Archive of Our Own

When Khun Aguero Agnis first met him, it was on a bloody battlefield.

They stood on opposite sides, Khun as a treasured Princess of Jahad, while the golden-eyed man as a despicable Slayer of FUG. There were miles across each other with broken bodies, debris littering the ground, glittering baangs, brilliant explosions and a thick metallic scent invading the air between them.

They were so far apart from each other and yet Khun could swear that despite their distance... Their eyes definitely met.

Her own sapphire orbs held the man's dark gold ones.

Jue Viole Grace.

It was the much dreaded name of the FUG Slayer who suddenly appeared only a couple of years ago, and within such a short amount of time, climbed the Tower with unprecedented speed.

His speed in ascending the Tower rivaled even hers, Khun Aguero Agnis' record-breaking speed.

So much for being called 'a genius among geniuses' or the 'most outstanding princess of all time'.

If the two of them had met on different circumstances, she would have loved to get to know the golden-eyed man and make an ally of such an impressive person.

Unfortunately, Jue Viole Grace just had to be Jahad's enemy, and thus, her own enemy as well.

And they had to meet on a battlefield that will claim either his or her life at its end.

And so, Khun commanded her lighthouses. Countless blue cubes lit up the space around her, bathing her figure an ethereal blue glow, her cool voice resounded across the battlefield as she gave her orders. Her orders that millions of Jahad's army followed as if a message from the Goddess of War herself.

As response, an unidentifiable number of baangs and shinsu loops formed around the Slayer, four red thorns lit up behind him, shinsu horns protruding from his forehead, like a demon that came from hell. And this very demon was being cheered upon as FUG's God, one that will grant them their wishes.

As if the clash between them was predestined. A goddess that protects the Tower's balance and order. A demon that threatens to disrupt and usher in chaos on his wake.

If Khun Aguero Agnis was able to strengthen and support herself and the countless soldiers fighting for her, then Jue Viole Grace was able to single-handedly destroy the troops coming at him.

He truly is as magnificent a Wave Controller as Khun's intel had reported.

It was a shame, really.

As a talented Lightbearer herself, a powerful Wave Controller would have been her best partner.

Truly a shame that she'll have to destroy such a promising star herself.

Regardless of what Khun's thoughts were and the positive praises she had for the unyielding man, her commanding voice did not stop as she directed the flow of the battle to her favor.

Loyal soldiers died as she sent them on suicidal moves, their deaths although unfortunate were not meaningless as they brought ruin to their enemies as well.

This battlefield was nothing more than a game of chess between the two of them, and Khun wouldn't mind sacrificing her pawns to capture the enemy king.

As grueling the battle had been, it didn't take long for FUG's army to be obliterated, until only Jue Viole Grace stood alone in the enemy's side.

Bloody, bruised and battered beyond belief.

Condensing her shinsu into a resplendent ice spear, breathtakingly beautiful and deadly - just like person holding it.

And with a gentle wave of her hand, Khun threw the ice spear at the lone Slayer, leaving glittering snowflakes and ice crystals on its path.

Like a shooting star, the spear hit the golden-eyed man on the chest, impaled on where his heart should have been.

Just like that, countless people saw a shining star plucked out of the sky and fall on the ground.

And for the Slayer who had been bravely fighting, no one even attempted to mourn over his death nor retrieve his cooling corpse.

When everyone had returned and celebrated the war's victory, the maiden of honor had quietly slipped away from the merrymaking and teleported to where the Slayer had fallen to.

His chest was unmoving, his body cold from the ice shinsu that covered his chest and blood painted the ground a crimson bloom but Khun knew better than to think that the other had died.

Crouching next to the still body, she took this chance to observe the other's appearance.

Long chestnut colored hair tied on a ponytail, broad shoulders and a narrow waist, with long straight legs. Clothed in black from head to toe and even on his neck, an unassuming black choker wrapped around it. It made his whole person seem so distant and untouchable.

Brushing this bangs aside, so to clearly see the other's face... Khun felt herself stop as the face behind those long bangs was too innocent-looking. Beautiful yes, but his features painted an unspeakable innocence despite the countless lives taken away by him.

Why did Khun come back here?

Because the moment she raised her hand to throw the spear, their eyes locked once more.

Despite the staggering distance between the two of them, she could clearly see the emotions on those golden eyes. There was no anger, fear, or regret in those eyes.

Only exhaustion and relief.

Jue Viole Grace only looked at her, giving her a small smile as he closed his eyes and awaited for the spear to claim his life.

Waiting - almost eagerly - for his death.

And Khun couldn't understand that.

Hence instead of directly killing him off at that moment, Khun decided to deal a critical hit to him. One that can fool the masses into thinking the other had instantly died at the princess' hand yet give her an ample amount of time to still speak with the other for one last time.

Had FUG even have half a mind to retrieve their Slayer's corpse, they could have brought him back and saved him.

How ironic that the god they praised to the high heavens, fighting tirelessly for their sakes, had been abandoned by his own believers as soon as his whole worth had been used up, his corpse left for nature to play on.

"Jue Viole Grace." Khun whispered the Slayer's name, the name rolling off her tongue with unexpected ease. "I know that you're still alive."

Waving her hand over the frozen chest, retracting the ice shinsu that encased the other's heart and delayed his death.

Long brown lashes fluttered as hazy golden eyes looked back at her, as if he was unnecessarily interrupted on his way to the afterlife.

Unnecessary this interruption may have been, his eyes glowed at the person now speaking to him.

Just like the final rush of life before eventually meeting death.

"Tell me." Khun started, her sapphire eyes staring into those golden pupils. "Why did you not dodge my last attack?"

Others may not realize it and just assume that the Slayer had been too tired to move.

But Khun knew that even if the other had been tired, he could have dodged the ice spear thrown at him. He wasn't so tired that he couldn't move his body, Khun could at least attest to that fact as she had watched the Slayer move during the whole battle.

And Khun isn't conceited enough to think that she had bewitched the Slayer with her beauty alone that he just gladly accepted being impaled by her.

"...I'm tired. So, so, so tired..." The man muttered under his breath, his voice slow and almost wheezing, but his eyes did not leave the blunette's.

"...I just wanted to sleep... And you... The moment that I saw you... I knew you're the one..." Pauses and gasps littered his every other word and he reached out towards the Lightbearer.

"The one who can grant me... the respite I'm looking for." Jue Viole Grace mumbled, his fingers curling on the soft silvery blue waves cascading the lady in front of him.

Khun didn't even bother to flinch away at the dying man's hand.

"...and to die by your hands... does not seem so bad at all." He tried to give a light laugh, but choked and broken coughs came out instead.

"What were you fighting for? What made you fight so desperately even at the cost of your life?" Khun asked once more.

For someone so tired... He still fought with his everything. It was only at that last moment that he gave up.

"...I just... wanted to die." The man flinched. "...to end it all."

To that unexpected answer, Khun didn't even need to ask before the brunette continued... trying to draw upon the last remnants of his strength to explain.

To let the other know of his untold sufferings... To tell his story to someone else even for the last time.

"...but they won't let me." He croaked out. "...I had no choice... but to fight..."

"...won't this valiant princess... humor a dying man's last wish?" The brunette offered a weak smile. "...my story... won't you... listen to it?"

Khun didn't know why she agreed. Even if he was dying, he was still her enemy. One who's currently at death's door because she personally sent him there.

But she still did.

"...consider this as my final grace upon you."

To you, who fought so bravely, staring at death without fear in your eyes.

To the one who'd been abandoned and will soon leave the living, the most Khun could do was gently lay the person's head on her lap, and run her fingers on their hair as he narrated his story.

Khun might be coldblooded and cruel, but she knows to respect the other's strength. Letting the other lie on her lap and listen to their words, it was the most comfort she can offer as a sign of her respect.

This way, before he dies, he might be able to finish his story or at least tell as much of it as he could.

To think the day would come where Khun herself would comfort her enemy and allow them to peacefully die on her lap, listening to their last wishes... If others told her of this before, she'd merely scoff at how ridiculous a fantasy that would have been.

And yet here she is, doing that exact same thing.

Jue Viole Grace's voice was as gentle and clear as a dying person's voice could ever muster.

Clearly, he was putting as much effort as he could to tell his story. So that Khun would know and understand.

Jue Viole Grace, or Viole for short, was someone who had once been trapped in a cave.

He'd lived in that dark cave all alone, without owning or knowing anything at all. A lonely boy who only tried to reach the cave's ceiling and break through it so he can escape the darkness he's in.

One day, the ceiling he'd been trying so hard to break apart opened up.

It wasn't because he grew strong and managed to open it on its own. Rather, someone from the other side lifted the stone blocking the entrance to his cave.

A figure emerged from that light, and she became his everything.

At this, Khun almost wanted to snort. To make your whole world revolve on a single person, isn't that just a stupid thing to do?

And yet, she kept quiet, not interrupting the man's labored words. As his voice was getting softer, she had to strain her ears to listen to him.

That person told him that his name was ***.

To the him who only had that one person as a friend, the days they'd spent together was the happiest he'd ever been.

He was so happy he just wanted it to last forever.

But then, that same person he cherished with all his might, viewed as his brightest light became his darkest nightmare as well.

It was her whom he trusted with his whole heart that pushed him into the abyss he could never escape from.

It was her who sold him off to FUG, to become their so-called God in order for her to climb the Tower to see those stars, stars that might not even be real and just another legend just like the ones she told him before.

He couldn't accept it.

And so he kept trying to escape, trying to chase after his light. And every single time, he was brought back. More scars marking his body at his return.

It wasn't the cruel training, the death threats or psychological tortures that they put him through that broke him.

The repeated betrayals by the person he trusted the most that did it.

Any more than that and he'd go crazy.

If he knew this was the fate awaiting him, wouldn't it have been better if the ceiling of his cave never opened? *** would sometimes wonder.

He had to shut down.

To no longer feel any pain, to numb himself from the countless cruel acts he had done, the only way for *** was to shut down.

Back when they first got a hold of him, the first thing they did was change his name. A name more befitting of their god. A name that he hated as it symbolizes the darkness he was living in.

But now, that name is heaven-sent. Didn't they want a god? A puppet who will do everything they ask of and grant whatever ridiculous wishes they wanted?

Then he'll live exactly just like that.

From now on, the naive boy *** that had been trapped at an unknown cave is dead. And all that was left was their god, the FUG Slayer 'Jue Viole Grace'.

A cold, cruel and emotionless killing machine.

That's 'Jue Viole Grace'.

The one who killed and worked for FUG is 'Jue Viole Grace'. Not '***'.

*** would forever lie asleep in the deepest recesses of Jue Viole Grace's mind, never to wake up again.

But of course, no matter how much 'Jue Viole Grace' wanted *** to stay asleep, to save them both from the horrors and pain they'd experience, there were times when *** would still wake up.

And when he does, it always creates chaos at FUG.

He'd remember all the things 'Jue Viole Grace' did, the countless lives he'd taken and the fear in their faces and desperate pleas of his victim.

And then he'd hurl out whatever he had in his stomach at that time. The disgust and anger and dread towards himself, towards his actions...

It made him sick to his very core.

So... He'd try to end his life right there and then.

The first time it happened, they were able to prevent him from dying. The second time it happened, he wasn't even able to attempt anything before he was held down. It happened so often that he already lost count.

As long as *** woke up, the first thing he'd do would to try to kill himself.

Until they got fed up with his suicidal acts and contacted the Workshop. They had them create a special choker. It was a rather harmless accessory however as soon as he tried to kill himself, he'd freeze up - ad if he'd been hit by a Reverse Shinsu Flow Control - and alert the nearby FUG members of his condition not long after.

And so, he couldn't die even if he wanted to.

"...so you've fought on the battlefield pretending to be 'Jue Viole Grace'..." Khun murmured, her eyes not leaving the man's eyes while her hands kept running through the man's long hair.

"...letting their army fall until you're the only one left behind. Yet at the same time, tried to kill as less enemies as you can without looking too suspicious."

Khun already had a vague feeling that things went way too smoothly during the battle. Through the countless simulations and possible scenarios she thought of and made countermeasures for, almost half of them went unused.

As if there was an invisible hand helping her towards victory.

"And in that moment when I threw the spear at you, you've decided to die and this choker..." Khun lightly caressed the seemingly useless accessory. "...made you freeze up so you can take the whole brunt of my attack."

"...so smart." A tired smile was sent her way, not even denying her claims on what had happened in the battle.

It stung her pride a bit, knowing that her opponent had planned to lose from the very start and did not go all out in their battle... Well, not that Khun will ever admit.

And this will be a secret between the two of them.

One they will both carry to their graves.

"You said that you knew right from the very start that I'd be able to help you. That I will kill you." Khun tilted her head, some silvery blue locks slipping past her shoulders and lightly resting on the brunette's face. "How?"

With what little strength left in the man's hands, he brushed onto those stray hair and lightly held on.

"Aside from you... no one else in that battlefield... can kill me. I've tried it before, you see..." As if he wasn't talking about his reckless attempts to die.

He'd tried it before.

*** would go to a battle pretending to still be his alter ego, as 'Jue Viole Grace' and when there's some powerful opponent on the other side, he'd think about dying at the critical moment and he'd freeze up. Letting the other to deal a lethal blow on him.

And yet, more often than not, it wouldn't be enough for it to be life-threatening for him.

The closest who was able to bring him to death was one of the squadron commanders, Kallavan.

But even then, he survived.

However, to not make it that obvious and alert FUG of his recent attempts, *** had to tone it down.

He had to be patient as there might not a next time.

"...the moment I saw you... I just knew it. Something... within told me that... you'll be the one to relieve me..."

Khun now had to bend down, leaning her ear closer to the man's mouth as he spoke, his voice faltering and almost too quiet to be heard.

The moment his golden eyes met those cold sapphire ones, *** just knew.

That that princess would be able to finally grant his wish.

As if a Goddess herself have gone down from heaven to bring upon his most awaited rest.

When the spear shot through him, he knew it was his end. Even when he felt the ice shinsu cover his heart, it was only delaying the inevitable.

And even now, he can feel himself slipping away.

Just seconds away to sweet oblivion.

"...I'm sorry... for being selfish but... can you call... my name?" He whispered, his breathing labored with tears forming at the corner of his eyes as he tried touching the blunette's fair face.

At those familiar words, sapphire eyes widened, and she slowly - almost mechanically - moved back to stare at the man's face.

"...what did you just say...?" A lump formed in her throat as her eyes looked at those quickly dimming golden ones.

"...my name is..." The last word had been too soft to be heard even within their short distance but Khun already knew by heart what that name is.

"...Bam? Bam!" Struggling to shift their positions so she could cradle his body, Khun repeatedly called out.

Holding him tightly, their faces almost touching, yet she didn't notice that. All she noticed was how Bam gave her a thankful yet apologetic smile, his mouth trying to move to form more words yet no sound came.

As soon as the brunette closed his eyes and breathed his last, Khun could feel a part of her break and die along as well.

Before she could even realize it, tears were already streaming down her cheeks and her chest felt hollowed out.

With as little movement as she could at the moment, Khun pulled back the blue sleeve covering her right wrist.

A neat line of words was printed there in an elegant golden color.

I'm sorry for being selfish but can you call my name? My name is Bam.

And with gentle yet trembling movements, she also uncovered the Wave Controller's left wrist.

A familiar line she had just spoken moments ago was neatly printed in a sapphire blue color.

Jue Viole Grace. I know that you're still alive.

It broke into a million pieces, never to be fixed again.

When Khun had been younger, she was often told about a legend. Not of twinkling stars but about a person's soul.

They said that a long time ago, a soul was referring to one complete being. However a soul had angered an ancient god and as punishment, it had split apart into two and they could never be entirely one again.

However angry the ancient god might had been at the time, he still decided to bestow mercy on the now split souls - that were later called 'soulmates'.

So that they could find each other, he left matching marks on their wrists, painted in a color reminiscent of their other half. One soul's wrist would contain the first words your soulmate will speak to you - the Greeting Mark. The other soul's opposite wrist would contain the last words your soulmate will tell you - the Parting Mark.

But as these are just words tattooed on their wrists, you will never know which is which. Whether it was your soulmate's first words upon your meeting, or last words imparted to you, you can never tell.

According to the legend, everyone has a soulmate - their destined pair.

However, most people aren't lucky. Even if they had a soulmate, they would never be able to meet them on their lifetime.

As they would never cross paths in their lifetime, the colorful words on their wrists won't ever appear. Since the two of them will never meet, there wouldn't be any words spoken between them... Hence there won't be any sign left on their wrists.

Khun Aguero Agnis had been one of those few lucky ones, destined to meet her soulmate in her lifetime.

As soon as she'd been born, there was already a line of words written on her right wrist.

Although she never outwardly showed it... Just like a normal child, she had been giddy when she first heard the legend. Wouldn't that mean that there is someone out there meant just for her?

Someone that belongs only to her? And no one else could take that person away from her?

Someone who... no matter what happens, will come back to her. Someone who would comfort her, love her and cherish her?

The thought excited her.

And the words written on her right wrist seemed to be from the 'Greeting Mark'. The first words spoken to her by her soulmate. Then her soulmate must have the 'Parting Mark' on their left wrist.

After all, don't the words on her wrist seem like an introduction?

Bright-eyed and naive, Khun had waited for her fated person to find her and speak those lines to her.

She waited and waited and waited.

Until she could no longer wait.

Reality had been cruel to her and the other person never came.

Soon, she was chosen as a Princess of Jahad to represent their family.

As a Princess of Jahad, she would not be allowed to fall in love nor to put someone or something else above the King in her priorities. She had to obey orders and were expected to follow them without any questions. There are various rules for her to remember and follow.

Khun Aguero Agnis thoroughly hated it.

She didn't want to be a Princess. She'd much rather it was her full-blooded sister or any of her countless half-sisters out there to be chosen as a Princess.

But she had been singled out to be a Princess, not by her father whom she detested, but by the King of the Tower himself  - King Jahad.

As such, she was never given a choice.

And so she wished... Wished for her soulmate to come find her before she officially becomes a Princess. And whisk her away.

But he never came.

Khun underwent the rigorous training that forced the already exemplary Princesses into even more terrifying monsters of the battlefield.

As had been expected of her, Khun excelled at being a Princess.

That made her hate it even more.

After she became a Princess, her young heart that was still waiting and hoping to meet her soulmate... died.

He never came when she needed him the most.

Her heart turned numb and cold throughout the years she climbed the Tower and lived as a Princess.

Before her spluttering hope truly went out, Khun had in fact, tried to look for her destined pair. If he wasn't going to find her, then she'll come find him. Question him, interrogate him and demand for answers.

Why did he not find her? Why was he not by her side when she was at her darkest moment? Why?

She was a gifted Lightbearer, even if it's just a name and a color, as long as they entered the Tower, she'd be able to find him and get her answers.

But she never found him.

She only found traces of a boy with a similar name and the same golden color on her wrist for his eyes on the Floor of Tests. A boy with an odd name called "Twenty-fifth Bam". He entered the Tower much later than she did. When Khun though she had found her soulmate, fate decided to be cruel to her once more.

The boy named "Twenty-fifth Bam" had died on the Floor of Tests, eliminated on the very first round.

And so, she stopped hoping.

No longer believing in that legend of soulmates.

Within their big family, aside from her, she never really saw anyone else with a similar mark on their wrists. When she had been a Regular, she have tried to spy on the wrists of the people around her, trying to see if they also have a mark on their wrists...

Maybe she was just unlucky, and she never met someone with a mark on their wrist. Or even if she did, they hid it oh-so-carefully that no one else would see.

It led her to think that maybe... The legend about soulmates are just that, a legend without a hint of truth in it.

That it was made just so they could explain the nonsensical words marked on their wrists.

That maybe, it was never a legend to begin with.

That it was just a lie to cover up the sick prank that someone had led her to believe.

And so she stopped thinking about it, about the words written on her wrist.

But there were also times when her naive heart would decide to show itself.

Before she knew it, she's be using her lighthouses to search for that person once more.

Only that it'd end with the same result as her first attempt and every other attempt had been.

When that happens, Khun would thoroughly eradicate those useless thoughts in her head until the incessant ramblings quiet down and she'd be back to her cold and untouchable self.

Who would have known that the words on her wrist were not a Greeting Mark? But a painful Parting Mark instead?

That those words were not cheerful words of introduction but her fated pair's dying request?

To be called one last time by the name that the world had forgotten and buried in its memories.

That the person she'd been looking for, waiting for ever since she was a child... Would actually finally appear in front of her, as her enemy in the battlefield no less?

The person she wanted to meet for the longest time... Now lay unmoving on her arms as she was the one who personally ended his life.

She killed him.

Khun Aguero Agnis had killed Bam - who was her soulmate.

Her soulmate that she - no matter how hard she tried to forget - had been instinctively seeking for in her entire life.

Tears flowed, her breaths choked and uneven, her body trembling as her mind was shaken by the reality in front of her.

The Greeting Mark on Bam's wrist was like a bitter proof that the words on her own wrist were indeed the Parting Mark.

Which meant that the man who's body she's gently cradling on her arms will no longer wake up and speak to her once more.

The words etched on his wrist were her first words to him.

And the words on her wrist were her last words to her.

His last.

Never to be followed by another in this lifetime.

A painful cry tore its way out of her mouth, as Khun held the cooling body closer to her - hoping for a miracle - hoping that she could transfer her body heat to him and that he will open those golden eyes again. That for some god - she didn't care who - to save the one in her hands. Now, she just wanted to sell her soul to whoever wanted it... as long as they can bring Bam back.

A vague memory played in Khun's mind. Of the same legend she had been told of before.

Sometimes, it would have been better if the soulmates never met one another. Because when the two of them met, they'd feel an indefinite pull towards one another, easily catching their gazes despite the distance between them, bodies naturally seeking the other's touch. The walls they'd put up around them for other people would automatically disappear for their other half.

For them who had found one another, to be together is as normal as breathing.

Because only when they are together would they feel complete.

And it's exactly because they knew how it felt to be complete, that their separation hurts more than anything else in the world.

As if their very being was torn apart all over again.

He was her soulmate.

It was no wonder that Khun was able to catch Bam's gaze despite their chaotic situation.

That Bam, no matter what attack he'd unleash in the battlefield, it was never directly sent to her direction. How Khun, until the very finale of that battle, never personally launched an attack at him. And even when she threw her spear, she couldn't bring herself to immediately kill the man, still desiring to speak with him and seek for answers.

It was on a bloody battlefield that Khun Aguero Agnis met her soulmate Bam. And it was also the last time. 

Before this, the two of them have never meet before, as was evidenced by the Greeting Mark on Bam's wrist.

So why does this hurt Khun so much? Why does it feel as if her heart was torn out of her chest, her bones broken to fragments and her flesh was hit by shinsu over and over and over again?

Khun was obviously fine just moments ago. So why does she feel like she's the one dying right now?

It wasn't the cold, calculated and conscious her who was crying out. It was her very soul, who had been searching for it's other half who was grieving. Grieving at the fact that they had just met and now they had to part. The part of her that kept waiting, searching and hoping all these years.

And it was with her own hands that sent her other half away.

To the death he so wanted, that she now so hated.

Countless what-ifs flooded her pain-stricken mind.

What if she have tried harder, looked for him with everything she had, gave up her everything... Would things have been different?

Would they have met sooner? Would he have stayed by her side once she found him? Would the two of them end up together?

...they would have been such a perfect match. The most blessed Wave Controller and Lightbearer the Tower had ever seen... They would have been unstoppable.

So why? Why did they not meet sooner?

...if she didn't try so hard to disregard that legend and believed in it with her entire being, would their ending be different? 

...no, it wouldn't. The marks on their wrists proved exactly just that.

They were bound to meet and separate on this battle.

Khun Aguero Agnis would personally grant the death Bam had been always wanted.

Maybe he didn't realize it back then that they were soulmates, but Bam was right.

Only Khun Aguero Agnis could kill him.

Not because the other was a brilliant and powerful Princess.

But because it was Khun Aguero Agnis who was his soulmate and could pierce through whatever defenses he built around himself.

Even if it was a killing blow, his soul would gladly accept it.

Even if Bam never had the desire to die, he would still willingly accept the spear thrown at him.

Because that spear was something his other half gave him.

The same way how he's killing Khun right now.

Maybe not her body, but her heart's certainly dying.

And Khun is accepting it.

The pain that his death caused, even if Khun didn't want it, she's still taking all of it.

Because this pain is something that her other half gave her.

During their battle earlier, they never spoke to one another. They only stood far apart from each other hence they never realized it.

As Bam had the Greeting Mark etched into his wrist, he should have been the first one to realize it.

For him, realizing that it was his soulmate that will bring him his much awaited death was salvation.

Maybe... The reason why 'Bam' kept coming out when he should have been sleeping in the deepest recesses of Jue Viole Grace's mind wasn't a random event... Maybe, his soul was responding to Khun's deeply hidden desire to seek the other. Or maybe it was Khun who was resonating with Bam's soul...

After all, soulmates were destined to forever seek one another. Calling out to their fated one and answering to their calls were their second nature.

Upon realizing that their time together would be cut short by his death, Bam tried to prolong the moment they spent on each other's presence. Asking for his story to be heard was just an excuse for the Princess to stay with him until his final moments and not leave him behind.

Although he was the one who will be leaving her behind.

Unlike Khun, Bam didn't have any idea on what the words on his wrist mean until he was already halfway up the Tower. By the time he found out, he was already 'Jue Viole Grace'. To the him at that time, legends are already nothing but useless words strung together by bored people who had nothing better to do just to deceive others. So even if he knew about the legend, he could only toss it to the back of his mind.

He didn't have the heart to believe another legend, when it was also a legend that trapped him in the darkness.

But there were times when Bam couldn't stop looking at the words on his wrist.

Thinking about his so-called other half. The person that was supposed to be his.

And then he'd realize, 'Jue Viole Grace' is not allowed to own anything. Whatever it is that he liked, whatever it is he owned, whatever it is that he wanted... FUG will take it all away from him.

From what little kindness Bam still had left in his heart, he decided not to look for his soulmate. He couldn't look for her, now that he was trapped with no way out. He couldn't drag her to the hell he's living in.

Only by staying away and not seeking her would he be able to keep her safe.

The 'his' that he never saw, heard nor touched.

And Bam would have been content with that.

Just like Khun, Bam also mistook his mark. After all, the words "Jue Viole Grace. I know that you're still alive."... Depending on how it was said, the tone and emotions behind those words, it can also be interpreted as a desperate plea for him not to die.

Because it was mistakenly interpreted as a Parting Mark, Bam had always thought that it was his soulmate that will find him first. That his soulmate was someone who'd eventually get close to him. Someone who would be with him at his final moments, reluctantly see him off at death's door, desperately begging for him not to go and still holding onto the glimmer of hope that he will live on.

It was something he secretly wished to happen. For someone to not want him to die, to just live on, to desperately believe he'd still be alive even as he's dying... It brought a sickly sweet feeling.

To be held by that person that had been 'his' from the very start, even if it was only in his final moments... Bam would have been happy with just that.

Although he was wrong about his mark being the Parting Mark and was instead the Greeting Mark...

He was still glad... Glad that he found out even just a bit sooner, so that he can relish on that person's warmth, bask in that person's presence and be able to listen to their voice. Just like how a normal person would do so with another.

Bam never expected his soulmate to be someone so stunning in so many ways.

She was a Princess revered and worshiped by all. With beauty, power and intelligence that rivaled no other.

It made Bam wonder what did he ever do to deserve someone as glorious as that to be his soulmate?

And the Princess who turned out to be his soulmate was unexpectedly kind, despite her icy exterior.

So kind that even without knowing he was her soulmate, she still granted his wishes.

She even let him lie on her lap and touch her hair, when she had been her enemy just moments ago. Gently running her fingers on his long hair, hair that was meant to forever hide his face. Treating him, who was a stranger to her, as if he was her closest friend when no one else genuinely had seen him as one.

His wish to die. His wish for his story to be heard. And his wish to die being held by her.

All of his wishes, she granted it all.

Because she had the Parting Mark, she would only know they were a pair once he dies.

With how kind she was, Bam couldn't help but be a bit more selfish.

He can't help but to wish one more time.

His final wish.

To hear her call his name one last time.

His real name that he haven't heard for the longest time.

Bam didn't even have the strength to properly say his own name.

And yet she did.

During his last moments, Khun Aguero Agnis called his name.

When death descended on him, miscellaneous thoughts filled Bam's mind.

Ah... Khun Aguero Agnis was truly his own Goddess.

So glad that the legend was real and the person in front of him was his...

So glad that the other had the Parting Mark...

Because she was able to call his name when even he can no longer vocalize it...

That his name would forever be etched on her wrist...

A proof that Bam once lived.

Bam wanted to look at Khun a bit more and yet he couldn't keep his eyes from slowly closing.

He wanted to apologize, for leaving her behind like this... He wanted to thank her as well for calling his name, repeating his name over and over again for him to hear for the last time but he could no longer form words.

He'd lost his sense of touch for quite a while ago, and yet Bam could swear that he felt himself be embraced, so tightly as if he was her treasure to be held close to her heart.

The grief, desperation and pain in her voice as she called out to him was like a beautiful requiem just for him.

To die like this...

...really wasn't so bad.

Khun didn't know how long she cried, how long she called out to the man she held. She only knew that her eyes sting, her brain pounding inside her head, her cheeks sticky and salty with tears, her throat raw and sore, and her hands still shaking as she held onto the cold corpse in her arms.

All the pain, discomfort and suffering she felt her whole life combined still didn't come close to the one she's feeling right now.

Khun felt empty. Her heart, her mind, her soul... All of it had been emptied out.

She could only stay still as the world drifted away from her grasp.

Her world.

It was somewhat funny, how moments ago she thought of 'making a person your whole world' as a stupid idea. And yet, it seemed that the man she held really was her world.

Her world that is now undeniably shattered and lost.

After what seemed like centuries of blankness, Khun gradually regained clarity.

She slowly stood up, still holding onto Bam's body. Brushing his hair away from his face, noticing how peaceful his expression looked as if he was just sleeping and would later wake up.

But Khun knew that those golden irises would never open again for her to see.

Summoning her ice shinsu, she let go of the man and encased his body just like a glass case.

Khun wanted to clean him up a bit, before freezing him like this... But then, if she did that, Khun felt like she wouldn't be able to capture his final moments as closely as possible.

He had to stay just like this.

Bam's cold body would be her constant reminder.

The reminder of her revenge that she had to take.

Of her hatred of this Tower and of the destiny that oh-so-mercilessly weaved their story into a tragedy.

The gentle brushes on the ice case and the careful treatment of it - as if she was directly touching the man himself - belied the burning rage in her eyes.

Khun's blue eyes that were once praised as the most brilliant sapphire were now a cold and stormy cobalt blue. It was no less beautiful than before but it now exudes danger, one that threatens to drown everything into an endless abyss.

As a daughter of the Khun family, she had to live by the rules set by her family in order to safely grow up.

As a Regular, she had to follow through the rules set by the test administrators to move onto the next floor.

As a Princess, she had to abide by the rules set by the King of the Tower himself in order to continue living.

No more...

Khun Aguero Agnis is fed up with all these rules binding her down.

Since the world had been nothing but cruel to her, why does it still need to exist? For what purpose?

Everything and everyone that caused this wretched story to happen... She's going to destroy them all.

Even Khun Aguero Agnis herself.

Once she's done with her revenge, she'll kill herself and join Bam in the afterlife.

Although Bam will have to wait, but it'll be worth it.

They waited this long to finally meet each other, waiting for a little while more to meet once again is nothing.

The day that FUG's God 'Jue Viole Grace' died... It was also the same day that the Princess of Jahad 'Khun Aguero Agnis' disappeared.

After that gigantic battle where she killed the Slayer herself, no one found her ever again.

That bloody battle was like a stone that formed a ripple on a water's still surface. A ripple that no one expected to grow and form tidal waves, ones that will shake the very foundation of the Tower.

At first, it was just some measly Regulars disappearing. The Tower was such a huge and dangerous place, it wasn't uncommon for weak Regulars to fall prey to some kind of disaster.

But then a pattern appeared.

Those Regulars that disappeared would later be found dead encased in ice, the fear and despair in their faces vividly captured as they were frozen. A small crushed chestnut placed near their hearts.

It showed that the culprit was the same person.

And yet, when Rankers tried to investigate it, they found no clue on who the culprit had been.

The only thing they found out was that those Regulars had been from the same batch of Regulars who took the test at the second floor - the Floor of Tests. Aside from that, there was nothing in common between the victims.

But Khun Aguero Agnis knew.

Those Regulars took part in the plan to 'kill' a Regular called "Twenty-fifth Bam". In exchange for passing the test, they helped a girl called "Rachel" to capture him and send him to FUG's side.

The Rankers investigating the cases didn't know that, but Khun did.

And that's all that matters.

No matter what they did, they were never able to track down the culprit hence it was left unsolved for months.

When they thought that the killings have stopped, more victims appeared. Their bodies' conditions more wretched than the initial victims. Yet the crushed chestnut on their hearts and the body encased in ice remained the same.

The most gruesome one had been of a female blonde Regular called "Rachel". There was nothing exemplary about this Regular, from her looks to her abilities, she was the most common of the common, the lowest of the low. It was actually a wonder how she was able to climb so high up on the Tower. Her body had been mutilated beyond belief, limbs dismembered from her body, her eyes gouged out and her tongue cut off. Aside from her face that was left mostly alone, every single inch of her skin had been scarred and lacerated. If it wasn't for the ice encasing her body keeping mostly intact - or at least, placed her chopped off body parts in the shape of a human -  her body would have just been just a messy pile of flesh and bones on the ground.

The murderer's hatred towards her could be seen just how badly her corpse had been.

How could Khun not hate her? This girl was the one that Bam treasured and trusted before with his whole life. The one that brought Bam out of that dark cave only to shove him into an even darker void. The one who had been with Bam from the very start, the one who Khun so desperately wanted to be, just so she could have met Bam much, much earlier than she did and take good care of him.

The one who broke Bam time after time again until all that was left was a hollow shell.

The one who basically took Khun Aguero Agnis' soulmate away from her.

How could Khun not hate her?

Khun hated her. Detested her. Abhorred her.

And so when Khun found her, she relished on her screams of agony and ensured that all the pain that Bam had to go through, she'd experience it, even if just the smallest fraction of it. Even when the blonde girl rained curses at her, threatened her or eventually plead for mercy... Khun had ignored her and continued with the torture she had planned for her.

If Bam saw what Khun was doing right now, maybe he'd get mad or disappointed at the blunette. If Bam had insisted for the blonde girl's release, maybe Khun would have listened and agreed to let her go.

But Bam is dead and no one's going to stop Khun from doing whatever she wanted.

It was only when the blonde girl was at her last breath did Khun answer her question. One she had so persistently demanded for an answer.

"...why am I doing this to you, you asked?" Khun laughed dryly, thinking back on all the times the blonde bitch in front of her had asked her that question. The blunette wanted her to think back and reflect and what the blonde could have done to deserve this treatment.

Until the very end, the blonde didn't seem repentant or even sorry for what she did.

It's as if her act of selling another person for her own selfish reasons was not even worth remembering. As if there's nothing wrong in her doing so.

"Because Bam is dead. All of you people that led to his death... I'll have you all accompany him in the afterlife." Khun didn't miss how the girl instinctively flinched at the name. If she still had her eyes, those would have widened in surprise. If she still had her tongue, she would have probably repeated the name in surprise.

Too bad, she no longer have those and Khun couldn't see what expression she would have made.

Bam.

The name that the blonde girl thought she had long forgotten.

It seemed that even if she did forget, it will continue to haunt her. Even when the boy had died, his ghost will continue to chase after her.

As if reading her thoughts, Khun chuckled once more.

"Don't misunderstand. Bam had nothing to do with this. He had only ever mentioned on how you used to be his light" there was an undisguised bitter tone at the word, "and how you betrayed him."

Grabbing the blonde by her hair, pulling a strangled yelp from her, Khun coldly whispered. "At the time of his death, you were nothing more than just a fleeting memory. One that he did not want to associate himself to."

"He was so kind that even after everything he went through, he did not want to take revenge... He just wanted to rest." The fingers digging into the blonde locks got tighter and tighter until a pained yet unintelligible sound came out.

"But you see... I'm not as kind as him." Khun let go, wiping her hands with a handkerchief and then unceremoniously dropping it onto the ground. It was a rude and extremely offending gesture, not that the blonde can see it anyway. "And so I'll be the one to take revenge for him and give you your just deserts."

And then Khun had left Rachel to die, suffering until her very last breath.

Aside from how appalling the blonde Regular's death had been, no one paid it much attention and it did not make any huge waves at all. If it had been any other time, her death would have garnered more attention and sympathy.

However Khun made sure to not let her have even just a tiny bit of pity. A pity that she did not deserve.

Everyone's focus had not been on her death but on something bigger.

Corpses of dead Rankers were found with the same condition. This brought collective terror to everyone in the Tower. If even mighty Rankers could meet that kind of ending, what could normal Regulars and citizens in the Tower do? They won't be able protect themselves from the murderer even if they tried. They could only let hope that their death would be a painless one.

Among the dead Rankers, there were some that belonged to FUG, with one of them being an actual Slayer.

A Slayer who normally brought fear into people's hearts... was dead just like that.

And so the word got out, that it was Jahad that had ordered for their deaths. Various news and pieces of information from credible and shady sources that showed believable proof of it.

The 'evidences' shared to the masses were so concrete that it was impossible not to believe it.

Whether it was the truth or not, people believed it.

And FUG couldn't not do anything about it.

One of their Gods had been killed, and regardless of whether or not it was Jahad who ordered it, they had to strike back.

And thus, another large-scale war began between Jahad's forces and FUG began.

Unlike the previous one, there was no Khun Aguero Agnis to command and support Jahad's troops. There were other Princesses sent to battle, each one of them a force of nature on their own, however none of them excelled in strategy and tactical warfare.

They could mow down their enemies in seconds, and crush buildings to smithereens... Yet they cannot see the bigger picture and fell to traps after traps. Eventually, even those formidable Princesses were no longer able to get up and permanently fell down from their places in the sky.

FUG's Slayers had better support and strategies as compared to the Princesses however as their manpower was pitifully short compared to Jahad's army, they gradually lost to the war of attrition.

Countless lives were extinguished at that war. Both sides suffering an unprecedented amount of casualties. So much that both sides were terribly weakened and neither would be able to start another war anytime soon to finish things off once and for all.

At the end, no one can tell which side won or lost this war.

What they can be sure of was that this battle had caused millions to fall into eternal slumber.

Unknown to those who fought with their lives on the line, a person watched the whole war unfold with thinly-veiled disinterest.

Khun sat on her lighthouse, in an altitude too high up for anyone to notice and floating beside her was a man lying in an ice case. She watched as bodies fell, blood painted the ground red and explosions boomed below her.

There was something nostalgic about the scene. It was similar to the time when the two of them met.

But without them in the scenario, everything turned out so differently.

Khun took her eyes off the mess below them and looked at the ice case beside her, her hand reaching out to it and gently placing her hand near the man's face.

"...just wait a bit more for me, okay?" She murmured. "I'll be joining you soon."

Few years later, FUG was no more.

As a Ranker, Khun Aguero Agnis had once touched the 'glass ceiling' of the Tower. The highest floor that Jahad - and the Ten Great Family Leaders - had climbed to before proclaiming himself 'King' and establishing his so-called kingdom within the Tower.

King Jahad... The one that Khun was once a princess - a fake bridal candidate - for.

Along her climb up the Tower for revenge, Khun had unexpectedly found many things.

Secrets concerning her soulmate's past and true identity as well as the buried truths pertaining towards the King and the Tower itself.

Each revelation more gruesome and tragic than the last.

As a descendant of the Ten Great Families, Khun had been well-aware of the darkness that surrounded them, and she lived and breathed on that dark 'truth'.

But the things she found out over the recent years made the 'truth' she previously knew pale in comparison - it was almost light, even - to the bone-deep darkness the Tower kept hidden behind all it's glamour and gold.

How could Khun leave the King behind in her revenge?

If there was a mastermind in her and Bam's tragedy aside from that damnable fate, then it would be King Jahad himself.

The one who sat at the very top was the one who orchestrated their story from the shadows.

Jahad.

He had once killed Bam.

An innocent child who did not know any better... Just because of a possible future he had foreseen where the boy would kill him.

It was also him who destroyed Bam's family, forced Bam's father 'V' to commit suicide and drove Bam's mother Arlene mad from grief.

It was only because Arlene had begged an Outside God to revive her dead child that Bam lived afterwards.

As if killing Bam once wasn't enough, he ordered him killed once more.

Ordered her - who was Bam's soulmate - to kill him.

When Khun was first chosen as a Princess, she had wondered why.

Why was she personally chosen as a Princess by the King? There were other more suitable, obedient and capable candidates than her - who was just a child - at that time.

But no one aside from the King could answer that.

It was a question she could never ask, and never received an answer for.

When Khun later found out the truth behind the Princesses after becoming a Ranker - how they were supposed to become brides for the King, how the King actually never intended to marry them and how it was just a bloody farce to control the Ten Families... The question popped up once more.

Why her?

Why would he personally choose her if he wasn't planning on making her his Queen?

She still didn't get her answer at that time.

It was only after Khun unraveled the mystery behind her soulmate's identity that she found her answer.

As someone who can see people's destinies, Jahad had known that she was the soulmate of the boy - the son of the woman he once loved -  that he once killed.

Although Jahad had killed the boy with his own two hands, on the off-chance that he would reincarnate and be born once again in the future, he would have the boy's soulmate by his side fighting for his cause.

And so he chose Khun Aguero Agnis to be a Princess, in order to raise her as a weapon against the boy as well as to monitor her movements and hold her hostage against him.

After all, how devastating would it have been to be killed by your fated pair?

Like a puppet on string, Khun really did kill Bam.

If there's one thing that Jahad may have miscalculated though... It was that Bam had been glad to die at Khun's hands.

But Khun was anything but glad about that.

His salvation became her despair.

When this realization hit Khun, it made her burn with white hot rage. Old and new grudges piled together to form an unending fury in her chest, one that screams for blood, murder and chaos.

It was Bam's destiny to kill the King, wasn't it?

As the one who caused that destiny unfulfilled, as his soulmate, Khun Aguero Agnis took it upon herself to see that destiny be brought to completion.

They were a fated pair whom once shared their souls, if Bam could no longer walk through his destiny, wouldn't it make sense for Khun to do it in his stead?

Since they were soulmates, Khun killing the King would count as Bam fulfilling his destiny, no?

And so she did.

Khun fought the King. It was a long, difficult and strenuous fight. It was the hardest battle she had ever fought, one that she could end up dead with just a single mistake.

Khun Aguero Agnis - who was a Regular brought to the Tower - who should not been able to hurt Jahad and kill him due to his immortality, a feat that only those monstrous Irregulars could do... was able to bring down the King to his deathbed.

A feat she would have never even thought she'd ever be able to accomplish... When she couldn't even hope to best her father.

But Khun knew that it was not because of her own power that she was able to beat the King.

It was because Bam was destined to kill the King, and as his soulmate, that same destiny could be shared with her as well.

When the fight had finally ended as she won, Khun felt her strength getting sapped away from her and her legs gave out on her, ungracefully falling to the ground just next to Jahad's corpse.

It was only her grip on her ice spear that was still pierced on Jahad's heart that prevented her from completely lying on the ground, as if the two of them had committed a double suicide.

"...hey Bam. I finally killed your greatest enemy and finished off your destiny for you..." Khun had brought out the ice case from her lighthouse, disregarding the massacre and destruction around her just after their fight.

She leaned her body to the ice case, feeling its familiar coldness, one that somehow felt warm to her. "All of your enemies are dead now. Are you happy?"

Despite knowing that there won't be anyone answering her, Khun still spoke as if she was in an idle conversation with Bam, pausing every once in a while, pretending that the other responded.

"...just let me rest for a bit." She murmured, her fingers stroking the ice case. "Afterwards, I'll bring you to the top of the Tower... and there I'll join you."

Absentmindedly, she kept on drawing unseen patterns on the ice case.

"Do you think the legend about the Tower is real? That if you reached the top of the Tower... Your wish will be granted?"

Aside from Khun's voice, there was only silence that answered her.

"...do you think they'd let me meet you again?"

On that day when the King of the Tower died, encased in ice with crushed chestnuts on the bloody hole in his chest where his heart had been, the Tower was turned in upheaval. Great changes were made, new rules were established, new floors had been opened and a new era was born.

Yet the person who caused it all was never found.

Their name was never recorded in history.

"...after so long, we've finally reached the top of the Tower, Bam." Khun whispered, staring at the night sky. Rather than the twinkling stars in the legend, it was the night sky itself, the whole entirety of the view above that she stared at.

She liked looking at the night sky, not because of the stars and moon up there but because it reminded her of Bam.

Even the chestnut she's holding on her hand right now and later delivered to her mouth reminded her of Bam.

"The stars individually aren't all that interesting to look at but the night sky sure is beautiful," as usual, Khun softly spoke, her body habitually leaning onto the ice case behind her, as if the other had been listening to her.

"Aside from that, there's really nothing in here." A small complaint.

"...didn't they say that all wishes will be granted when you reach the top of the Tower? Then where's the God that was supposed to grant my wishes?" A lonely muttering.

"I guess this one really was just a legend." A resigned sigh.

Khun closed her eyes, feeling the slightly chilly breeze the night wind brought her.

"Since there's no god that will bring you back to me... Then I guess it's time for me to die and meet you on the other side, huh?" Khun stood up, brushing the dust off her dress, and summoning an ice spear - one that was extremely similar to the one that had killed Bam.

"After all, you've waited long enough, didn't you?"

An extremely soft smile found its way on Khun's cold face, softening its edges and making her seem like an angel sent from heaven.

"Time for us to meet again, Bam."

"With that awkward posture, you wouldn't even be able to snag a baby rabbit." A magnetic yet teasing voice resounded in the yellow field, making a boy with chestnut brown hair and golden eyes to whip around in panic.

The sight that greeted him made him feel as if time had stopped.

In front of him stood another boy, seemingly around his age, dressed in a white dress shirt, black tie and pale blue pants.

An extremely beautiful face, with his pink lips pulled into an amused smirk, and his cobalt blue eyes staring back at him while his silvery blue hair danced in the wind, the blue bandanna in his hair doing nothing but to sway along.

The golden-eyed boy stared in wonder, eyes drawn to the other as he listened to his melodious voice.

"...oh. Thank you for stopping me." The moment the brunette replied, he could swear that the other boy's eyes seemed to shimmer brilliantly like a pretty blue gem and the smile on his face becoming even brighter.

It was almost blinding yet he couldn't bring himself to look away.

When the blunette asked him where he came from and he couldn't answer, the golden-eyed boy had to turn away and evade the other's gaze.

As such, he did not see how the other had subtly reached out to his own left wrist and pulled at the white cloth there.

Words written in gold sat across his wrist and a fond look appeared in his eyes.

Oh. Thank you for stopping me.

"...we finally meet again, Bam." In a voice too soft for other to hear, Khun Aguero Agnis murmured.

What is it that you so desire? For you to climb this high? Tell me what you wish and I'll grant it to you.

"I want to meet him again."

The dead cannot be brought back to life. You can no longer meet him on this life.

"...then how can I meet him again? How can I save him?"

If you truly want to meet him again, the only way is to go back in time. Everything that you've achieved, everything that you've gained... You're going to lose it. Everything you'd experienced, whether it's joy or sorrow, you will have to live through it once more. Everything will be reset to zero. Are you sure with that?

"That's fine with me."

Then I will send you back in time. Is that all?

"If I may have one more wish granted... I don't want to become a Princess. As long as I'm a Princess, I will definitely end up fighting against him and... I might end up killing him again."

As long as you're born as a woman, you will never be able to escape that destiny. Only by being born a man will you be able to evade it. But once you're a man, you will no longer be able to conceive a child for your other half even after the two of you met again.

"....that's also fine with me. As long as I can stay by his side, protect him and be able to save him from the darkness he went through before, anything's fine with me."

Alright. Then I wish you a happier ending this time around.