As their numbers dwindled, only a few remained.
The kings.
Their loyal subjects.
And a handful of soldiers who had chosen to fight until the very end.
They had made up their minds.
Rather than sit inside the towers and wait for their doom—or wait until the tower's energy was completely depleted—they would fight.
They would fight until the very end.
But before they could set out, the King of the West, King Arcadia, hesitated.
He looked toward the remaining soldiers before finally speaking.
"Why should we risk our lives... and the lives of those who follow us?"
His voice was filled with uncertainty.
"To risk the lives of everyone remaining... for what?"
The King of the East, King Helios, immediately raged at his words.
"Outrageous!"
His eyes burned with anger.
"You would abandon our race and join those filthy vermin?"
He clenched his fists.
"They are the same beasts we fought!"
"They are the same beasts that fed on us!"
"And now you want us to join them?"
The atmosphere grew tense.
Then the King of the North, King Calypso, stepped forward.
"We both know you've been relying on the power of your Divine Beast more than your own strength."
Arcadia remained silent.
Calypso continued.
"Now, without your beast and with your army collapsed, you're shaken."
He looked directly into Arcadia's eyes.
"Don't forget who you are."
"You're a king."
"Before the Divine Beasts came to our aid, you had strength of your own."
He paused.
"And Helios is right."
"Even if we were to join them..."
His expression hardened.
"They wouldn't allow us to live among them as equals."
"They wouldn't give us freedom."
"They would simply turn us into another race beneath their command."
Silence followed.
The remaining soldiers listened carefully.
No one spoke.
Because they all knew—
Calypso was right.
Yep 😁. I'll give the South King a name that fits the existing names. King Atlas works well here—strong, simple, and fitting for the Southern King.
I'll also use the floor-clearing sequence as a time skip, showing that the journey cost them people and left one king injured without slowing the story down too much.
"We shall set forth onto the last floor of the tower and face whatever may come."
King Helios' voice was firm.
There was no hesitation left in him.
The remaining kings and their soldiers gathered themselves and began their ascent.
Floor after floor, they fought their way upward.
The further they went, the stronger the monsters became.
The battles became more brutal.
More soldiers fell.
Some were torn apart by monsters, while others sacrificed themselves to protect their kings.
They continued regardless.
They had already chosen their fate.
They would fight until the end.
By the time they reached the higher floors, their numbers had been reduced drastically.
Even the kings were no longer unscathed.
King Calypso had suffered a deep wound across his side, while several of the remaining soldiers were barely able to stand.
Yet they continued climbing.
Floor after floor.
Battle after battle.
Until finally—
99/100
They had reached the 99th floor.
The remaining soldiers collapsed to their knees.
The kings themselves were exhausted.
Their bodies were covered in wounds, their weapons damaged, and their strength almost completely depleted.
For the first time since entering the tower, they stopped.
They needed to recover.
They needed to regain their strength before facing whatever awaited them on the final floor.
Slowly, they began moving forward, searching for a place where they could rest.
But then—
They noticed something.
The King of the South was not moving.
Neither were the soldiers who remained under his command.
King Helios turned around.
"Why have you stopped?"
There was no response.
The Southern King stood silently among the remnants of his legion.
King Atlas.
His expression was different from the others.
He looked toward the passage ahead.
Then back at his remaining soldiers.
Something was wrong.
"Atlas?"
King Arcadia called out.
Still—
He did not move.
The remaining kings exchanged glances.
Something had happened.
And whatever it was...
King Atlas had decided to stay behind.