God's Tower System

Chapter 92 (XCII) The Order

?The Order of the Hidden Mask was one of Terra's oldest networks of spies. The organization underwent numerous name changes in its infancy, predating even The Climber's Association.

The Order was believed to have been founded by the doctrine given by the mortal, Qristris, who would later become The Queen of the Void after she became wife to Uzotl, The God of Misanthropy, who desires the universe to become empty and return to nothing.

The highest leader within The Order was The Voice of The Matron, speaking directly on Qristris' behalf. The Voice was supported by two Eyes of The Patron, each with two False Hands under them, controlling ten Broken Fingers, who had countless teams at their disposal.

In addition, the executives from the False Hands and higher each had their own direct team underneath them, creating a vast and comprehensive net across Terra.

Not even the slightest rumor escaped their attention. Jackson's mother, Xyella Azaes, came from a long history of family members serving within The Order, now their family's first Voice.

She was a member since birth, her parents both being Eyes, like their parents before them and theirs before them, joining officially at the age of sixteen as a Broken Finger, both feats a first within The Order.

By the time she had turned twenty-one, she had become a False Hand, and one of her first targets was Krige Seraphin. He was a rising Climber, and unfortunately, he and his best friend had drawn the anger of a guild with powerful backers who had hired The Order.

Initially, she was drawn to him and attracted to his physical features, but after extended observations, she found that there wasn't anything surprising about the man.

Thinking it might have been a fluke, she made contact and befriended the young Krige and, before long, fell madly in love with him and married him against her parent's wishes.

They ran off together, and she quickly became pregnant, barely able to keep up with her duties as one of the False Hands before having Jackson.

It was years before Krige disappeared, leaving her to care for Jackson alone while protecting him against her own family and The Order. Before long, she was given an ultimatum, either bring him into the fold or abandon him.

Leaving her young boy with Shayla broke her heart, but she learned the truth behind Krige's family during her pregnancy. The last thing in the world she could do would bring about her own son's death.

For years she maintained a pair of eyes on the elderly woman and her son, but as time passed, it became less of a priority, and soon, he had vanished from her life entirely.

She had become an Eye and worked only beneath The Voice and The Matron herself, which meant increased responsibility and less room for her to keep up with her son.

It was shortly after the bombing in Duskgate that she was promoted once more, becoming The Voice. Immediately she sent a team to Shayla's cottage but found no trace of her and her son.

After years of wondering, she learned that The Climber's Association had successfully evaluated her son, and he had entered God's Tower. Waves of relieving euphoria rushed through her body, knowing he was still alive and had become an SSS+ Ranked Climber.

She then waited and prepared her speeches and concern, wanting to learn about what happened with him and Shayla, but even that blew up in her face as she was blindsided by her son's tale.

Her heart ached as she maintained the stoic exterior in front of him, reminding herself mentally that she was The Voice of The Matron at that time and not Jackson Seraphin's mother.

Tears streamed down her face as she closed the door behind her and rushed off. Leaving the young man with his own thoughts, conflicted and hurt. He sat silently for a long time, grappling with his emotions.

Eventually, he was able to shrug off the feelings, regaining his composure. He grabbed the scrap of paper, stuffing it into his pocket, and stood, grabbing the Skillbook, placing it into his Gobbii Bag, and put his hands in his pockets as he left the restaurant.

His thoughts raced wildly as he slowly walked back to the inn, 'Dad came from The Legion and Mom came from The Order..? What is going on with this crazy family..?'

He walked for a long time before finally returning to the inn and paying for another night... his final night in Ashbourne if his mother spoke the truth.

The triplets had long since gained board at The Gilded Forge, and Jackson had already seen Alijah and Megan off the other day as all preparations for the new workshop's construction.

He had booked the first trip via Magna-Grav Shuttle to Paradise Falls the following morning and would immediately set his plans in motion before returning to the tenth floor.

He pulled the Gobbii Bag into his lap before pulling out the Skillbook and ran his hands over it once more, muttering, "You'll only unlock for me, huh..?"

He tried to grip the locked clasp, but no amount of force could separate it from the cover. He glared at the keyhole intensely, thinking about what his father had meant.

First, he recalled the teachings of the Twenty Moons Under the One Sun. How the moons flowed through space, perfectly rotating around the one sun. Slowly he began to piece the puzzle together...

Electricity began crackling in the air around him, purple lightning arcing erratically across his body. Second, he recalled what he learned from the Inferno of the Twin Storms. How each blazing cyclone violently rotated around one another but never consumed one another.

Sparks began briefly igniting around him, the electricity in the air arcing between each flame before it snuffed out, dancing around him. Steam started rising from the muscles in his arms, his fingertips burning brightly, superheating as they grew hotter.

He began pouring out both energies from his body as they filled the tiny room, creating a dense and thick atmosphere before they gathered, and streams of purple and orange energy began floating through the air into the opening of the locked clasp.

A bright light burst out of the keyhole as the clasp released, opening as Jackson grinned wide, opened the cover, flipped to the front page, and read the name of the skill: Perfect Unity Sutra of The True Progenitor.