me and patted my head. I nuzzled her hand, but her words were for the sphinx.

She bowed her head slightly. “My pet can get carried away when she gets worked up. She just wants to be my good girl and please me. I have a suggestion to make it up to you. How about we move to the next fight? That way, you won’t have to wait long before seeing what you want. I promise it will be a fight worth watching. We can’t have our spectators getting bored.”

The sphinx glared at her. “No. You must pay a price.“

Light enveloped me, and I suddenly felt like I was falling. The next moment I was in a dark room alone with no exit or entrance.

Then I realized that I was in a training simulation that Orange let me use for practice. Standing in front of me was Orange and someone who looked exactly like I used to before I became Mistress’s pet.

“Sorry,” the copy of me started. “Don’t take this personally. I don’t blame you, only myself.”