Beyond the Bloodline-Chapter 376: The Proelium Tower’s Dark Side

"The Proelium Tower also carries a ranking system, and those who ascend it gain recognition as their names are spread not only throughout their own universe but across multiple universes.

Since each universe holds its own tower, all interconnected with the others, anyone who enters is offered both honour and power, as the names of the strongest beings within their respective universe are broadcast across the cluster.

But this, in turn, only increased the influence of Sonerth and Uetera, who had originally proposed the idea in the first place, something the five universes that voted against it had certainly foreseen."

Indeed, it was easy to imagine just how much more influence those two Masters could wield simply by saying, "We’re the ones who helped your universes recover their lost power after the last invasion. You owe us. Even now, our actions continue to make your universe stronger."

Miranda sighed at the thought, shaking her head before telling Mei to go on and explain how all of this had somehow escalated to an assassination attempt on her life.

"After some time, they introduced an ’update’ to the tower, enabling it to serve as a network of connecting gates between universes.

This meant that people could now battle opponents from other universes and gain even greater recognition.

Naturally, the dimensions where these inter-universal battles occurred had enhanced effects compared to the original ones, which made people all the more eager to take part.

The tower soon became a central trading hub, further strengthening the influence of Sonerth and Uetera, since it allowed the exchange of goods from other universes, items that would otherwise cost time, money, and significant effort to obtain or transport across such vast distances."

From trading of items and resources, it gradually shifted into the trading of people.

"Renowned fighters began being commissioned as mercenaries to travel to other universes and intervene in internal conflicts between Planets, Star Systems, and Galaxies.

It was around this time that resistance to the Tower grew stronger, as some Masters who had once supported it changed their minds, as they didn’t want outsiders meddling in their internal affairs, and there were even attacks on the Tower by Galactic Rulers who shared that sentiment.

But Sonerth and Uetera argued that any attacks on a construct established through the vote of the Millennium Council should carry repercussions, and that if opposition was so strong, they should wait and vote it out at the next Council session, which would take place in less than three months."

Even after this compromise was made, tensions did not ease. Rather than stagnating or simmering down, they only escalated.

"Eventually, Sonerth and Uetera revealed their true intentions, using the Tower to poach combatants from other universes and bring them under their own banner.

The backlash was immense, with several universes suffering heavy destruction to their Towers.

But because of the influence Sonerth and Uetera held, combined with their ’legitimacy’ through the voting system all Masters had agreed upon for matters of such scale, the Towers were repaired rather than dismantled, despite the demands of many."

After saying this, Mei paused, as though remembering something else that made her frown.

"There’s also a troubling recent development. Not long after the poaching began, unfamiliar powerhouses started emerging from Sonerth and Uetera, dominating the rankings and provoking people from other universes, those who had begun to avoid the tower, into climbing it again."

"Unfamiliar powerhouses, you say?"

"Yes. I couldn’t really tell myself, but according to Master Ulfur, those individuals aren’t from our cluster or anywhere nearby.

What’s worse is that Master Ulfur claimed they wield terrifying power that even he feared, and Master Ulfur is a 9th Firmament Existence, so the only kind of strength that could intimidate him would be—"

"Supreme," Miranda interjected.

"At least Quasi-Supreme.

Even an average Quasi-Supreme can completely overwhelm any 9th Firmament. It makes sense that Ulfur would feel threatened, especially since he’s on the verge of reaching the Quasi-Supreme level himself and can sense their power more keenly than you can."

She shifted her gaze to her tablet, where she had been quietly sketching a map of the inter-universal relationships based on Mei’s account, before lifting her eyes to Mei and asking.

"Do you know which universes are currently in cahoots with Sonerth and Uetera?"

"So far, we’ve confirmed that Zagruetun, Gathiea, and now Yoatune are surely on their side, giving them 5 votes in the Council.

They need 7 to secure victory, but Lollao, Luabos, and Lozion have formed an alliance, and we’ve yet to publicly state our position.

As for Iccypso, Kotania, Briuwei, and Chalrouwei, they’ve openly declared opposition to their faction."

In other words, the current score was 5–4, and the outcome hinged entirely on which side managed to sway the remaining three neutral universes. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Master Ulfur recently had an argument with Mistress Haunild of Loizon...one so heated it nearly escalated into a fight.

They restrained themselves because the alliance was necessary, but currently, they are not on speaking terms.

Still, everyone knows Mistress Haunild to be a sore loser and a vindictive type, so if I were to suddenly turn up dead and Yoatune produced ’evidence’ framing her for it, it would be convincing and would almost certainly fracture our alliance, which would favour Sonerth and Uetera’s faction."

This was Mei’s assumption as to why her life had been targeted, and upon hearing it, Miranda could only sigh as she felt a headache coming.

’First, I need to inspect this Proelium Tower in every universe and see what it’s all about.

Next, I have to verify whether everything she has just told me is accurate and not merely her biased perspective, and only then can I plan my next course of action.’

From Mei’s words, it was evident she had little understanding of how many foreign Supremes were actually present within this cluster.

As for the Isolation Field, Miranda did not even bother asking, since there was no chance she would be able to perceive something that even a Supreme would struggle to detect.

"I want to meet this Master Ulfur of yours."

If anyone could notice the presence of the Isolation Field, it would naturally be the Master of one of the universes contained within it.

However, if even he remained unaware, then the danger level rose considerably, as it meant that the stealth used to conceal the Isolation Field from even the Masters of Universes might also be masking additional enemies and items of power that Miranda had no knowledge of.

’And Ikerth is tangled up in this as well, most likely alongside Eldros...’ Miranda heaved another weary sigh, shaking her head while Mei agreed to bring her to Ulfur.

"We are presently in a place far removed from whatever that other location you were in before was called. Because of that, whatever method they used to block the SOS signals you tried to send to your Master cannot affect us here, so make an attempt to reach him.

And as for that other Main Entity..."

Miranda trailed off as she considered whether to go after Ravok.

’I don’t know if he has already contacted his Master. If he has, then my interference has likely already been noticed. But if he hasn’t...’

Miranda’s eyes narrowed slightly before she turned back to Mei.

"Contact your Master. I’ll return shortly."

With that, Miranda’s body erupted into a pillar of flames and disappeared.

Mei, left staring in shock at the lingering purple blaze where she had stood, murmured,

"So those were the famed violet flames of the Odd-Eyed Wolf goddess..."