Ed's attention was brought back from his internal conversation. He recalled his companions; Entei included, and flew towards the golden glow seeping out of the heavenly gates above him. The warm sensation surrounded his body, turning the living hell that is the black wasteland into a distant memory in a matter of seconds.
The glow was intense, so intense that Ed needed to close his eyes as he traveled through. A black silhouette jumped through the gates as well just as the gates closed.
Ed jolted out of his situation and found himself on the white grainy ground. It was soft enough for him to sink with each step he took forward. In front of him stood an impressive white castle. Every block seemed as if it was created by a heavenly artisan. The white glow that flew from the white gates had come from this castle, Ed had no doubts. Ed kept walking towards it until he came across a bridge separating the white ground and the castle.
Beneath the bridge, there was nothing. Ed had never quite seen anything like it; it was emptiness. He activated his En and turned it into a needle that kept prodding downwards. Still, he couldn't feel anything; not even air. Ed stopped his En as soon as heard the castle's gates open. His instincts took over and forced his arms to take a defensive stance, covering his heart, neck, and face.
His whole body broke into a sweat as he felt a thick aura burst through the doors and suffocate him. He burst into Ren and covered himself with the ribcage of his golden Susanoo before he could breathe again.
Once he calmed down, he used his Sharingan to look around. He could see the white aura seeping through the gates. It flew as a breeze would, but it was massive in size. Ed thought that it must have been suppressed inside the castle for a long time and burst through once the gates opened.
Ed looked down, and was, once again, shocked. The whole space where he couldn't feel anything was filled with the white aura. The fact that he couldn't feel it with his En simply meant that it was in a higher dimension compared to him.
Ed squinted and moved forward, not once did the thought of undoing his Ren and Susanoo cross his mind. He found himself at the bridge of the bridge after what seemed to be an eternity. His Ren was thinner, and there were cracks on Susanoo. Ed was fed up.
He withdrew Shusui from its scabbard and activated his Haki and his Hatsu 'Final Countdown' on it. He stood very still, his eyes closed, and his Ki gathered in one point; it was at the tip of Shusui.
At the moment when his Ren became at its weakest, Ed knew that 'Final Countdown' reached its peak. He shouted, "Devour, Shusui!" as he stabbed towards the milky white gates. The suffocating aura was swallowed in a colorless beam. The insides of the castle shook and trembled as an explosion detonated.
Ed sheathed Shusui with a sigh. The aura seemed to retreat towards the castle, which prompted Ed to calm his Ki as well. With a brave stride, he stepped inside.
The insides of the castle were adorned with white gold, rubies, and emeralds. The passages were not narrow, but they were not befitting of a castle. Ed activated his Map and could see the outline of the interior. There were no upper floors, and the passages all lead to the same place; a staircase into the basement.
"What a funny person…" Ed couldn't help but mutter as he noticed a faint trail of Qi lingering behind, floating inches above the floor. It was clearly inviting him to go further inside. Ed did not hesitate again and hastened his steps. His Map confirmed that the originator of the Qi couldn't be an enemy, as there was no red dot on it.
Ed reached the staircase and started to descend. Quickly, he noticed how the color tone shifted. There was no more white gold or precious jewels, and soon enough, the walls were simple stones stacked on top of each other.
However, Ed could feel that this simple structure was built with more passion and care than the castle that rested above it. And he found out why he had such a feeling.
At the end of the staircase, there was another short corridor. On each side, there were five portraits.
The people in the portraits were no older than him. They wore simple clothes and held a weapon close to their side. His eyes fell on the last lady in the corridor. She had silky silver hair and bright blue eyes. Her smile was the warmest and the kindest, her hands both rested on a shining silver rapier. Ed recognized the weapon immediately; it was the same rapier that Emilia got from her mother.
Ed promptly took a second look at the portraits. Each person reminded him of someone he knew. The man with the black hair and goofy smile…a spitting image of Hayato. Next to him, the young man with the blond hair and hazel eyes looked like the late king Arthur; though much younger.
"I see…These were our ancestors," Ed softly exclaimed. "These were the people who created this tower…this wasteland as well." The man with the red hair and mean-looking face, adjacent to Arthur, was no doubt Johan's ancestor.
Ed felt a little sadness well up in him as he walked a bit further. The giant double door in front of him was a portrait that gathered all ten of them in one place. Everyone was smiling, just like Ed and his friends.
Ed was sad because he knew that there was only one person remaining in this castle; he was behind the door.
He cracked the door open and stepped inside. He could hear soft muttering deep inside the room. "Ella, Michal…John and Cecilia! That's all nine of them!" The voice shouted all of a sudden.
Ed walked until he could see the person talking. It was a short old man, all skin and bones. His eyes were covered in a milky white substance that surely made him blind. His skin and cracked like an un-watered desert. Surprisingly, he had his teeth intact, though it didn't seem like he used them in eons.
"Welcome, traveler," the old man said as he shifted towards Ed. "We've been waiting for someone like you."
Ed approached the man and snapped three cards in his hand.
"Sieg, Merry, and Mehen…This is the man that caused you to live and die for so many years," said Ed. "this is the creator of the Tower of Origin."
The three monsters eyed the small-statured person in front of them. The man couldn't give back the same look, as his eyes were useless since a long time ago. However, he could tell what these monsters were; after all, he was present the day they were created thousands of years ago.
Mehen slithered up and nested on Ed's shoulders, while Merry and Sieg sighed slightly.
"Thanks," Sieg muttered. "If you hadn't done such a thing, I wouldn't have been able to meet my liege here!" He dropped down on one knee and pointed with both of his hands towards Ed's face. He shot a sidelong glance towards Merry, who understood his intention in a split second.
"Much thanks to you!" she said as she dropped on one knee as well, "If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have been able to eat-I mean meat so many good people!" Her hands pointed towards Ed as well.
"That's enough of the two of you!" Ed smacked their heads with a fist. However, he failed to notice Mehen who positioned himself just below Ed and started to grow. He lifted Ed above his head and sang, "Long Live our Liege!" alongside Merry and Sieg who were rubbing their heads.
Mehen seemed to forget that he was in a narrow room and grew too much; he pushed Ed's head through the ceiling. Ed was left dangling as his head remained stuck.
"What a noisy bunch," the old man said as he noticed the monsters approaching him; they hid behind him as Ed freed himself.
"Never thought you would hide behind someone you hated," Ed approached them as he cracked his knuckles. "Prepare yourselves, you imbeciles!"
As soon as Ed's fist collided with Mehen the old man spoke, "You guys are mistaken." He pulled out a pipe and ignited it with a small flame from his index finger.
"I am neither the creator of this tower nor am I the creator of the monsters residing in it," he said as he puffed small clouds of smoke. "What you guys came through is not the Tower of Origin; its actual name is the Tower of Strength. It was, simply put, a way for us to determine if someone has the least amount of capabilities to be able to help."
The four of them frowned upon hearing what the old man had to say. Ed took the initiative and said, "Put this conversation on hold," as he turned around towards the door. "You have another guest, I believe you knew already."
The old man nodded slightly as Ed pulled the door open. There, in the corridor, stood a familiar figure. Blond hair, blue eyes, freckles, and a scar that split the person's face.
"Long time no see, Johan," Ed said as Johan kept looking at the portrait of his ancestor; he reminisced the past he had with his family. Ed kept holding the door for Johan, beckoning him to come inside. "There are some things we need to hear about."
Johan turned towards his Ed, his face full of determination, yet, it lacked any sign of hate or revenge. Ed knew this, and his Map confirmed it when he spotted Johan earlier as a blue, friendly, dot.
The old man turned his head to look at the two of them. "You two are enemies, I presume. The slash on your face was made by a weapon this young man uses, no?"
"We have fought before, yes," Ed answered truthfully.
"I don't consider a man with a crippled soul an enemy," Johan said as he took a seat on the ground and rested on the wall behind him.
"I see," the old scanned Ed with his milky eyes. "If you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't notice. You must have pushed your body once too many to incur this sort of damage."
"I had no choice, it was a life and death battle," Ed said and he looked at Johan, "though we both survived in the end. Anyway, mind continuing the talk from before."
"What is there to talk about," the old man took to his pipe again. "The tower you call 'Tower of Origin' is actually the 'Tower of Strength'. The actual Tower of Origin is this place, and the wasteland that you fought in earlier."
"You said you are not the creator," Ed asked. "Then, who is?"
"He was a friend of mine. He created all the monsters, both in the two towers and in your world. He died a long time ago so you can't expect to ask him any questions," the old man used his pipe and again and added, "same as all my other friends."
The silence that took place was almost immediately broken by Merry, who started munching on some snacks she had hidden on her.
"Really, you and your monsters are an enigma in this world," Johan said while hiding a smile.
"The boss monster from the eleventh floor, huh…" the old man said. "I believe you were created to have a ruthless personality."
"You believed wrong," Ed shook his head. "Whatever personality she first had, I guarantee you it's different from what she is now."
"Want some, old man?" Merry offered the food she had.
"Keep it, Merry," Ed said.
"You'll deny a starving old man food. Nice going, Avalon." Johan scoffed at Ed.
"I was going to cook a meal for all of us," Ed answered, "I guess you won't need anything."
The old man looked towards Ed who started to prepare his utensils and cooking ingredients. The small room filled up in an instant, as Ed summoned the rest of his monsters to help him cook.
"Avalon and Mordred, right?" the old man asked the two humans besides as he sipped on some soup. "I'm glad the bloodlines didn't die out."
"Your companions were our ancestors," Johan said, "Otherwise; you wouldn't know my family name."
"I could guess it from how the two of you treat each other. It's almost the same as the original two."
The boisterous room quieted down after everyone had eaten. The old man stood up and beckoned Ed and Johan to follow him, outside of the castle. The three of them stood above the bridge and looked down towards the void underneath. Ed activated His Sharingan to get a better look. The white aura was receding, and hidden inside of it was a bluish-white orb.
"That looks like a portal," Johan said. "What exactly are you, old man?"
"I am the gatekeeper."
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