United

Under the black sun, a long and colossal pillar of black stretched unfathomably long.

And at the base, there was a giant closed gate that looked as heavy as mountains of steel.

Surrounding the empty field, more than fifty white columns wrapped around the empty field, which encircled the base of the tower.

There were six wide roads connected to the empty field, and three humans were walking on one of them; seeking salvation.

The columns that encircled the empty space surrounding the tower were by far the tallest among the white columns.

Azreal couldn't help but open his mouth in awe and astonishment; the place was truly unreal and beyond any fantastical place he had ever seen.

Shivers vibrated his muscles as they ran through his bones by the fear that he suddenly felt.

Is that where he could hope to maybe do something? Is there he can fight to die, hopefully? He was truly at a loss for words.

He looked at the eight people who were separated into two groups.

One of the groups was four, calm and quiet, but they seemed energetic too.

One of them is slightly old, one is a young woman with a strong presence, one is an older woman with a strong smile, and the last is a young man with no notable features.

The second group was made of three, and they seemed to be having the time of their life, joking and emoting.

They seemed like a collective or a perfect match for each other, none of them seemed different than the others.

Two lively women, and a coy man.

Lastly, a young man was sitting on an ice block, examining a lusterless black gun in his hand, a stern expression still on his young face.

From a high place, they might seem like a party of polar bears; their fur suits covered their bodies like a mountain of clothes.

Azreal and his companions arrival attracted the attention of the second group first, yet it was the first group that stopped what they were doing and came to greet them.

The older man spoke first -

"Welcome back. God! I thought you died on the way here."

The older woman dodged him with her elbow lightly, then she spoke -

"Took you long enough." She grinned - "and you even got another fish? That's something."

Raphae replied with a smile -

"It's not a big deal, and you know it.

Anyhow, that's Azreal, the grin-less, true fact."

Azreal forced a comical grin onto his face as they looked at him, then he spoke -

"... Hi"

The young man spoke -

"Please stop grinning. That's definitely visual assault." He smiled and continued -

"I'm Jeremy."

The younger woman spoke, with a smile on her cold face -

"I'm Uriel."

The older woman spoke with a grin -

"And Jophi, with a 'J'."

'What? There is a 'J' in Eophi?' He thought.

The older man finally spoke -

"And I'm Michael.

You could talk to the others too. Don't worry; we are a welcoming bunch."

Azreal thought for a few seconds, which turned the atmosphere a little more dense, then he spoke -

"... Thanks. And nice to meet you all."

After that, there was a lot of chit-chat, which Azreal reluctantly endured, and throughout it, he learned a lot of things.

One is that everyone here has suicided with a gun, and everyone here came from his same country, with only Jophi from a neighboring country.

Moreover, everyone here came to this place since at least a week ago, so I'm a newcomer to them.

They also explained that this empty space around the tower won't get attacked... but the second you walk out of the ring of columns, one will definitely attack you sooner than later.

After that, he broke away from the group and started pondering a few things...

The group he left now is made of six calm but enthusiastic individuals.

There is also the second group – he didn't even look at the second group – and there is the lonesome gunman...

He wanted to know who that person was, where he found a gun, and more... but before he could walk towards him, Uriel suddenly spoke, her voice calm and clear -

"Don't waste your time trying to talk to him."

It seems that Azreal's shut-in personality has pulled another shut-in towards him.

Uriel is also very... 'Azreal' in nature, and she avoided her group the second she got the chance to.

In fact, she was only talking just for the sake of information; who knew what the trial of the tower even is, and what will they have to do.

Azreal wanted to say something, but she interrupted him -

"I can already see the questions in your eyes..."

Uriel sighed, then she spoke, her arms crossed -

"I guess it's time we tell you this.

To get a weapon, you have to challenge a black building; inside a black building, there is a trial, which usually is a mental trial. Winning the trial rewards you with the weapon."

She looked down solemnly, then she continued -

"And why do we need a weapon? You might ask... it's to kill a monster."

His muscles tensed, and he felt his blood freezing.

Her eyes turned to stare him in the eye, the things those eyes have seen are definitely beyond his worst nightmares.

Azreal shivered under her intense gaze, and then he spoke -

"... Kill a monster?! A giant killing machine! With one weapon??"

His voice rose with emotions and fear.

Uriel tilted her head as she spoke calmly, her gaze lost its intensity -

"One?

No, not one; every one of us has a weapon except you.

But don't worry, we won't make you challenge a building; it'll take way too long."

Azreal was taken aback, but he realized that this was more logical; it was foolish to fight those giant monsters with just one weapon, but that also doesn't make sense; if what he thought is true then he should challenge a building.

He looked at her directly and spoke -

"Is that the only reason? It should be the logical thing to make me acquire a weapon."

She uncrossed her hands and then spoke -

"Should I tell you the nice reason or the not so nice reason?" She shrugged - "Actually, don't answer that.

Let's just say that challenging a building could get worse than challenging a monster; unlike monsters, buildings will attack you mentally... and if you are weak enough, you might get stuck in a mental grinder.

Even death by a monster would be a mercy."

Azreal shivered; this woman is casually throwing a bomb after another...

In any case, it all plays out for him; he won't have to lift a finger in the end.

Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind them -

"Wow, Uriel is talking for more than ten seconds! That's definitely a miracle.

Hey Azreal, don't mind me."

Jeremie casually rested his arm across Azreal's shoulders with a wide smile.

Surprisingly, Uriel didn't get angry, she simply sighed and then said calmly -

"I had to teach this loner what I know. Also, aren't you too energetic?"

After that, Azreal simply zoned out as he stared at the lone gunman... eventually, he asked -

"By the way... who is he?" Pointing at the sitting edgelord...

Jeremie replied -

"Ah, that. He's Moroni."