1722 The Echoing Tower. I

Alas, he realized that it would be too difficult since that bastard was all over the brothel, making his presence known everywhere he went.

In the end, Felix decided to call Zephyr and tell him that an experiment of his had gone wrong and damaged the chamber.

He knew that Zephyr wouldn't mind as long as the damages were paid for.

***

A couple of days later...Inside Zephyr's backroom.

"Here is your identity, you are now free to walk around the city with your head held high."

Zephyr handed Felix a sleek card with his image, full name, ID number, home address, social status, and more details on it.

The card seemed as legit as it could get.

"I've gone ahead and listed you as a mercenary. It's the ideal cover for someone like you."

Felix picked up the card, examining the card that shimmered with his new, Luminoan-like appearance.

"A mercenary, huh?" He muttered, raising an eyebrow.

Zephyr nodded, leaning back in his chair.

"Yes, and for good reason. Mercenaries enjoy a certain...anonymity here. Your true identification stays protected, and yet, you gain a high social standing due to the demand for your services."magic

Felix flipped the card in his hand, pondering the implications. "And nobody's going to question it?"

"Not at all," Zephyr reassured, his tails swaying gently now. "In fact, it's quite common for mercenaries to keep their origins and true identities a secret. It's all about the skills you bring to the table."

"It also gives you the freedom to move around without attracting unwanted attention. Plus, if anyone does get curious, your 'mercenary work' provides a convenient justification for any... unusual activities." He smirked.

Felix considered this for a moment, the corners of his mouth twitching upward. "Makes sense."

"Just make sure to stay out of trouble. Or at least, the kind of problem that would have your identification questioned."

"Fair enough," Felix agreed, pocketing the ID. "Thanks, I'll remembered this."

Zephyr's sly smile returned as he stood, guiding them towards the door."Just doing business, my friend. And who knows? Maybe you'll enjoy the soldier of fortune life. It's got its perks, after all."

Just as they were about to step out of the backroom, Zephyr stopped them with a hint of seriousness in his voice.

"That reminds me, you told me to notify you of any information about areas with an accelerated time rate."

"Yes." Apollo nodded, "Did you find something noteworthy?"

"I hesitated to bring this up, but I have received classified news that the vibronix royal family is planning to send a new batch to The Echoing Tower." Zephyr shared.

"Wait, are they still attempting to obtain the Stone of Reality?" Apollo raised an eyebrow in surprise, "How long has it been now since they first discovered the tower?"

"It's been too long to bother counting." Zephyr shook his head, "Yet, I doubt they will be halting their efforts. After all, the other nations are still going strong at it, desiring to obtain the stone and claim ownership over the realm once and for all."

'What are you guys on about?' Felix knitted his eyebrows in confusion.

The Echoing Tower? Stone of Reality? Ownership of the quantum realm? Such big terms made absolutely no sense to him.

'I will explain everything later.'

Apollo assured while continuing his conversation with Zephyr.

"They have failed to obtain the stone of reality even when it merely had a dozen floors. Now, it must have already crossed the one-hundred-floor mark if my calculations are correct."

"Yes, it's on one hundred and five floors at the moment." Zephyr anwsered, "The fifth floor was recently completed and this allowed them to start planning for another attempt."

"Damn, they sure are a stubborn bunch." Apollo smiled wryly, "How many lives were already claimed by the tower? Despite the impossibility, they still believe they could reach the first floor and obtain the stone of reality. Their delusion knows no bounds."lightsnovel

"At this point, I don't think it's a delusion." Zephyr chuckled, "It's a mere cockoff between them and the Chaosians. The Vibronxian superiority complex would never let them have peace of mind while knowing that their mortal enemies are still sending troops to the tower while they gave up."

"As the rest of the nations? Well, it's the sole method available to rise above those two mega empires and establish a strong foothold in the realm."

"I see how it is."

Apollo rubbed his chin thoughtfully while glancing at Felix's puzzled expression...Many thoughts roamed in his mind about whether it was worth it to join this mess or not.

After all, he was tasked by his alter ego to bring Felix to him in one piece regardless of his condition.

This meant he shouldn't really care about helping Felix get rid of the celestial chains of him. He just wanted to help him out since it would be near impossible for Felix to spend the entire twelve million years or more with this current time difference.

While it was accelerated significantly when compared to the matter universe, his alter ego wouldn't allow them to hide for such a long period.That's why Felix never bothered to suggest hiding in a random place, knowing that Apollo wouldn't agree to it.

While they might seem cool with each other and act as 'friends', in reality, Felix was considered a hostage without much of a will of his own.

Whatever Apollo's alter ego says goes.

Felix wasn't desperate to recover some of his strength for no reason.

'Prick, what do you think? The rift won't open for at least a thousand years. If we enter the tower and remain on the topmost floors, we will be safe from its dangers while at the same time, the paragon will be eating through the punishment duration.'

'By the time we come out, the rift will be open and the celestial chains will be gone.' Apollo tried to convince his alter ego, 'It will also earn us more goodwill from him and make him consider helping you reach your goal actively.'

'What if he bails on us after he recovers his strength?' Apollo's alter ego replied coldly, 'Don't forget, he is still the successor of the paragon of sins. If that b*tch can't be trusted, neither can he.'

Apollo's alter ego had an extremely pessimistic view of life...While Apollo saw life as a source of joy and entertainment, his alter ego despised anything about it.

As the embodiment of darkness who spent most of his life in the quantum realm, his thoughts and personality could be said to have already reached their final form.

Utter hatred of light and anything that represented it.

'Then, we will come out much earlier.' Apollo mentioned, 'If he had a couple of thousands of years in his punishment, there wouldn't be much of an issue, correct?'

'Plus, aren't you forgetting something?' Apollo added with a solemn tone, 'How the f*ck you expect him to help you when he is 99% weakened for the next twelve million years?'

lightsΝοvel Apollo's alter ego thought about it in silence and recognized that his happy-go-lucky other half made some sense.

While he desired Felix's black flames, he understood that if his experiment were to work and Felix proved to be helpful, they would need more celestial energy as fuel.

They would not be able to obtain it in his current state since it required them to return to the eternal kingdom.

'Fine, you handle it.' Apollo's alter ego added with a cold tone, 'If you dare leave him out of your sight, we will switch places...permanently.'

'Gulp, come on, now, ha, ha, no need to take it that far.' Apollo laughed nervously with a tint of dread in his eyes.

'Don't drop the ball, or else...'

With that last ominous remark, silence returned to Apollo's mind.

'You good?'

Felix frowned after noticing that Apollo's hands became a bit drenched in sweat.

'Yea, it's all good.' Apollo showed his usual radiant smile and turned to Zephyr. Then, he asked, "Is it possible to get us information about the suicidal new batch? We would like to join them."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Felix and the rest of the tenants didn't know how to react to Apollo saying such an ominous sentence with a straight face.

"Well of course, but..." Zephyr coughed, "It's going to cost you though."