Chapter 2: Chapter 1: Floor 1-The Gate, the Rabbit, and...a Test?
When he regained awareness of the world around him, Izayoi found that he was no longer standing on the hill near the river. Instead, he was in a vast expanse of black emptiness. He looked down and saw that he was standing on the empty void. It was a weird feeling as nothing appeared to be supporting his weight, yet he was standing perfectly fine.
After a few moments wondering about the physics behind such a feat, he decided he didn't really care. He was much more interested in what lay before him. In the perfect nothingness that currently surrounded Izayoi, the only blemish was a large gate that appeared to be made of some kind of dark grey stone.
"So that letter wasn't some kind of joke after all?"
Izayoi spoke aloud to himself as he approached the gate. He guessed that this must be the entrance to whatever that letter was talking about, the so-called Tower of God. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips at the thought of finally finding something really fun. Once he was before the gate, he laid a hand on it and tried to push it open gently only to find that it wouldn't budge.
"Huh?"
He said, confused.
"Guess I'll try knocking."
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On the first floor of the tower, a bipedal white faceless being with ears resembling that of a rabbit's stood staring towards the floor above.
"Two irregulars. It seems great chaos will soon befall the tower."
The being spoke aloud as it opened a mouth to reveal rows of sharp, dagger-like teeth. This being was called Headon, and he was the guardian of the first floor of the tower.
He had just finished sending two irregulars, beings from outside the tower that used their own power to open the door and enter, on their way after administering their tests.
Most people who climb the tower were chosen by him to do so; the irregulars were the only exception to this rule. Irregulars were feared in the tower as they were known to bring about significant changes or chaos to the tower. For this reason, the tower's current ruler, King Jahad, despite being an irregular himself, would try to suppress the growth or even kill any irregular found to have entered the tower.
"The two irregulars this time are different from the others that have come before. The boy was weak but possessed a terrifying potential. He even caught the attention of one of Jahad's princesses, too bad he was too naive. And the girl....well she was also weak, but she possessed a great deal of knowledge about this tower and its workings, she also had a ruthlessness to her that will allow her to excel in this place."
As Headon mused to himself about the irregulars, all of a sudden, a loud crash rang out, shaking the entire first floor of the tower. Headon turned in shock towards the gate only to see a young man with blonde hair and purple eyes, his leg still raised in the air from he'd obviously kicked the gate down. The youth then opened his mouth to speak,
"Knock knock!"
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Izayoi lowered his leg as he looked around the chamber before him. It was a large square room lit by torches and several carved murals decorating the walls. He started walking into the chamber when he noticed the figure standing in the center of the room, staring at him. At least he thought it was staring; the thing didn't have any eyes that he could see.
"So what are you supposed to be then? Some kind of blind rabbit?"
As he spoke, Izayoi walked entirely into the chamber and got a better look at the rabbit. A sound from behind him caused him to look over his shoulder, and he saw that the gate repaired itself and was firmly closed once again.
"My my, since when did irregulars become so common? It used to be that we might see one every few hundred years, but now there's three in one day, how odd."
Izayoi turned his attention back to the rabbit and said,
"Listen, Thumper, the only odd one here is you. Though don't take that the wrong way, better the oddballs like you than the annoying people where I'm from."
The rabbit snarled revealing a set of wickedly sharp teeth as he spoke angrily,
"My name is Headon, and I am the guardian of this floor! Where exactly are you from little human? What brings you to my tower?"
Izayoi laughed at the rabbit's response then said to him,
"Please...if this were your tower, then you'd be at the top, not down here at the very bottom. As for where I'm from...that doesn't matter anymore, I'm here 'cause I thought it would be fun."
If Headon had eyes, they would have widened in surprise at the teen's words. He could sense the truth behind his statement and, therefore, didn't doubt that the boy was only here to entertain himself. Headon was unsure of how to respond. People climbed the tower for a great many reasons, but an irregular was entering the tower "just for fun," and that was new to him.
"Bah! Fine, but if you wish to climb the tower, you must pass my test first! What is your name, boy?"
Headon didn't know why, but something about the blonde youth annoyed him; the teen's next words only further proved this.
"The name's Sakamaki Izayoi; the pleasure's all yours Thumps."
Headon had half a mind to wring the boy's neck, but he still had a job to do. While taking a steadying breath, he took a fist-sized black marble out of seemingly nowhere and tossed it the boy while growling,
"First, you're going to need this. Also, you will refer to me as either Headon or Floor Guardian, no more of your ridiculous nicknames!"
Catching the marble in his right hand, Izayoi responded,
"Whatever you say, Head Bunny. So what's this thing?"
No sooner had the words left Izayoi's mouth then did a staff appear in Headon's hand swinging towards his head. The staff was yellow with a cyan sphere on either end; both orbs contained a swirling dark blue substance that seemed to switch from liquid to gas and then back again.
"Whoa, take it easy, dude. Unless you wanna fight? If that's the case, I'm game."
Hearing Izayoi's words, Headon was stunned. Izayoi had reached out and caught the staff with his left hand, his other still holding up the black marble as he examined it. Headon was speechless at this turn of events. He was a floor guardian for heaven's sake; sure he hadn't used any shinsu, and physical capability wasn't his strong point, but this human welp had stopped his attack like it was nothing.
'It seems a true monster has entered the tower this time; I wonder if I should even test him. Anyone capable of so easily stopping that attack from me would be able to breeze through even the hardest test that I'm authorized to administer.'
Headon's thoughts were sluggish at the prospect of letting the little demon in front him climb the tower, but he eventually sighed and told Izayoi,
"What you hold in your hand is called a pocket. It's necessary if you want to climb the tower. As a floor guardian, I can speak the language of any person that steps on my floor, but the tower is full of many different people and races, all of whom speak different languages. The pocket will automatically translate all words spoken to, and by you, so you'll be able to communicate with most beings."
Headon then paused to look at Izayoi, hoping to see a look of awe on the irregular's face but was disappointed when Izayoi only nodded and motioned for him to continue.
"On top of it's translating function, the pocket also serves as a communication device by allowing you to register the pockets of others. It can also tell the time and has an extra-dimensional inventory where you can store items. Although since this is the lowest E-Grade pocket, the size of it's inventory is somewhat limited. As you climb, you'll come across higher-ranked pockets, and they may have more specialized functions as well."
Izayoi nodded at the explanation and then said,
"So it's like a smartphone, that's pretty sweet."
"Quite."
Headon replied, before beginning again,
"Although I don't know this smartphone you speak of, but a pocket is quite a useful tool. Once registered to you, it will float nearby you and can be made either visible or invisible to others by giving the commands Visible Mode or Invisible Mode, respectively."
The pocket in Izayoi's hand flashed white for a moment before floating out of his hand and continued to hover near him.
"Haha, that's pretty cool. Invisible Mode!"
With his command, he felt something change. He could still see the pocket clearly, but he instinctively knew that others would not be able to do the same. He picked up a few loose stones from one floor and was having fun placing and removing them from the pocket's pocket dimension.
The sound of a throat clearing broke Izayoi out of his reverie that was playing with his new pocket. The blonde scowled and returned his attention to the rabbit who spoke,
"Well, if you're quite done, we should move on to the test then. First..."
Headon raised his hand, and the staff from earlier reappeared. He tapped the staff on the ground, and a blue liquid-like substance began to gather in front of it. The liquid formed into the shape of a cube and Headon spoke,
"Enter the shinsu field."
"Shin-what?"
Izayoi questioned with a confused look on his face.
"Ah, right, you're from outside the tower. Shinsu can be said to be the lifeblood of the tower. It's used to breathe or bring life to the land. It's also what grants those who climb the tower their abilities. As you climb, you'll find denser concentrations of shinsu the higher you go. You'll learn more about it on the next floor, for now, just enter the cube."
Izayoi was skeptical at the explanation but eventually just shrugged and started walking towards the field of shinsu. If nothing else, it certainly seemed interesting. As Izayoi approached the shinsu, Headon was thinking to himself,
'Fool! You may have a strong physical body, but this concentration of shinsu is at a level equivalent to that found on the hundredth floor, there's no way you could...'
Headon's thoughts were cut short as Izayoi easily passed into the field of shinsu, not seeming to be bothered by it at all. In fact, the shinsu seemed to flow around him and vibrate in happiness at his presence.
Izayoi had never felt like he was missing anything, well, except for some excitement, but when he stepped into the field of shinsu, he felt like a fish that had been on land for far too long, finally being returned to the water. The shinsu seemed to flow around and through him, strengthening him. He felt that with a little push from his mind, he could get it to do what he wanted, guide it where he wanted it to go.
"What a monster."
Came the mumbled words from behind Izayoi. He turned to face Headon and asked,
"You say something, Bunny Rabbit?"
Headon grit his teeth at once more being referred to by a ridiculous nickname, but he also came to a decision, and so he spoke,
"And with that, you have passed the test of the first floor. You will now be transferred to the second floor. Good luck on your climb, and may you find all that you seek atop the tower."
Izayoi was shocked for a moment when he heard those words, but then he frowned and said,
"Hey! What the hell do you mean, you son of a bitch? That's it? That wasn't fun at all?"
Headon ignored Izayoi's words and gently tapped his staff on the ground again. Izayoi felt a strange force acting on him as if to pull him somewhere else. Within the fraction of a second that the force was acting on him, he shot towards Headon, leaving the field of shinsu and leaping towards the rabbit-like being. He brought his foot up to bring down on the guardian in an axe kick.
"You Rabbit Bast..."
Just inches before Izayoi's heel made contact with Headon's head; his world faded to black for the second time that day.
Left standing alone on the first floor, Headon felt something that he'd never felt in his long life as the guardian of the first floor. He hadn't felt it when Urek Mazino or Enryu entered the tower. He hadn't even felt it when Phantaminum, that monster, entered the tower. No, this was the first time. The first time that a shiver of fear ran through Headon. He raised a hand and slowly wiped it across his face. Looking at his palm, he saw that it was slightly stained with dark purple blood. He had been injured. He, a floor guardian, had been wounded by the wind pressure of a shinsuless kick that hadn't even connected with him, a kick from a boy that had just barely entered the tower.
"Just what kind of demon has entered the tower?"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Fallen_One
Fallen_One The first official chapter of my first ever attempt at writing anything. To anyone who reads this, let me know what you think. Any feedback would be much appreciated. Also, I don't have anyone to proofread or edit my work; I try to do it on my own, but I apologize for any grammar or spelling mistakes.
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