“The question is,” I started, “do we wait for the Beasts to return, or do we go to the underground where the Kaori are and try to intercept?”
“I heard her talking to one of her subordinates,” Lacy said. “I’m pretty sure they have sewer access down here. I bet the Beasts will come back through there.”
The three of us left the cell, leaving Astrid’s decapitated body bleeding out on the floor. The left was where we had come from and it led up the stairs to the front of the stronghold.
“If I had to guess, I imagine the sewer access would be to the right. What do you think, Lacy?” I asked.
She nodded to the right. “He ran that way, so I’m guessing that’s where they’re coming from.” I nodded, and we headed off in that direction.
I would have liked to have a private conversation with Lacy. Something seemed off, and I couldn’t pinpoint what exactly. I wouldn’t say that I was extremely sensitive to people’s emotions, but I’d come to know Lacy over the past redos. There was something to her coldness that was throwing me off. But with Yuri at our back, now wasn’t the time to dive into it.
As we walked down the hallway, I examined my new notifications from killing Astrid.
Level up! You are now a level—Error!
You have reached the level cap for your stage (level 75). No further levels acquired.
You have received the Enemy of Chaos trait for slaying the leader of the Beasts of Chaos. Creatures of Chaos will be wary in your presence.
You have received the Faction Killer trait for killing the leader of a Tower faction.
You have received the Somebody Stop ME! trait for slaying more than one creature an entire Stage above you. This trait is visible to all creatures a Stage above you with an "EXP+" marker above your head. This trait doubles your experience given upon death. (System Note: this trait replaces your Don’t Put Me in a Box trait.)
What the fuck?
That last trait filled me with dread and I quickly opened my Status Sheet and scrolled down to my new traits.
….
Traits:
Enemy of Chaos (New): Damage increased against all creatures of Chaos by 15%. All creatures of Chaos will be wary in your presence.
Faction Killer (New): +10% to faction bonuses.
Don’t Put Me in a Box -> Somebody Stop ME! (Upgraded, Visible to Adept+): +15% -> +25% effectiveness to Spirit stats. Experience granted upon death is doubled.
I closed the Status Sheet with mixed feelings. On one hand, the increase in Spirit stats effectiveness was fantastic. On the other hand, it seemed that the System had put an experience bounty literally on my head that only Adepts and higher could see. Still, I had to take the good with the bad. That was a bridge I’d have to cross later.
We continued to walk down the hallway, following twists and turns. There were another dozen cells on the left and right as we followed this single path. At the end of the hall, there was a door that was different from the cell doors. It wasn’t made of wood but a sturdy-looking iron. I considered bumping up my mass to try and break through when Lacy pulled up at my side.
“I could comb through her inventory,” Lacy suggested, “see if she has a key—”
But before she could finish, Yuri flexed his power, and the door ripped off of its hinges. Lacy and I jumped back in surprise, but Yuri very carefully maneuvered the giant, thousand-pound door with nothing but his mind. Sliding it to the side, he propped it against the wall, releasing the door with a loud thunk.
“Or you could just do that,” Lacy finished.
I had to admit, it was nice having a powerhouse like Yuri on our side. I was confident I could take out Astrid’s subordinates; they hadn’t seemed nearly as powerful as her in the previous redos. But having Yuri to cow them into mission would be much more preferable. With just me and Lacy, I knew there’d be a fight, but with Yuri at our side, the Beasts would be falling over themselves to do what we asked.
Behind the door, dark steps led down into a damp-smelling sewer and I knew we were on the right track. Even though it didn’t look familiar, it was the same environment as when I had gone down to the Kaori’s hidden village.
“Should we wait here?” I asked, “or should we go explore?”
“We could set up an ambush,” Lacy suggested.
Yuri strode down the stairs, all the confidence in the world.
“Let’s follow the sewers until we come to a junction. We can wait there for whoever comes,” Yuri said.
Lacy and I nodded, following Yuri. We walked maybe 100 meters before we came to a small room with a three-way junction.
“Should we hide?” I suggested, but before Lacy could respond, sounds began echoing down the leftmost passage. “Oh, never mind.”
We didn’t have to wait long before five Beasts appeared in the sewer passage, dragging Mileen, Murn, Hiko, and the twins with them. Each of the Kaori had Starsteel manacles around their wrists. At the back of the group trailed Neeka, dragging an unconscious Ganto behind her. My gut clenched when I realized that none of the villagers were with them. Had the Beasts slain everyone before capturing the powerful members of the Kaori Council?
We’d get our answer soon because the Beasts saw Yuri and their faces dropped. They hesitated at the passage, but Yuri waved them forward, and they were quick to obey. When Mileen saw Yuri, she gasped, and Hiko turned towards her, her blank eyes questioning.
“It’s the Watcher,” she hissed, and Hiko looked toward us in surprise. Next to Mileen, Murn’s face darkened, and he began struggling against the Beast holding his arms. Without his power, he was just a man, and the Beast was able to drag him along, ignoring his struggles. Seeing Murn beginning to fight, the twins tried to struggle too, and I had a suspicion that Mileen would lash out at any moment. Before they could do that, I stepped forward, raising my hands in a peaceful gesture.
“Everyone, calm down. We’re here to rescue you.” The Beasts shared a look—fear, confusion, and doubt playing across their faces.
Yuri stepped to my side and nodded. “That’s right, the Climber and I have made a deal. You lot, let the Kaori go.” We hesitated a moment, and Yuri’s power flexed, warping the air around us. Pebbles and dust vibrated, spilling to the floor and filling the air with a cloud of dust. Seeing this casual display, the Beasts immediately backed away from their captives, raising their hands.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Unlock them,” I ordered.
Mileen stared at us with suspicion, as if expecting a trap. Hiko and I locked gazes—or rather, she turned her head in my direction, and I looked at her. A resonance in the air occurred between our two cores, a recognition playing across her face. A small smile touched her lips, gone in a flash. She put a hand on Mileen’s arm, giving her a calming squeeze.
“It’s okay,” she said softly. Mileen turned to her in question but seemed to accept that Hiko knew more than her. The Beasts approached their captives and began undoing their manacles, but I could tell they were jumpy as rabbits.
“You should know,” I started. “Astrid Black-Eye is dead.” Gasps went up from the Beasts and the Kaori, but I spoke over them. “As long as you don’t fight us, no one else needs to be hurt. We’re going to put you in the cells until we figure out what to do with you.” The Beasts shared another look, but I could tell there was no fight in them, not with Yuri present and Astrid dead.
As the Beasts removed their manacles, Neeka, who had been frozen in shock, suddenly turned and bolted back down the passage. Mileen had her manacles half off when she noticed the woman fleeing. She ripped the key from the Beast’s hands and finished removing the manacle before she took off in a sprint. Hiko called after her, but the woman was gone in a flash. I debated chasing after them, but I was confident Mileen could handle Neeka. And we needed to attend to these Beasts, check on Ganto, and most of all, we needed to have a conversation with Hiko.
The Beasts were more than happy to place the manacles on themselves, as if they knew that taking their power out of the equation would make them non-combatants and ensure their survival. They practically escorted themselves into the cells, closing the doors behind them with a grateful look on their faces. As we stood outside their cell doors, I turned to the group.
“Well, that was easy,” I said.
Hiko looked up at me with her blank stare. “I think maybe you should explain some things, young man.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I can see why this is a bit confusing,” I said. “Where to start, though?”
Hiko nodded towards Yuri. “Start with him.”
“Okay,” I said. “Well, the Watcher and I ran into each other outside of the stronghold. He’s suffering from memory loss, and I agreed to help him figure out what he’s doing here in exchange for saving Lacy. When we got here, Yuri was pretending to be himself and was going to help me extract Lacy from Astrid’s control, and then…” I trailed off.
“And then you killed her,” Yuri accused me. “Decapitated her, right when I was about to get answers.”
I cringed. “Yeah, that’s pretty much what happened.”
“I don’t understand,” Murn said. “Why aren’t you trying to kill us? Why are you helping us?”
Yuri looked disturbed by the accusation. “I don’t know this Watcher that you all refer to, but I’m from the Ardent Rose Sect. I don’t kill anyone.”
“The Ardent Rose Sect,” Murn muttered to himself.
Hiko cut them off with a wave. “I think we better have a conversation in private. Murn, Bai, Lai. Secure the stronghold. There should only be one or two Beasts laying around. I believe you can handle them.”
“Hold on,” I said. “There’s two at the front gate. There’s one on the catwalk. But they both saw Yuri. If you drop his name, they should fall in line.”
Hiko nodded at Murn, and the three of them took off. Ganto still lay unconscious at our feet, but no one seemed too concerned about his state. It was just Yuri, Hiko, Lacy, and myself now. And I felt that we could be candid.
“Hiko, what do you know about the Tower and these Quests that Astrid and Yuri have?” I asked. Hiko had supposedly been in the tower for thousands of years, but I was beginning to suspect that she knew more than she had been letting on. If this was all a facade, if Yuri and Astrid were just ‘props,’ and this was all a facade, what did that say about Hiko? There were centuries of supposed conflict. Was that all a lie?
Hiko seemed to understand my line of questioning as she sighed wearily. Her pupil-less gaze turned to Yuri, who seemed uncomfortable under her stare. “I don’t know how you did it, Yuri, but somehow you’ve broken the geas. You, me, Astrid, Lighttouch, we all volunteered to enter the tower.”
I was struck dumb. “Hiko, what are you saying?”
She set her lips and turned to me. “I think you know what I’m saying, young man.”
“So it’s true,” I said. “You’re not really a survivor from your own Tower. You were a Cultivator, like Yuri, and you volunteered to enter the Tower. In exchange for what?”
She shook her head. “Unlike Yuri here, my geas is still strong. I cannot give specifics. But it’s true. The leader of the Kaori is just my cover, my Tower identity, you could say. The Kaori are very much real, but my role as their messiah is…fabricated.”
“Did we know each other?” Yuri asked, desperation in his voice. “Can you tell me anything about myself, or...”
Hiko cut him off. “No, we did not know each other. We’ve met a few times in previous Towers. And once right before this Tower was opened. All I can say is, you were not happy that you missed your exit condition in the last Tower.”
Yuri looked off into the distance, his mind churning.
“So, what now?” he asked us. “Without my Quest, how do I escape the Tower?”
We turned to Hiko in question. She wrinkled her nose, her lips pursed tight. “Same as any Climber, I imagine. Ascend.”
“Wait, what?” I asked. She nodded upwards with her eyes. “There’s a good chance it”—she said that word with special emphasis—“will pull the Watcher into a meeting. There’s no chance it lets you free, Yuri, but it also won’t keep you as an eternal prisoner. Its boss has too much honor for that. Your best chance is to convince it that you can integrate through this Climb. Reach the top with the others and win your freedom.”
Yuri closed his eyes, breathing heavily. “I never wanted to be in this damn Tower,” he said quietly. His eyes shot open, looking up at the ceiling. “I would have never signed up for this. I didn’t sign up for this. And now I have to become a Climber?” His eyes stared heavily at the ceiling as if trying to penetrate through it to lock gazes with the Integration Guide. “Is this the honor of your leader? Trapped here, forced to Climb?” His body suddenly froze, his eyes glazing over. It was only a moment, but I recognized that look. Focus slowly returned to his gaze, and he glanced at Hiko and me, an embarrassed look on his face.
“You talked to it,” I said.
He sighed heavily. “I did.”
“And?”
“We’ve come to an agreement of sorts. Not one I’m happy with, but it’s better than languishing in this Tower for another couple centuries.”
“Well, what is it?”
“I’ve been restricted from describing the details, but the short of it is, I’m here for the long run.”
I sat back on my heels, wondering what he meant. “Will you Climb with us, or...” I trailed off.
He nodded, wearily. “I’m restricted from joining in until the power level of the Climbers is closer to my own. But it’s not all bad. I was told that many in their Climb manage to break through past Adept into the middle Stages. Perhaps I will as well. In the meantime, I’ve been asked to step to the side until at least the Second Floor.” He looked between Hiko and me. “This is where we part ways. I hope when we meet again, it is as friends.” There was a question in his eyes.
I held out my hand. “Regardless of what you did as the Watcher, you seem like a good guy. Friends.”
He shook my hand with a nod, then turned to Hiko. “I wish you luck with your Quest,” he said earnestly. And without another word, he turned on his heels and departed.
Lacy and I shared a worried look. But before we could dive into the ramifications of Yuri’s statement, I had something else I wanted to bring up. “Hiko, I think it’s time we have a little talk.”
The tiny older woman cast her pupil-less eyes towards me. “Yes,” she said, “I think you are right.”
“You know that we’ve met before then?”
She nodded. “How could I not? You carry some of my energy inside of you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked. “Why didn’t you tell me that this was all a game? That you’re just a chess piece? That you were using me? You’ve been using Mileen, the Kaori—”
She cut me off. “I’m just a pawn like you, young man. If I said anything to you, I imagine it was to give you advice on how to survive your Climb.”
I snorted. “No, actually, you usually just talk in fucking riddles.”
She cackled at that, a wheezing laugh that shook her aged body. “Yes,” she replied whimsically, “that does sound like me.”
Lacy looked between us, confused. I hadn’t gone into much detail—hadn’t had the time, really—on my interactions with Hiko, Mileen, and the Kaori. All she knew was that the Kaori were to be raided, and we were going to stop it. That was, until Astrid threw a monkey wrench in my Perfect Run by kidnapping Lacy.
“You must know, though, young man, I’m restricted in what I’m allowed to tell you and other Climbers. Things you find out on your own, I can typically confirm, but I can’t spill the secrets of the Tower.”
“I see,” I replied. “Your Quest, then? Can you talk about it in a roundabout fashion? How strict is the restriction?”
She shrugged. “I’m not too keen to find out where the boundaries lie, if I’m being honest.”
My face hardened. “Is that so?” I asked. “Well, you have to understand my stance. We came to an arrangement based on certain information. Information I found out is bullshit. If you want to work together, I’m going to need you to start exploring those boundaries.”
Her lip turned up in a smirk. “Oh, to be so young, so arrogant. It’s wondrous, really.” Before I could rebut, she held up her hand in a peaceful gesture. “No, no, I understand. I, too, was once a new Cultivator, wanted the secrets to the Universe at my fingertips. At my very beck and call. But I acknowledge the Tower is a particularly cruel way to integrate into the Universe. And though I don’t remember it, I’m sure I was quite duplicitous in our previous interactions. But I also know that I chose you. I shared my energy with you. We’re linked inexorably. That means I saw something in you. And it’s not just coincidence that you and I both have a Fate energy core. She obviously orchestrated our meeting. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, no matter what we’ve discussed about Her.”
“So that’s it, then?” I asked. “We just go about the Climb? Like nothing’s changed?”
She shrugged. “Nothing has changed, young man. You still must reach the top. You must Ascend. And me? Well, I’ve already tied my rope to your ship. It’s up to you whether you drag me along or you cut my lifeline.”