"There's soone on the first floor..."
"A man whose soul is… different. His connection to Yxthar is stronger than anything I've ever seen."
Adam trembled as Celestia's words popped up in his mind.
Although she had been talking about him... the real reason she said that was because she had sensed the god-like child standing right beside him all along!
'The authority of [Omnipresence] helped her slightly detect Yxthar's location... but she could not totally perceive it?'
Adam thought, as his understanding of authorities grew deeper...
The child opened his mouth to speak, then suddenly froze.
His playful expression vanished, replaced by a blank, empty face.
He tilted his head as if listening to a distant sound.
"It's strange..."
The child murmured, his voice losing its playful edge.
"The stream is supposed to be blocked here. But I can still feel them... countless eyes watching from a place I cannot see. And they are all looking at the world through you..."
A chill went down Adam's spine.
It wasn't surprising that the Tower's own consciousness could sense his viewers.
What terrified him was the confirmation of their power.
This child was a monster he couldn't even look at directly, and yet his viewers existed in a realm beyond even its perception.
Before Adam could form a response, the child spoke again, his voice sharp and direct.
"You are a ti traveler, correct?"
Hearing this, Adam was not shocked.
Since this consciousness of Yxthar had been following him from the beginning... that ant they had most likely uncovered this already.
How disappointing...
A ti traveler caught so early...
Hence, there was no point in lying.
"Yes."
Adam admitted quietly.
"I was not so sure about it at first, but the mont you entered the tower, sothing odd happened."
The child said, his blank eyes seeming to stare through Adam's soul.
"It seems there is already a Second Angel Candidate in this universe. A title I have not given. It seems another version of my consciousness, in a different strand of reality, has already marked soone."
He focused fully on Adam, his head cocked.
"I highly doubt your 'ti-travel' is as simple as you think it is."
'So he thinks so too...'
Adam's own suspicions were being confird by the enemy itself.
This was his chance to get answers.
"On the third floor, the Sunken Catacombs, I was marked with a [Death Authority] in my past life. That mark followed here. You must have seen it, what do you make of it?"
The child's blank face broke into a wide, unnerving grin. A light, cheerful laugh filled the room.
"Haha! Viewing as an ally now? How interesting! I'm pretty sure I was the target of your anger in your past life. I'm guessing I... retaliated in that tiline?"
The child spoke about the destruction of humanity as if it were a minor plot point in a story.
"No."
Adam stated coldly, his voice firm.
"I still view you as an enemy. But I also don't want to blindly follow a path that will lead to the sa destruction again."
He took a breath, deciding to reveal a crucial piece of the puzzle.
"In my last life, for a reason I never understood, you retaliated against my kind. When I was on the verge of death, an unknown viewer sent a gift that sent back in ti."
He was careful, omitting the part about his new ability to copy his viewers' skills.
The child fell silent, a low "Hmm..." of deep thought echoing in the sterile room.
"Perhaps it is a sche from the other Angels... or from other Realms. Such a foreign power... it is not familiar to . There seems to be an intruder in my Realm of Everchanging...."
The child finally said, his tone changing dramatically.
It was no longer playful or curious, but filled with a cold, simring anger.
"Intruder?"
Adam couldn't stop himself from asking.
What could possibly be an "intruder" to sothing as powerful as the Tower?
"Hehe, do you wanna know more?"
The child laughed, his dark mood vanishing as quickly as it ca.
"I can tell you more about it... if you accept my gift."
"Gift?"
Adam asked, his guard instantly going up.
A "gift" from the Tower had to be a trap.
He tried to pull up his stream chat, to see if his viewers had any warnings, but the screen remained stubbornly blank.
The blockage was still there...
Was this the reason why the Tower had openly revealed its consciousness on this floor?
Because this floor could block the stream chat?
How cunning...
The child just smiled.
A new notification, glowing with a deep, ominous purple light, appeared directly in front of Adam's eyes.
[The Tower of Yxthar (Universe Designation: O-3) would like to appoint you as its Second Angel Candidate.]
[Accept / Deny]
Adam's frown deepened.
"Why are you doing this?"
He asked.
"Your existence is too weak to handle certain truths."
The child explained, his voice casual.
"By accepting this, I can safely relay the information directly to your soul. And besides..."
The child added, his eyes glinting.
"Didn't you say you'd do anything to save your species? I'm giving you that chance. A universe without a Second Angel Candidate is dood to die after the tenth floor. It's a rule."
"How do I know you're not lying?"
Adam challenged.
The child pouted, looking genuinely offended.
"I can assure you, you'll see as an ally after this. I'm very, very skeptical about the being who sent you back. I can be your second layer of protection. If that being has bad intentions—and it must, to interfere with my ga—who knows what it will do to you or your precious humanity?"
"But if you have a connection to both of us... well, then both sides enter a stalemate. It's safer for you. Think of it as... balance."
Adam listened, his mind racing.
The child's logic was twisted, but it made a terrifying kind of sense.
He had always wondered about the mysterious benefactor who sent him back.
What was their goal?
Using the Tower's own power as a shield against another potential enemy... it was a desperate, dangerous move.
But it was the only move he had if he wanted to understand his own situation more...
To Adam, knowing was better than being ignorant...
In any case, he was already committed to his decision.
There was no point in holding back and hesitating anymore.
His eyes fell on the glowing notification.
He took a deep, steadying breath, and made his choice.
[Accept]
The mont he ntally confird it, it felt like a key turned in the very core of his being.
A deep, ancient brand on his soul... sothing that had always been there, dormant and invisible suddenly flared to life.
Like a fundantal part of his existence being awakened...
A connection snapped into place, vast and terrifying, linking him directly to the imnse consciousness of the Tower.
[You have beco a Second Angel Candidate.]
"Haha! You really are stupid and stubborn."
The child laughed, but his voice now held a strange mix of mockery and respect.
"All of this, just to protect your own species..."
Suddenly, the white room vanished.
Adam felt himself flung through a vast, empty darkness.
It was a void between spaces, cold and endless.
He looked around, his heart pounding.
The child was everywhere and nowhere, his form changing uncontrollably.
One second he was a scurrying rat, then a snarling dog, a majestic dragon, a wrinkled old woman.
The changes ca faster and faster, a dizzying, maddening cycle.
Had he made a terrible mistake?
Was this a trap after all?
Adam imdiately activated his [Authority of Invincibility], a golden glow wrapping around him as a shield against the unknown.
Just as suddenly as it began, the chaos stopped.
The white room snapped back into existence.
The child stood before him, back in his original form.
And Adam realized sothing had changed...
He could look directly at the child now!
The child's eyes still swirled with impossible colors, but they no longer threatened to shatter his mind.
"Hm..."
The child murmured, his playful grin fading into a look of genuine curiosity.
"Even my connection to the power of the [Everchanging] can't find the source of the being who sent you back. Strange. Really, really strange... and dangerous for both you and ."
He looked at Adam, his expression serious.
"Haha! You're in a very dangerous position like now!"
"We're basically a toy for the other realms and angels! Hahaha!"
The child laughed in madness.
"Let's hope you're truly the one who can inherit the full title of the Second Angel."
The child said, his voice losing its laughter.
"Why?"
Adam asked, his own voice tight.
"Otherwise, this Tower, and all the universes it supports, will disappear."
"What do you an?"
Adam pressed, a cold dread settling in his stomach.
The child grinned, a sharp, frightening expression.
"There are beings who want to eat ..."
The mont those words left his mouth, a violent, splitting pain exploded in Adam's head.
It felt like his brain was trying to reject a truth it was never ant to comprehend.
"I'll explain more when you reach a higher existence rank."
The child said, watching him closely.
"Otherwise, you might just go insane and explode your own head. Without the title of [Second Angel Candidate], you would have really died just now from hearing that."
The child leaned forward slightly.
"Everyone thinks the Tower is a foreign being that brings destruction. But it's the opposite. The Tower is what holds these universes together. It's a shield, protecting everything inside from the real foreign beings... the ones who want to devour us all."
"That's all I can tell you as of now till you reach a higher rank. In any case, you should go, sothing interesting is gonna happen on the tenth floor soon."
The child said, waving a hand dismissively.
"I won't protect you. that's your own universe's job. But I'll give you one piece of advice, as my [Second Angel Candidate]."
"Be careful of the man who holds the title of Omniscience. He will try to understand you, to take you apart and see how you work."
The child's eyes glinted with a final, crucial warning.
"He is also the one who bore the title of [Second Angel Candidate] in your past life."
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