“You should leave soon,” Frank warned. He’d kept some of his people out on the street to keep a lookout while they ate. Chloe ate slowly, silently, still ashamed of what she had done. David had assured her that it was alright, but she wouldn’t speak. Only nodded when Zoey pulled her in for a hug and whispered things David couldn’t hear. Slowly, he felt the chasm between him and the others widened. The more they pulled away from him, the harder it was. But if that would help them get stronger, then it was better.
He couldn’t protect them all the time. Balek had shown him that he wasn’t strong enough to do that yet.
“Soon,” David said from where he sat down with his legs crossed, Essence swirling about him. His focus was garrote sharp, even as his senses spread around them, making sure no one was creeping up on them. Frank had assured him of the safety of the place, but David couldn’t trust the man completely. He was still expecting some kind of betrayal. Now, more than ever would be the best time for either of his new friends to sell him out. He could sense the messages spread out in front of him. He’d ignored them when they appeared. He had something to do. Something that couldn’t wait. He was not sure what he was going to meet on the next floor, but he wanted to be ready. If there was going to be more chaos, then he wanted to be steady in it.
“You know you can find your insights anywhere else?” Frank asked, and David smiled. “It doesn’t have to be in the same city where you have killed the priest of one of the biggest temples. They have temple guards and hired hands searching for you. I don’t know what the sixth floor is going to be like, but you should—”
“I am trying,” David said. He could feel the scars on his face, under his chin and chest. Some of them had been too much for Chloe to fix. Frank had told him that he looked good with them, it showed experience.
“Not the beard though,” Zoey said with a frown. “That will have to go. Mum will look shocked if she sees you with all that hair on you.”
David deepened his reach. The mediator had been right. There was something just beyond his grasp, sliding out of his grip. It was there, within him. It pulsed like a beacon, leading him to it. But the closer he got, the farther it seemed. He could hear a voice in his head, her voice. It was sweet and lulling, like a temptation waiting to spring its consequence on him. He followed cautiously. Trusting himself to guard against whatever test this was turning out to be. But the voice was asking a question, something seemingly easy but apparently difficult. He reached within himself for the answer, not just any answer, but the one he could feel was right.
“What are you?” She asked, her voice filled with knowing. As though she’d already seen his nucleus.
The answers he’d used ranged from his name, his class, or him being Master of All. But those had all been wrong. He was none of those, not at the core of his being. He wasn’t just human anymore either. There was something else. Something that had to do with all the powers inside him. Then what was it? The question bore a hole in him. He was lost. He waded in a mixture of excitement and confusion. He wanted the power the mediator had promised, but as Frank said, they were wasting time.
“You should join me, Zoey,” David said with his eyes still closed. “You should learn how to merge better with your Vjognir. And perhaps you can learn how to fuse with other spiritual beasts too.”
“Yeah,” Zoey said, but she didn’t say much more. David’s perception passed through her. Her body was alright, but there was a little resistance, as though her spirit had flinched from him. There was something else troubling her, he could feel it in the unsteady flow of essence around and within her. It wasn’t clear, but the rough feed gave him enough to work with. Like their mother, Zoey liked to be in control. Stable and ready.
And she wasn’t.
“What is it?” David asked. He wanted to open his eyes, but he also wanted to see how long he could maintain focus while having a conversation. Zoey didn’t speak for a moment. David waited patiently. A thin prick of tension outside caught his attention but it turned out to be nothing worrying. His perception pulled back in, to those in the room, opening his eyes. Elisha had finished eating and started to meditate. His shadow swirled around him like a black sheet caught in a windstorm. He was half shrouded, only his head showing and his eyes were closed. He was nude from the waist up and David could see the changes he’d experienced in his little brother too. He was a bit taller, and his face had a severity to it. None of the innocence remained.
They had all changed. Reforged in the furnace of the tower.
“When will it end?” Zoey asked, her mask cracking just a little. Her frown made her eyes fierce and piercing, but there was exhaustion underneath. David couldn’t blame her. They had suffered at the hands of the brothers. They had received punishment in a bid to pull him out. Even freedom couldn’t erase the memory.
David looked to Frank for help and the masked man shrugged, shaking his head. No one knew the answer to that question. Not even Ignis and he was the oldest of them all in the room. And if this was just gods playing games, there might just be no end to it. Only continuous advancement. So he gave the answer he could trust.
“When we are strong enough to end it,” David said. He saw the confusion on Zoey’s face, but he explained no further. She would get it soon. Perhaps on the next floor, they’d see more of the gods, learn more about the towers, and make informed conclusions. For now, he needed to advance. He hadn’t noticed his fifth tower ring complete, but this one was ringed in tiny dots of black that he distinctly knew were supposed to be ashes. He’d realized that each ring represented an aspect of his power manifesting as a symbol of his advancement.
He focused on the messages hanging to the side of his vision. He had exploited its choice option.
You have met all the requirements to ascend to the next floor!
You have reached a higher level of resonance with Ignis
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
You have become the twelfth ranker [Ranker of the Wild]
Will you ascend or dwell in the city of Zur-Del [No penalty]
“Are you ready?” David asked. He wanted to get back to trying again, but he knew that the more he pushed it, the farther it would be. He needed a clear mind. And perhaps some help. There was something blocking him from the insight he needed. He would have to figure that out later. He stood up, stretched, and went back to the table to pick up his cup. It was empty. Frank chuckled, nodding at the wooden jar that had more. Elisha stretched up a finger for him to wait and David settled on the chair opposite the masked man.
“I don’t think Zeno will come see you off,” Frank said with a soft chuckle. “That thing with Balek shook him. I don’t know if I should be envious or happy for not being there. Seeing a god—projection or not, has to be something spectacular, right?”
“Well, the ones from our world were very absent, you know?” Franks said. “Here it is quite different. You see the workings of the gods. And David had seen one for real. That is miles different from Yahweh and the others. It is very difficult to doubt the existence of what you can see.”
“Still, not much use if all they do is play games with their people,” Zoey said, frowning. “I’d rather they stick to themselves than pull me into their stupid play for power. Or whatever else we are doing here. I’d like a bed that isn’t made from straw. And better food.”
“They are not exactly gods,” David said. “Not in the sense of the one we know from our world anyway.”
Zoey and Frank turned to him as if he’d just said the sky was meant for walking and the ground for flying. He frowned at Frank. He’d expected the man to know and now he felt like uncovered something important about the world.
“What do you mean?” Frank said.
“They were humans once,” David replied. “Balek and Amareth, at least. They ascended. And apparently, that is possible for everyone. But I don’t think it will be that simple. If it was, then going up the tower would be a lot harder. Not that this isn’t hard enough.”
“That is interesting,” Frank said, leaning back on his chair. “That changes a few things. For me, at least. I don’t know about the others.” He took a shuddering breath and chuckled. “Many of us had found it pointless to go against gods. But if these are just powerful humans…”
“No,” David cut in, shaking his head. His hair tickled the back of his neck. “They were humans, Frank. Now, they are not. They have become more. I don’t think it is safe to see them simply as elevated humans. That is one sure way to get killed. And Zeno wasn’t the only one Balek humiliated. He showed me how little our powers are compared to theirs. They affect the very structures of reality. Especially in a place like this. In this tower, Amareth can make and unmake anything, while I can create attacks from elements—which he allows.”
Frank nodded. “I see your point. Still, I think I will be joining you soon. If I can convince Zeno and a few others, I will. And I think after the ruckus you and your family have caused in the city, many will be moving away from here.”
“Where do they have to go? I thought this floor is the city?”
“Yes, I mean they’d go to the next floor. You have shown most of us that what we call power isn’t exactly what it is all made to be. You took the twelfth spot from someone who had six tower rings. That upsets things.”
David contemplated what Frank had said. He wanted to counter what the man said, but that would ruin the progress they had set in motion. Elisha’s shadow surged forward, covering the entire private room, swallowing them all. Zoey jumped off her seat, her bow summoned and an arrow nocked only to realize it wasn’t an attack. The shadow pulled back into Elisha. He grinned as he stood up waving an apology to the others.
“You have advanced then?”
Elisha nodded. “My insight has reached sixty percent, and I think I feel something lurking in the shadow. I think I am growing a shadow in there. Or perhaps there is a way to create something like that.”
“That would be useful,” Frank said. “I already dread fighting you, I can’t imagine what it will be like fighting two of you, especially if you are well-synched.”
“I can’t wait to see it too,” Elisha said, grinning. He sat next to Frank. David noted the space next to him and sighed. Zoey caught the look on his face and quickly looked away.
Time, Ignis said. You need time to earn their trust again. I think they are being ungrateful though. They would have died in Olam’s cave.
“Maybe,” David said to the dragon. To his family, he asked, “Are you all ready?”
Zoey pulled Chloe up, smoothing her hair as they waited for Elisha. David turned to Frank, not sure what to say. The man had quickly gone from enemy to friend and had helped him so much.
“We will see each other again,” Frank said. “If we don’t die. I don’t know what happens at the end of this tower, but I would like to find out. If we become gods, then that will be some kickass news, right?”
“I just want to jump off and go home,” Zoey said and shrugged. “But I guess that dish is not on the menu.”
Frank laughed, shaking his head. “If we leave, we’d just be returning to the world still in trouble. There is no good end in leaving now.”
“Tell Zeno he has nothing to be ashamed of. That was Balek for god’s sake. Was he expecting to match Balek’s power?”
“You did,” Frank said. David shook his head.
“I didn’t,” David said, his thoughts drifting to that brief moment the god had shown him just how powerless he was. “I didn’t do anything. He just wasn’t interested in killing me. Or he couldn’t. Tell Zeno it wasn’t because he is weak.”
“He is weak though,” Zoey and Frank said at the same time. Frank laughed again, scratching behind his ear. David frowned at the thought that surged up his mind and then banished it. He read the message that prompted the question again. For a moment he considered what life would be like if they decided to stay in Zur-Del. He was sure they could find a quiet place to live like the top rankers. But it would be an empty life.
“See you soon, Frank,” David said and the masked man nodded.
David nodded to the others, and together they said, “I will ascend.”
Unlike before, the world around them changed. It disintegrated as if Frank and Zur-Del had simply faded to dust. They traveled in a world of multicolored chaos for a moment—all of a breath—and suddenly they were standing on the crest of a hill. Chloe staggered and David quickly caught her, steadying her before turning to see where they’d been transported.
“Another city,” Elisha murmured.
“Another attack,” David said as the black cloaks poured out of nothing. As if they had simply materialized. There were about twenty of them. David recognized the goblet sewn to their cloaks. They were from the temple of Balek.
“Revenge, yes?” David asked.
“Retribution,” one of the cloaked men said, his voice gruff under the veil. David nodded and Elisha vanished into his shadow at the same time Zoey’s bow appeared and arrows were pulled to her ear. It was a brief battle. And David didn’t move at all. Elisha had the most kills, but Zoey only shot her arrows once and watched them multiply as they rained down on the acolytes of Balek.