After a few moments of flying, Neraxis and the girls finally arrived at Dreamspire.
They were still asleep, however, he didn't exactly care as he walked toward the giant entrance, carrying them both.
He was sure it wouldn't work since he was already in a trial. Despite that, he approached the door and placed his hand on it.
Then, to his surprise, a dozen pop-ups appeared, causing his eyes to widen.
[Registered Climber: Neraxis Valen]
[Position: 15,557,332]
[Records: Astral Tower - 2.5/12]
[Dreamspire - 11th Floor: City of Beginnings]
[Objective: Explore the City]
[Status: Initializing...]
Before he could even realize what was happening, he was suddenly teleported away from Argon and reappeared on some giant platform in an unknown place.
What was even more surprising was that the two girls in his arms were still present.
How is this possible? Neraxis pondered. I thought they were meant to be a part of the trial...? Besides, how the fuck am I even here in the first place!?
He was inside the Astral Tower, and now he was inside the Dreamspire Tower.
As much as he wanted to deny it, it seemed like he was not exactly in the Astral Tower—more like an alternate reality that moved at the same time and frequency as his own.
But then, everything that had happened was actually set in stone. Aurelia was dead, his parents were dead, Evangeline didn't exist, and everything else was simply fucked.
As much as he wanted to dwell on that, he had to deal with this matter now.
He had gone to Dreamspire on a whim. In fact, he wasn't expecting to even be able to enter it.
If anything, he wanted to simply test his curiosity before moving on to other matters.
But now? He had two companions who hated him.
Nonetheless, he took a few glances around.
It really did seem like he was in some sort of fantasy-like city, as there were several dozen magic towers floating in the sky, almost orbiting the place where he currently stood.
Then, there was also the fact that there were other people slowly coming and going from the same platform Neraxis had found himself on.
Safe to say, he was puzzled, but despite that, he gently laid the girls down on the ground and pinched both of their cheeks, causing them to shoot awake and glare at him in unison.
However, that glare only lasted a moment as they finally realized the situation they found themselves in.
"You..." Aella narrowed her eyes. "You brought us into the tower... do you even realize that you doomed us!?"
"What do you mean by that?" Neraxis tilted his head. "If you don't want to be here, then simply complete this trial and leave. I won't be holding you captive."
"We have strict laws against entering the Dreamspire Tower..." Celina muttered. "In fact, those who enter it are deemed as traitors to humanity. After all, everyone thinks the main reason you became evil was because of that damn tower."
"Really...? That's the stupidest thing I've heard this week." Neraxis chuckled. "There's nothing here that can make you evil. At least, not for the most part. You just have to—"
He halted as he noticed a familiar figure off in the distance.
It was Amara and Eris, and they were both staring at him with glares.
Soon, they approached, and while Eris went to talk with Celina and Aella, Amara brought him aside.
"You've done something," Amara stated plainly. "Whatever you did made all of us enter this tower—and start at the 11th floor, no less."
"I forced you to enter?" Neraxis asked, and the moment he did, Amara tapped his forehead, making a pop-up appear in front of him.
"So yeah, the others should be showing up right about... now."
The moment her words fell, Neraxis noticed dozens of people suddenly flashing onto the platform as they looked around with shocked gazes.
However, it seemed like he had underestimated the number of people who were above D+ rank.
People kept appearing, so the Dreamspire Tower expanded the platform to accommodate them.
Nonetheless, Neraxis looked above and noticed a particular pop-up that made his brows furrow.
There's over a billion people here? Neraxis thought with a frown.
There were a lot of people here, sure. Maybe tens of thousands. But definitely not billions.
Or so he thought. However, when he focused deeper on the space itself, he realized there were several layers to this platform.
On each layer, he could feel a dozen more people, and then, underneath them, he could feel even more.
There were thousands—if not millions—of these layers.
Fuck... Neraxis sighed. I really stepped in some deep shit now, haven't I?
Just as he thought there would be a moment of peace for him, the long-awaited pop-up appeared.
You don't fucking say.
All he had to do was find a way out, and if he had to guess, many more problems were bound to follow with this many people around.
Nonetheless, Neraxis readied himself and turned toward the girls who hated him.
The moment he did, his jaw practically dropped.
There was a blue-haired and blue-eyed girl simply standing there, causing Aella, Celina, and even Elara—who had finally arrived—to remain speechless.
Aurelia was alive, and yet again, Neraxis had to question what was happening.
He wouldn't kill his sister, that was for sure. However, he saw no reason why he would have hesitated to kill Aurelia if he were this world's Neraxis.
Amara patted him on the back with a sigh.
"There are a few questions I'd like to ask you, so it'd be great if you complied."
Neraxis stared at her for a few moments, then simply shrugged.