Sky Fall (3)

(In a world without a god, hope still fought for life.)

The prodigy who fought with his fists didn't question what was going on. Instead lunged straight towards Theseus who seemed to already be frustrated with the situation. 

[The God of the Mystical Tree has signed a contract]

All contracts had a simple principle behind them. The god has the ability to control what his/her favorite human could do, or multiple humans could do. Thus if they wrote 'do not betray me' , they could never betray them until the contents of the contract was completed. Very rarely, contracts were written to not be in place for the entire climb to the heaven's, the tower's quests. 

[Calm mind and gentle aura have been used in unison]

The prodigy brought his fist to the demi-god, nearly catching him off guard. Theseus brought up the shaft of his spear blocking the hit. 

"You'll regret that!"

Theseus swiped at the prodigy who used his fists with his spear, slicing his hand wide open.

[Gentle Aura has Activated]

His hand seamlessly stitched itself back together leaving only the pain behind for the prodigy to feel. 

"What is your name human?" Theseus held up his spear parallel to the floor at shoulder height. 

Smiling, he said, "It's Markos!"

He stood in the stance of a boxer. 

Meanwhile, John and the man with the axe stood over the minotaur realizing their job would be easier. 

[Asterion has been killed]

Theseus looked back towards his brother. 

"To Hades' wrath with all of them…" He muttered. 

Graham tried using gravity manipulation against Theseus hoping to make the quest as easy as it could be. 

[Not enough mana to activate 'gravity manipulation']

Of course there wasn't enough. Asterion was a huge target, and was held down for a long time. 

-Should I jump in?- Graham wondered as he watched Markos stand his own against Theseus. 

"Duck!" John swung his bat from behind Markos, parrying Theseus' spear in the air. They thought it was an opening for a second, as they closed in the distance between them, his spear flew back to his hand. 

"Whirlwind!" He pulled a fast move which created a vortex around himself, giving anyone within that distance a heap of deep gashes that could prove lethal. 

[Gentle Aura has Activated]

Markos healed himself, but it was becoming apparent he was running out of juice. 

[Calm mind has deactivated due to the lack of mana]

That was his last heal. 

Theseus smiled as his win seemed inevitable now. As all three attacked him, he pushed their blows away, the prodigy with an axe fell to the ground with his axe removed from its handle. 

In a last desperate move, John swung the cane at the demi-god's hand. At that very moment, Graham felt the will to move forward. Perhaps it was courage, bravery, or even foolishness. His body moved outside of his will and into the will of the masses. 

"I'm going to survive!" 

As Theseus' spear went into the air, the two prodigies still fighting dodged backwards to avoid the whirlwind attack. 

John saw Graham and tried to call out to him in the moment, "No! You Idiot!" 

Markos saw the spirit of Graham and cheered him on, "Fight on Martyr!"

Graham felt his cane pierce the heart of Theseus, he let go of the cane and fell backwards. 

[No End Has Activated] 

A black aura flowed from his hand through the cane into the Demi-gods body. Like flashes of lightning amidst the storm, the light in Theseus' eyes flashes a few times before losing all color and turning dim. 

[You have killed the tower guardian]

[+1000 G For Slaying a C class opponent]

[Rare Item obtained: The Aegean Sword (D) (i.) Can utilize the ability to control the wind when the weapon has left the user's hand. This item can be upgraded as you further through the tower.]

The sword had blades on both ends of the handle, and the handle was extended. It looked nothing like the spear Theseus had just used, but could be used as a spear or a sword. 

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. If he didn't do that, would they be dead right now? He couldn't tell. Because like everything else thus far, it was on pure instinct. 

"Well uhm, that was an unexpected outcome!" 

The Arc looked around wearily as the demi-god died in one attack. She clapped her face and smiled. 

"I mean! Let's congratulate the humans of this city as Hero's!"

[You have been granted the title 'The Hero who slain the demi-god]

While the others got the title, [You have been granted the title 'The Hero who fought the demi-god].

And of course the many who were controlled by their fears were granted their own title. 

[You have been granted the title 'The Hero who was consumed by their fear']

Each title granted a status buff, except for the title 'The Hero who was consumed by their fear'. That was the worst title befitted of a Hero, it instead weakened their mental state forcing them into a nightmare each night. To get rid of the title, they would need to obtain a title that would overwrite their fear. 

The doors to the tower swung open. 

[The tower is welcoming the hero's!]

The Hero's who stood there exhausted looked towards the sky, watching as shooting stars lit the darkness with a red and orange tint. 

All the Hero's congratulated Graham on his celebratory kill like he didn't just take the life of another human being. Graham stood there with blood on his hands, staring into the deep abyss of suffering. He could almost hear the screams of the souls of hell, he was almost positively sure that was where Theseus had gone. 

It was foresight, the ability to see things one could not normally see. 

[The god of common casuality smiled towards the visions you received]

It was the price the demi-god had to pay to be accepted from Elysium into the heavens. Either be promoted to stand with the best, or be demoted to live a life of torture. The other decision which was the wisest, was to simply stay in Elysium and hunt beasts for eternity. 

Looking towards the tower, everything seemed almost different. Graham's view on everything shifted as he realized the only reason he was fighting was not just to survive. Rather it was the opposite. It was so everyone around him with smiles could survive. He just enjoyed living a modest life within the city, he had always thought the point of his life was just to survive in the moment and not to sink underneath all of the business owners. It became apparent that life had no meaning without those around him. 

He looked towards John like he had seen a ghost. A new aura surrounded John, an aura of distrust. John walked up to him with his necktie unraveled around his neck, and his vest unbuttoned. 

"Don't dive too far, kid." 

Just the smallest tap on the shoulder jolted Graham's body like electricity had coursed through his veins. 

After that, John was the first to enter the tower doors. The rest slowly trickled behind him into the blinding white light. 

Graham was reluctant to follow. 

"Would I just bring along this death everywhere I go?"

He muttered beneath his breath. 

[The God of common casuality wishes to embrace you with another vision]

The image was of everyone smiling in a field full of daisy's. People he had yet to meet, and the people he had already met. It was a group photo that announced to those who saw it, 'I have found the end!' 

Graham nodded, snapping himself out of his depressed state.

The tower awaited his call…