As Jacob had expected Mel was quite unique and she was everything he had hoped for as a Tower Climber.
'She lives with the power of Death but she only gives it to those who deserve it.'
Mel was fair and honest which was what Jacob take note of her. Most hunters went after either more power and money.
But Mel was different as she would do things no one else would do. Like exposing a syndicate network using humans for monster transfusions in hopes of creating the next era of hunters.
Mel still remembered her time as Subject Zero after her powers were discovered as she still had the scars to prove it.
'I'll keep my promise and help them all.'
Just as she ordered another drink from the bar she felt her hand burning like nothing she had ever felt.
"AHH! What's going on?! It burns! AHH!"
Mel's screams immediately got everyone's attention before Mel felt the pain fade.
The bar keeper who knew Mel for a long time immediately went to her side and helped her up.
"Mel?! Are you okay? What happened?"
"I-I-I don't know. My hand was burning then it…"
Mel stopped in her tracks as she noticed the brand on the back of her hand and that it was glowing green.
Milo the bartender immediately backed away from Mel as she stood up like the pain she felt never even felt real.
"W-What is that?"
"I… I don't know."
And just like Aiden she began to follow where the brand was taking her without even caring about her stuff she left at the bar.
Jacob knew Mel wouldn't blindly follow the mark so he created some bait to lure her to the Tower.
Like a siren's song Mel was lured by a sound she couldn't describe or hear properly until she passed through the ward of the Tower where Jacob was.
"You? What are you doing here?"
Jacob didn't reply to Mel's question before showing her the dagger he broke repaired with a green gem at its hilt.
"Hey! That's mine! Give it back!"
Jacob wanted to chuckle a little as he had to pull the broken dagger from the garbage bin since Mel threw it away after it broke.
But just as Mel tried to grab the dagger back from Jacob he turned into mist and was sucked into the tower.
"You son of a bitch! Get back here!"
Without hesitation Mel chased after Jacob into the tower but lost her balance as she began to float in complete darkness.
"Where am I? Am I dead?!"
"No…"
Mel reached for her dagger only to realize she still needed to get a replacement.
"Shit… what do you want? Who's speaking?"
Just like in the Dragon Tower Kacob created a guardian for the first floor called Kantokol, Keeper of the Dead.
"I am Kantokol… but what are you? You reek of Death but yet you live."
Mel felt her feet hit solid ground and notice her Necrotic Magic overflowing before she looked up and saw a Lich.
Lich's were powerful creatures and filled with knowledge of thousands of other creatures.
But Mel was truly terrified as she could feel that Kantokol was a being beyond her capability as Kantokol was releasing tremendous amounts of Mana.
'I've only felt this much Mana coming from something one time! This Lich is on par with a National Hunter!'
Mel had only met one other being in her life that could match Kantokol's Mana and his name was Jones Kennel, the 8th National Rank Hunter called the Goliath.
It was Jones Kennel who saved Mel in the laboratory that kept her imprisoned along with the hundreds of other orphan children.
Feeling Jones's Mana pulsing as he laid waste to the laboratory was a feeling she would never forget.
But yet Kantokol still had yet to show any signs of hostility or even flinch.
"You live with the power of Death but you don't truly understand it. You can't understand its beauty because you fail to grasp its whole meaning."
"What? What are you talking about? Do you know how I can control my powers?"
Mel resorted to her physical strength with a blade since she could hardly control her powers without substantial damage to everyone and everything around her.
Even the Hunter bureau had to restrict the use of her powers because they were so dangerous.
Mel had begun to question wether it was right to suppress her powers for the sake of others.
"I sense a deep hunger within your soul… but you do not want power… or fame… what do you seek?"
Jacob watched from the shadows as Mel began to feel somewhat saddened as she remembered all the other kids who didn't escape the laboratory along with her.
"I… I want a world where everyone is equal."
Kantokol leaned closer to Mel with her repaired dagger in his hand.
Mel closed her eyes to prepare herself for death until Kantokol placed the dagger in her hand.
"W-W-What are you doing?"
Kantokol was quick to respond as a glowing river appeared between them.
"The weak do not get to have their way with the world. Only those who are strong can make the rules."
Mel tightened the grip on the dagger before she felt it vibrate in her hand.
"The creator wants you to truly know Death and wield it. If you want to control the world of the living then you have to rule the land of the Dead."
Mel had begun to see the true potential of her powers as two skeletons with neon green bones came out of the ground.
"I… can summon the dead?"
"Indeed but two mere skeleton is hardly enough. In order to leave this tower alive you must have your undead kill me."
Mel froze from Kantokol's words as her skeletons were on par with a Rank 2 Hunter at best while Kantokol was at a National Rank.
It was an impossible task in any lifetime.
"This is impossible! This can't be done!"
"You already have everything you need with you. Aren't you curious about the river? Don't you feel something about it?"
Once Mel had calmed down she felt a connection to the river and felt millions of human beings inside.
There was only one place in the universe that served as transport for humans at the end of their lives, the River of Souls.
"These people… they're dead right?"
"Yes… use their memory and essence to make your dreams become a reality."
Mel was about to reach into the river but was stopped by an invisible barrier while Kantokol gave a chuckle.
"Even gazing upon the river is an Honour. But only the Creator can reach into the River. Only he has dominion over Death itself. But you are special as you can look into the river and can communicate with the dead."
As both Mel and Kantokol heard Jacob snap his fingers did they both begun to hear the voices of billions of people.
It was almost impossible for Kantokol to withstand the weight of the souls so Mel was utterly helpless to fight back against the weight of all those poor souls.
That was until Jacob sealed the river once more.
"We must hurry… quickly! Summon an undead from the remnants of their souls."
Jacob purposely released the Seal Over the River of Souls for a number of reasons. One of those reasons was to give Mel a mere taste of the power she could control in time and the other was to give her a head start as Mel begun to see the floating remnants of human souls.
Some of their faces were obscured while others were quite recognizable.
"That's Anna Bellio! She was the first ever Rank 7 Hunter before she died over 7 years ago. And that's Andrew Rino the Brazilian legend who killed the first ever demon!"
Each and every one of them were dead but now they were right in front of her eyes.
"I can't believe it. I can really feel their souls and their memories within them."
"Their power is incredible but without the power of the River they have begun to fade. You should pick quickly."
Like a apple under the scorching heat of the sun the human souls had begun to decompose at an alarming rate.
Mel watched as Kantokol turned his back to her and gritted her teeth before she tried helping the souls that kept fading but nothing worked.
"Ahhh! Why isn't anything working!? What am I missing!"
Jacob sighed in disappointment before flicking two fingers forward.
'She is still only human… but now she is a Ruler of Death… but I am still its God.'
Mel both heard and felt her skeletons fly past her at impossible speeds before they became apart of the two souls that had yet to fade from existence.
But yet Mel didn't know what was happening and neither did Kantokol.
'Her undead… are they absorbing the Souls of the dead? Or are they acting like vessels for the Soul's?'
Kantokol was infused with a portion of the Ethereal Realm itself but its power of knowledge was useless to understand what was happening.
Only one creature knew exactly what was about to happen.
'I give you life again… Tuan Hiskue… Jakmol Watua… now rise from darkness and serve those you have betrayed… as Reaper's.'
Even Hel who was in the heart of her domain felt something wrong with her Divine powers as she and Death were the same.
"Impossible… my powers are beginning to change… this cannot be…"