Rachel


 * "Close your eyes... Now imagine there's nothing there... No rock roof... Just the sky, and beautiful shining specs of light." 


 * - Rachel to Baam

Rachel (라헬, Lahel/Rahel; "Rachel"), also known as Michelle Light (미쉘 라이트, Misuel Raiteu; "Michelle Light") is Baam's best friend and an Irregular. She had the full strength to open the doors herself and a divine force(possibly "The Tower") chose her and let her in. It's unknown if she took the Guardian's test on the First Floor and passed.

She made the decision to climb the Tower in order to see the stars in the sky at the top, in order to escape from Baam.

Rachel was chosen by Headon to become a "heroine of this story"(Ch 77).

She was Guided by Hwa Ryun for a while and as a Guide can only teach the path to those who can walk it(Ch 3), it was to show how she might take the right path(Ch 77). However, she has to walk it through her own efforts and Hwa Ryun left after her job was done.

Appearance & Personality
Rachel is a short girl with primrose colored hair and freckles. She wears pink skirts and brown long sleeved shirt under it, with a red ribbon tied around her waist and behind her back.

Baam recalls that Rachel is a tomboy who likes to play pranks when Black March asks him about her. He doesn't describe her as exceptionally pretty but that says she is a good friend.

She's somewhat manipulative, though not as skilled as Koon Agero Agnis or Yu Han Sung and has a habit of lying to others.

At some point, the feelings on her face became a mask for her developing fear and terror of Baam. And if her fear of him is truly real, it's unknown why she didn't simply stay away from his cave. Or if she was forced or instructed to, then perhaps she still had to see him even if she didn't want to.

Her fear of Baam is so intense, she tried to escape from him by entering the Tower and even betrayed him during the Submerged Fish test by pushing him to his "death". It's unknown why she fears Baam although that was implied by the fact Baam's name also means "night" or rather, darkness. And this fear is likely connected with her obsession of seeing the stars, as she is too terrified to sleep in the darkness and sleeps only in the light, even after she had "killed" him. And when she was being teleported into the Tower, Rachel told Baam she was tired of living in "this dark world" which could even imply his effect on "her world".

According to Rachel, Baam took everything away from her. And this is reflected in her nightmare where he is still there, even when she has finally reached the stars and in there, he too takes away everyone. As he's the night, she likely fears the light from the stars won't be able to take away the darkness. Again, it's unknown if her fear is related to his tendency to unsettle people even if he doesn't mean it, causing them to view him as a "monster" or even, a freak of nature. What is known for now, is that she tried to take "revenge"(rache) on Baam as she held him responsible for causing something of grave consequence that left her with nothing. However, she did feel remorse of some sort as she apologised and hesitated before "pushing him" and even asked Baam if he knew why she wanted to see the stars.

When she survived the Survival test, she was seen grinning or smirking. It's unknown if that was relief at escaping Baam for now or if she was apathetic to the massacre or if that meant something else.

She has an affinity for storytelling and stories and it is a source of escapism for her. And she likely enjoys talking about customs, old tales, fairytales and so on, of different time periods and places.

History
Rachel's life before she entered the Tower is as mysterious as Baam's. Her age and birthplace are completely unknown. It's unknown if she had any other friends, other than Baam.

It's unknown if she managed to discover Baam's cave by accident or if she was instructed or forced to or if she did it on purpose. She spent a lot of time with him and taught him everything he knows including literacy, education about the world, social ettiquette, etc. She was also his playmate and as a caretaker, she even cooked proper meals for him as he was very thin and malnourished.

She also taught Baam a board game, which he proved to be fairly good at, and told him that the place "above" where she came from had lots of people who played it.

Rachel has a major obsession surrounding the stars in the night sky and told Baam all about them. At some point or another, she told Baam the story of a man who loved a star so much that he started building a tower to reach it.

In one of Baam's flashbacks, there was a scene where Rachel's hair was being pulled by an unknown person. Though, most child abuse is inflicted by someone the child knows, like their family. And that person is usually in a superior position of power where they are free to justify the abuse and to abuse the child as much as they want to. For now, it's unlikely she continued the cycle of abuse by ill-treating Baam. It's possible that person visited the cave again but it's unknown if she offered to take on Baam's abuse as well.

And given her abuse and he couldn't leave the cave, it's likely her relationship with Baam was not that healthy. Both of them were likely attached and obsessed with each other.

Tower of God: Part 1
In the 1st test of the Evankhell's floor, she meets Androssi Zahard and Akryung. They form a team which proceeds to kill everyone else in a 30 minute death match, facilitated by Quant for their initial Evankhell test. Her team is then transported to the Crown Game arena. They enter the final round of the Crown Game, in order to defend Baam's position on the throne. Rachel is attacked by Hwa Ryun, but Baam jumps off the throne in order to save her, causing himself to be knocked out by the blow intended for Rachel. As Baam was protecting Lahel, there was a flashback of Lahel being attacked by a large man in front of Baam. This probably occured due to the result of Lahel meeting Baam when she should not have. This could be a source of trauma for Lahel and may affect the relationship she had towards Baam.

Rachel visits Baam while he is unconscious and meets Koon. She asks him about the legend of the Tower, and tells him that she always had dreamed about reaching the top of the Tower and looking at the starry sky. She asks Koon not to tell Baam it was really her he had saved.

Koon keeps her promise and tells Baam that the person he saved is not Rachel. However, Baam sees through this trick. He wonders why she wants to see the stars so much, because to him, she is 'more important than anything.'

Rachel assumes a different name, Michelle Light. She is positioned as one of the 'Best Seeds' of the Light Bearer group. She is shown to avoid Baam, taking her lunch out to go, and not even caring if this costs extra points. While talking with Androssi in the bathroom, Rachel begins to doubt why she is trying so hard to stay away from Baam. She has a dream where she is looking at the stars and sees Baam, and invites him over, but Baam is surrounded by all his other friends and ignores her. She is quite distressed by this.

She is then put on Team B for the hide-and-seek test, the same team as Baam. She helps manage the team with the other Light Bearers, until Ho shows up. Ho lures Rachel out of her lighthouse by telling her that someone was targeting Baam, and then holds her hostage to use her as a bargaining chip against Quant and Baam. When Baam refuses to budge, Ho stabs Rachel, causing her to scream in pain. However, Baam is able to stun Ho and rescue Rachel. Rachel tells Baam not to chase after her before passing out. She was given treatment for her injury, but Yu Han Sung prevented her from getting proper medical attention. As a result, her legs were seemingly disabled.

Later, in the Submerged Fish Test, she is placed in a bubble of Shinsoo with Baam. They are attacked by the Bull, which attempts to destroy their bubble. Rachel relies on Baam to protect her from it, but after he kills the Bull, she unexpectedly stands up, and pushes him out of the bubble saying, "Sorry. Baam. Here you need to die."

After she came out of the submerged level she was confronted by Rak who inquired Baam's whereabouts, she replied breathlessly that Baam tried to protect her from the sudden appearance of the Bull and is down there, implying that Baam died trying to protect her. Later when Lero-Ro affirms Baams death she faints and is carried to her room to rest. At night however she was sentient of Hwa Ryun visiting her and opens her eyes while Hwa says: "congratulations Rachel, for becoming the heroine of the story" implying all that her actions were an act to gain sympathy from others.

Shortly after that, a flash back shows Baam chasing after Rachel. Rachel said she will enter the Tower and asked Baam to forget about her. She was then transferred into the Tower. Rachel met Headon where Headon explained how she wasn't chosen to enter, Rachel refused to believe this, so Headon offered her a simpler version of the Ball test Baam took in the beginning, to which Rachel replied that said she didn't want to die. After that Headon said she should move out of the way because a guest has arrived. Baam arrives and agrees to take the test, while Rachel watches through a one way window. Rachel was screaming "Don't do it" to Baam over and over again, but she was in a barrier at the time and couldn't be heard.

After Baam's test was over, she asks Headon why Baam was chosen instead of her. Here, she implies that Baam has taken everything from her. Headon offers her a trade: if she could fulfil his yet unknown request, he would let her become the heroine of this story. Headon prepares her with Akryung and Yu Hansung with Hwaryun. After this, the flashback ends with Rachel going back to sleep. Before Hwaryun leaves, she asks why Rachel is going to such lengths to see the stars. Rachel replies that she's afraid of the night(Baam).

Afterwards, she appears along with the other Regulars as they pass on to the next floor.

Powers and Abilities
Rachel is only an Irregular by namesake. She is not quite up to the usual standard of Irregulars, because she lacked the strength to open the gate herself.

Though Yu Han Sung stated he would steal "the teammates you'll need, rights, strength"(Ch 77), it's highly unlikely she got a free pass for her tests. It's unknown if her team also took the Barrier and Door tests as well. But it's likely she had to pass the Position Test, through her own efforts.

Notes and Trivia

 * According to SIU, Rachel's name was chosen because in German, "rache" means "revenge". He apparently mentioned it came from a Sherlock Holmes story which can be deduced to be "A Study in Emerald". (Chapter 74 author's notes).


 * Rachel is also SIU's favorite character.
 * According to SIU, both Rachel and Baam are deeply connected. To Rachel, Baam was the night and her darkness and to Baam, Rachel was his star and his light. It's unknown if Viole's new name, which also implies "star" in Korean has any foreshadowing or implications for their future relationship.