[A.N: Those who were reading this novel before the rewrite, it's recommended that you start over from chapter one.]
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." — Winston Churchill.
Victory and defeat are fleeting. What truly matters is the strength to keep moving forward.
---
The next morning,
Eren and Kain set out before dawn, the city still cloaked in mist. The streets were quiet.
As the sun rose over the horizon, the silhouette of the tower loomed ahead, creating a beautiful scene.
They paused at the entrance, exchanging a glance—determination burned in their eyes.
"Are you ready, Eren?" asked Kain as he looked over to his side.
Kain had brown hair with some white streaks.
"Yes. Let's start," he replied, keeping his words brief as they both began moving inside.
"Is it just the two of you?" asked the man at the guard post.
"Yes," they replied in unison.
---
[Inside the Tower of Evolution]
They found themselves in a vast, enclosed arena—three times the size of a stadium, but with a domed ceiling that let in no light. The air was thick with anticipation, echoing faintly off the stone walls.
At the far end, two colossal statues knelt side by side, their heads bowed as if in silent vigil. Each statue towered above the arena floor, its features carved with intricate detail, casting long shadows across the ground.
Between the statues, a shimmer began to form in the air. Slowly, the outline of a hologram flickered into existence, its light growing brighter as it prepared to reveal itself.
After a few minutes, a figure suddenly formed in the hologram.
It resembled a human body, but lacked external details.
There were only a nose and ears on the head, no other details on the entire body.
This being suddenly materialized, and looked around everywhere.
After it was done, it snapped its fingers, and a similar figure appeared on the small table-like desk in front of Kain's chair. The same happened for every single person present.
But Kain could not see Eren anywhere.
'Sanguini, can I try contacting Eren using Family Connection?' asked Kain.
[It could work. Wanna try (・・?)]
'Yes...'
[Establishing Family Connection]
[ . ]
[ . . ]
[ . . . ]
[Connection Established.]
"Kain?" came a voice in Eren's head.
'Yes, Eren, I can hear you. Can you hear me?' replied Kain in his mind.
"Yes," he replied.
'Where are you, Eren?' asked Kain as he looked left and right, still unable to find him.
"Look behind," said Eren.
Kain turned around.
He saw Eren looking directly at him, their faces only a short distance apart.
"AAh!" Kain shouted.
Luckily, your voice would only stay with you; you cannot talk to or touch others here.
"Haha," Eren laughed as he returned to his position.
'You—I swear...' muttered Kain, but he didn't bother to finish.
The figure that had materialized on the table spoke at this moment.
"I hope everyone has settled in," said the figure.
"You can call me The Celestial, and I welcome you to the Tower of Evolution," The Celestial greeted.
---
"As you all might already know, when humanity was on the verge of extinction, it was the Towers of Evolution that helped humanity survive and gave us a chance to change," it said as fake cheering sounds played and two holographic party poppers popped.
After that, it spoke again.
"I shall now give you all a basic introduction to the Tower of Trials."
"..."
"..."
It rambled on for a while. Kain was barely able to keep up as he started feeling sleepy.
[Kain, you seem to find it boring. Should I make a summary for you? :D]
*plop*
Suddenly, a plop sound came as the balloon that had formed over Kain's nose popped, waking him up.
"Huh? What did you say?" he asked, yawning, "*yawns*"
[Should I provide you with a simpler, easier-to-understand summary of what The Celestial said? ^_^]
"You can do that? *yawns* Sure! Please do that~" he replied.
[So, according to The Celestial:]
[- Each floor of the tower is so large that it could be considered a world in itself.]
[- Each tower climber must clear a quest in the tower to level up.]
[- The tower will assign a quest based on the difficulty level of the tasks you encounter.]
[- If no quest is accepted, the tower climber will be expelled from the tower and banned from re-entering.]
[- The time limit is 3 years.]
[That's all. O.o]
The AI said.
"I see," said Kain, nodding in understanding.
After a few seconds, a system notification popped up.
[-- System Notification --]
[Party 'Kain's Party' was created.]
[Eren Umbrosia has been added to the party.]
[Your adventure in the Tower of Evolution is about to begin!]
*Flash* *Flash*
Suddenly, every single person began to turn into flashes of light as they rushed toward the vortex that had formed above the stadium-like place.
Kain and Eren also entered the vortex.
---
Currently, Kain was in the vortex.
It looked as if Kain was traveling through a wormhole.
It was a long tunnel, with various hypnotizing patterns forming all over the walls, seeming to rush past Kain at an astonishing speed.
It was not that these patterns were moving at an astonishing speed; instead, it was Kain who was moving forward at a truly incredible pace.
*woosh* *woosh*
He did not know at what speed he was moving, but after what felt like an hour, Kain suddenly saw a portal of light at the end of the tunnel.
Kain reached out his hand toward the bright white circle of light as he fell out of the portal.
Outside the portal, everything was foggy and cold.
And not just any normal cold—it was bone-chilling.
Luckily, Kain was a vampire and strong, so he did not feel the cold too much.
After a few seconds, Kain noticed something. He was falling.
And falling at an incredible speed. At this rate, when he hit the ground, he would be squashed to death.
"AaaaAaaaH! I'm falling! Help me!" shouted Kain as he plummeted downward.
Kain knew no help would be available in the air, but he still shouted out of instinct.
Suddenly,
All of the fog dissipated. It was then that Kain was finally able to see his surroundings.
All of the land until where his eyes could reach was covered in snow.
There was absolutely nothing around.
He was currently going to fall into a Frozen Lake.
It was worse. Falling on snow, he might have some chances to survive due to his strong regeneration. But on a lake which has who knows how many meters of thick ice, it was worse. It would be like he was falling on a hard surface.
Kain closed his eyes as he braced himself for impact.
After all, Kain could not do anything. He had not grown any wings yet, and he did not have anything that could save his life here.
All he could do was hope to survive the fall, if it happened, no matter how bad the situation would be, he could still regenerate.
Kain knew that it was all wishful thinking.
Heck, he believed that he would instantly be converted into a meat paste when he fell.
This was his confidence!
*FWOOOSH* *FWAP FWAP FWAP*
Suddenly, a loud sound echoed above Kain; it was the thunderous sound of large wings.
*FWOOOSH* *FWAP FWAP*
The gusts from the wings sent snow flying here and there
*FWAP FWAP FWAP*
He opened his eyes just in time to glimpse a shadow passing overhead, the sound of wings growing louder, almost deafening.
*FWOOOSH*
*snap* He fainted.
---
Slowly, Kain's eyelids fluttered.
He began to open his eyes slowly, his vision blurry.
Kain slowly got up; he was currently lying down on a rock.
He was unharmed. Completely. There was no wound or even trace of any past wound on his body.
It was as if he had never fallen in the first place.
Kain held his head, feeling some pain. His head was hurting slightly.
'...What.. What was that?' he thought in his mind as he started to look around, but he still found his vision blurry, so he decided to blink a couple of times.
After his vision cleared, Kain looked around. He was currently in a large cave, an extremely large cave at that.
And not large in a sense of length, it was in a sense of space. The Volume available in the current location he was in, inside the cave.
Kain slowly stood up, taking in his surroundings.
The cave walls sparkled with frost, and icicles hung from the ceiling.
Mist curled along the ground, swirling around his feet as he moved.
As he looked around,
His gaze was drawn to a massive figure a few meters away from him. Sitting regally atop a mound of glittering ice was a colossal dragon.
Its scales shimmered in shades of pale blue and silver. Long, curved horns swept back from its head, and its eyes glowed with a piercing, icy light. Wisps of cold vapor drifted from its nostrils with every breath.
There was a red crystal atop its forehead. Increasing its majesty.
The dragon's wings, vast and imposing, white in color, having the same scales, were folded neatly at its sides.
Kain stared in awe, unable to move or speak.
The dragon lowered its head, looking at Kain with a calm gaze. Its voice echoed through the cavern, deep across the cave, as it spoke:
"Awaken, young one," the dragon intoned. "You have entered my domain. Tell me, what brings a child of night to the heart of the frozen abyss?"
Kain instinctively took a step back, his breath catching in his throat. The sheer presence of the dragon pressed down on him like a mountain, making his knees tremble. He tried to speak, but the words stuck in his mouth, his mind racing between awe and fear.
"I... I don't know," Kain finally managed, his voice barely above a whisper. "I just... fell. I didn't mean to intrude."
The dragon's eyes narrowed, its gaze piercing straight into him.
For a moment, the cavern was silent except for the faint drip of melting icicles, which were melting from the heat emitted by the dragon.
Then,
The dragon started to lean closer, its massive head lowering until its icy breath washed over Kain. "Very well, child of night. But know this, every trespasser must prove their worth, or be claimed by my abyss."
Before Kain could respond, the ground beneath him began to tremble. Cracks of blue light snaked across the icy floor, and a deep rumble echoed through the cave.
Kain's eyes widened in alarm as the dragon's wings unfurled, casting a shadow that swallowed him whole.
The last thing he saw was the dragon's eyes glowing brighter, and then—
Everything went white.
---
[Author's Note (･ω<)]
- Many of you might be wondering why I deleted over half of my latest chapters in my novel and made so many changes in my recent chapters.
- Well, here are the answers:
> My Webnovel recently received a contract request. So I decided to make my novel at least twice as good in terms of story and writing style to fit the tastes of the readers.
> Therefore, I decided to do some work and read every single chapter, revising the plots and everything else.
> The romance in the novel also received some fast pacing, which I have now toned down.
> I will also start stockpiling my chapters from now on, so please keep reading. It won't happen again (;´ Д｀)
---