1 Chapter 1: Halcyon, the Tower of Divinity

A young woman made her way across a vibrant green meadow, carrying a small object folded in a soft blanket. Carrying it with a delicate hold, the object nestled inside must've carried great importance to her.

She dutifully avoided sharp rocks, beds of mud, and small streams exuding a sense of unparalleled beauty. The trees and grass seemed to bend themselves toward her, enamored with the lady's beauty. The tranquil environment around her served to highlight her radiant smile, and supple complexion.

An azure sky sprawled across the world like a blanket, puffy clouds meandering in between each other in a game of lazy tag. The wildflowers a blend of pinks, blues, and yellows that made artists desire to paint their likeness on a canvas.

A clear stream curved through the soil, producing crisp sounds as water traveled along the rock bed. A crisp breeze blew past, fluttering her white dress and scarlet hair. She unknowingly smiled as the breeze continued to play with her hair.

The object in her arms slowly began to move, a fold in the blanket falling to reveal a young boy. He was still an infant, and the world around him seemed alien with the exception for his mother holding him. Slowly opening his eyes, the child grimacing when exposed to the sunlight. His twitching eyelashes and confused expression made the woman chuckle, her smile growing warmer. 

His features exuded a youthful innocence, prompting individuals feel the need to protect him. Like all babies, he possessed supple and pale skin. Small red veins snaked across the skin, his small chest rising and falling in a careful pattern. The similarities ended there, with the boy taking from his mother's unique eyes. A red x-shaped pupil framed a black iris, a unique oddity in a world filled with strange mutations.

The boy had inherited his father's hair; a pure white akin to the snow hugging the mountain tops in the distance. With his ruby-colored eyes, the youth had quite the distinct appearance.

Whether it was the result of interbreeding, tenebrous curses, or unique spells: there were all sorts of eye-catching physical traits. The world was populated with all sorts of individuals and creatures. With such limitless possibilities, the youth's distinct eyes and hair were commanplace.

She adjusted her arms to showcase the vast expanses of the land to her child before whispering.

"It's quite beautiful, isn't it?" 

Her son, oblivious to her words started to play with her red hair. Like spun of the finest silk, they were immeasurably soft.

The lady's expression suddenly hardened, her delicate features taking on a form of uneasiness. The pleasant aura around her dimmed, her brows knitting as her thoughts became troubled. She drifted into the past, her attitude unknowingly taking a sharp turn.

"I'm sure you won't remember this, but I'd like to speak with you while I still can." With a hint of wistfulness, she gazed at her son with a conflicted face. If it was the her from her younger days, she wouldn't be capable of expressing such tender emotions. They were a waste, and only served as a burden. Only now did she recognize how far she had truly grown, abandoning such notions long ago.

The boy frowned, seemingly confused by the change in his mother's disposition. Burdened with an infantile mind, he could only stare at her naive wonder. His mother chuckled, amused by a small hint of maturity that her son possessed. She had noticed he didn't cry much, or showcase the usual expressive traits of a newborn. 

It startled her at first, but like any mother she was concerned about how he would grow up. She sincerely hoped her family's blood was incapable of distorting his personality. As a descendant of the divine, their blood was significantly more potent then any mortal.

The concentration of divinity in their blood wasn't near the potency of a demigod, but it still carried unrivalled strength and an amalgamation of other side-effects. The latter more numerous then the former, unfortunately. That was the fate of those who carried on the legacy of such beings.

The women's eyes glowed with a darker shade of crimson, accentuating her strangely-shaped pupils. It was like she was peering into the grand tapestry of fate. The power contained within those eyes seemed to transcend space and time, gazing upon the world with stark clarity.

"Even without my eyes, I know you're destined for great things. You're my son after all!"

She remarked with a shameless smile, tickling the boy cradled in her arms. Watching his stoic expression break into a laughing fit, she felt more relaxed. She could stay like this forever. Simply her and the boy gazing at the beautiful landscape before them, enjoying each other's presence. 

"I'm sure you'll encounter a lot of hardship, that's just how it goes for those like us. It's something your father and I were embroiled in as a result of our lineage."

Both the lady and her husband experienced unabating grief and tragedy as a result of their blood, eventually deciding on leaving it all behind. A coward's action, their families would vehemently declare. A soldier abandoning their post. That was what they were treated like; powerful weapons that would be disposed of when the time came.

But looking at her son bundled in her arms, she found certainty in their decision. It broadened her horizons, opening up a world she couldn't quite clearly see before. There was more to life then attaining strength, killing for the benefit of others.

If they had stayed, remaining in a complex tapestry of political warfare and deluded heroism: she would never have been able to hold her son in her arms like this.

Their families wouldn't allow such an existence; blood purity was upheld with the greatest of importance. It was such a meaningless tradition, a means for those in power to keep it. 

Even if the child was innocent, he would be no more then a curse. All those people ever desired was power, their mind focused on the single-handed pursuit of gaining strength and indulgence. 

Originally the woman had acquiesced, and followed the principles of her clan. With the abominations left behind by the scourges beyond the stars, the need for humans to advance and grow stronger was indispensable.

But she was naïve. Hopelessly so.

She failed to recognize the suffering and torment people endured under her watch, her loyalty, her actions. She had felt that by following the decrees of the elders would be for the natural benefit of the world. That she was an honored individual, tasked with the purpose of upholding their clan's glory.

But at the end of the day, it was all propaganda weaved to ensure her obedience.

What was power without principles? What was principles without power? 

The lady almost scoffed, finding the philosophical questions meaningless. She managed to hold it in as she tried to remain a neutral expression in front of the infant. She watched a pair of blue birds fly past, her expression slowly softening. Foxes played in the nearby hills, rolling around as they led out low cries of happiness.

"I don't feel good passing down this path to you, but it seems to be out of my hands."

She knew running away was only a temporarily oasis, a peaceful live was something she nor her husband could ever hope to maintain. They were living on borrowed time, and their child would bear the insurmountable weight of two divine lineages.

It left her with a crippling feeling of depression and frustration. After sacrificing everything to attain a peaceful life, it would soon fall through her hands like water. Whether it was the result of the divine blood flowing with her, or the blasphemous actions she had carried out, she would once again succumb to the whims of fate.

She turned her eyes to the boy, an amicable expression returning. A small part of her hoped that he would grow into something better then his parents, transcending to become greater the sum of his parts. 

Gazing at the gorgeous rolling hills, and tranquil sky she once again sighed.

"I love you, and remember-".

***

A wave of saltwater splashed against the edge of the boat, spilling over and threatening to capsize a small wooden dinghy. A tiny dot floated in the vastness of a black canvas, nearly impossible to see from above.

At the helm of the boat stood an elderly man, possessing steel grey eyes, and tanned skin. He exuded an aura of stoic determination required of a sailor. With hands marked in calluses, he worked the ropes with familiarity.

Salt-laden wind slapped against his face, prompting his lips to taste of salt. He would occasionally brush his sleeve against his face, wiping the incessant curtains of water that descended from the skies.

In stark contrast to his surroundings, his eyes remained placid. Like the surface of a smooth sheet of metal, they remained eerily calm. Deep within an invisible power surged about, allowing his gaze to pierce the surrounding fog and rain.

With a frown on his face, he watched dark waves reaching the height of large buildings crash against each other, and lightning arch out of the skies like the branches of a deadly tree.

The sky was pitch black, the stars barely made out through the dark clouds. It was impossible to discern the time of day at the moment, the world succumbing to the seaborne calamity.

The boat was stuck between these two elements of heaven and earth, in which their dingy was an ant stuck between a battle of deities. The sailor could only wish the deity ruling over the seas would have mercy on his small ship. He was almost tempted to start devoutly praying, but a moment of rest would threaten the ship's balance.

"Oy kid wake up and help me out!"

The sailor yelled at the young man sprawled across crates, seemingly sound asleep. He wondered how the kid could even be able to catch a single wink under these conditions. If he wasn't occupied preventing the ship from capsizing, he would've long stomped over and knocked him awake.

Before the man could shake his companion awake, a swell of water swept over the bow of the ship drenching everything.

 The boy woke up to a mouth full of seawater, and drenched clothes. Before he could even remember where he was, another wave slammed into the ship threatening to send him overboard. With a calamitous roar of thunder, the sky split with a branch of thunder shaking the youth out of his stupor.

The sailor grabbed him, unceremoniously dumping him back on the deck before grabbing onto the oars. The youth groaned in pain, which was quickly swallowed by an explosion of thunder. He had just plummeted from a comfortable dream into a turbulent nightmare. He was momentarily frozen, wondering if he was still in the midst of sleeping. 

"Thanks."

The young man thanked him quickly, before struggling to refasten the supplies and boxes. It was a laborious task, the ropes slick with seawater and the tossing of the waves. It made it difficult for him maintain a proper grip, much less strap down all of their belongings. He also wanted to avoid incurring the sailor's wrath, proceeding to work with greater intensity.

The sailor spared no words, his focus directly aimed at the large swell once again threatening the ship. Before the wave could slam against the ship the air froze, as a blue energy manifested itself around the man. Cerulean weaves of light interconnected around him, forming a palpable aura reminiscent of water.

The waters around the ship churned, seeming to bend itself to the pressure of an outside force. The force started to exert more pressure, the water coalescing into a bubble shielding the dingy from the following waves. 

"You know how to utilize mana?" 

The young man questioned the sailor in surprise, watching the bluish energy around his companion subside but not disappear. His hands had formed calluses, and his back hurt from earlier but the blue energy piqued his interest.

The sailor scoffed.

"You would think I would make it even a minute out in this sea without knowing how to use it?" 

The sailor grimaced, as he felt his hold over the water become less and less coherent. He had tried to conserve mana throughout the journey for emergency situation such as this. The sudden storm that had overtaken them wasn't something entirely out of his expectations, but the scale was nonetheless horrifying.

"How beautiful."

The young man commented on the sphere of water that absorbed the waves clashing against it, his red pupils gleaming like rubies. His black hair was tousled and drenched, but that didn't bother him in the slightest. He had witnessed mana being used throughout his life, but they were for more mundane tasks such as heating or watering. 

Even humans at their base level were capable of utilizing mana, but their extent was tenuous and lacking at best. Compared to those that were capable of clearing the dangers of the Tower, and its subsequent floors, the difference was between a mortal and a demigod.

'A naïve country bumpkin I picked up.'

The sailor thought, inwardly shaking his head. The only reason he had ever decided to bring the kid with him was because of the payment he proposed, and the circumstances surrounding his village. 

He could only curse his soft-heart for taking the kid with him. He would've preferred kicking it back in another rural village with a bottle of booze, and a nice lady. Not stuck in the middle of a chaotic storm, drenched from head to toe. 

The water bubble he created was a basic form of mana manipulation, and even with his low rank was something not that difficult to create. He could only maintain it for a limited amount of time, due to his lacking proficiency with magic. 

"We'll reach the tower soon, try to hold on till then lad," the sailor commented before the water shell began to dissipate. Something about the youth's ruby eyes was familiar to the man, but different colored pupils weren't exactly uncommon nowadays. Yet the X mark was an oddity among them, and he didn't want to admit it, but they gave the sailor a bad feeling.

He had experienced many things along his journeys, not limited to just the First Floor of Halcyon. But he could've sworn he had seen the young boy's eyes or a semblance of it somewhere- but it eluded his memories.

'Bah, I'm slowly losing it.'

The sailor quickly dismissed his thoughts, attributing his somber mood to a lack of alcohol.

'Thinking sober is no fun.'

If he had known that they would experience such bad luck on the last leg of their journey, he would've packed much more booze. After all, it warmed his insides and placated his mind.

The youth nodded, before trying to recall the events of his dream. All he could surmise was a women with red hair and a blurry face, that no matter how hard he thought couldn't seem to piece together. The feelings from the dream warmed his soul and mind, but left him with an overwhelming sense of longing.

As if he was missing a vital piece of his soul in some dark place that he wasn't able to reach. His recollection of the past was foggy, and his memory was only clear after his youth. It left him somewhat dissociated with the world around him. He neither cared for himself or others, but a certain behind made sure that would change.

The dinghy crested another large wave before a gigantic structure emerged in the distance.

The tumultuous waves that dominated the ocean landscape, combined with the brooding storm clouds obscured the exact details of the towering structure. It covered the horizon, eclipsing the seas with its shadow. If the youth didn't know what his destination was, he would've thought it was a gigantic wall of water.

Several hours later, the ragtag dinghy managed to leave the outer edges of the storm, drifting through calmer waters. Without the incessant bobbing up the waves, and the fog clearing up he could finally observe what seemed to be a tower. Looking up, the youth gazed in wonder, lost for words. 

'It really does look crafted by the Gods.'

A towering structure pierced the sky as if in defiance of the heavens, its surface gleaming a pristine, pearly white radiating an ethereal brilliance. A perfect cylinder embellished with magnificent arches, and elaborate columns exuded an otherworldly beauty. Resting on a massive continent, it lorded over a nearby mountain range making for a grand sight.

Fashioned with marble and golden embellishments, its sheer magnitude seemed to dwarf any man-made monument known to mankind. Its splendor something unattainable by mortal hands, crafted by the hands of a being far more advanced then mundane humans. The volume of the tower seemed capable of holding multiple continents. Even if one gathered all of the oceans and attempted to fill the tower, it most likely wouldn't even fill a quarter of it's volume.

The youth was left awe-struck by the sight of the Tower, almost forgetting to breathe. Living in a secluded village for the latter part of his amnesiac life had left him clueless about the world. The view left his mind reeling. None of the textbooks or descriptions provided by his teachers could ever hope to describe the tower in all of his magnificence. 

Even the sailor's usual exaggerated tales of his travels were unable to truly encapsulate its beauty.

The sailor noticed his reaction and grinned. Despite being an avid traveler and frequenting many parts of the world, the sight was still something to behold.

"Aye lad, welcome to Halcyon, the Tower of Divinity."

He couldn't help but succumb to his usual habit of boasting.

"The land where monsters run rampant, legends are personally witnessed, and-."

"Where those that are worthy enough, become heroes."