“In the year 21XX, a message appeared in the sky and echoed in the minds of all people on Earth: WELCOME PLANE #0623. YOU HAVE REACHED THE THRESHOLD REQUIREMENTS TO ENTER THE TOWER OF ****. ACCESS UPDATED: GRANTING?? (SPONSER?? DONATED).
For a moment, just a second, Earth was silent.
Then, the screams started. For days, a seemingly endless downpour of unknown energy flooded the cities, suburbs, farmlands, forests, and oceans. Many people screamed with horror from the feeling of their entire being colliding with and unwillingly absorbing endless energy. Those who could not handle the downpour crumbled away, their bodies fading into the air without a trace, but many people had no choice but to accept the situation and stand still, letting the energy wash over them.
The unknown energy, named ‘vita’ weeks later, mingled with each person's deepest core, granting unique attributes that could navigate the now vita-filled planet. Just days after the downpour ended, riots ensued, with criminals and vagabonds emboldened by their newfound powers, leading to the emergence of a new central force that could maintain order within each country. The following years marked unprecedented levels of scientific research, innovation, and technology into the so-called ‘new era.’”
“But of course, all these complexities are meaningless to us,” said Laurel, pausing her reading and looking up from the glossy REBORN magazine. The midday sunlight, filtered through the cottage’s stained-glass window, highlighted a pink square on her cheek.
The mature woman looked out the window towards the plush forest. Wise green eyes, fanned by dark eyelashes, back-length raven hair, and deep laugh lines, charmed the hearts of many men, including her husband, who emerged from the thrush with dinner. Laurel smiled to herself and licked her lips with a coy glance. Her ‘core’ gleamed a rich golden color that only ever mingled softly with her husband’s glowing white ‘core,’ but only their daughter had ever given such a compliment.
“Oh? What is this?” A low booming voice appeared from behind the wooden front door.
“Dad!” Vyx squealed with surprise. “What did you catch today?”
Rowan’s tan arms held up a hefty horned duck with silky green feathers. He wiped off the sweat on his face with the towel hung around his neck. The duck sailed through the air at a frightening speed as the young girl reached out to catch it.
“I’ll go prepare it! Let's roast it tonight,” she giggled, before running out the back door to the wooden cabin.
Tucked away underneath a large, knotted oak stood a small wooden cabin. Vyx once read a news article about the perfect hunter’s cabin in the ‘new era,’ readily equipped with weapons, the latest butchering knives, core cleaners, and various other scary tools, but their backyard cabin didn’t have such cruel tools. Concentrating on the shallowly breathing duck, Vyx’s sight filled with familiar flowing threads. One day, I hope we discover the mysteries behind vita because it is simply too pretty, she thought. Vyx raised her slender fingers towards the struggling animal and lightly tugged at seemingly invisible threads in the air as if she were playing the harp. The creature stilled and drowsily closed its eyes. Humming to herself, Vyx’s fingers danced through the air, slicing away at the condensed ‘core’ in the duck’s belly. The last thread broke, and Vyx turned to gather some fresh herbs from the garden.
˙˙˙˙˙
When the young girl returned to the cabin, she was soaked in the smell of rosemary. She took a deep breath with a look of concentration on her usually smiling face and carefully worked away at the thin glowing strands that held the feathers, horns, and meat of the duck with the motions of a skilled seamstress. The green feathers fell out from the skin and landed softly in a prepared woven basket. There was no way to deal with the blood, however, so the small gash Vyx opened in its belly bled profusely.
“I’ve prepped the duck!” Vyx yelled, carrying the meat into the cozy kitchen. “Mom? Dad? Where are you?”
“We’re in the yard!” Laurel usually maintained a sweet, calm voice, but now it was a bit strained. Something weird must be going on, thought Vyx.
In the doorway of the front yard stood a man with a peculiar appearance. His core is condensed like some of the big beasts near the waterfall, Vyx observed. He donned sleek pants and a white button-up shirt, although the peculiarity of his outfit stemmed from his bright blue hair, which was still perfectly gelled back.
“Nice to meet you little lady!” The stranger flashed his white teeth and stook out his muddy hand. The ends of his pants were torn, he was barefoot, and his shirt had two large holes in the back. Ah. A pervert. Vyx furrowed her brows.
“Hey, what’s with that look on your face?” He laughed nervously, reluctantly taking back his hand.
“Mom, who is this pervert?”
“Who do you think you’re calling a per-?”
“I don’t know, sweetie. He says he is looking for some sort of fruit in the falls.”
“You can’t just cut me o-.”
“Why is he dressed so strangely?”
“I am not dressed st-”
“I think this is how they dress now in the cities, sweetie.” Laurel huffed and laid her cheek in her hand. “Men are getting more and more bold with these cuts. Although…I suppose your dad might be able to pull it off.”
“Excuse m-”
“Ah, I see! As I thought, manly men like Dad are the best! I started roasting the duck, by the way. Shall I go steam some carrots?”
“Alright sweetie, but make sure you do everything the… ‘normal’ way, okay?”
˙˙˙˙˙
The pervert ended up joining us for dinner, Vyx thought, munching on a honey-roasted carrot. However, he looked less like a pervert and more like a doll when he changed into some of Rowan’s spare clothes. The blue-haired man said his name was Kael.
“That duck was delicious!” Rowan’s oversized long sleeve drooped as Kael wiped his mouth. He was in no way small…but Rowan simply towered over everyone.
Kael said he was looking for a ‘phoenix fruit,’ which his device indicated could be found in this forest, but he bumped into the beast that protected the fruit, which is why he looked so ragged before. He explained that the holes on the back of his shirt were not a stylistic choice but for his wings. Rowan had nearly punched Kael when he cut two new holes into Rowan’s shirt. When Rowan asked him why he was looking for the fruit, Kael explained that it could allow him to imbue his wings with fire–a truly frightening ability. He boasted a bit that he was from some sort of ‘talent agency,’ but the confused looks around the table made him turn bright red. He explained that since the restabilization of mankind after the ‘donation,’ many talent agencies appeared to nurture promising talents to enter the ‘tower.’ You could practically see imaginary feathers on his chest puffing up as he declared he was a ‘B class.’
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“What is a B class?” Vyx asked. Vyx was homeschooled by her mother using a similar grading system. Although I doubt Kael is at the age where he would still be in school, thought Vyx. She glanced at the man, who was now not bad-looking after he cleaned himself up a bit. Although she no longer found him suspicious, the coy look in her mother’s eyes made her feel bad for the man.
“Well, simply put, those who can use vita are classed from ‘F’ to ‘S’ by various tests. Each class has disparities as well, but it’s a way to keep things orderly.” Kael winked at Vyx. She threw a disgusted look back that made the blue-haired man wipe away an imaginary tear.
“In fact, your parents are quite talented!” Kael beamed. “To think that I would find a fellow B class-” Rowan glared daggers at the man and flexed his jaw. It was a threatening look that seemed to say: not in front of my lady and daughter.
The air was tense.
“W-well I’ll be off now!” Kael wiped his sweaty forehead and carefully tidied up his bowl. “See you soon!” He walked backward to the front door as if he were appeasing some sort of beast before turning and dashing away. “Thank you for dinner!”
What a weirdo, Vyx thought, looking out at the now-dark sky. Rowan quickly fixed his expression and coughed into his elbow. I hope he doesn’t accidentally kill himself out there.
˙˙˙˙˙
Laurel and Rowan had met on the second floor of the tower when they were both still young trainees at their respective agencies. By then, 45 years had passed since the beginning of the ‘new era,’ and the tower, which had only appeared 5 years ago, had been cleared up to the ninth level. Rowan was captivated by Laurel almost immediately, and her ability to infuse her words with vita drew him in even more.
Laurel was quite popular in her agency because of her flirtatious personality. She just happened to have the looks behind her persuasive voice, so her personality stood out even more. Many people found her sense of self-confidence annoying and tried to take a blow at her ego by gossiping about her and spreading the word that she was a ‘D class.’ However, Laurel didn’t really care. She would sneer at those people and tease them ‘as a D class,’ which often escalated the situation. Rowan, who was a C class at the time, would step in and try to calm both sides down.
Rowan and Laurel were quite the duo, and they quickly became more powerful and reached the ninth floor together. Just a year later, their party cleared the tenth floor of the tower, and Rowan confessed his love to Laurel. Laurel was so enticed by Rowan that she promptly dragged him out of the tower, signed them both off from their agencies, and pulled him by the collar into the woods, where they built a cottage. They barely even noticed that clearing the tenth floor led to a drastic improvement in standards of living for the whole world or that the flowers that had wilted under their feet as they ran flustered into the night sprung back up with glowing life. Vyx was the result of many months of loving from a satisfied Laurel and an exhausted Rowan.
Rowan was diligent and hardworking, although he was sometimes late to work because of Laurel. His strong illusion abilities made him a desired team member for parties looking to distract monsters as they searched for goods or the ‘ending’ on each floor. Rowan’s diligent training resulted in great battle sense and a strong body (which Laurel often praised) that he now used to protect his daughter from the dangers lurking in the woods. He surrounded the cottage with strong illusions, which guided away most beasts, but the occasional C class panther would wander through. Unfortunately for the beasts who wandered in, Rowan had a voracious appetite and precise bow and arrow skills.
When Vyx was born, the large cottage that had once felt a bit empty filled with warmth. It was as if all the vita in the forest had seeped through the stone walls and aided Lauren’s delivery. At age five, Vyx asked Rowan about the “pretty strings in the air,” but Rowan had thought she was asking about spiderwebs and promptly destroyed all nearby spider nests with a fiery gleam in his eyes. At age six, Vyx told Lauren her “tummy was golden,” but Lauren told Vyx she could only tan with her when she was older. At age seven, Vyx was chasing around a small blue bird in the backyard, trying to pet it. The summer day was hot and humid, and the sun hammered down relentlessly on Vyx’s chubby cheeks. The grass was slick with morning dew, and small bugs bathed in the earthy scent of mud. Fueled with frustration, Vyx reached for a ‘thread’ and the chirping bird fell down from the sky, unable to fly. Laurel had seen the creature freeze and drop in the air and dropped her porcelain teacup, which promptly shattered on the patio floor. That night, Laurel and Rowan asked Vyx to describe what had happened, only to feel true
fear
for the first time in their lives. Fear of what those small milky hands might be capable of. Fear for the future. Fear of what might happen to their sweet child if the agencies ever found her.
For the first time in their lives, Laurel cried in Rowan’s arms until her puffy eyes were dry.
˙˙˙˙˙
“What are you looking at sweetie?” Laurel’s soft hair brushed against Rowan’s shoulder.
“Just thinking. The sky happens to be good for thinking.” Rowan slid Laurel from behind his back into his lap.
“Is it about Kael?”
“...Yes.” Rowan scowled a bit at the name coming out from his wife’s mouth. That guy’s visit a couple days ago made Rowan on edge.
“Don’t you think it would have happened eventually?” Laurel gently brushed Rowan’s arm with her fingers.
“It’s too soon. She is still so young.”
“You make it sound like she will be gone tomorrow.” Laurel giggled. They sat in silence, listening to the chirping of the night critters.
“That bird pisses me off.” Rowan scowled. Laurel looked towards the woods.
“I don’t see any birds.”
“I’m talking about that blue-haired guy. He said earlier that he works for ‘Gentle’ and is a recruiter at that.” Hearing the name ‘Gentle’ made Laurel freeze.
“...hah. Of all agencies and roles.” Laurel furrowed her brows. “He might be stronger than we thought.”
“Especially if he gets that phoenix fruit. I’m sorry, my love, but I don’t know if I could easily squash him.”
“That’s alright dear. You can do anything with a body…like this.” Laurel grinned cheekily and made her voice sweet.
“Laurel…” Rowan struggled and tensed his jaw.
“Ahem”
“Oh, Rowan, you are still so-”
“Ahem”
“Laurel, you look like a goddess under the moonlight.” Rowan’s eyes softened, and he squeezed Laurel closer to his chest.
“AHem”
“Rowan, how about we-”
“HELLO? How can you guys just keep ignoring me?” Bright blue hair emerged from the thrush of the woods. Kael brushed the leaves off his ragged shoulders and crossed his arms.
“I knew I heard chirping.” Rowan glared daggers at the tattered man.
“Kael! You’re back!” Laurel rose from Rowan's grasp and approached the wavering blue-haired man. “You did well.”
“Wha-” Kael’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and his body swayed and collapsed onto the grassy earth. His open wounds stained the green grass a bloody red.
˙˙˙˙˙
An angry storm of fire and chaos raged inside the deepest part of Kael’s core. He felt as if his soul was on fire, continuously burned in a sea of red. He felt his consciousness return slowly like a bubble rising out of a thick swamp.
“... not good he’s waking…” Slurred words echoed in Kael’s ears. “...can you do it…I’ve never tried putting the strings back together…unravel…the room is getting hot…don’t wake up yet.”
Suddenly, the bubble popped. Kael fell down into a sea of flame that greedily engulfed his body. Is this how I die?
Kael clutched his chest. The sea of flames fluttered. Trembled. Then, the flames erupted everywhere, all at once. What should have been an excruciating scorch instead felt relieving. The flames turned blue and burned like dry ice. Kael could breathe again. He closed his eyes and stroked the blue flames. When he opened his eyes, an injured blue phoenix stood on his chest. It’s flowing feathers continuously dissipated into this air that was Kael’s ‘core.’ The bird opened its burning beak.
Are you my new wings?
“ –ew wings?”
“Kael!” Laurel held Kael’s bandaged hand in her own. Kael silently blinked a few times, feeling the cool wind graze his nose. His entire body ached with a pain he had never felt before, one that made his core feel weak.
“Where?”
“The guest room. Damn bird.” Rowan leaned against the doorframe of the spacious room. His under eyes were dark with fatigue. He held a bucket of ice water in one hand and a bundle of drenched towels in the other.
“Does, does your daughter know I’m here?” Kael coughed and trembled. He remembered the unique strength that emanated from the young girl.
“Who do you think saved you?”