Further down.

Upon learning deeper into the life of the fallen soul, Duncan. Veritas could only stare at the vision with solace. Duncan had finally been put to rest yet Veritas could not shake off the feeling of unfairness.

Normal humans could not contend with those that had reached their Souls! Although creatures could not bear Paths unlike humans, their Soul Ranks still existed. That coral creature had been an Impure of a higher level. It was once step away from ascending and becoming Pure. 

What Veritas felt most strongly about was despite Duncan's struggle for the survival of his people, it had all been for naught. The giant tentacles that came from below destroyed everything around him. With that, he met his end while being alone.

Veritas felt deep respect for the fallen man.

Duncan fell with grace, he had been smiling as his eyes turned dull. Now, in his golden wake, he was a statue filled with courage and solemn. After fully knowing the whole story, Veritas could only resonate with the man's soul. 

"May your Soul slumber in peace.."

He paid his respects and was determined to seek the truth for Duncan, and his people. 

The moment he had paid his respects, he felt as if his Soul had seemed one step away from being complete again. With that, ancient runes appeared right in front of him.

[You have learned of the Unfinished Truth]

Veritas was determined to further learn of the complete truth, he would not stop until he learned of their history. The truth may be unsightly yet Veritas was fine with that. He had to learn it no matter what.

Thus, he stared at the gaping hole below him, destruction lay everywhere and the beauty of what once lay within the floors had vanished. The sorrow he felt was great yet his drive to keep going was greater.

Veritas looked back at the golden statue of the resolute man and breathed deeply. He gazed upon his Soul and activated Windsong. With that, Veritas jumped further into darkness where destruction awaited him.

*

Anywhere he gazed was approached by the sight of ruin. Everything was broken down and messy, the former glory of this area had long been gone. 

Veritas scanned his surroundings and saw a particular figure lying beside a broken pillar. Fallen debris was covering its body yet Veritas knew what this creature was.

It was the coral creature that Duncan had worked so hard to slay.

Veritas saw the creature's golden head.. Formerly, it was a coral-like head but now, it had shattered into many pieces that it had been hard to distinguish what had existed prior. The golden barnacles and corals that grew within its body looked unpleasant. Veritas could only gaze indifferently from the creature.

With that, he gazed further down the hole that led downwards. He fell right through it and used the Winds to cushion the fall.

Veritas himself felt misery at the sight of ruin. Before, he only imagined the social landscape that once existed here. But after seeing the truth, he had felt even more sorrow at the development. 

His white tunic was now dirtied with his and the mysterious woman's blood. Once, it had been pure white yet now it was as dark as the ruin that lay before him. Veritas' face was sullen, it was also dirtied, his body longed for water and his throat was dry. 

Yet he strived to continue forward.

After a few moments of searching his surroundings he found the gaping hole and fell in it. The same landscape could be seen and with each passing floor, Veritas felt his sorrow become deeper as the darkness that surrounded him.

He encountered a few creatures from the depths here and then, they were partially covered into gold. Veritas did not struggle much when facing the creatures from the depths, they were not as formidable as the mysterious woman from before.

Thus, after an hour of descending down further into the Golden Tower, he had reached the end. Down the hole, he could see water flooding every corner of the floor. 

'This is the 13th floor..'

Veritas counted down from the 22nd floor and came to that conclusion, he had hit the blockage where he could not continue further. 

Now he had to carve the Golden Walls and see the outside world once again. Yet, he had not done so on this floor, so Veritas decided to climb a couple more floors to cut a hole. 

He could not risk water seeping inside the walls again.. Just because the water inside had reached the 13th floor, it had not meant that the water outside is still up to the 13th floor. 

So, upon ascending up the floors, he searched for the edge of the floor. Veritas had decided to cut a hole in the 17th floor. Once again, he had gazed upon his soul but this time stared at his runes for a couple of seconds. 

[Veritas Alpas Elrod]

[Path: —-----]

[Soul Rank: Impure]

[Attunement: Whisperer of the Winds]

[Skill: 

Windsong

- Shape the winds with your voice.

Will of the Winds

- Shape the winds with your will. 

Galebreathe

- Your lungs are always filled with the winds, you never run out of breath and you never feel winded. Your energy is boosted and your blood circulates well. ]

[Soul Storage: 

 (1) Eye of the Kraken. ]

'My path still hasn't been revealed huh..'

Veritas saw that his Soul had now increased further. It had encompassed his whole body yet not fully. Veritas wondered if he could use Will of the Winds now.

He activated Will of the Winds and immediately felt winded, his brain felt dizzy and he saw stars in his vision. With this, Veritas immediately deactivated the skill. 

After feeling the staggering dizziness from the skill, Veritas instead decided to activate Windsong. His mouth was immediately filled with air and his words had gotten stronger. Although his throat was dry from dehydration, Veritas still deemed to chant in order to break through the golden walls.

"....Cut"

Hearing the familiar high pitch sound and the sound of metal being struck, Veritas scanned the area where it had been hit. Before, Wind Cut could not even graze the golden wall of the hut that he previously resided in. But now.. It had formed a large dent that was a couple inches deep. He realized that with his Soul getting further restored, the Winds seemed to be getting stronger with it.

It seemed more doable than before.. However, due to his dry throat, Veritas refrained from using Windsong unless needed. So, using his conjured Wind Blade, he slashed the wall mercilessly. 

The sharpness of his blade seemed to become even greater. Using his resonated strength, he gave a couple more hits to the Golden Wall. Sparks flew, and metal clang even louder, Veritas stopped every once in a while to see if he had made significant progress.

It was tiring yet he had pursued even further. His slashes then turned the dent on the wall to a long cut. It had left a bigger mark now, and seemed like his progress was finally taking fruit. 

After what seemed to be a long time, Veritas felt tired. His arms were weak, he was drowning in sweat, and his body felt sluggish.

Nonetheless, he had succeeded! 

There was now a small hole that resembled the shape of a slash. Due to his immense determination, the once indestructible wall had now been opened. He could tightly squeeze through the man made hole. 

However, Veritas needed to rest, he lay down the golden floor and regulated his breathing, allowing the Winds to circulate his blood flow better. 

Light at last.. The darkness was now pierced with natural light coming from the slash shaped hole and that light radiated towards Veritas. The light reflected all across the area and the darkness was only miniscule. 

The winds came through the slash shaped hole and Veritas felt even more refreshed. He breathed heavily with regulation and rested his body even more. 

Veritas thought about how long he had stayed inside the Golden Tower, it was a couple of hours at least. Maybe 3 hours at most but it did not exceed even more than that. His time inside felt like eternity though. 

He recalled everything that had happened. He arrived at the top, made his way down the darkness, saw the remnants of society, saw a golden Octopus, got attacked by a mysterious woman, learned of the Golden Tower's history, traversed deeper into the darkness, fought some creatures, and now.. He had made a slashed shape hole in the walls. 

Alas, breathed heavily and stood up, feeling his body somewhat refreshed, he gazed upon his soul and activated Windsong and Galebreathe, conjuring an improved version of Wind Veil. Veritas stared outside the hole and saw the civilization of the Golden City submerged underneath. He saw the vastness of the blue seas above it.

Veritas jumped down the blue sea. It was not that high up so Veritas decided to use the winds to cushion his fall.

After, reaching the waters of the Sunken City, Veritas steeled his resolved as he had reached the final step in his exploration. 

This time, he had to dive deeper into the heart of the city!