Frein observed another significant change within Frill’s meiyal system as well as her overall demeanor. She was struggling in a positive way, smiling despite the weight of her new meiyal combination.

After she and Palar’gog formalized their agreement, the Aria finally integrated with the Mercurial Liquid.

“It feels so heavy,” she said.

“That’s four-meiyal for you.”

“How do you do it?”

Frein pointed a thumb towards the bored faunel sitting on his shoulder while looking at the abstract wall paintings.

“Hmm?” Elizzel slid and bent backwards, her long, pink hair slipping over his arm. She looked at Frill upside-down, slightly drowsy. She balanced herself on his shoulders, using both arms and legs as counterweight. The faunel didn’t weigh anything at all, making the entire effort nothing more than an act to entertain herself.

“I make it easier for Frein to work his Milling. It’ll take you some practice, but you can eventually do it on your own. Or maybe acquire a meiyal-charged material that can help you with it.”

“At first, it seemed impossible,” Frein added. “I almost reached Art fatigue just by Milling. Now, it’s not as difficult anymore, I can even actively do it on the run like the way I usually do it. But it still takes me four times the usual amount of time, so that’s the next area I’m trying to improve.”

“Why make the effort if Elizzel is by your side, Visitor?” Su’karix asked, still relaxing beside Frill. “Wouldn’t her assistance make it moot?”

“To prepare,” he answered easily. “I’m not going to stick with just four-meiyal.”

“How much, then?” Palar’gog asked this time.

“As many as we can take. But the more I can improve, the further we can push the limit.” Frein returned to Frill. “In any case, as long as you keep practicing the Perpetual-Layered Milling Form, you should be okay.”

The Deitars looked at him in a weird way.

“That’s what the Gatekeeper told me.” This pushed a thought to the surface of his mind. “You do know Schrodie, right?”

“Yes, we’re familiar,” Su’karix replied.

“Yeah, dude. She’s an oddball,” said Palar’gog.

Before anyone else could speak, Frill’s glow began to dim dramatically. Everyone in the room understood what it meant.

“Looks like it’s time for me to go.” Frill was the first to admit. “It was nice meeting you, Su’karix. The Princess won’t believe it when I tell her.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Frill Veli.”

Palar’gog made a sarcastically audible cough.

“Yes, you too, Palar’gog. I don’t think the Princess would believe your story either.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about, ba—I mean, Frill.”

The Aria smiled. “It was nice meeting you, too.” She turned to Frein. “Don’t take long.”

Frill waved them goodbye before her Dream manifestation vanished completely.

“You could’ve extended her stay,” Frein said. It took the two Deitars by surprise.

“How did you know?” Palar’gog asked too quickly, realizing only a moment after that Su’karix was staring at him.

She sighed and turned her clear, glowing eyes towards Frein. “For one without Heart’s Will, you sure act like you do.”

“How do you know I don’t have it?” he asked.

“Oh, please.”

Frein accepted the fact that those two, specifically Su’karix, could easily look into whatever he was trying to hide. So, he gave up.

“I was just guessing, really,” he said.

“And I fell for it,” Palar’gog admitted. “That’s pretty irritating.”

“Don’t go killing orcs because of it.”

The blob quickly shook his head. “Don’t remind me. I’m trying to change, dude.”

With that, Frein decided to direct the topic back to his original agenda. Now that Frill had returned to her physical self, there was nothing to distract the Visitor from his trivial questions anymore.

“How does time work while I’m in a Dream manifestation?”

“Same as usual,” Su’karix answered.

“But Frill barely had an hour during practice, when you said she’s been here an hour already.”

“That’s because our manifestation took time,” Elizzel answered. “Probably…”

“You’re correct, Eli.” Su’karix placed down her tea and began working on some vegetable crisps. She dipped them in seasoned vinegar that Frein didn’t notice was there. “I was alerted to a significant probability within my Destiny and waited for you two to manifest. For you, the transition might’ve been instantaneous, but that was mostly because your consciousness wasn’t awake during your manifestation.”

“Oh, no…”

“Why? What’s wrong, dude?” Palar’gog suddenly turned into a spike.

“I’m a bit worried for Frill.” Frein looked at the Eternal Winter, who was slowly returning to a blob. “Before I started my transition to a Dream manifestation, Frill was having a few problems integrating with the Mercurial Liquid. Our friends might’ve been worried sick if it took her more than an hour to come back.”

“She can take care of it, Frein,” Su’karix said, confident as if she had known Frill far longer than he did.

“I guess, you’re right. She was a lot more confident compared to an hour ago. Hopefully she covers for me too.”

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

“Well,” the Thousand-Year Storm started, turning to Palar’gog. “I gave your accidental progeny additional assistance, so you can probably give mine in return, no?”

Frein couldn’t decide whether he liked the notion of becoming someone’s progeny when integrating with their meiyal-charged materials. He felt like he owed them now.

Su’karix turned to him. “No, Frein. You don’t have to think that you owe us anything. It’s not like we don’t gain anything from this exchange.”

“What do you gain exactly?”

“That’s for another time, Frein. Maybe when you get to the point where you can actually produce your own meiyal-charged materials for others, then we can talk about it.” The Thousand-Year Storm gestured towards the blob dragon. “I suggest you focus on convincing this other Deitar to help you out instead.

“You gave that to her willingly, Su’karix,” the winter dragon replied, crossing his blob arms. “I have no obligation to assist Brymeia’s Visitor.”

“That sucks,” Frein said. “I totally believed you’re not the bad guy despite what the history books wrote about you, but I guess I was mistaken.”

“Nice try, dude. Not falling for that.”

“Give him a trial, then,” Su’karix urged. “A simple test with a meiyal-charged material as a reward.”

“Sounds like a hassle. I also think it’s about time for me to return. I have experiments to run.”

Frein was quick to bargain. If he couldn’t play mind games with this Deitar, he would earn his favor through brute force if he had to.

“I’ll make it worth your while, Palar’gog. Put me on an experiment or something. Give me a trial that’ll help you or make it more difficult for the reward. Anything!”

“What about the Tower, Palar’gog?” Su’karix suggested. The Eternal Winter was quick to gasp.

“He’s a Dream manifestation!”

“I can still use Meiyal Arts!” Frein insisted.

“So he says.” Su’karix gestured confidently towards Palar’gog.

The Dragon of Eternal Winter made a long, drawn out groan. “Fine! Fine! Let’s go to the Keeper’s Tower. Jeez… Which orc do I have to kill to get some free time in here?”

“No orc killing,” Elizzel said, hopping off Frein’s shoulders before heading out of the room. She didn’t bother looking at the Deitar.

“Yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am.” He leaned towards Frein and began to whisper. “Normally, she’s more reserved, you know…”

Frein just laughed. “It’s a Tether thing.”

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With Su’karix’s help, the travel from the edge of the massive island to the tower at the center rushed like a blur. Frein didn’t even get a chance to soak up any details from the landscape. He thought he saw a pair of moving mountains at some point, but it could really just be his imagination with how fast they were moving.

Still, the tower itself, the Keeper’s Tower, was a sight to behold.

A deep moat surrounded the spire, so deep that Frein couldn’t see the bottom at all. He could see a portion of the tower getting swallowed by the darkness. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the section above pierced the eternal skies, meaning, he couldn’t see either end of the Tower at all.

He—and Elizzel, much to his surprise—took a deep breath as the amazement dawned on both of them.

“I’ve never been here for as long as I can remember,” Elizzel said before he could even ask. “I think, I’ve been only here once. Maybe…”

“This, is the Keeper’s Tower,” Su’karix introduced. “Within, you will find an infinite amount of challenges for you to surpass. It could be as simple as solving a word problem, or something as complicated as saving a world. All theoretical simulations. Of course, it will be up to Palar’gog to give you your challenge.”

The Dragon of Eternal Winter made a small blob arm and audibly cleared his throat to address their attentions.

“Your challenge, Visitor Frein Nivan, is to retrieve a certain token called, The Record of Northsnow, 3rd Year of Eva’s Era, authored by Alphazzel himself. Many copies of it can be found all around the tower, but you only need to retrieve one. It doesn’t matter whether the copy is complete or not. Do so before your time limit ends, and I will grant you a meiyal-charged material.”

Frein wanted to ask a few questions, but the blob dragon stopped him.

“Su’karix and I have some influence over what can exist in the Tower before you enter. Well, it’s more on Su’karix than me, since I’m not physically here. What will stand in your way will be by her and Alphazzel’s design.” He waved a blob hand over to the Thousand-Year Storm.

“I cannot tell you the exact mechanics of this Tower, Frein,” she said, answering his untold question. “Only know that my abilities will try to push away undesirable situations in order to give you a reasonable but challenging time. And no, you won’t find Alphazzel in there unless he wants to see you.”

“Do I go up or down?” he asked.

“It’s up to you. I will limit your challenges into defeating Nightmares, rather than throwing you into a random situation. If you choose to go up, you will face more Chaotic Nightmares. Going down will lead you to Abyssal Nightmares instead.”

“Sounds new to me,” Frein said, turning to Elizzel who only shrugged.

“Same here. All we know are Deep Nightmares.”

“Yes,” Su’karix clarified. “Both categories are under Deep Nightmares. Chaotic Nightmares tend to be physically mutated, but do not discount their instincts and creativity. Abyssal Nightmares linger with their influences and trickery. The choice is yours.”

Both Frein and Elizzel quickly agreed to go up.

“Can I ask what material I’m going to get?” he said to Palar’gog. “Motivation comes a long way.”

“I suppose.” The blob turned a small head to Su’karix for a while before returning to him. “You said her material is the Fulgurblade, right?”

“Yes, I have a Shinemoon Scabbard, too.”

“Oh, so you’ll end up with a sword made out of multiple materials.”

“That’s the plan.”

“Do you have a hilt?”

“From my old sword. Been with me since I was a kid. It’s not meiyal-charged, but we ended up combining it before arriving here.”

Two scans ran through him. They were quick and deliberate, but it didn’t make the experience any more comfortable.

“Seems to be a success, but not fully integrated yet,” Su’karix commented. Frein felt somewhat relieved from that confirmation. It gave him a giant boost in his morale, free of worry to face the Tower without distractions.

“Haven’t started with the Scabbard yet,” Elizzel said. She was leaning dangerously from Frein’s shoulder, peering down at the nothingness below.

“Then I’ll give you something to complete the weapon, Frein,” Palar’gog said. The mention of his name painted the winter dragon in a different light, just like when he was angry. This time, there was gravitas in his voice, contradicted ridiculously by his small blob form.

“If you’re successful with this challenge, I’ll provide your sword with a finishing ornament, a sash. A tassel.”

Frein wasn’t impressed, but he held his breath, realizing quickly that the dragon wasn’t done with his presentation.

“It’s called a Blood-Ribbon Tassel. Much like the Mercurial Liquid, I created it from the living blood pools of Oh’strol Continent. I will not tell you what it does until you earn this reward. But know that this material requires a great deal of capacity to integrate with. In terms with your Meiyal Arts, I would say it requires…” He turned to Su’karix for help.

“Eighty-three marks,” she answered.

“I never really tried to learn Meiyal Arts or Armaments,” Palar’gog admitted. “Too many rules.”

The amount of marks and the origin impressed Frein more than the type of material. But he didn’t have much reference to decide whether the effort was worth his while despite urging the Deitar into giving him a difficult challenge.

“I think it’s worth a shot,” Elizzel said. “We’re a Dream manifestation. I think there’s no risk of death…right, Su’karix?”

“Correct. You will still feel physical pain, but your wounds will not carry over to your bodies. However, I should warn you that the Nightmares inside are as real as it gets. There can be risk of damaging your meiyal systems. Consider the Keeper’s Tower as a form of prison for them.”

That didn’t click well with Frein. “Why not just outright kill them?”

“You know I can’t answer that, Frein. It’s part of the Tower’s mechanics.”

“But no Nightmare has ever escaped it, right?”

“Not since it was built, if you believe Alphazzel’s records.”

“There’s always a first time for everything.”

“And only time will tell, Frein, if the Tower is part of everything.” Su’karix smiled. “You are indeed very perceptive, reminds me of Evanclad too much.”

“I don’t know if that’s a compliment.”

The storm dragon shrugged. “Take it however you want.”

Frein took a deep breath and headed for the bridge. It was wide enough for him, but narrow compared to the Tower itself.

“Alright, I think that’s all I need to know,” he said while stretching. Elizzel returned to the Tether, forcing herself to wake up fully. She still ended up yawning.

“Good luck, dude,” Palar’gog said.

Su’karix approached him and held out a hand. A small pearl rested atop her palm. “Run your meiyal around this pearl and crush it if you feel a need to escape. Prioritize your safety above the reward. You have no use for it if your meiyal system is too damaged to integrate.”

“Thank you.” Frein took the pearl. It was incredibly sturdy. “I’ll keep it in mind,” he said while storing it in his pocket.

“You still remember our deal, correct?”

“Yeah. I’ll have a nickname for you by the time I’m done with the Tower.”

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