The Tower of Constellations stood at the center of the Cosmos, piercing the sky with a magnitude that deemed it to be seen from any part of the floating continent.
It was a monument for ambition and mortality for the ones who stood to climb it and it was also the downfall of many. Too many.
A very risky job to do... It was only for those who had the physical and mental strength to continue enduring and advancing.
I had been climbing the tower for ten years of my miserable life.
Throughout this period I have had countless near-death experiences, losing some of my limbs in the process.
However, I did not waver.
I continued climbing, higher and higher.
Until the day I reached the 500th floor. The middle point of the entire tower. I became the first person in history to ever do so.
As I entered, I encountered various types of monsters and non-monsters. I fought angels, demons, dark elves and other series of beings that were stationed to stop me from reaching my goal.
I slaughtered them using all my might. After lots and lots of battling... I finally came face to face with the boss of the floor.
I smiled in excitement. This was my moment, the moment to go even higher and see what lies at the top of the tower.
This had been my goal since childhood, a goal that gave me purpose to continue pushing forward in my life even after being scorned by many.
The boss and I went toe to toe for several hours.
The boss was a divine creature that was basically infinite in all ways. Completely unstoppable by any normal human.
But that was the thing, I wasn't a normal human being, I had trained myself to the limits... Breaking all forms of barriers placed on the human body and ascending to greater heights.
A smile stayed on my face throughout the battle. I dodged some attacks while blocking some and returning them with double force.
The attack sent the divine creature several thousand steps back, injuring it severely.
Whoosh!
I closed in on the creature and drove my blade through its core and wrenched it sideways, shattering the core completely.
The creature collapsed to its knees, pure energy radiating from its cuts and slashes. It slowly began to fade away, indicating its defeat.
I held my sword up close and watched in silent joy as the divine creature faded away.
"Finally... I have wo—!"
Drip! Drip!
I looked down to my stomach. There was a large hole that cleared every single one of my organs that resided in the middle area of my belly.
Blood dripped down slowly, hitting the ground with a tap sound.
Cough!
I spat out blood, using my second hand to cover my mouth as more came out.
"How is this possibl..." I staggered backwards, releasing my blade.
My eyes reached upwards to the divine creature and saw its hand positioned in the way it shot large beams.
It had fully healed before I neared it and prepared a pre-attack to play out later on.
A vengeful smile formed on its face as it faded into nothing.
Thud!
I dropped to the floor, completely unable to move. My vision was slowly blurring out.
I forced myself to check my bag for any potion. I brought out a bottle... However, only a drop remained.
There was no way that was going to heal a hole in the stomach.
Clank...! Clank...!
I dropped the bottle, listening as It made resounding noises dropping to the floor.
Ahead of me, a large portal opened up. It was the portal to the 501st floor. It appeared twenty feet away... Glowing with bright white light.
'Just a few steps... Just a few more....'
I broke a smile as I closed my eyes.
'Damn... it...'
Maybe people would come in parties to take down large-scaled floors like this... However, I always liked working alone. I felt teammates would only slow me down.
And also, I didn't want to be responsible for the death of anybody.
My consciousness faded from my body. I felt rest... True rest I had not felt in a long time.
I had spent every single day of my life training and getting better at being what I was.
An Ascendant... People who actually decide to risk their lives and climb the tower.
I had become one of the thousands of cases of young people who died in this tower.
My body slowly dissolved into the darkness. Everything in the boss room reset itself upon being cleared.
The divine creature reformed and came to the body of the man who cleared the whole floor by himself.
"You are the first human to ever defeat me, for that I commend and respect you..." The divine creature took his body and laid it on the altar of the throne it sat on.
"Rest now... Ascendant, you have done well."
•
•
•
In the depth of the void that leads souls to the afterlife resting place, a large hand drove itself into the millions of souls that travelled through this void.
It reached out for one particular soul and brought it out.
Upon contact, my eyes were not opened but yet I saw. I didn't have ears but yet I heard.
A strange box-like glowing light formed in front of the raw shape of my soul.
It had text written all over it, written in a language I understood instinctively even though I had never seen or heard about it before.
In this solitude, a voice rang out from the glowing box.
[Congratulations on completing the 500th floor]
[You have unlocked the Aspect System for all humanity]
[You have achieved an unimaginable feat...]
[For your bravery and resilience in reaching this impossible milestone, you will be granted two rewards]
[Initializing Time Advancement Protocol...]
The glowing box began to glow ever brighter and brighter, slowly swallowing my soul until it sucked it in completely, leaving the other souls to glide past the void in peace once more.
[Good luck, Ascendant]