The sky of the second floor is full of Eyes. Less than back on Earth, but still plenty of them. Most here are rger, humongous observers. They also feel closer, less distant.

  Sylves sits in the grass in front of me, running her fingers through it, taking deep breaths. I sit down next to her. Her blonde hair seems to float a little wind the faint wind. She doesn’t look at me, doesn’t look at the slow, steady stream of scarlet still trickling from the stump where my right arm once was.

  Left eye. Right arm. Symmetry maintained, I joke, dully, to myself.

  Instead of worrying, I reach out with my good hand and ruffle the girl’s hair. “You having a fun time, Ms. fairy?” I ask.

  She doesn’t turn to me. “Trying,” she replies, shakily. Ah, it must have hit her hard, then.

  “Okay,” I reply. “You’re safe.”

  At that, a tiny smile blossoms on her face. “Of course I am,” she says. “I’m a fairy.”

  I smile, just a little. Then, finally satisfied with her safety, I let my gaze sweep across the pins of the second floor. I’m curious what it has in store for us - and whether the floors are only sceneries or also provide their own challenges.

  After all, the tower wants us to prove skill and, well, supremacy. So, there should be challenges. In due time, the notifications appear.

  [Congratutions!]

  [You have made it to the second floor! For your performance in the ascendancy well, you have acquired 1 minor request.]

  Just payback for the one I used to find out who was behind the trial, behind my cking arm. I sigh, softly. There’s a bubbling anger in my chest, and I understand it. I want revenge, but at the same time, I need a bigger stick to hit people with, first. So, instead, I drown the anger in apathy.

  There is an upside to it all. I needed to experiment with body modification and full limb restoration anyway. So, really, it was just a matter of time.

  Yeah, I’m gaslighting myself. That’s okay, too.

  Sylves ys down in the grass, closing her eyes so she doesn’t see the voyeuristic sky. The second floor is mostly that - wide, open pins of grassnd. It’s rather hilly, and there is a distant fog, making it difficult to see too far, but the floor itself seems calm, for now.

  Every so often the ground shakes, but the girl ignores it, simply dragging her fingers through the grass and enjoying the wind in an attempt to forget about all the horror. The fighting, the death, the killing. We’re both murderers now, which is a strange thought.

  I wonder, distantly, if Sylves had been one before the apocalypse. She smiles, faintly, then, finally, looks at me, as I look at her. Our eyes meet. Mine dark, hers bright. “Thanks, Snow,” she says.

  “Anytime,” I reply.

  At that, she burst out into a giggle, that eventually turns into a full fledged ugh. It chimes brightly across the hills. “You don’t even know what I’m thanking you for!” she chides.

  “Okay, continue,” I say.

  She rolls over, ying on her stomach, leaning her chin on her one remaining hand, and gives me a smile. “Thanks for letting me feel safe.”

  “Anytime,” I nod.

  Again, she ughs, then rolls her eyes at me. A long moment passes in silence, and I feel the building pressure in my vessel, pouring some mana into more healing, fully closing my arm, and making the side of my face where my skull is exposed itch.

  Sylves stares at the bit of bone poking out. Slowly, gently, her smile fades, as if carried away on some invisible breeze. The moment turns from bittersweet to sombre. “Does it hurt?” she asks.

  I shrug. “Yeah, it does,” I say.

  “How much?”

  I look at my shoulder. “About as much as an arm and a leg,” I deadpan.

  At that, the girl shakes her head at me, rolling in the grass again, and staring at the sky. She raises her hand in front of her face, blocking out the Eyes far above. “Y’know, I love the sun.”

  A small smile spreads on my face. “I know,” I say.

  “And the wind. And the grass. Stupid caves were so boring I wanted to throw up. Bleeegh,” she intones, sticking out her tongue.

  “You’re talkative again,” I note.

  Sylves looks at me, then pouts. “Yeah, I am,” she says, loudly, chiding me. “So what, huh! What are you gonna do about it?”

  “I’ll listen,” I reply. “And feel gd that you’re not doing as bad.”

  She smiles, wistfully. “No,” she says, dropping all pretense. “I’m not doing that well. I’m not doing poorly, either. Not like Thatch or Inu. They’re struggling. I’m cruel, Snow.”

  “Are you?” I ask.

  The fae nods. “My first skills. [World’s Embrace], of course, was the first. It’s freedom. It’s nature. It’s wind and air and grass.”

  “Sure,” I agree.

  “I’ve not used the second one,” she says, calmly. “Wanna know what it’s called?”

  “Absolutely,” I say.

  “[Violent Trick],” she says. “That’s who I am. A violent liar beloved by the world.”

  I nod. “Okay.”

  She stares at me. “That’s all you have for me?” she asks. “An okay?”

  Once more, I reach out, then ruffle her hair again. “Yeah,” I say, calmly. I look at her. “We’re friends, after all. So it’s okay. Thatch is angry. Opal is careless. Inu is harsh on herself. And you’re a liar.” I smile. “What’s so wrong with that?”

  Before she can reply, the portal behind me shimmers, and someone else passes through the ascendancy well. Instantly, as the magic work’s, I see the mask fall on Sylves’ face again. The tears vanish with the wind, and her disgust washes away at once.

  It’s not someone we know. A random girl, with a bow in her hands. She looks at me, then at Sylves with the kind of frown that needs to be permanently etched into one’s face. Her armor is made from leather, and her brown hair barely reaches her chin. Wings of green crystals stretch behind her back. “First time?” she asks.

  I nod, staring at her.

  The woman sighs, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She looks at us, and I feel mana brushing against me. I frown, just a little, then return the favour.

  [Unseen Archer, lv. 68]

  Surprise flitters across her face. “Huh,” she says. “I should be annoyed, but that’s an uncommon trick for first timers to pick up. I’m Zeph. Don’t tell me your names,” she says, holding out a hand. She points at me. “You’ll be Cold,” she says, then points to Sylves, “and you’ll be Windy. Now, since we’re fellow climbers, and you’re newly integrated, I’m gonna do my due diligence.”

  “Let me tell you what the second floor is about.”

  - - -

  A/N:

  Zeph was unexpectedly popur with my patreons, lol. For some reason people are considering her very shippable. Now, I dunno what i did in order to apparently create so many good ships, but... who do you currently ship? Which characters would you like to see end up together?