[Important before reading: 1) For the main character, I chose the name Yeong to stay in line with the naming tradition of the Yeon family, which SUI seems to follow. For example, if the MC were from the Po Bidau family, I would have chosen a name with a European sound. 2) Unfortunately, Webnovel does not have a "Tower of God" tag, making it difficult to promote this story. Therefore, I kindly ask that if you enjoy the story, you consider using your Power Stones on this fanfiction so that it can eventually appear in the rankings. Thank you in advance, and enjoy reading this second chapter !]
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Then a year passed, and despite her inability to show love to Yeong, Yirang strove to be a good mother, ensuring his every need was met. However, on the Yeon family side, aside from Illarde, deep jealousy began to grow among the members towards the child. This was because he was a boy, but especially because their family head, who had previously ignored them, was now solely focused on raising this child, whom she coldly referred to in front of them as her heir. It was as if, overnight, they, the members of the main lineage, had become a secondary and unimportant lineage.
And so, from jealousy arose a deep fear of losing their powers and privileges, leading them to naturally start discussing their issues outside their families. This inevitably resulted in transforming a family secret into information that the most powerful and influential individuals in the tower could consequently learn.
Of course, the first to learn about Yeong's existence were the most dangerous crime syndicate in the tower, the FUG, which mostly lurked in the shadows, hoping to achieve their goal of killing King Zahard and the heads of the ten great families. The FUG consists of individuals who are assassins, harbouring a fierce hatred. The best among them are called "Slayers," holding positions of power within the group. Among the Slayers, there is a hierarchy based on their seniority in the tower's history. Therefore, those who have proven themselves throughout the history of this dangerous group are called the "Elders." At the top is the "Slayer," the founder of this syndicate: Grace Mirchea Luslec, a man with black hair and one side of his face marred by a scar. He once accompanied the heads of the great families and Zahard in their conquest of the tower but now desires the death of each of them because they killed Arlen Grace and V, two irregulars who were also part of the journey of the great warriors, but who were erased from history by Zahard and their former friends.
"It seems that a new variable has come into play among the great families, and this anomaly cannot be a resident of the tower. Indeed, I find it hard to imagine Yirang or the other family heads wanting to raise an 'insect,' as they so aptly put it, with such care," Luslec replies calmly while starting to prepare some tea.
Then an elder of the FUG with butterfly wings, named Garnak, spoke up. "Lord Grace, should we focus the FUG's most secret forces on eliminating this child?"
"No, we must not make such a mistake, Garnak," Luslec declared wisely. "All of this will only lead to the ruin of our group. None of us will survive the wrath and flames of Yirang if her heir is killed. Even I would only manage to struggle for a few minutes against that monster before being reduced to ashes. We must let Zahard and the heads of the families think that we are merely insects crawling in the shadows of the tower until the day comes when they are all killed without warning, by the needle of Enryu wielded by none other than the son of Arlen, who will return to the tower."
Shortly after, on the 77th floor of the tower, in a setting filled with trees, Yeong's existence became known to another influential organization within the tower called Wolhaiksong, which had a great reputation for being able to defeat one of the 10 great families. This was because one of its two founders was one of the strongest irregulars in history, Urek Mazino, who still holds the record for climbing the 134 floors of Zahard's empire in the fastest time, in just 50 years.
The information had been transmitted to Urek, the vice commander of the organization, by a male member of Wolhaiksong, surprisingly part of the Yeon family, Woon Yeon, who possessed great kindness. "Urek, I have big news that will interest you. My family head, lady Yirang Yeon, who normally never involves herself with her own family, has suddenly decided not only to start showing herself but, if that weren't enough, she is now raising an infant to train him as her heir."
"The current balance of power in the tower is likely to be disrupted, but I look forward to measuring that baby when he grows up, to see his strength after being raised by one of those so-called gods of the tower!" the man replied with a laugh, who had a tattoo of a winged tree on his extremely muscular back, with 'MAZINO' written above it.
But Woon Yeon did not stop there. "Moreover, this child is truly an anomaly. According to some members of my family, he appeared on the mothership without anyone being able to explain his presence. Thus, everyone has their hypothesis: for some, he would be a Shinheuh of a new order who has enchanted our family head, while for others, he is simply a creation of life through the Shinsu of Lady Yirang, similar to the members of the Po Bidau family."
Faced with what his friend just said, Urek stopped laughing and became serious for a moment. "He is most certainly an irregular, and his presence coincides with the wave of Shinsu I felt nearly a year ago. But know this, Woon: the only being I've ever felt such power from was Phantaminum! This being or rather, this thing, who I chased after led me, by chance, to enter this tower. I want to continue pursuing it, but it seems to have left this tower, which is why I want to leave as well, it feels too constricting. I've spoken to so many people, even the most influential, like that old man from Gustang, but none know a way out of this tower. I was quite desperate until I felt this Shinsu, so similar to that man, a year ago. Today, with your news, I believe my determination has multiplied; this child might very well be my key to escape. That's why I will offer him a place in the Wolhaiksong if they can succeed in the test I'll give him!"
On the side of the family heads, each had their way of reacting to such news. First, there was the head of the Eurasia family, Blossom, who, even upon hearing the news, continued to sleep and remain in the land of dreams. Meanwhile, her former husband, the head of the Po Bidau family, Gustang, had emerged from his deep reading when such information reached him, to reflect on all the questions that arose from it.
"I see... Most likely, I'm not the only one among them wanting to provoke a change in the tower, but I wouldn't have bet it would come from Yirang, who has abandoned most of his feelings. However, I mustn't be surprised anymore; I need to gather as much information as possible about this new irregular as quickly as I can, so that my plan to rebel against Zahard, or to free my daughter, Enne, isn't compromised" Gustang reflected internally, before resuming his reading of one of the stories he had read outside the tower.
But the family head who was the most enthusiastic about this great news was Yurin Ha, who couldn't help but laugh: "Ha, ha, ha! That shy virgin Rang decides, after all this time, that she wants to become a mother! This will bring some much-needed entertainment to this tower. I'm now eager to see what strength this child will develop in the future, especially if they can rival my little princess Yuri! It would remind us of our past battles, wouldn't it?"
"It is pointless to focus on that; the only necessity is to improve the swordsmanship of the Arie," Hon said calmly, without a hint of emotion, as he brought down his Shinsu-infused sword strikes on his daughter.
On the other hand, the pacifist family head, Ari Han, did not seem at all happy that Yirang chose to raise an irregular. "This child will undoubtedly provoke war in the tower, even if it's not intentional... I say this, but it has already begun, as he has already created the embers that will ignite the flames of conflict, making the Yeon family a power that can disrupt the balance of the great families. I must be ready to eliminate him to prevent a war from breaking out, in the name of the greater good, called Peace, even if it means becoming an enemy of Yirang."
Then, in a very dark room on the mothership of the Lo Po Bia family, sat Traumerei, the family head, who was perched on his throne, holding his legs and unable to shake off the strange sadness upon learning the news from his son Lobadon. "What are you doing, Yirang? Why are you trying to divide us more than we already are?"
As for the head of the Tu family, Tperie, who was the first light bearer in the entire tower, he was ecstatic at such information that even his eyes, reputed to see everything in the tower, had failed to observe. "Finally, after all these millennia, I can see something new in this tower, which seemed colourless to me. I regret so much having dozed off and missed such an event, but I won't miss another moment. I will observe your entire journey, anomaly, or should I now say Yeong Yeon!"
The rest of the family heads were far too preoccupied with their affairs to concern themselves with one of the most important truths, such as Khun Eduan, the head of the Khun family, who preferred to indulge in lust with his numerous women, or Hendo Lok, the head of the Bloodmadder family, a colossus standing 13 meters tall, who sought to maintain his immortality at any cost. Unlike his peers, his immortality contract was not without conditions; to preserve his immortality, he had to take a portion of the lifespan of each of his children.
Finally, King Zahard did not hesitate to contact Yirang to confront her about her reckless choice to raise an irregular within her family. "Yirang, did you make this choice to want to overthrow me, the king of the tower?" he asked, with all the condescending tone of majesty.
"No, Zahard, I made this choice on my own. I couldn't let a child die, especially when he is an irregular like us," she replied coldly.
Seeing her tone, Zahard replied with the same coldness, "So instead of adopting him and offering him your powers, you could have left him in the care of a member of your family or given him to one of those insects we find everywhere in this tower because your foolish choice could lead to the destruction of our empire. No one knows if he will be the next Phantaminum."
"Zahard, don't lie to me; that doesn't work on me like it does with your little soldiers. You know well that this is your empire, not ours. And especially, I am supposed to supervise the education of this child precisely so that he doesn't become a weapon for FUG or another Phantaminum, as you so aptly put it," replied the head of the Yeon family with venom.
"You seem to have changed, Yirang. I am deeply disappointed in you. For the unity of the tower, you should give me this child and erase these recent memories of you. It's for the good of the empire and our relationship," Zahard declared with conviction.
Zahard's few words ignited the full fury of Yirang Yeon. "You dare to ask me to go through the process that destroyed me and turned me into a monster!"
Even in the face of this anger, Zahard showed no remorse or animosity. "By erasing those memories, it not only helped save your precious mental health but also allowed you to improve and understand that the inhabitants of this tower are nothing but insects compared to all of us."
"From now on, I don't care about any of that, all I care about right now is my heir Yeong, and if you try to kill him, I'll come and kill you myself and put an end to your empire. Of course, I'm far from an idiot to think I could beat you in a fair fight, but I'm certain that in a fight to the death, I could take you to the grave with me by my flames!" she said angrily, "If that's all you had to say to me, then I'm going to cut off this conversation and hope never to have such a debate with you again, Zahard!" Then she went to press her luxurious Pocket to end the call, sighing deeply.
Faced with such an assault from his former comrade-in-arms, Zahard calmly turned towards the commander of his army, Adori Zahard, who was also, at the same time, his princess, the most powerful and beautiful he could ever have. "Adori, I entrust you with a mission of unprecedented importance for the security of the empire. I want you to relay to me every move Yeong Yeon makes when he enters the tower so that I can act personally if he becomes a threat."
Thus, the princess with golden hair bowed and said solemnly, "Yes, father, it shall be done, as the king of the tower wishes."
As dark schemes began to take shape in the tower, Yirang looked at her one-year-old child in her arms. "To protect you, it is necessary that your training starts earlier than planned, even if it sacrifices your childhood."
And thus began the childhood of Yeong Yeon.