Veritas was quite familiar with the area due to his prior investigation on the upper floor. Yet, he didn't know the real scale of the destruction. From above the floor, the destruction still seemed massive. However, once he had stepped foot at the real place, he could not quite believe how large it really was.
To put it simply, everything around him was devastated, there are a couple recognizable objects such as the shattered vases and broken walls. But generally, the floor looked almost unrecognizable when compared to the floors from above.
'This is crazy..'
Veritas felt amazed and terrorized by the situation, such a massive settlement for humans, easily shattered by a singular creature. Needless to say, it was really crazy!
He scanned the surroundings even more, with everything almost destroyed, Veritas could not search for clues and answers. Thus, he regarded this floor as useless.
Another huge hole in the floor was spotted by Veritas. Although golden tentacles were still visible from the new hole, it did not seem quite as massive as before. He realized that he had reached the end of the gigantic octopus' body.
Veritas peered once more at the gaping hole beneath him, scanning potential threats and using the wind as a scout. Alas, he did not see nor sense anything. Thus, he decided to descend once more.
*
The floor this time was devoid of anything yet it was not as devastated as the floor from above. Veritas could see golden bodies, shattered and broken. He gestured and mouthed words to pray respect.
He saw that some rooms were still intact, and Veritas decided to investigate them thoroughly.
He entered one of the rooms and immediately scanned the surroundings. It was not the same as the rooms from higher up which were clearly made for nobles. The rooms in this floor were neat and tidy if it weren't shaken up by the Kraken.
Bookshelves were fallen, bricks were destroyed, and glass was shattered. Veritas made his way towards the bed, it wasn't extravagant or anything, it was a normal linen bed made for the common people.
The bed had no one in it, Veritas had already guessed so and did not cling onto false hope. Instead, the supposed person in the bed was way all over the corner of the room, cowering and fearing for their life.
Veritas stood over the golden figure of the individual, he felt pity towards them as being in such a terrifying situation for a normal person would certainly break one's mind. He prayed for the lost soul.
"May your Soul slumber in peace.."
After paying respects to the fallen, Veritas tidied up the golden room, fixing the bookshelf in place and placing golden books inside. He then cleaned the golden shattered pieces of glass, and then removed the pieces of debris left. Once he was done, he left the room in silence..
Veritas visited a few more rooms and did the same thing for all of them, paying his respects and cleaning their respective rooms.
After exploring the rest of the floor, Veritas searched for the way down. He was not surprised at all by the giant hole that descended further down into the darkness.
He searched for a couple of minutes and finally found the gaping hole. After scouting and scanning for a few moments, he decided to once more descend into the abyss.
*
The Winds cushioned his fall and now he was standing in the middle of a devastated area. He looked around and noticed slash marks along with unusual patterns of damage all over the floor. The previous floors did not have these patterns so he thought about the situation that he was standing in. He came to a conclusion after only a few seconds of thinking.
'This was a battlefield..'
With the destruction caused by the Kraken and the noticeable slashes and unusual marks, it was common sense that some sort of resistance had fought with the Kraken before falling in battle.
It was very honorable..
As a Prince of a kingdom, honor is not a word to be thrown around. Honor meant to be standing even if odds were at a loss, and to die while facing such adversity resulted in even more honor. Veritas felt great amounts of respect towards the fallen souls of the Golden Tower.
"May their Souls slumber in peace.."
He paid his respects towards the resistance who stood their ground against an inevitable foe.
Veritas ventured further up the floors only to discover that this floor was the most devastated out of all. All he could notice from this floor was the amount of debris and destruction.
He assumed that a great battle had taken place on this specific floor. Thus, Veritas thought that the floors from below may also show signs of battle. This floor might have served as the final bastion for the residents of the Golden Tower. Luckily, those at the top hadn't experienced what the people down here have. Due to the transmutation of the Kraken, the topmost floors aren't that damaged.
That is with the exception of the large cut at the highest floor..
After further exploration deeper into the floor, Veritas decided to descend deeper after finding the hole that the Kraken squeezed or broke into.
A few minutes were all it took for Veritas to finally find the gaping hole.
However! Near the hole, Veritas noticed a figure of a man, wearing heavy golden armor and holding a shattered blade in his right hand. He was.. laying down on the floor, a medium sized hole existed within his chest.
'Another fallen..'
Veritas kneeled down at the figure and paid his respects once more.
"May your Soul slumber in peace."
He chanted in a solemn tone, feeling sad for the fallen souls. Veritas scanned the man's body and saw a piece of gold that lay on the man's side.
It was.. a single piece of parchment, it looked to have some text written in it.
Veritas slowly held the parchment in his hand and read the text that was within it.
{Dearest, Duncan
We have arrived in Central City, Sentinel.
Our kids, Morgan and Zaria are doing well. Although it was quite troublesome dealing with them alone, I could still manage.
The money that you have given is very useful for our situation. Thank you..
I long for the day that you finally join us. Duncan.. when will you leave? When will your duty end? When will you finally rest?
I miss the assurance of safety when you are around us.
I miss the soft spoken voice that you have.
I miss seeing the fire that lay within those eyes of yours.
Duncan, I know that you are never leaving your duty for the king yet I wish you consider the alternatives.
Come live in peace with us.
Your wife, Lydia..}
Veritas even felt more sorrowful upon reading the parchment. This was once a human too, a human with goals, dreams, and strived to live everyday. He had his own circumstances and dilemmas. He had people that loved him, and he loved them back. He had people to serve as his duty.
Now, he had fallen to a leviathan of the seas. He had turned into a golden statue, his body forever existing.. never seeing the light of day ever again.
Veritas slowly placed the parchment to the man called Duncan, he placed it near his chest where his heart had once held it dear.
"Did you have regrets? Did you ever doubt your sense of duty? Have you considered running away and living in peace with your family?"
Veritas asked many questions to the golden statue, receiving no messages in return. It was to be expected anyways, Veritas then stood up and faced his back on the man named Duncan.
Once he had let go of the parchment he held within his hands, an illusion surged deep within him. It made him feel dizzy and confused, it was as if he was hallucinating.
Veritas then held his hands within his temples, assessing what had happened to him.
Very suddenly, everything turned dark once more, Veritas thought that the darkness returned once more. But a few moments have passed and his vision has returned once more.
What lay in a once destructed floor full of gold, now a prosperous shining area bustling with people and noise.
Veritas was suddenly surprised by the situation, he knew that he was at the same location yet the atmosphere was really vibrant. Once stood a destructed wasteland, now existed a place where people have prospered.
People socialized with each other, the surroundings were clean, people entered their respective rooms, there was loads of food, and many more!
It felt like a dream. Veritas had many questions that he had asked himself.
'Was I in a dream?'
'Perhaps so'.. he had thought, yet the radiance of the situation seemed too real. He could not believe that he had once been in a devastated version of this vision.
Then.. Veritas noticed an individual standing before him, it was a man with dark brown hair, wearing heavy armor, and gripping a sword tightly. His eyes seemed to be filled with determination and courage, he felt fearless and daunting.
This man, who Veritas saw a couple of minutes ago stood before him, all radiant and alive.
Veritas stared looked at this version of the man and mouthed the words:
"Duncan.."