The world was tossed into chaos, all thanks to Gabriel and some of his ignorant decisions, which he took to the best of his thinking.
Unaware of the changes in the outside world, Gabriel was still on the Ninety-Ninth Floor, still going through his training.
He could feel that the pace of his training had increased, but he was still able to keep up with it. The spells that he got to learn were what kept him interested in learning them.
Each of those spells that he was taught was a powerful spell that had real-life uses. Even Novius and Cylix didn't teach him flashy yet useless spells.
They focused only on the essence of their spells. Gabriel was sure that even if he had learned from Eliana, even then his training wouldn't be this effortless. He was being taught the spells that were ancient... Some of those spells weren't even in the Spellbooks of the Academy, as they had been lost in time.
He was being taught such rare spells that would've made even the Teachers at the Academy jealous!
In his training, he again got distracted. He had tried to ask Cylix about the 'Exception' and what that meant, but after the initial time, Cylix didn't mention it again. It was as if he had learned his lesson and wasn't going to talk.
Gabriel could only place that thought in the back of his head for now and focus on his training wholeheartedly. He decided to ask one last time before it was his time to leave.
Another week passed. Gabriel hadn't been lazy for even one day during his weeks of training. In fact, even when he was tired, he was still eager to train as the feeling of learning more spells and getting stronger was great!
This was exactly how he thought his training would be when he was a little child. When he was young and hadn't awakened, he always used to think what his future was going to be like. He could never have thought that his future was going to be one where he was going to be one of the most hated people on earth.
However, there was one thing that he came quite close to. He used to think that when he was going to awaken his Element, he was going to get admission to the Academy of Elements.
He used to think that he was going to get a great teacher who was going to teach him powerful spells... The teacher who was going to treat him with care, help him when he needed and solve all his doubts.
Even though he didn't receive an opportunity to learn at the academy, he received something much better! He received an opportunity to learn straight from the source! He had the opportunity to learn straight from the people who founded the Academy of Elements.
Moreover, Cylix and Novius didn't have even the slightest bit of arrogance... At least not toward him. They taught him everything they knew without holding anything back. It didn't matter how many times he failed in casting a spell; they were always there for him, helping him improve his understanding of the spell and improve his techniques.
That wasn't all either. After his training for the day used to end, all three of them used to sit together where Cylix and Novius used to talk about the essence of their elements.
One could use a spell to utilize their element, but if one wanted to be able to create their own spells, they needed to have a better understanding of the essence of their elements, and that's where the extra Knowledge came in.
Even though Cylix and Novius didn't have to teach him about such extra things, they still didn't hold back as they actually started to think of him as their disciple.
A strange bond had formed between the three of them that was different from anything Gabriel had ever experienced before. However, despite feeling comfortable with them, Gabriel still held back a bit.
His heart was just accustomed to not opening for anyone anymore, and he wanted to keep it that way.
"Gabriel, what do you like about our world the most?" Cylix asked, lying on the soft grass.
Since they could create any training arena and manipulate the domains, they could create anything. They had created a scene where Gabriel felt most comfortable, based on his description.
They made a green grassland. As far as the eyes could see, there was only soft grass. And on top, there was a beautiful star-studded sky, which Gabriel often felt a connection with.
Gabriel was also lying in the grass, looking at the beautiful sky. He came to the Tower expecting a Challenge on every floor. At the time of entry, he had never expected that there was going to be a moment so peaceful inside the Tower. The Tower was really a work of art.
"What do I like the most in the world?" Gabriel repeated the question. "I don't have an answer to this question..."
If he had been asked this question before he awakened his Element, he would've had many answers. However, after Awakening his Element, he had seen the true reality of this world, which was often hidden behind a curtain of Light.
It was only when he walked in true darkness that he realized how corrupt the Light was...
It was only when he got his hands covered in blood that he realized what little value a life had.
All the bonds... All the relations... Nothing held value in this World. In this world, if even a mother could kill her son... Then was a friend?
Instead of answering the question, he changed the topic entirely, not wanting to think more about it.
He already knew that he wasn't going to get an answer now regarding the orbs of time, so he asked something else... Something which was a question that not just him but the entire world fretted over.
"Who created the Tower?"
