They roamed the sky, rose from the sea, and appeared from thin air. They ran rampant upon the lands following their sole instinct of destruction. As they continued to spread chaos and destruction upon the lands, the tower appeared. A structure said to have been gifted from the gods to humanity. A structure that could exterminate these monstrous beings when they approached it. The structure housed humans and protected them from the dangers running rampant in the outside world. That structure was known as the Tower of Leo
*Sighs*
The sigh came from a young black-haired boy who was reading a book. He lowers the book, revealing his face that was buried deep into it. A clear brown skin, black eyes, and sharp features, despite his young age. His attire was very simple: black pants and a white shirt, along with black shoes
"I'm tired of hearing this story." The young boy says as he takes his eyes out of the book to look at the young girl
"Why don't you mind your business?" The young girl answers
The blonde young girl had sky blue eyes. Her long hair reached her waist but was tied in a ponytail. Her blue pants and white shirt made her look like a young boy, but her girly features made her gender clear as day
"What's your problem, Adam?" The young girl says with anger
"Maybe the number of times I heard this story, Eve." Answer the young boy named Adam
The sound of a door opening brings their attention to the young boy who enters the room. He had black hair, green eyes, and dressed the same as the other young boy. His beige skin was incredibly clean, almost unfitting of an orphan
"The married couple is fighting again?" The young boy says as he looks at the two with a smile
"SHUT UP, SELEPH!!! The two yells in harmony
An old woman in a nun's attire, probably around her late fifties. Blue eyes, which held wisdom, and her grey hair were proof of her age. She uses her finger to flick Adam and Eve's foreheads
"Why don't you watch your language?" The woman says with a warm smile
She looks at Seleph
"And you, mister." She starts, "I already told you to stop messing with these two. There are other ways to have fun."
Seleph shrugs
"It's not my fault that their names are Adam and Eve!" Seleph says after
Adam gets up with anger and looks at Seleph
"My name isn't Adam. It's Adamas." Adam says as he looks at Seleph with anger
Eve puts her hand on Seleph's shoulder and smiles
"What's my name?" She asks him
"Ah ah ah... I was just joking, Evelyn." He says while shaking
"Your names are a bit long for the younger ones. That's why we call you Adam and Eve." A young girl says as she enters the room
The young girl in question looked slightly older than Adam and the two others. She had short brown hair and light brown eyes. She was dressed just like Eve was, but her clothes were a bit bigger as she was taller than her. Right behind her, about five other kids rush into the room
"You're back from your walk, Elia?" The nun asks with a warm smile to the young girl
Elia nods
"Why do you never go on walks with us?" Elia asks with curiosity
"Not interested." Adam says as he sits back down
"I prefer teasing those two. It's more fun." Seleph says as he places his hand on Adam's shoulder
Elia shakes her head with a smile as she looks at Seleph with his wide smile
"As your big sister, I feel worried about you guys." Elia says to the two boys with a worried smile
"You're not my sister." Adam says as he opens the book he was reading a little earlier. "And you're only four years older than us."
"From what I remember, 12 is older than 8, and that means that I am the oldest sibling." Elia says with her eyes closed and an intellectual tone
"As for me, this is the only time Mother Lyvie can read the story peacefully." Eve says as she looks at the kids spreading chaos in the room with their various toys
"True." Elia says after exhaling while looking at the kids
Adam looks up to the clock installed on the wall
"When is the fake priest coming back?" Adam asks as his eyes go back to the book
"It's Father Langton." Mother Lyvie says. "I know he drinks quite a bit but he still is a priest, therefore, you need to be more careful about how you address him, Adam."
"It's not like he cares." Adam replies with a frown as he keeps reading his book
"Well, since he went to the main Church on the fifth floor, I also don't know when he's coming back."
"The fifth floor is where the headquarters of the Church of Leo is right?" Adam asks with curiosity after closing his book
Mother Lyvie looks at Adam with worry. She could tell the child's obsession with the tower had grown since they last talked about it
"Adam, we already talked about this." Mother Lyvie says. "Forget about it."
Elia, Seleph, and Eve look at the two with confusion. There was tension between the two for some reason that they knew nothing about
"The fifth floor is the highest one. What is Father Langton doing there?" Adam asks seriously
"That's not something you need to know." Mother Lyvie answers with a frown
Eve lowers herself to look at the book Adam is holding
"You know, there are seven floors in the tower. Not five." Eve says
"...I already know that." Adam says after a bit of silence
"So, you're interested in the Lion Orders." Eve says while looking at the book Adam is holding. "Out of all of them, the Golden Lion Order?"
"The Golden Lion Order is the best out of the three." Adam starts as he looks at the book cover seriously. "The three orders are described like this. The savage and wild Black Lion Order, who are tasked with exploring the outside world and recovering the lands. The lawful and orderly White Lion Order, which takes care of the security and law of the tower. The proud and dutiful Golden Lion Order, which protects the royal family and nobles while also supporting the two other orders."
"I don't remember asking for this info." Eve thought while looking at Adam. "So why the golden?" She asks
Adam looks in front of him. His eyes were looking forward, but at the same time, they weren't. He was looking at something else, something that wasn't currently there. What was it? Only Adam knows
"...Because it's the best." Adam says calmly
Eve raises herself and keeps on looking at the young boy staring at nothing
"You're weird, Adam." She says with worry
Seleph and Elia also stare at Adam with worry. These kids, even though they did not share the same blood, held a deep affection towards the young boy. Ever since he got here, the boy had never opened up to any of them. None of them knew his past, nor did they know his dreams, or even his goals. The young boy got up and approached the window
"I need to climb." He says while staring outside through the window. "Up. Up until I reach the top."
"ENOUGH, ADAM!" Mother Lyvie yells with strength and anger
Everyone present, including the younger kids, froze in place. A reaction provoked by Mother Lyvie's yell. More precisely, the fact that she usually barely raises her voice at the kids
"Mother... just yelled?.... Is it that bad to climb the tower?" Seleph asks with confusion
Elia looks at Seleph with sorrowful eyes
"You all don't understand how the tower works." She says with a smile, carrying as much sorrow as her eyes did
Mother Lyvie grabs Adam by the shoulder
"You must never say this to anyone else, Adam. Understood!?" Mother Lyvie says with a slight amount of panic in her voice
Adam stares at Mother Lyvie, then pushes her hands off his arms. He then walks out of the orphanage silently
"ADAM!" Mother Lyvie yells as she looks at the young boy walking out
She sits down on a chair, places her hand on her forehead, and sighs
"Something like this must never be said." Mother Lyvie thought nervously. "If it heard him.... If it ever hears this... I don't even want to think about the possible consequences."
Elia tries to comfort her. She places her hand on her shoulder and rubs her back softly. She then looks at Eve and Seleph with a smile. Eve answers with a nod while Seleph sighs. The two then leave the orphanage to look for Adam. The boy had, in a matter of minutes, reached a damaged building a bit further from the orphanage. He stood at the top of the tall but damaged building from which you could see almost everything on the first floor. Describing the first floor could be done in a single word: slum. The first floor was very similar to a slum. The streets were dirty and small. Those very streets had countless homeless people lying on the ground, while some women were looking for men to pay for their services. Most buildings were small, made from cheap material such as wood or and were extremely damaged. In the middle of this large, desolate city, stood a giant pillar that went through the clouds and reached above.
"The only way to go up, that's Scalae." Adam says as he looks at the large pillar
A little farther away from the building Adam was on top of, Seleph and Eve were approaching quickly. Eve was dragging Seleph by the arm since he was dragging his feet
"Do you know?" Seleph says while looking to the side
"What are you talking about?" Eve replies as she continues to drag him
"I'm talking about the reason he's obsessed with the top of the tower?" Seleph says seriously. "We've been in the orphanage ever since we were babies, but Adam was brought here two years ago by Father Langton... Do you think... he was abandoned?"
"No idea." Eve replies calmly after abruptly stopping
Seleph, who was behind, ends up bumping into her
"OW!! WHAT'S UP WITH YOU!?" Seleph says while rubbing his forehead
Eve points forward. To a large building that had someone standing on its roof
"Found him." She says
"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING UP THERE!? WAIT... HOW DID HE EVEN GET THERE!?" Seleph yells in surprise
"Doesn't matter." Eve says as she drags him with her. "Let's go up."
After a long walk, the two had reached the door leading to the rooftop. Eve pushes it open and sees Adam standing on top of the building, with a gentle breeze hitting the young boy. His hair and clothes dancing in the breeze will
"That's dangerous, Adam." Eve says seriously
"How did you know where I was?" Adam asks without turning around
"Two years ago, I saw you here while I was on a walk." Eve explains while approaching him
"Taking a walk? Here? Do you know how dangerous that is?" Adam says in the same position, with the same calm tone. "If it wasn't for that fake priest, we wouldn't even be able to live on this floor. This place is a gathering for garbage."
"What are you trying to say, man?" Seleph asks with a bit of anger. "Are you trying to call us garbage!?"
"No. I'm saying that I don't belong here." Adam says with anger. "I shouldn't be here."
Seleph rushes to Adam, grabs his shoulder, and turns him around. He then grabs him by the collar and pulls him towards himself
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, HUH!?" He yells in anger as Adam simply stares at him calmly. "Aren't we... family?"
Adam grabs Seleph's wrist and tightens his grip
"No." Adam answers calmly but with a slight trace of anger in his voice. "No, we aren't."
Seleph stares at Adam with anger while Adam does the same with absolutely no emotion. Nothing more than a calm and emotionless stare
"Wh...Wha....What is...that?" Eve says with a trembling voice. One that contained a detectable amount of anger to anyone present
Seleph lets go of Adam when he sees what Eve is. After arranging his shirt, Adam turns around and looks up. What they see is an odd phenomenon as it happens. Out of nothing, in the middle of the air where the sun was, something was taking shape
"They roamed the sky... rose from the sea...and appeared out of thin air." Eve says as the fear showing on her face grows