Dimensional Descent

Aina brought out her ax, allowing it to hover in the air so that she could lay Leonel across its large blades. Although she could carry Leonel herself, because he was so much larger than her she was worried about injuring him further than he already was by forcing him into an awkward position. As things stood, this was the best option. 

Aina turned back, somewhat frantically, feeling that Leonel's breath was far too weak and it seemed to only be getting weaker. She didn't understand how things had ended up like this, but it simply didn't matter until Leonel was at least stabilized first. 

"Do you—do you know where I can get him help?"

Vega had ended up staying here the entire time. But, the more she saw how attached to Leonel Aina already was, the more she felt that her dreams of claiming Aina for herself were slipping away further... At least not by any ethical means.

"Treatment isn't free." Vega replied. 

She wasn't wrong. Nothing in the Void  Palace was free. There was a reason why the envoys sent to oversee the Selection on Planet Luxnix had been so eager. That time they spent, despite it technically being for work, was basically a vacation for them. 

The Void Palace was practically hell on earth for its students. There was nothing that didn't cost, and no small number of promising young talents had fallen because they couldn't afford medical treatment. 

Of course, the most talented of these promising youths usually had other backers to rely on. But, for Aina and Leonel who had only just arrived, despite their talent, this spelt trouble. If an organization wanted to take advantage of their current weakness at this moment, it would almost be too easy. 

Luckily, there was a silver lining, and that would be competition. With their talent, it was likely that many would want them. Although no one understood what had happened to Leonel, they had at least watched his performance on the first nine floors and that much was enough. 

The trouble was… How many dared to compete with a Gold Grade Faction? And not just any Gold Grade Faction at that, but one on the verge of becoming a Legacy Faction? 

Aina's brows furrowed, clearly understanding this. 

"Aren't there rewards for breaking records?" She asked through gritted teeth. 

Vega's gaze shifted upward, looking at the long line of leaderboards that surrounded the tower. By now, Leonel's name appeared much too many times for comfort. The crowd had considerably thinned in recent days, but the intrigue around what was happening hadn't lessened in the slightest. 

"Whether or not these records will hold up is one matter. However, even if the Senate decides to keep things as is, leaderboard rewards are calculated by the month, and we happen to be right in the middle of one with the next turn being a little more than two weeks away."

Vega looked back. 

"Why would they do that?"

"You might be ignorant to what the 74th floor means, but others are not. I, myself, have only managed to climb to the 48th floor. Of course, that's also because I have not entered the tower in years as I've been focused on other things, but I can still guarantee that the me of back then shouldn't need to lift a finger to defeat someone within the Fifth Dimension. 

"As for those who have climbed to the 74th floor… They're all in the Senate, Seventh Dimensional powerhouses who dictate how things run here. Do you think they'll believe that someone of the Fifth Dimension was able to accomplish this? 

"And on top of that, he's heavily injured, something that shouldn't be possible in the tower. It's obvious that something has gone wrong.

"If you're lucky, he'll be allowed a redo. However, considering what his father just did to the Majority Leader… I wouldn't bank on it."

Aina's brows furrowed. "His father?"

Obviously, she had no idea what had happened. But, this matter had been the talk of the Void Palace until Leonel's matter seemed to have taken over. Unfortunately, it was exactly because of this that there was even less of a chance Leonel could get away with it. The Void Senate was definitely in the know and the Unfettered Blade Party held all the power right now. 

It was already a dark enough time for spearman in the Void Palace. As for Leonel… Well, it didn't take a genius to understand that it might very well be worse. 

Vega didn't explain, instead choosing to talk about something else entirely. 

"I won't take advantage of you, but I also won't help you for free. I have no obligation to. It's simple really, all you have to do is join my Faction. The benefits I listed before will be the same and I can also guarantee that once I enter the Void Senate, you will take my place and control the Faction."

Aina's brows furrowed deeper. She didn't want to leave Leonel's side, she hadn't gotten to spend nearly enough time with him and they had already been apart for over a year. She had been a part of the Void Palace long enough to know even if they were in the same organization, they might be worlds apart. 

The rules were strict and the room to maneuver was minimal. If she joined a Faction, especially an ambitious one like this one, they would probably run her ragged for the sake of the group. That didn't even mention the trouble that would come with joining such a hotpot. There would definitely be waves of internal struggle. 

But, she had already left Leonel alone for too long. His injuries were far too severe and if he could have healed them, he would have already done so. This wouldn't work at all. She had to… 

"I…"

Aina bit her lip, ready to accept. But, before she could, a voice came over. 

"What's this? Trying to exploit my sister-in-law in her most vulnerable state? You're quite shameless, Third Queen Beauty."

A chuckle came from the distance as a bronze-haired young man appeared. He was quite sloppily dressed, but the brightness of his eyes was undeniable, it gave him a sort of charisma most lacked. 

He was the Fourth Nova, Sceio. 

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