97 Echoes 1/?

Though the history of the Tower stretched back further than all of recorded history, most of the major events that had shaken the Tower were relatively recent matters. This included the formation of the Eight Heavenly Families, the historic moment when the first person passed through the 100th Floor, and, outshining most other events, the climactic battle between the Dragon God and the Queen of the Bapho.

According to some scholars, there were between 6.5 and 8.7 million different sapient species that existed when comparing the outside to the inside of the Tower. The reason for this rather extreme disparity was due to the fact that, under the right conditions, monsters could achieve a degree of sapience that allowed them to emulate the creatures blessed by Akasha.

It was an exceptionally rare occurrence, but, at times, the union between two different races, rather than produce a half-blooded offspring, resulted in the creation of an entirely new form of life. These creatures were colloquially known as Chimeric Variants, and, depending on the species of their parents, their power and potential greatly outstripped the average members of each individual tribe.

In the ancient past, relatively speaking, there were a number of tribes that sought to produce the most powerful offspring imaginable by melding their genes with others. They had tried to subsume other species entirely, and, if an enemy was found wanting, it was often grounds for their entire tribe to be wiped out.

The most prolific amongst these tribes was the species of Dragons known as the Verum. They were the offspring of various different Dragon tribes that, in the pursuit of perfection, formed powerful alliances through the exchange of genetic material. This eventually culminated into an entirely new species of 'True Dragons', and, due to their power, they had blasted through a number of Floors that had previously been considered impassable.

Unfortunately, despite investing tens of thousands of years to produce powerful offspring, the Verum was not the first tribe to reach the 100th Floor. Instead, it was a surprisingly small Party consisting of only three people. While this wouldn't normally be too big a setback, the Verum could not accept the fact that one of the Party members belonged to the tribe that had, at the time, consistently denied them the title of strongest species: the Bapho.

With the other two members of the Party being a simple Hume and a member of the Servae tribe, most of the Verum's hatred was concentrated on the presumed leader of the Party, the woman who would become known as the Queen of Bapho, Meylp Tenderhoof.

In reality, while Meylp was, physically, the most powerful, she was actually the weakest in the Party of three. Her other companions, the Lord of Shadows, Yan, and the Queen of the Hunt, Milan, were both far stronger than she was due to their unique Blessings. She had also gotten pregnant shortly after arriving on the 100th Floor, so, while the others continued onward, she had decided to stay back and rear her child rather than risk getting them both killed trying to conquer unknown Floors.

Had Meylp followed her companions, things likely would have played out very differently, but, as a result of her decision to stay, she became the biggest thorn in the side of the Verum.

Due to the nature of the Havens, the colloquial name given to the Safe Floors, Authority over the Floor was always bestowed upon the first, or the strongest, person to conquer it. Because of this, Meylp had the ability to restructure the Floor as she pleased, creating environmental biomes and even dictating the weather.

Despite Meylp never using these powers to suppress others, the pride of the Verum would not allow them to be beneath another. They had lorded themselves over the other species for too long, so they simply could not lower their heads to another. It was the same as admitting the Bapho were stronger than them, a topic of debate that had been around for thousands of years, much to the Verum's chagrin.

Now that a Bapho had been one of the first to reach the 100th Floor, securing her place as its Ruler, there was no longer any doubt in the minds of those who had been suppressed by the Verum. If the Verum had been stronger, their massive Organizations, consisting of Parties that were almost exclusively comprised of Verum, would have easily surpassed the legendary 99th Floor, becoming the eternal rulers of the 100th.

With their pride tarnished, the Verum began wreaking havoc throughout the Tower, assaulting any and all who dared question their might. This was the catalyst for a massive war that lasted for thousands of years, pushing the Verum to the brink of extinction. At the same time, nearly every Floor, including the Havens, became veritable ghost towns due to the massive conflict that seemed to be without end. Only those that banded together, forming powerful alliances, were able to tide through the war. These groups, including a few descendants of the Verum themselves, would eventually go on to become the Eight Heavenly Families, seizing power in the wake of the devastation caused by their ancestors.

What many hadn't known, at least at the time, was that the most powerful of the Verum had been consolidating power in the upper Floors. Their reason for clearing out the lower Floors was to prevent information from spreading throughout the Tower, leaving those above, and below, completely blind to their machinations.

After suffering the indignation of being labeled as the second strong species, the Verum had concocted a new plan. They shifted their mentality, setting their sights on any species that was strong enough to reach the upper floors instead of focusing exclusively on descendants of the Dragon tribes.

For several hundred years, it became almost impossible for anyone to reach the 100th Floor, as, not only was the 99th notoriously difficult, but the 90th and above had been completely dominated by the remnants of the Verum tribe. The only ones 'allowed' to pass were those who had been carefully chosen by the Verum themselves, allowing them to slowly cultivate a massive force in preparation to overtake the 100th Floor.

The only problem with their plan was that, even if they managed to defeat the Queen of the Bapho, it would mean nothing if they used overwhelming numbers to achieve the feat. Their reputation had already taken a massive hit due to their actions during the war, so, in order to secure their rightful position as the 'strongest' species, the Verum continued biding their time until, finally, their opportunity had arrived.

Even amongst those who could transform into full dragons, the Verum were limited by the fact they could only use one element. This was something decided from birth, and, while it didn't prevent them from becoming powerful, the Queen of Bapho was known to have immunity to most elements. Her [Behemoth] transformation also allowed her to become larger than a city, so, much to the chagrin of the Verum's Queen, who could barely reach a tenth the size of the legendary Bapho, there was simply no way to defeat Meylp without a powerful trump card.

Fortunately, at least for the Verum, the Queen's daughter ended up giving birth to what could only be described as an anomaly after her union with an abnormally powerful Hume, one with the ability to manipulate all five basic elements: earth, water, fire, air, and space. This Blessing had not been directly passed down, but, when the young Prince had finally come of age, it quickly became apparent that he was what they had been waiting for.

Not only had the Prince inherited the powerful [Dragon Transformation] Blessing, but, against all odds, he possessed the ability to make use of all five elements. This, alone, wasn't enough to make him the most powerful amongst the Verum, but, when he fused all five elements into his breath attack, the results had been beyond expectations.

Though it was impossible to substantiate the claims, it had been rumored for millennia that, if you combined the five basic elements, you would create the highest form of energy, a mass of 'nothingness' simply known as Void. What made this so powerful was that, when it came into contact with virtually anything, be it solid matter or magical energy, Void would simply 'erase' everything without leaving behind a single trace.

Though it had nearly cost the Prince his life, his breath attack was able to produce a pillar of black energy that carved a path of uncontested destruction through everything it came into contact with. This had caused substantial damage to the Prince himself, but, as it was rather common for young Dragons to injure themselves during their first use of [Dragon's Breath], it wasn't treated as too big an issue.

What truly shocked the Verum was that, even after the Prince returned to full health, his teeth and part of his maw remained damaged. Though he eventually made a full recovery, largely through the use of powerful treasures, it was very clear his breath was something far beyond expectations. Thus, in preparation for the Princes climb, the Queen personally trained shaped him into the being who, during his climb, would become known as the Dragon God, Eondu.

From the moment he began his climb, Eondu was simply unparalleled. His ability to make use of all five elements made him exceptionally versatile, and, though his [Dragon Transformation] was uncharacteristically small, his speed allowed him to defeat higher Level opponents with relative ease. They simply couldn't defend against what many referred to as his [Void Breath] attack, an ability that tore through other offensive and defensive skills as if they simply didn't exist.

With none able to stand in his way, Eondu spent less than seventy years to reach the 90th Floor, making his climb one of the fastest in history. The only reason he wasn't even faster was due to his licentious nature causing him to meander about for months at a time. He had gone out of his way to steal or claim any woman that was even remotely famous for their strength or beauty, forcing them to either submit to him or have their former lovers permanently crippled.

By the time Eondu returned to the 90th Floor, even he didn't know how many women he had forced to bear his children. All he knew was that, if there was someone he wanted, their only options were to either obey or beg for death. He considered himself a chosen one, and, after defeating any who tried to stand in his way, his ego had grown to match his power.

To further prove his power and obtain absolute authority, Eondu did not restrain himself even after reuniting with the Verum. Instead, he killed his own father, and, after a climactic battle to establish dominance, claimed every female Verum as his own. Even his Grandmother, mother, and two sisters were not spared. Rather, they became the central figures in his harem, bearing him countless children, many of which also became members of his harem, in the decades to follow.

Though not as prominent as their father before them, Eondu's children began nearly as much havoc in the Tower as he had. This represented a return to power for the Verum tribe, as, after the recent war, few even tried to stand in their way. As a result, many of his descendants even surpassed the records he had set, but, unless they were female, the only reward they received was a quick death.

Slowly but surely, Eondu managed to build an even more tyrannical version of the Verum, but, as fate would have it, a 'Reset', which only occurred every 10,000 years, was scheduled to take place when he was just under four-hundred years old. This left him with little choice but to set his sights on his penultimate goal, reaching the 100th Floor and proving, once and for all, that he was the most powerful. He would dominate the Queen of the Bapho, and, like all who had come before her, she, and her daughter, would either submit or beg for death...

(A/N: I don't drop projects. My primary focus will be on EPIC until it is completed. The last two weeks have been a little strange due to a hiccup with webnovel and the fact that I did a mass release of EPIC. Babel will likely have 2-4 chapters released per week with the majority being released on Saturday. It might be slow, but I intend to keep writing this novel until it has either reached a satisfying conclusion or the readers have completely given up on it xD...)