Fantasy System

Chapter 289: Ancestors and Creators

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 smilea 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 seeThese were our ancestors," Ed softly exclaimed. "These were the people who created this towerthis 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, MichalJohn 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 MehenThis 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."