23. Romance of the Tower, Pt 3

  The party to see the Dao Companions off lasted six weeks, but they were only present for the first three days of it. Once they had made their farewells to the few people they’d actually befriended, as well as the dozens of others who had to get a word in before the trio crossed dimensions and were likely never heard from again, they returned to the platform on which they had first arrived, where Prince Yema stood with a peach.

  She bit into it and smiled. “Oh this is good,” she said. “My compliments to the tree that grew it.”

  Then she reached through the dimensions and parted the way for them, creating a door for them to step through. Which they did, nervously, and found themselves outside the Six Mountain Sect, next to a peach tree which had just blossomed, but wouldn’t bear fruit for five years.

  They bowed humbly to the tree and conveyed the prince’s respect before flying to where they knew the waygate lie, only to find that from the ashes of the abandoned sect grew a sudden community that was thousands strong.

  Before they could reach the waygate, they were recognized and hailed. That they were expected wasn’t that surprising, but they had never met Di Phon before, causing a bit of awkwardness when he ushered them in to his mansion and attempted to serve them tea.

  The tea was bitter and steeped too long, but they smiled and choked it down as the old man in an ascendant’s body watched.

  “It was terrible, wasn’t it?” he asked.

  “No, no, it was okay,” Farun said judiciously.

  “That bad, huh?” he said. He shook his head. “Ah, if I were six centuries younger, the opportunity I would have had with that woman. But we could never be equals. When you see Mai Mai, tell her that I’m happy that she found happiness, and that I wish her well. And that when we meet again, I will serve her a cup of tea for a change.”

  “What has she done to you to deserve such treatment?” Arjun joked, and they laughed.

  “Let me catch you up to speed on what has transpired while you were offworld,” Di Phon said, and he pulled out a map. It had two or three dozen more markers indicating waygate locations, periphery ones to the central hubs that Little Bug had initially set up. It also showed the city-states and nations which had officially declared for the alliance in emerald green.

  “This is the last map I received, and it is two weeks old,” he informed them. “They’re only keeping me informed out of politeness, so I don’t know how accurate this information is, but this is what I know. The tournament will occur in six months. Regional qualifiers will begin in three months. The exact details of the qualifiers are not part of the central tournament’s stance, as rather than dictate the terms they are simply allotting the number of participants based on the number of reported cultivators in a location and allowing the local sects and clans to figure out who to send.”

  “Okay,” Farun said. “So that takes some of the pressure off of Mer’cah to host millions of hopefuls, right?”

  “Exactly Tonilla’s plan. My son married a smart one,” Di Phon said. “Aside from that, your master has announced that Mai Mai is pregnant with his child, that he has cast aside Taimei as his concubine but wishes her well in her wedding to Polkluk, and to prove that he is happy for the new couple he will be marrying them himself.”

  The Dao companions stared at the old retiree in an ascendant body in silence for a moment.

  “I’m sorry,” Lahri said. “Could you repeat that, but with a bit more context?”

  ~~~~~~~

  It wasn’t enough.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Every step I had taken, from the day that I first picked up a glowing stone and asked how much the merchant wanted for it, it had all led to this moment.

  I had faced down bullies who had stabbed me. I had fled from jealous elders who had exorcised me. I had battled the wild jungles of Ker’tath. I had negotiated with a divine beast, and bartered with it for a mountain. I had tricked sixteen sects into allowing me to cultivate in peace rather than interrupting my meditations to study the array I’d erected. Then I had further tricked them into giving me the tournament I wanted.

  I had gained disciples. I had murdered and saved them from death at the same time. I had enkindled a spark in the world and tended it carefully while the world was bursting into flames around me.

  I had faced demonic cultivators and legions of undead.

  But I had finally confronted something that I simply could not overcome.

  Brute strength on a level that I could not match. Tactical genius that surpassed my own. Technique mastery which was on par with mine, and a dao that was nearly as profound.

  I coughed, spitting up blood. I looked up at the man who had defeated me on the ninety-ninth floor. I had given the duel everything I had, and the ruins of the combat room around us gave testimony to that fact. The walls were scorched and cut clean through, the screens were flickering and dead. The false rocks and foliage, there to give me an advantage, were all scorched down to the plasteel beneath the false exterior.

  The waterfall had been consumed and the air was heavy with the steam of its vapor.

  I had done most of this to remove this obstacle from my path, and yet still I had been defeated by this man.

  “You did well. Really. Sneaking up the last fourteen floors without revealing that you’d ascended to the platinum path was amazing. You’ve caused a significant amount of money to change hands with your dedication,” Kuto said, reaching down to give me a helping hand.

  I took it. I had admitted my defeat, there was no shame in it at this point.

  “Tell me, why did you not simply accept the air car?” he asked. “It would have taken you straight to the Duke himself. There was no need for you to challenge the tower.”

  “Yes there was,” I said.

  “Oh? Why is that?”

  “Because I read the strands of fate,” I answered. “And they said that the air car led to the death of everyone and everything I cared about, while the wilderness led to hope.”

  “Curious. How is your fate sense? I’m practically blind in that department, but Omaia’s is quite keen,” he commented. “Well, anyway. You have two choices. Either you can challenge me again, and you can do that as many times as it takes—”

  “You’re on the mythril path. I only just stepped on the platinum. It will take me centuries to surpass you,” I objected.

  “—ooor, you can bring me the hearts of ten beast kings of the platinum path and I’ll bring you to the Duke with my recommendation,” Kuto concluded.

  “I see,” I said. “Do I have to climb the tower with them from the beginning?”

  “Of course not. After facing me, nobody would dare accept your challenge. They’d forfeit rather than accept even a superchallenge. Everyone knows, once I acknowledge a challenger, there’s only two options. Either the challenger ascends to the one hundredth floor. Or they die. The betting is now on as to which fate lies in front of you.”

  “I see,” I said calmly.

  “It’s quite amazing that you managed to get so far in avatar form, you know,” Kuto said. “What do you plan on doing when you get home?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll ask myself when I get there,” I answered. Then I turned away, and limped out the ruined and shattered entrance to the stairs that led to the floor beneath.

  The cries of the audience echoed in their silence as they watched me leave alive. I wondered how many had bet on that outcome, and then promptly decided that I didn’t care.

  ?