Free Web NovelChapter 247: The Tower Melted (1)
The red jewel, looking like a fresh drop of blood, fell into place, filling the empty space. The last hole in the Verity Vault got filled with that deep color. The small box lit up in Kestrel’s hand.
Before, this box was just a beat-up piece of wood for Kestrel. It was something her parents left her, a guide, and a way to unlock hidden stuff. But after seeing the crazy huge world inside it, she realized this wasn’t just a box—it was way more powerful than she ever thought.
Some kind of hidden force made her want to finish it, to use its strength to get closer to the one-in-a-million chance.
But the price was steep—Cut-up pieces of herself lay around her. A few were still moving in puddles of blood, which was slowly spreading out.
Kestrel sat in the middle of all this mess, a bright light shining from her hand. The light shot out, cutting through the dark fog and bursting out of the creepy tower made of stacked-up bones.
Down below, the noise of fighting and gunshots still filled the air around the base of the Tower. Just then, an insanely bright light flashed from the Tower’s top. freёwebnovel.com
Pretty much everyone in the Empire saw this crazy light show. The light up there wasn’t something holy or anything; it looked more like the glow you’d see from a computer or something.
A dot of white light started at the Tower’s tip and changed into a see-through virtual screen that floated down around the really tall tower.
The slowly falling screen turned on, showing pictures. It looked kind of spooky, but what was on it was actually regular people’s faces, showing stuff that really happened.
One after another, these floating screens popped out from the light at the top, wrapping around the tower as they gently sank down.
On these huge screens, actual stuff that had happened on this land was playing out. These were real, not fake or jazzed up—just the way things went down.
Pictures that Kestrel had once seen in places like Mantidale’s hallways, the Eyehole temple walls, and the doors of Polluted Zone Five, were now out in the open for everyone to see. They showed it all—from why monsters invaded this world to why there are alpha and beta things; from how the Tower was because humans gave in to how the Empire is really a place where monsters are like farmers, but for people.
Frame by frame, the real story got told. And now, everybody knew.
People saw that Empire officials were actually sending humans straight into the scary mouths of monsters. The young lives lost in the Polluted Zone were really just like gifts from humans to the monsters.
When the gem was placed in the Verity Vault, it made these tiny virtual worlds appear.
Kestrel had no idea that finishing the Verity Vault would show all these shocking images—revealing the really messed-up history of humans. Screens fell from the tower like snowflakes, showing secrets from the Empire’s past that most people didn’t know about.
Everyone was looking up at the sky. Whether it was the alphas in far-off places, kids playing in fishing villages, or folks walking in poor neighborhoods—everyone just stopped moving.
More and more eyes were glued to the various screens all around the Empire. Even the loud sounds of cannons and guns from both sides went quiet for a sec.
The TV was supposed to be showing the Empire’s crowning ceremony. No one knows who hacked into the cameras, but the live show of the attack on the Tower kept going.
Right now, all the cameras outside the Tower were zooming in on those screens that were falling from it.
This big dump of info totally changed how a lot of people thought about things. Minds filled with confusion got hit over and over by the scary truth. Everyone across the Empire was totally stunned.
In front of an old TV in a run-down neighborhood, a legless old guy suddenly pointed his shaking finger at a face frozen on the screen. "That’s my boy, my son!"
Everyone living there knew that Old Simpson, the guy with no legs, had a really smart alpha son who died in the Polluted Zone a few years back.
After that, Old Simpson had pretty much lost it, acting all weird every day and even hurting his own leg.
The boy’s face on the screen had a spot of blood on it. He glanced at the camera, then bravely turned to face the monsters in the Polluted Zone.
Now people knew that this kid, who they’d seen grow up, was really just used as a sacrifice.
The boy got grabbed by a monster, and the TV screen was splattered with a burst of red blood.
"Damn it!" Old Simpson, who couldn’t use his legs, lunged at the tiny, ancient TV and shook it. "Give me back my son! I want my child back!"
In the dirty backstreet, the people watching the TV went totally silent. Only the dad, who had gone mad, kept yelling. freēwebnovel.com
Far away, you could still hear cannons and gunfire around the Tower. Angry eyes looked up from this hidden alley, glaring at that huge tower.
It wasn’t just this one old guy crying; almost everyone around here had family members who had been sent to the Polluted Zones.
"So, we’re just like pawns or farm animals, just to make the rich people in the Tower live better?"
"Knock that tower down!"
"KNOCK THAT TOWER DOWN!"
These shouts turned into rallying cries, echoing in every part of the Empire, like a massive wave sweeping over the land.
At first, it was just a few rebels hiding underground who were shouting about fighting back. But as the harsh truth got shown bit by bit, the fires of anger started burning in the hearts of everyday folks all over the Empire.
Inside the Tower, a head guard pushed one of his lower-ranking guys out of the way and shouted, "Come on! What are you doing? Get more weapons! We have to stay here; there’s no going back!"
The young soldier looked shaky, then pointed to the TV screen built into the wall, asking, "Sir, did you see that?"
Even though a battle was raging, the wall-mounted TV was still on, glowing with a cold light.
On the screen, there was this huge royal blimp floating in the sky. A young beta was being snuck into the Polluted Zone.
"You’re so gullible, that’s just the enemy trying to mess with people’s heads. You really fell for it?" The captain fired his gun a few times, breaking the screen that was showing this treacherous stuff.
The lit-up screen shattered, and pieces of it fell to the floor.
"But I’ve seen that kid," the young soldier said, hesitating a bit. "I was the one who took her to the Polluted Zone."
"That beta was so sweet, she even did spiritual grooming for me on the blimp."
The captain quickly tried to cut him off, "Quiet! Be careful with what you say!"
The usually quiet young soldier didn’t stop. He looked at his hands and said, "I’ve always wondered why you all make it a big secret, sending these helpless betas over there. You never let me ask questions."
His voice changed from shaky to confident, and he finally looked up and smirked, "So, this is the dirty stuff you’re doing!"
The other soldiers around him turned their heads to look at him, one after another.
"Don’t forget, you’re high-class! You’re a royal guard alpha! Protecting the Tower is your job!" The captain yelled, sounding like he was freaking out because some secret got exposed.
The young high-class guy grabbed the medal on his shoulder and ripped off his golden arm badge.
"F*ck that royal titles, f*ck royal guard—I’m done with all of it." He threw the small gold piece into the dirt at his feet, turning his back on the spot he was supposed to be guarding.
Just a bit later, a few other guys looked at their boss before standing up and walking away too.
The leader wanted to yell but just stared at the broken pieces of the electronic screens. He knew he could smash the screens, but he couldn’t smash the real truths that had come out.
Upstairs in the secret school at the very top of the Tower, Kestrel put down the Verity Vault, which was still shining, onto the ground.
It was like her arms were too weak; she couldn’t even hold such a tiny box anymore.
Her arm, with the opticomputer strapped to it, just fell down by her side.
"Don’t cut off the chat, Kestrel," Ren’s voice came from the opticomputer.
She even saw Ren’s face on the screen.
In the screen, Ren looked super serious. His eyebrows were all scrunched up, his eyes were a deep purple. Kestrel could only hear loud booming noises in the background.
Kestrel looked at Ren on the screen for a second. She knew he was still a long way off.
She could hear people yelling in the black fog that had spread everywhere.
The Queen’s incarnation had turned into black goop all over the place. The dark sludge gave off mist as it tried to come back together, but it kept falling apart.
