Tower Of God: Life As Hoaqin

99th Floor, Arie Floating Castle

A white-haired boy was running at full speed, gasping for breath.

To face him.

To once again realize how high his goal truly was.

To find an answer.

To make a decision.

Father—

Father—

"Father!"

At the young boy's voice, a man turned around.

Arie Hon.

One of the Ten Great Family Heads who defied the natural order.

His father.

The goal he wished to surpass.

At last—he was looking at him.

"Hmm? Who are you?"

Having run nonstop the moment he heard that Arie Hon had visited the 99th Floor floating castle, the boy's heart was pounding as if it would burst, and only ragged gasps escaped his mouth. Still, he forced himself to straighten his posture and looked up at his father.

"My name is Vicente. You may not remember me, Father, but I am a son of the Arie family who inherited your blood. The moment I heard you had come to the floating castle, I ran here to meet you."

After taking a single deep breath, Vicente spoke his goal—with firm, unwavering resolve.

"One day, I wish to surpass you, Father, and make you look at me."

Words filled with clear emotion.

Eyes burning with determination.

The corners of Arie Hon's lips rose slightly.

But in the eyes looking down at Vicente, there was no warmth—no particular interest at all.

"Ho… is that so."

Hon slowly examined Vicente from head to toe.

His face was gentle and calm, yet Vicente felt something cold and indifferent in his gaze.

And that feeling was likely not a misunderstanding.

His father still had no interest in him.

Without realizing it, Vicente clenched his fist tightly.

"…Interesting."

"…?"

Vicente's eyes widened slightly as he looked back into Hon's.

There was only a faint trace of amusement—nothing more than mild curiosity.

"Vicente, follow me. There is something I wish to show you."

The place Hon led him to was the Altar of Swords.

Hoaquin had brought Vicente, Anna, and Albelda here countless times to play, but even so, the Altar of Swords was a place no one could enter without permission.

Hoaquin had been allowed entry only because he had Hon's approval.

"Well? What do you think?"

"It is beautiful… and magnificent. Thanks to Hoaquin, I have visited this place many times, yet every time I see it, I feel a sense of awe."

"Hoaquin…? Ah, yes. There was such a child. Well, in any case."

You said you felt awe, did you not, Vicente?

At Hon's question, Vicente swallowed unconsciously and nodded.

"Yes."

"Good. This is my floor. My family. They build structures for me, and sing songs for me. Among the Ten Families, only the Ha family and the Khun family can even be compared to the greatness of the Arie sword."

Then—Hon's gaze slid to the sword at Vicente's waist.

"So, my son—no matter how much effort you put in, it is impossible for you to surpass your father here."

"..."

In that instant, Vicente felt as though his entire body had frozen.

An answer he had expected.

A result he had anticipated.

And yet—what was this feeling?

The moment he heard those words, something inside him seemed to collapse.

"The retainers who serve me, my wives, the countless children of the Arie family… their bones, flesh, and blood come together to form a single great sword called Arie. And above all of that, this father reigns."

Gently—

Hon placed his hand on Vicente's head.

Though it was a gesture a parent might use to pat a child's head, there was no warmth at all.

"My son, if you wish to become a part of this sword, then grow within your father's embrace and offer yourself in sacrifice. But if you insist on surpassing this father—"

Hon turned his back on Vicente and began to walk away.

"Then give up. It is impossible."

"…What?"

Hon stopped for a moment, his back still turned, then slightly tilted his head and looked back at Vicente.

"You may or may not know this, but what you carry was never truly yours. You took something that belonged to another. It is far beyond what you deserve."

"That… what do you—"

"Still, if you truly refuse to give up, then leave this place."

"..."

"Leave this place—and return as a demon."

How far you can go with something that isn't yours… we shall see.

With those final words, Arie Hon departed—and never returned.

Perhaps Vicente would not only fail to surpass him, but might never even meet him again after today.

The wall called a Ten Great Family Head felt unbearably high.

In the end… will I accomplish nothing?

Impossible?

Is this where I give up?

Then what should I even swing my sword for anymore?

Shuoooo—

Suddenly, everything around him turned pitch black.

In that space where nothing could be seen, something dark red began to slowly seep forth.

....

"—!"

Vicente jolted awake, sitting bolt upright.

Cold sweat clung to his entire body.

"Hah… hah… haa…"

Another dream.

And of all things—it was that day again.

These dreams had become frequent lately, so he calmly took a towel he had prepared in advance and wiped away the sweat.

With no desire to fall back asleep, Vicente rose from his bed and brought a cup of water to his lips.

It had been two years since Hoaquin stepped off the Hell Train.

That meant that one week from now, Albelda, Anna, and I would become Regulars and begin climbing the Tower.

Nearly six years had passed since the day I met Father and heard his answer.

And yet—I still hadn't even made a decision.

For years, I denied it.

I swung my sword again and again, desperately rejecting the words he had spoken to me.

But the more I did, the more miserable I felt.

A thought kept taking root in the back of my mind:

None of this has meaning. No matter what I do, it's pointless.

Those negative thoughts slowly gnawed at me.

My smile.

My composure.

My happiness.

So I tried to abandon everything.

To forget everything.

I tried to let go of a goal that was far beyond my station—a goal that, perhaps, I had been destined to chase for my entire life.

Strangely enough, once I thought I had given it up, my heart felt lighter.

Refreshing, even.

The smile I had been losing returned.

So did my sense of ease.

Albelda and Anna were happy to see me becoming brighter again.

But—

I felt empty.

The reason I had ever taken up a sword was gone.

Now… what was I supposed to swing it for?

The sword I used to keep in my hand even while sleeping—except when eating—was now something I only touched during formal swordsmanship lessons.

Once I became a Regular, even those lessons would stop.

It had been almost a full month since I last truly held my sword.

With no motivation to swing it, I felt no urge to pick it up at all.

Was this… really okay?

I mean, once I became a Regular, I'd probably hold it again, but—

"Haa…"

What should I do?

What choice am I supposed to make?

Vicente returned to his bed, pulled the blanket over himself, and forced his eyes shut.

—Why won't you accept it?

—...

—You still haven't decided?

—...

—There's not much time left. If that's the case, then—

"VI–CEN–TE! OP–PA!"

"—Hk!"

"D-did I scare you that much, oppa…?"

"…Anna?"

"Hehe."

It felt like only a few seconds had passed since I fell asleep.

Yet sunlight was already streaming in through the window.

Anna was there, shaking me awake—

smiling innocently.

I ruffled her hair and sat up.

The time was already 8 a.m.

Normally, that would've meant I was two hours late.

After washing up quickly and heading outside, I saw that Anna had already brought Albelda along.

Albelda narrowed her eyes at me.

"Vicente, don't you think you've been oversleeping a bit too much lately?"

"Sorry. I keep waking up in the middle of the night."

"Why? Something wrong?"

"…Just some bad dreams."

Not exactly a lie.

Albelda looked even more suspicious, but as always, Vicente stayed silent.

"You look worn out lately, Vicente. If you've got worries, talk to your big sister!"

She puffed out her chest confidently.

At that, Vicente let out a small, helpless laugh.

"Yeah… I'll keep that in mind."

If only it were the kind of worry I could talk about.

If Hoaquin were here…

No. I can't keep relying on him forever.

Grrr—

Pulled out of his thoughts, Vicente felt hunger twist in his stomach.

As he was about to head to the cafeteria alone, he noticed Albelda and Anna staring at him.

…Wait.

Had they been waiting without eating?

"Albelda, did you eat breakfast?"

"Nope. We both waited because of you. Hurry up—let's eat now."

"…Alright. Let's go."

Most Arie trainees finished breakfast by six or seven in the morning, so the cafeteria now only held staff and Rankers assigned to the floating castle.

"Hmm… where should we sit?"

"Unni! Over there—Leblanc unni's here!"

"Oh! Let's sit there. Vicente, you grab something and come over."

"Got it."

Arie Leblanc, the Ranker who had once been Hoaquin's assigned supervisor during the Selection, smiled when she saw the three of them scurry over.

"What, you're only eating now?"

"Hehe, yeah. Vicente overslept."

"Well, that happens sometimes."

She took a big spoonful of fried rice, swallowed, then continued.

"So, what floor is Hoaquin on these days?"

"Oh, right—hold on. I'll message him. I think he's on the 52nd Floor?"

"Fast. 52 floors in six years. Five, really, if you don't count the year he waited for his team."

Soon after, the Rankers eating with Leblanc stood up together.

Their break must've ended.

"Hm, time to get back to work. Tell Hoaquin I said hi. That brat hasn't contacted me once since the 21st Floor."

"What? That's awful. I'll definitely scold him for you, unni."

"Good. You'll be Regulars in a week, right? Let's meet the day before—I'll treat you to a big meal."

She waved casually and returned to her post.

Left alone, the three of them finished eating and stood up.

Once chosen as Regulars, they wouldn't need to attend lessons anymore, so lately their days had been nothing but eating, playing, and killing time.

And messaging Hoaquin when bored.

"Oh—Hoaquin replied."

—Photo grab~ This is a picture of us lol. Looks like Hell Train parts are made here.

By the way, speaking of the Hell Train—you guys HAVE to ride it. Seriously. Absolutely do it.

"Oh, he sent pictures."

"Where? Let me see, unni!"

As Albelda and Anna eagerly looked through Hoaquin's messages, Vicente followed them with a sandwich still in his mouth.

Just as they were leaving the cafeteria, someone spoke up.

"Long time no see, Young Master Vicente."

All three turned toward the voice.

A familiar face.

"…Hawol?"

A servant working in the floating castle—one who had often worked directly under Hoaquin.

Hawol bowed politely.

"Oh! Uncle Hawol! It's been a while!"

"Yes. It's good to see you again, Miss Albelda and Miss Anna."

Vicente tilted his head.

There was no obvious reason for Hawol to seek them out.

"What's going on? I heard you were on leave."

"That's right. With Young Master Hoaquin climbing the Tower, there hasn't been much for me to do, so I took some time off. About a week."

Then Hawol looked directly at Vicente.

"However, before that, there is one task I was ordered to complete. The Floating Castle Administrator is requesting your presence, Young Master Vicente."