Ares whistled at Golgo who woke up with a start and looked around with a serious glint in his eyes. Little did Ares know but Golgo''s family had been wiped out when he was young by hunters that whistled to signal the start of their hunt. If this had happened outside of the pagoda, out in the wild, Golgo probably would have woke up swinging his axe first and asking questions later. Golgo''s glance around the room made him recoil in shock when he saw the countless holes and dents that lined the walls. He''d assumed his earlier hallucinations were false but now he was slowly coming to terms with the fact that this was all real. This kid was freaky! Golgo had immeasurable pride in his pressure attacks but even he couldn''t do any of this...


    "Hello furry friend, figured I would let you know I''m gonna be on the up and up as I head up and up."


    "... Up?"


    "Yes, up. Me go up. Before me go up, though, I wanted to ask you a question. Do you know what people think about the fundy-mentals? What''s the general sentiment about them, I mean?"


    "Hmm, fundy-mental re-pu-tay-shon? Most really like, sum really hate. Dose that really hate, really hate. Some kinda groop o'' bad guys who tried to hurt Havanah, me smashed ''em with axe. Dey da cult o'' destruction."


    "... Oh no. I have a bad feeling about what you just told me... Let me guess. These whackos think the destruction pillar itself is evidence the world should end and they think I''m their God that will one day fulfil their wish?"


    "Yeah, sumfing like dat. Dey wur-ship yous even do we kept tellin'' ''em it wasn''t like dat. Dey don''t lissen and caws trubble all over the world. Keep att-acking in-o-scent peeple and dee-stroying countries an'' plan-its."


    "Entire planets?! Oh boy, I get the feeling I''m not going to be looked upon kindly by anyone who''s suffered at their hands... And why do I get the feeling these cultists aren''t going to listen to me if I tell them they''re insane? Great... That''s another problem for the list then. Save the world and kill my own cult along the way... Wonderful. Have any of the other fundamentals had any of these ridiculous problems or is it just me?! Ah whatever, I''ll deal with them whenever I come across them. It''s good to know most people are indifferent or have a positive outlook on us though, that''s reassuring."


    "Mhm, lots o'' peeple give Havanah gifts. ''Specially da guys on our plan-it. Lot o'' dem want to be Havanah''s mate. Problem dough ''cos I told Havanah when she was kid dat shood only mate with da strong so she can give birth to strong children, ya kno? Time on-erred tra-dish-on."


    "Mate huh... Surely not." Ares shook his head and got back on topic. "Well anyway, I wanted to say thank you for being a good sport and informing me about the situation outside. Acting like a middleman must have been boring so I commend your mental resilience being trapped in this place. I''ll send Mako your way and sometime down the line I''ll beat the tower to set you free. When you get out, please let the organisation know that I''ll be more than willing to work alongside them... And I guess deal with those stupid cultists too..."


    "Heh, me patient. Me do good, me know it. But thanks ennywey Air-ees."


    "..." Ares sighed and wrote down his name properly on Golgo''s notepad. He didn''t care if Golgo got it wrong but it might be a hassle down the line if this misunderstanding was allowed to fester.


    "A... R... Areese? Wass dis?"


    "That''s my name. Ares. Just wanted to make sure the spelling was correct for the organisation."


    "Ooohhh, I see now! Heh, and me thought yous name was weerd!... Still bit weerd though..."


    "A person named Golgo should not be speaking on such matters!... Well, I''ll get out of your hair now Mr. Moustache. See you around sometime."


    "M... Must-ashk? Hmm... Hey, Are... Ares!"


    Ares stood stock still when he heard Golgo call his name properly for once! He shed a single tear and wiped it away as he turned to face Golgo once more. A flip had been switched in his brain and Ares'' respect for this guy had shot up tenfold! "Yep? Anything I can do for you Golgo?"


    "Ah, me want yous to att-ackt me! Hit me wit preshor so I can see how strong yous are!"


    Ares scratched his chin with hesitation but agreed to the request in the end. This guy couldn''t feel pain and would be revived in the worst case scenario so he obliged and did as requested. "Esoteric Compression." Ares launched his new art at Golgo who took it like a champ... Of course he was forced down onto his creaky knees and couldn''t stand for love or money but he wasn''t injured at least. The golden pressure crackled away on his skin and kept pricking away at him as Ares held up his hand again and fired a couple of pressure bullets straight onto Golgo''s forehead.


    Bang Bang Bang


    Golgo''s skull bounced back three separate times with each hit before finally returning to its original position, just in time to see Ares Stygian Zephyr covering his face. Ares had thrown it at Golgo while he was distracted and what he was doing now behind it was anyone''s guess. Golgo struggled to raise his arm and remove the feathery cape but he eventually managed it only to see Ares'' frontmost foot plant down in front of him as he leant into an uppercut with all his might. In this moment of combat fueled adrenaline Ares pushed himself hard. His eyes were practically hollow as he dedicated every fibre of his being to the strike in order to overcome the barrier he''d discovered earlier. Golden pressure swirled around his clenched fist and Ares took a deep breath as he spun his shoulder and begun raising his fist with ferocity towards Golgo''s chin. Accompanied by a growl from the depths of Ares'' core, he yelled his chant to spur himself on as his knuckles raged upwards against the very heavens.


    "ANNIHILATION ECHO!"


    BANG


    Ares'' fist connected with a deafening sound that shook the entire floor and sent out a soundwave that even broke part of the drawbridge. His fist lodged itself firmly under Golgo''s chin and kept struggling upwards, shaking as it applied monumental force to Golgo''s wracked brain. Ares'' growls became more aggressive, morphing into a laboured shout as his fist shot up and knocked Golgo off his knees.


    BBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG


    Golden sparks exploded out of Golgo''s head as he was flipped up into the air and backwards into the wall. He banged against the side of the pagoda and collapse onto his spine on the floor with golden steam coming out of every orifice in his bloody, dazed head. Ares'' punch had torn through his own Esoteric Compression and blasted Golgo out of it. He very nearly sent the guy crashing into the ceiling, that was how much height he got off the punch. Golgo''s jaw was currently dislocated and there was a golden Echo still rampaging around inside his body. Small golden bumps rose up on his skin wherever the Echo was detonating underneath it and this continued for about a minute before a broken and battered Golgo was finally given back control over his body. It was impossible to tell how many bones were broken and how many organs were torn and shredded. If it weren''t for the lack of pain, thanks to to the fact he was a clone, he would be in a world of hurt right now. Of course injuries like this for a cultivator at Golgo''s level were something he could ignore but that didn''t mean they wouldn''t still sting and lower his overall combat ability, slowing him down. The combination of that horrifying pressure and the extremely lethal golden magic had thoroughly devastated Golgo. So much so his only response was to start belly laughing and clapping his hands with a pleased smile on his misshapen and bruised black and blue face. "Hahahahahaha. yous good! Dat smack att-ack sent me flying!" Golgo got up and stretched, bearing resemblance to a house cat as he did so. A very overgrown and burly housecat, anyway. "Hm, me thinks me rekko-mend yous to Havanah. Yous make good mate. Meet my stand-ards ''n'' den sum."


    Ares scratched his head and gave a wry smile. Did the chances of his third wife being this guy''s daughter just increase? That''s what it felt like to Ares at least... No! He would not go along with fate just because it was fate! If he was supposed to marry the reality pillar''s champion then it would be a natural occurrence! Actually, wasn''t meeting Golgo here pure chance? Wasn''t this already a natural occurrence? Was he trying to run away from fate if he denied this or was he trying to speed it up if he accepted it?! Fate works in mysterious ways... Well whatever. There was no guarantee his third wife was this ''Havanah'' person, this could all just be a bunch of hoopla over nothing. A recommendation was exactly that and nothing more. His daughter, thanks to the organisation and the existence of the mind pillar, had been raised in a way that meant she probably wasn''t as single-minded as her father was and not so dead set on on finding a ''strong mate''. She''d probably just brush off his recommendation... Right? Ah to hell with this! I''m overthinking things! Whatever happens happens!... Although maybe this could be useful information? Maybe I can distract Enyo with this when I return to lighten my punishment? Hahaha, who cares if it''s real, Enyo will fall for this hook, line, and sinker! It''s the perfect bait to get her off my case! Ahem "Uh, thank you for the recommendation... I mean I''ve never met her but we''ll see how things go. We''re both adults and I''m sure whether we stay friends or we go beyond that we''ll have a good relationship regardless. We''re all in this together so having each other as companions will be reassuring."


    "Yous no want to be Havanah''s mate?"


    "That''s... Not what I said? I said I''ve never met her, I couldn''t possibly make such a judgement without knowing what kind of person she is. Also, shouldn''t she have an impression of me before we make any decisions on such a matter?"


    "Yous wanna know what kinda person Havanah is? She''s strong! Make for good mate! Yous strong too, make for good mate for her. Knee-ver o'' yous two ugly so dat fine too. Wat not to like? I know Havana be con-tent wit yous."


    "Uh, right... Well we''ll see." Ares couldn''t adhere to this guy''s simplistic world view. Strength was not a personality trait in Ares'' book and he didn''t want to agree to something not knowing what kind of person he was getting involved with. Then again, she was going to save the world so how bad could she really be? Anyway, this conversation was clearly going in a weird direction so Ares figured he would leave all of this to the future. Before he could even worry about this ''Havanah'' person he would need to lower the Primordial Blade''s barrier first and that wasn''t going to happen for a while. If Havanah, whoever she was, really was his next wife, he wouldn''t be meeting her any time soon. That was good though, it gave Ares time to pamper Enyo and get more intimate with Bellona before tossing another wife into the mix. "I appreciate the offer, and I''m not outright denying it, but there are steps that should be taken before we sign the proverbial dotted line, you know? I mean, I have multiple wives already, would she not be bothered by that? As a fundamental champion she could very well have her own harem if she so much as clicked her fingers let alone join someone else''s. What I''m saying is that we should learn more about each other after actually meeting one another. Where we go from there... We''ll know that when it comes to it."


    Stolen novel; please report.


    "Okey. me thinks me understand yous point. Ah but Havanah no care ''bout harem. I mean she grew up with plenty o'' mothers. She know and used to time on-erred tra-dish-on. At end o'' day, mate is mate. Ok, me no push yous. Yous can meet her and talk wit her. Know dat I be happy to have yous as in-lor. Yous strong, me res-esp-ect dat. Also have yous own pack, harem, like a king. Yous worthy in me book... Not that Golgo ever reed books. Don'' need brain when yous got brawn. Pree-vee-us king was smarter dan me, but me put axe in his hed, so who reely smarter?"


    "Infallible logic. Or, well, at dead man can''t argue the point anyway. Not like I disagree with you though... Not sure about your lack of diction but you''re a good enough guy. On that note, I shall take my leave, furry friend. I''ll try not to keep you waiting too long here and storm through the pagoda in the upcoming week."


    "Thanks fleshy friend. Good luck and sen'' dat other fundy-mental here too, yeah?"


    "Yep, will do. He''ll be here either today or tomorrow, I''m sure. I''ll warn you in advance, though, he can be a bit... Annoying... And that''s putting it lightly..."


    "S'' he strong?"


    "Well he''s a fundy-mental so his magic is, yeah. Apparently he''s not much of a physical fighter though, and I don''t think he has any experience with pressure at all... So compared to me? Hell no."


    "Ah, okey. me no rekko-mend him to daughter den. Jus yous get seel of appa-roo-vall."


    "I''m honored. Anyway, goodbye for now. See you out in the wild at some point!" Ares waved as he crossed the moat and climbed the staircase. Golgo followed suit with a silly, dumb smile and Ares couldn''t help but chuckle one final time at the moustache. At least, if nothing else, Ares wouldn''t mind having this person as an in law if it came down to it. He was simple but honest... Maybe a bit loosey goosey with handing over his daughter but, well, ''time on-erred tra-dish-on'' and what not... Ares pushed past the door and moved onto the next and penultimate floor... The one with the eyeball that had been staring down at him every now and then through the gap in the roof. Although she''d never interrupted again that didn''t mean boredom and curiosity hadn''t gotten the better of her. This was clearly a person who couldn''t sit still and idle for five minutes if their life depended on it. Well, to be fair, she must have been in this pagoda for quite some time. Amusing herself at the expense of the challengers was fair game. Ares couldn''t fault her for doing it anyway because he knew he would do the exact same were he in her scenario. Between sitting around and doing nothing for hundreds of years and peeping downstairs at a big furry guy getting socked in the face... The choice was obvious when described in such a manner.


    Past the door Ares was welcomed by a white void. There was literally nothing here other than the colour white and it was disconcerting to say the least. Where were the walls? Where was the ceiling? The floor? Did these things even exist? The floor did anyway, unless Ares was standing on thin air. Again, not that he could tell because of the endless sea of white surrounding him. It was to the point that Ares thought some prankster had hit him with a flashbang as he walked through the door. A couple of eye rubs and repeated blinks corrected that misunderstanding. That, and also the woman who''s eyeball Ares was familiar with.


    A foxian! Half human, half fox, leaning more towards human with little to no fur. The only noticeable fox traits were her fluffy ears and a bushy tail, both of which were bright pink... Actually, her long hair was also pink. Her adult looks were made a little more youthful thanks to the natural abundance of such a bright and out there colour. Her ear fluff was pure white and looked soft to the touch. Her face was well maintained and looked smoother than butter with no wrinkles or sagging to speak of despite her tone of voice and facial structure indicating she was an older woman. It didn''t really need to be mentioned but her eyes were as intricate and inviting as ever. They were striking and made her look perpetually invigorated when paired with her lengthy eyelashes and wide mouth which was yawning at the moment. Her spritely features were kept in check by a pair of glasses that weren''t fully pushed up against her face, looming precariously over her pointed nose. As for the rest of her body... Without a shadow of a doubt, this was the curviest woman Ares had ever seen in his life. Although it was rude to take a peek at her chest, he did so only out of curiosity as to whether they hurt her poor back... As she was standing with a slight slant she could rest her hand on her hip, slightly behind which Ares could see the curvature of her rear. This was a well endowed woman and he had to admit she was alluring as all hell. She wore... A lab coat? And a black, turtleneck crop top? And black short shorts?! It seemed this lady also liked to flaunt her assets openly. Even her crop top had a window near the bottom to give everyone an eyeful of underboob which was struggling to fit inside her clothes. Her shorts were also ripped here and there... This woman had devilish charm and could probably tempt Enyo on sight with her bountiful flesh and that was absolutely high praise. An angled belt sat slightly below her exposed abdomen which revealed a decently toned body. Below the shorts, on display, was an inch or two of bare thigh before it was cut off by some fluffy leg warmers that went all the way down to her feet. Her shoes were black flats... Whether she was going for comfort or style was hard to tell because she had such an unusual mix of both it became an impossible task to discern the dominant approach amidst the mishmash. What couldn''t be missed was her maturity that oozed out of every pore. Although Ares hated to admit it, the way she was currently resting her fingertip on her lip and gazing at him seductively with her head tilted down was done to a sensuous degree Enyo couldn''t match. Granted she didn''t have the years of experience this woman clearly did, and she would inevitably match if not overcome her with time, but at the current moment in time Enyo had been outclassed in terms of raw ability to lure a man.


    Ares was made of sturdier stuff, however, and wouldn''t buckle just because of this. The world was filled to the brim with beautiful women, if Ares stopped dead in his tracks for every one he would never get anywhere. Besides, all nine wives were set in stone already, they would happen when they happened. Whether whatever woman he came across would be one of his wives had nothing to do with him, in a roundabout way, so he didn''t fuss over the details anymore. What happened on the last floor was enough of a brainbuster as is, he didn''t need to go through that pollava in his head again! "Hello lady... So, uh, what''s the trial for this floor gonna be?"


    "Aww, don''t be in such a rush, cutie. I only got a sneak peek of you on the last floor and now that I''ve got you all to myself I wanna get a proper look at you! Also, my name isn''t lady, silly, it''s Candy! Candy''s the short version, though, so feel free to call me eye-candy whenever you feel like it, k?" With a wink she tried to put Ares out of commission but he didn''t falter.


    "Ah, right, Candy, so... What''s the trial?"


    "You really don''t wanna chat with me?" Candy pouted as she disappeared. Next thing Ares knew Candy was wrapped around him, sniffing him, and slithering around his body in circles. Her eyes were trained on every inch of him until she was satisfied with her nosing, at which point she took a step back with her arms folded behind her.


    Ares sighed and shook his head. "Look, Candy... I''m married... I appreciate you''re just having fun but if my wife saw this... Actually, she''d probably demand you pay her attention instead of me... But that''s not the point! I mean... I mean... So, uh, what''s the trial?"


    "Haha, you''re all over the place cutie. Whassa matter? It seems like your wife is quite the interesting woman, wish I could meet her. Well, that''s ok. You and I will have plenty of time to chit chat with each other. I''m not going to let you complete my trial so easily. See this trial is a bit different, cutie. If you wanna pass, you have to avoid getting hit by my attacks for a minute straight, so I decide the difficulty here!"


    Oh hell, I''m never leaving this floor am I? This woman is going to stall me and keep me in here forever... "You... You wouldn''t up the difficulty beyond what it should normally be for any reason, would you?"


    With a giggle, Candy slid over and flicked Ares'' chin. "Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn''t! Why? Is staying here with me until I''ve had my fill of you such a bad thing, cutie?"


    "Ok, seriously, why are you acting like this? We''ve just met and objectively I know I''m not a ''cutie''. You have no reason to want to keep me on this floor longer than you would anyone else. Do you mess with everyone who gets to this floor like this?"


    Candy shook her head with some solemnity evident in her expression. "No, you interest me and that''s rare nowadays. I always used to be a bit of a wild child with an unruly streak when I was a kid and had some excitement for the world at large in me. My family were a real bunch of downers, though, and still are. They stifle me always. It''s rare I get to have fun and when I saw that you''d drawn a moustache on that other guy I figured you and me would be on the same wavelength. Thought maybe we could have fun together. I mean I''m stuck in here with nothing much else to do other than trial the guests but most of ''em want nothing to do with me. Anyone who gets this far is taking the pagoda seriously... I just wanna have some fun but I can''t anymore... In real life I stopped getting excited over every little thing like I used to when my family kept burdening me over and over... I wanted to preserve the happiness that used to exist in me in some way. Even if the me out there has lost hope in the world, I want this me to keep the spark of joy burning, ya know? I''m actually a little scared of returning to my real body one day... I don''t wanna know how depressed the real me has become in the years since I left part of my conscience here. So yeah, I want to be in a good mood when I go back, maybe that will help me... Didn''t mean to cross any boundaries, cutie... Well I guess you aren''t cute at all, that''s not you, but it''s more of an affectionate term anyway. There was this one kindly old lady that used to call me cutie and give me sweets before she died. When she passed I stole the word from her, that''s all. I''ve lost a lot and been forced to take on problems I don''t want all my life... Even the word life was starting to lose its lustre when I entered this place. Sorry if it''s heavy cutie but I didn''t want you to misunderstand me and my intentions here."


    "Ah, damn, now I feel like a careless brute. Didn''t mean to bring the mood down, sorry. I''ll take the blame for this so how about we move on? If it''s fun you want, I''m a revenant. I can''t guarantee the fun will be anything other than dumb in nature but I can promise you that much at least."


    Some sparkle returned to Candy''s eye. "Ooh, a revenant?! I never met one before! You got a tail!? Sharp teeth!? You a monster in disguise gonna eat poor little old me?"


    And just like that, Candy was seemingly back to usual. She recovered quick... But Ares could tell her problems were deeper rooted than she was letting on. She was only pretending to be happy and Ares could see that the act she was putting up was tiring her out. Depression was something Ares hadn''t come across before but he felt like he understood it now that he''d met this person. Ares was going to be an unnecessary busy body here but if he could spend some time with this woman and help her feel a bit better then that was what he would do. The trial could wait, this person was right in front of him and had to be dealt with before he left the floor, otherwise he had a feeling he wouldn''t see her again. Why should he care? Why did this woman matter at all? Why her?...


    No reason.


    Ares really didn''t have one... Although there were a few excuses he''d come up with. For one, his existence caused enough problems in and of itself, if he could help even a single person and balance out that scale somewhat it would make him feel better. Also he, deep down, hoped he never became like this person, so jaded with life that all the fun had been sucked out of it and suicide was right around the corner... Not that it ever really could be. Ares would live forever whether he wanted to or not and he knew that because Dominus, a fellow revenant, was living proof. He didn''t want to get tired of life now or ever because he couldn''t imagine how much of a nightmare it must be to wake up everyday and just not care about anything, again and again. To have no motivation, or worse, to have it but never the desire to make an effort... Honestly, even being around this woman was suffocating because he could see the lies stacked up on top of each other in her eyes, just waiting to crash and burn. So no, Ares didn''t really have anything as concrete as a ''reason'', he just happened to be in the right place at the right time and doing nothing would make him feel awful. Maybe he was just being selfish but, when it came down to it, he really wanted to help her because he could see a bit himself in her. His business with the Gods and the pillars was already weighing on him somewhat, if he had to put up with that for thousands of years and it turned into baggage he knew he would want someone there to help him too. He had family, this woman''s had clearly betrayed her. Whether she had literally even a single person to help her get things off her chest was looking unlikely, so Ares decided here and now that he would be that person. Even if on his journey to Godhood he could only save one single person, he would pick this woman because, right now, she was here in front of him and could be reached. That was more than enough of a ''reason''.