Laura has lost count on how many years has passed since she along with her companions had entered the gate no one knew for sure. As she walked through the halls of the giant castle her mind wondered.
She walked passed the guards standing at the sides of the door to the conference room giving her a military salute, to which she just nodded and entered the doors closing behind her. Hushed conversation made their way to her ears but she chose to ignore them.
"The queen sure looks beautiful today as well." Remarked one of the guards, his eyes filled with admiration and adoration.
His companion covered his mouth with his finger urging his friend to be quiet "Shuush are you crazy? That's the queen you talking about!"
**********
The current Laura was far too different then when she had entered the gate wearing a pure white armor with two swords hanging by her waist. Her pure white hair moved much as soft beach grass in the wind, back and forth, revealing and hiding the her golden eyes. Even in the darkness of the room you could see her, like a shining beacon. The white creamy tone of her skin reminding those that saw her of whipped milk as moonlight shone through the window and on to her.
Inside the room three figures were seated around the tall table, her companions, Allen the tank maintained a well-toned and muscular body, the aura surrounding him however was suffocating, a scar that ran from his forehead going down to his left cheek had robbed him of his sight in his left eye, as it laid closed. It only served to make him look even more intimidating in his full body knight armor.
Collin next to him haven't changed much, his hair now longer tidily arranged to the back, his dark eyes carried a hint of exhaustion in them as he rubbed his temple a black staff that had the shape of crescent moon at the end was held in his other hand. Lana the Elven archer looked the best out of them as she kept her youthful looks she wore a light green armor that covered her vital parts, the uncovered parts however were littered in scars that spoke volumes of the battles she been through.
As Laura made her way to her seat, Lana spoke with a beaming smile "There's our Angel queen."
Laura smiled softly before sitting down, Collin raised his tired gaze to her "I'm guessing from the look in your eyes that's it's bad?"
Allen, and Lana somberly looked at her waiting for the confirmation. "Yes, the scouts were able to locate the entrance to the 100th floor. However it is indeed what we were afraid of, past the 100th floor is a series of trials once you step past it you will HAVE to continue till the end, either you pass and have your wish granted at the end or you lose..."
Allen sighed before asking "There is no teleporting back to any of the safe floors I assume?" To which she just shook her head.
Collin rubbing his eyes spoke "What I still don't understand is why have we been teleported straight to the 20th floor when we just came, others apparently had all started with the first one and gradually ascended."
Shrugging Lana added "It's a miracle we even made It I tell ya..."
Allen asked "Laura, any other dreams? I mean you mainly entered for the princess, and It's been hell have to be years since you last brought anything about her."
A complicated look reigned on her face as she spoke, "I lost connection with her before the battle to conquer the 50th floor..."
Lana stood up in shock at the revelation"What? That long ago?!" To which Laura just nodded solemnly "I did not know what to do at the time, so the only thing that seemed right was to push forward."
Collin eyes seemed even more tired as he asked "No message from the Gods?" Once again only earning him light shake of her head indicating that there was none.
"Her Holiness Angel Ovva only left me one message before I lost contact, Push forward..."
Frowning Lana smashed her hand on the table "What the hell is that supposed to mean, isn't that what we been doing this whole time?! All the way till this damned 99 floor, hell we even ended up creating a fucking kingdom along the way, only to find out there more after the 100th??" Frustration was clear on her face, along with the rest everyone was quiet.
Leaving after the 100th floor meant leaving behind everything they worked for, sure it wasn't a perfect kingdom nonetheless it was theirs. They started at the 20th floor they only got to know that later on, along the way they met new allies made a few enemies and somehow they found themselves with a whole army following them, they swept through the floors clearing them one after the other, gather some of the survivors along the way all till the 99th floor.
The floor was a huge forest infected with all sorts of monsters, at the very middle was a safe zone, a haven for them, a few years perhaps had passed it was hard to tell with it always being light outside no sun just one blue moon that illuminated the area. It was here that they built their own little kingdom, Laura was hailed as the Angel queen, Collin was their Arch-mage leader of the whole mages, Lana was the leader of the Ranger squad, responsible for scouting the area surrounding their small town for any possible threat and providing provisions. Allen was the defense, their wall in charge of the safety and maintaining the order around.
It wasn't perfect, but it was theirs, they built all of this together from scratch. They had people looking up to them, they were responsible for them. And to leave all of that behind was a hard decision, most people have long lost hope of leaving the Gate in their lifetime and were content living here.
Laura took a deep breath and raised her head to look at her companions,
"I will continue forward, I will NOT stay here."