The Vulture’s Regressionary Instinct
22 Years ago
Was when “IT” appeared
And no I don’t mean the Steven King’s “IT”, but something else
Because it was something else
From another world
Or perhaps another universe?
A different realm?
Somewhere… Beyond, at the very least
A tower
A giant spire rising from the ground, a spire so large, so tall that it grazed the surface of the moon
A feat of engineering and architecture that was utterly impossible, yet it exists
And along with this tower, a message
Written in a language no one knew
To every being on that planet
And somehow able to be understood by all
[THIS UNIVERSE HAS BEEN CHOSEN. THE TOWER HAS NOW OPENED]
And thus began the apocalypse no one could predict
[MAY FORTUNE FAVOUR YOU]
…
…
…
…
{99th Floor}
I stepped in front of the door, my chest heaving as beads of sweat drip down my head in nervousness
{136th Subjugation Attempt}
Looking to my side I mumble something under my breath
“Status”
[Carrion Quarry - 12 Stars
Title: The Tower’s Vulture
Constellation: Mother of a Broken Home
Strength: SS+
Speed:SSS-
Endurance: A-
Mana: S+
Reflex: S-
Talent: F-]
I down the contents of a plastic water bottle with red insides
In a grotesque fashion, the bone of the missing limb attached to my chest sprouted out, as steam rose and muscles wrapped themselves around it, before the skin grew back
“That was the last of the Rhoavza…”
[Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” sheds a tear for their avatar]
“Relax, i’ll be fine… probably” I say with a sigh
The doors to the 99th Floor were massive
I took a deep breath, and pushed open the doors without much effort
My grip tightened on the Foil in my hand
[Heavenly Demonic Blade (Modified) - 5 Stars]
It was a bad weapon. A strong weapon for the first 50 Floors but subpar for the ones after
But I was simply too accustomed to the weight and feel of it to use any other
A cold wind attacked my face, a blizzard unlike anything i’ve ever felt before
I was now within the Piste of the boss monster
A shiver ran down my spine as the sweat on my face instantly crystalized into ice
I readied myself, pointing my sword upwards in a basic stance
“En Garde”
My right knee was bent slightly in front of me, and my left hand was by my side, a basic magic spell locked and loaded, the magic circle spinning as runes I could only barely decipher floated around my arm, pulsating with power
The ground beneath me shook as a giant worm with rows and rows of massive teeth burst from beneath the layers of snow
It let out a devastating screech, the snow falling from the unending sky trembled at the force of the sound waves
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” speaks from her throne “Pret”]
Once the monster had fully risen, it launched itself at me with impeccable speed, the speed at which it moved created a shockwave that would’ve killed anyone below C rank Endurance
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” shouts at the screen “Allez”]
In a singular instant, I lunged forwards at faster speeds, the snow beneath where my body was previously now devoid of anything, revealing a thick layer of ice that was cratered, small amounts of water seeping from the metres of frozen liquid
I ducked underneath the snow-worm and stabbed at it multiple times with my foil, puncturing it many times in quick succession
Purple blood flooded from the holes as it screamed out in pain
It buried itself in the snow at lightning speeds
Since my reflex was low, it took me too much time to react…
But that didn't matter, i’ve had 136 attempts already, I didn’t need to react, since I was changing direction to the head anyway
A worm has no brain, no vital organs, nothing.
The only way to kill one is to completely demolish it
Or burn it
“Magnus Ignis!”
I point my free arm at the head of the worm, launching a burst of flame that melted the surrounding snow, and the head of the worm
“It took me 3 Years to write that spell… this just seems anticlimactic” I mumble
[“The Tower’s Vulture” has become the second Climber to conquer Floor 99!]
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” cheers for her Avatar whilst shouting “Arrêt”]
[Head Directly to 100th Floor?]
“Yes”
[The Tower asks if “The Tower’s Vulture” is sure]
I didn't take any damage from that boss because I hyper targeted its weakness
Worms are weak to fire, and so are snow based creatures, so me winning so easily was a given
Sad though… I spent so long trying to recover and write down the strongest fire spell “Flame King” had…
Well I have 19 more talismans with that spell written down… but I probably only have enough Mana to use it 3 more times…?
Well if I don’t chip into my life force at least
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” urges her avatar to go back and proceed with caution]
“You know I can’t do that, ‘Mother’, I have to reach my world… after the Tower Break… Well there must be some people alive, right? It’s my duty as a climber to help those few survive” I murmured to her
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” Says that there isn’t anyone left]
“Hera” I spat out
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” is silenced at your reaction]
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” apologises for what they had said]
“Thank you” I utter and recentre myself
I look towards the message from the tower
“I am sure”
[May Fortune Favour You]
In an instant, I find myself at the door to the final floor’s boss
It was a strange door…
Because it was blasted open
I knew who was in there…
“Sunset…”
She was an incredible person
A beautiful woman
My Highschool Crush
My “Maestro”
And the strongest Climber to ever live
The Rank 1
“The Anomaly of Talent” I mumer the name out loud and shuddered at it
I walked forwards
As I turned the corner, I saw what she had become
Incredibly vascular, every single vein visible, her skin red and a hazy smile on her perfect face
Shoulder blade length fiery hair of red and yellow, now a mess, stained with blood and oil, not being washed in 19 years
The same clothes she has been wearing for those 19 years
The same… everything as 19 years ago
Her first 3 years in the tower were normal
But that day she entered the 19th floor…
She was… corrupted, somehow
She began a massacre
Killing every single climber in the tower
And it only took her a single year
After she was done, she climbed the tower and reached the 100th floor in less than 2 years
Doing the math, If she never got corrupted, the tower would’ve been cleared in a mere 5 years
And the Tower Break would’ve never occurred
Yet because of her insanity, we were held back
Well, I was held back
I am the last one
The only climber left
Apart from her, of course
I like to think it's because she remembers me fondly enough to not kill me
She looked as young as when she left on that subjugation attempt
When people enter the tower, the various energies they learn to manipulate rejuvenate and stop them from ageing
So of course she looks young…
My hands trembled
Yeah…
I really am weak
I can’t even bring myself to hurt her
I still love her, it seems
She had already killed the boss
Probably over a decade ago
Yet she stayed within the tower anyway
Was she waiting for me?
She glanced back at me, and I felt a sharp pain in my throat
I coughed up the blood that began to build in my throat
A blade was piercing my skin, straight into my Adam’s apple
I looked into her eyes
Her beautiful eyes…
And she was not there
Me thinking that she didn't kill me because she loved me was a pipe dream
Because I know deep in my heart...
That she didn't kill me because she simply couldn't remember I even existed
After all, she killed her best friends who were with her way longer than I was
There was so much of my life I missed out on because of this damn tower…
My 17th birthday
My 18th to my 38th
And all I have to show for it is…
A subpar sword
A subpar martial art
A subpar Personal Skill
A subpar Constellation
A subpar body
With subpar stats
And subpar talent too
…
…
…
If only I knew how to use my skill sooner
If only I stopped her from going first on the 19th Floor raid
If only…
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” Shouts out in anguish and pain at your death]
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” begs the tower to help you]
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” begins to cry]
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” weeps at the loss of her avatar]
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” weeps at the loss of her son]
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” weeps at the loss of her son]
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” weeps at the loss of her son]
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” weeps at the loss of her son]
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” weeps at the loss of her son]
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” weeps at the loss of her son]
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” weeps at the loss of her son]
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” weeps at the loss of her son]
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” weeps at the loss of her son]
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” weeps at the loss of her son]
[The Constellation “Mother of a Broken Home” weeps at the loss of her son]
[You have Died]
[The Last Climber has Died]
The last climber?
What about Sunset?
[The Last Human Has Died]
Oh…
So everyone else died
And Sunset is no longer…
[The Tower Has Reached The Bad End]
[The Tower is Calculating The Climber With The Greatest Impact]
[ERROR]
[Climber With Greatest Impact Is No Longer a Climber]
[The Tower Searches for the Climber with the second most Impact]
[Climber Found]
[The Tower Presents an Opportunity To “The Vulture of The Tower”]
[Do You Accept?]
[The “The Vulture of The Tower” Is Dead]
[Automatically Accepting Offer In 10 Seconds]
[Reject Offer?]
[10]
[9]
[8]
[7]
[6]
[5]
[4]
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Offer Accepted]
[Unique Scenario “Absolute Regression” has Activated]
[May Fortune Favour You]
Author's Note
[May Fortune Favour You]
The Vulture’s Regressionary Instinct
The Canterlot High Fencing Club
“Haah~” I sigh deeply, looking over a pamphlet in my hand, meandering through the building after school to familiarise myself with the layout
Turns out this new school I've started attending makes clubs mandatory
Inside the pamphlet was a butt ton of clubs, all listed out by name and short introduction…
Track and Field looks promising
But getting sweaty isn't really my style…
Hmm?
“Fencing?” I murmured to myself “What's that…?”
It says the club's on today, and that's it's nearby
Might be worth checking out…
Before I could even recognise it, I was walking around to the Martial Arts Building
Which, for one, what kind of school has a building dedicated to martial arts!?
I know the principal and vice-principals are from a filthy rich family, but isn't this a bit too much?
Well at least I know it's a martial art, now I can lea-
The second I turned around I heard the door slam open, and I looked to see a tall woman, with straight blonde hair in a messy ponytail and green piercing eyes
A strange cowboy hat on her head, as well as a white T-shirt with green sleeves, an apple insignia on the chest region
And a… blue skirt? Could you call it a skirt? It looked like it was made of jeans… Anywho, she had western style cowboy boots on as well
Her whole outfit screamed “Yeehaw”
The freckles on her face did make her look cute though…
“...Not tah be rude or anything, but who are you…?” She said I a thick southern accent after an awkward silence
“Ah, I'm…” I stopped for a bit, deliberating over the name I should use before deciding “I'm Carrion, Carrion Quarry. I was thinking of joining the Fencing Club?”
What the hell am I saying?
I don't wanna join a martial arts club!
Ugh, I said the words before I could even think about them again…
That's a nasty habit
“Oh… Is that so…? Uh, well come on in” She said, as I began to walk
Inside were a group of 6 girls, excluding Miss Yeehaw
A gorgeous looking purple haired woman, with pale white skin, and dazzling blue in eyes. Wearing golden bangles and a blue blouse, along with a purple skirt and purple platform boots. A strange triple diamond pin in her hair, holding a mirror in hand and touching up on her makeup
I'll call her Miss Glam for now
A lavender skinned woman with a high ponytail, a pair of glasses framed her dorky face and she was wearing a striped white and blue shirt and purple skirt with stars, a book in hand as she readjusted her spectacles
Nerd
A technicolour haired one that had blue skin and fiery red eyes, a blue hoodie and white tee on. A rainbow lightning emblem on it, a blue necklace and baggy tracksuit bottoms with rainbows around it, throwing a flurry of combos at the punching bag in the corner, as a towel on her shoulders seemed to magically keep in place regardless of her movements
Little Miss Martial
A light pastel pink haired one with pale yellow skin, a white vest and green skirt. Three butterflies embroidered onto it, a pink hem and green boots with long slightly showing white socks with pink polka dots.
Mistress Polka
She was sat on a bench, next to another pink one, but this time heavily spec’d into the pink part. A bright vibrant pink afro-style hair that was let loose without any form of order, and most likely a tangled mess. Blue eyes and pink skin with blue bangles and a white vest with a giant heart, a blue coat on her visage and a pastel purple skirt with a trio of balloons also embroidered into it, along with, of course, boots. She was rambling on and on as the yellow one replied with a simple nod every once in a while
Madam Chaos
…
Not my best work, but it's a work in progress!
Also, what are these women's obsession with boots?
I mean, it looks good, but still!
The moment I entered the room, all eyes locked onto me, and everything went dead silent
Though I couldn't stop myself from staring at one individual in particular
With fiery red hair with yellow highlights, an orange vest emblazoned with a stylised image of the sun, under a spiked leather jacket. Blue jeans that were ripped at the knee and large heavy duty combat boots that had clearly seen some wear and tear, sitting next to Nerd and reading with her
And a beautiful face
I'm not shallow enough to fall in love with someone just because they're pretty, I mean every girl in this friend group was strikingly beautiful, however something just struck me with her…
It was… Like instinct, you know?
I have no clue how to describe it, but it was like… Like I was looking at a face I had both never seen, and have known all my life
It was wacky, but I had no clue how to stop myself from staring
I quickly snapped myself out of it and recentred myself
“Uh, Hi. My name is Carrion Quarry, just call me Carrion, and I'm here to check out the… Fencing Club?” God I sound like an idiot
The second I introduced myself, I heard a loud gasp coming from Madam Chaos, who in turn comedically floated into the air due to the shock before dashing away at lightning speeds
“Ignore Pinkie, We have a Fencing Club…?” (Sunny…? Yeah that seems good) Sunny responded, brushing off the impossibility of Madam Chaos’s speed without much thought
I fiddle with the pamphlet in my hand, walking over to her as I give it
“Yeah, right there…” She seemed to be in deep thought, looking over at it
“Ah, I seen your problem, this is an old version, seeing as I've never heard of it, the club must have disbanded a good while back”
I sigh, before I see Sunny’s eyes light up in an indescribable fashion
“Hey, I reckon they still have the equipment for it!” She sounded quite excited, which seemed to peak the interest of Little Miss Martial
“Sunset? You never said you liked Fencing?” She spoke, leaning on the wall beside the punching bag, using the towel to rub off the sweat from her forehead
“Well, I used to be a part of a club for it in middle school, but since I didn't think we had one here I haven't really done it since then…” She spoke in a reminiscing tone
I just got an idea…
“Hey, Sunset was it? Would you be willing to maybe try restarting the Club with me?” the second I spoke those words, she clasps my hands and jumps up, being face to face with me
“Really!? You would be willing?” She says, before realising something, letting go and putting a hand on her chin and looking down slightly in thought “Well, actually, you need three people in order to create a new club, as well as a teacher willing to look over the club, so with just us we can't...”
“I’m sure we can find someone…” I say, the heat rising on my face calming just as quickly as it came “Ah, in the meantime, I'll go to check if they even kept the equipment”
I narrow my eyes and look around, quickly finding a door with a faded looking sign that was barely legible, reading “Storage Room”
I made my way over there and opened it up, walking inside and turning on the lights the door closed behind me
I don't know much about fencing, all I know is that it's a French Sport comprising of the use of thin iron rods that's done in the Olympics
I don't know any of the rules though…
The room was much bigger than I initially thought, and it was a cluttered mess
Boxing gloves, old karate clothes, fabric belts of various colours, hand wraps, punching bags on the verge of mutilation and boxing pads all splayed across the floor
But in the corner of my eye I spotted something
A mask of mesh made of presumably inflexible iron, a white fabric on the sides and backs of each to act as a veil, propped up by some sort of hard helmet type of strap
A Fencing Mask
Five of them to be precise, all on top of 5 white neatly folded clothes, placed on a brown wood box, a kind of umbrella hanger beside it with 5 swords placed into it
Each with a unique design emblazoned on the hilt and handle
I felt oddly drawn to them, as I wiped the dust off one of the helmets and picked up one of the clothes underneath, a word escaped my lips
“...Lamé…”
I was quickly snapped out of my thoughts of vivid familiarity as I remembered I was keeping Sunny waiting
I took a pair of swords, clothes and masks, before my eyes drifted to a mat rolled up beside it, a strange clock looking device on top with a bunch of wires all spun together
Since it was placed neatly, I assumed it was part of the Fencing gear and picked it up
I Walk back to the door and push it open lightly with my shoulder
“Found it!”
Author's Note
:3
(You don't need to know anything about fencing to enjoy this Fanfic)
