There was no dream when I slept. There was only darkness and the uncertain path of the future. Then I awoke.

My leg was killing me and so was my head. My back had gone stiff from lying on the hard wood of the stage. There was an ache pulsing up my neck. I stretched it and felt my spine crack. There was something soft under my head.

I opened my eyes to a dark and crimson room. I noticed a large golden chandelier swaying against an unfelt wind. I smelled food. A hot and smoky scent of cooked meat that almost smelled like bacon but not quite.

I rolled over and up on my elbow to look out at the dining area. To my surprise there were no Wretched Shamblers waiting to devour me. There were Shamblers but they were tossed to the ground beyond the stage and were letting off a long white trail of smoke. I felt a rolling rumble of disgust in my stomach as the thought of it smelling good made me sick.

I looked around for Tala and found her sitting in a dining chair, arms folded around the book, head down and asleep.

The memory of her came rushing back like a tidal wave of power. She is surrounded by flames, the burning of the Shamblers, the immense heat and then nothing but darkness.

She had managed to cast a spell. How had she done that? She didn't have a Class Pathway yet. She shouldn't have been able to do magic. Then I remembered something my father told me a long time ago.

"The Trials are not only meant to test you but to teach you." My father had said during one of his gardening lessons. "It will guide you to a Pathway meant for you. Though you will ultimately have to make the decision yourself."

That was a lesson I didn't understand until now. Everything in the Tower I've experienced has taught me something new, something important. Combat, scavenging, survival, stealth, and now magic. My father's Class Pathway had no magical skills, only those of cultivation and survival so he never taught me much in the ways of magic. Even the amount of combat training that I did get was done under the approval of [Name]. Training I hadn't started until two years ago. I had been nervous using a blade for the first time, especially my first time holding a gun. I almost chuckled at the thought of me awkwardly holding a handgun and missing the target three times before I finally managed to graze the silhouette of a man on his shoulder. I summoned my Codex and stared at the pistol in my inventory. I only had one shot left but I was more confident then I have ever been using a firearm that I knew I wouldn't miss the next one.

I closed my Codex and was met with a burning sensation flaring up my leg. I slowly turned my leg so that I could take a look at my wound. I was surprised to find that it had been bandaged up. Tala must have done it when I was sleeping, but where did she get the bandages? I checked my inventory and still saw the single bandage I had was still there. So she must have had it with her or found it.

My vision started to blur as my stomach coiled into itself. I was starving and the unfortunate scent of burning flesh wasn't helping. I turned to roll onto my knees when I spotted something I hadn't seen in a very long time. An open can of beans. The lid was pulled back, curved like a metal wave, and the inside was covered in a thin amber colored liquid. I snatched the can and looked inside. Half of the beans were gone. Tala must have found it and saved some for me. I'd have to remember to thank her for that when she woke up.

I lifted the can to my nose and took in a deep breath. I was stunned by its rich scent of tomato, salt and beans. It was the most wonderful thing I had ever smelled in my life. I lifted the can and let the food slowly drip into my mouth. It tasted so sweet. So delicious.

When I finished eating the rest of the can, I wiped my mouth with the sleeve of my jacket and set the can down by my side. I was still hungry but the pain had eased somewhat.

"Pretty good, huh?" Tala asked as she rubbed her eyes to wake.

"Amazing," I said. "Thank you. Where did you find it?"

She nodded with her head out towards the open patio where the Shamblers were gathered before. "Scavenged that pile of trash out there. Found that can of food, those bandages for your leg and not much else. How are you feeling?"

"Still hungry," I chuckled.

"Same," Tala stood, stretched her arms and walked up on the stage. "I will say that was the best can of beans I've had in a long time."

We laughed together. It felt good to laugh.

We decided to rest in the back of the stage. Tala had broken a few chairs and placed them in a pile. She had materialized the grimoire and was reading through its pages trying to figure out how to light the wood on fire. After several minutes of muttering to herself she finally gave up and set the book down in a huff.

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"Having issues?" I asked, trying not to sound sarcastic.

She lifted her knees up to her chest and let her chin rest. "I can't read it anymore and before you ask, no I don't know why."

I let the sound of the crackling fire take over the conversation. Its sweet and smoky voice drifted in waves of crackling music. It was peaceful. A moment of nostalgia rushed into me as memories of childhood nights before a fire visited. My father told me, when I was younger, that people used to go camping up in the mountains. Setting up tents or trailers before a rising fire, cooking marshmallows and smashing them together with chocolate and graham crackers to make something called a smore. I had only seen chocolate once in my entire life and it had been a small bag of chips. A priceless token of a forgotten world, but one that my father had shared with me before our own small fire.

I had turned ten years old when he decided to give me the camping experience. He had borrowed a small tent from the storehouse, a large sleeping bag and a few supplies for cooking and making a fire. We had ventured down the subway system to the next terminal. There below a large poster of starry night, we camped.

It was one of my most precious memories as a kid. Made even more grand by the small bag of chocolate that he had saved for the occasion.

"Tala," I said as I leaned forward and stretched my hands out to the fire. The heat radiated with more memories. "You did it." She didn't say anything. "Hey... You cast magic! You actually used magic! You should be proud of that. If you hadn't we'd probably both be dead right now."

She finally lifted her head and looked at me with glassy eyes. A smile rose then faded from her face.

"You should check your stats," She said. "I gained a level. Maybe you did as well."

I summoned my Codex and opened to my stats. She was right, I had gained a level. Looking at my core stats showed me that I had a point that I could allocate. I put my stat in [Body] and immediately felt a surge of energy crest over my skin. I felt stronger and full of pride and purpose. I needed to feel this way forever. I needed to get stronger. I looked at Tala who had placed her chin on her knees again and was poking the fire with a broken chair leg. She had actually used magic. It was incredible. She was incredible and she didn't even know it. Her brown eyes and tan skin seemed to glow like bronze in the fire light. Somewhere deep in my heart something stirred. I thought at first I was growing feelings for her, but as the emotion grew I came to realize what it truly was. Jealousy. She had used magic and it was beyond anything I could do. I looked at the black-leather book. Why couldn't I do that?

The two of us sat in silence for a long time. The crimson light of the breaking day changed from a deep blood-red to a more rose-tinted hue. A lighter color than I had seen before. It was as if the very world itself had allowed itself a moment's peace. We let the fire die down to a gray hill of ash and blackened wood before we finally stood and decided to continue up the tower.

We found an exit on the far wall of the balcony that led to a long hallway with a solitary table pushed up to one side. A small book was laid open on its surface. It had rows of names scribbled on its pages. Tala said it was a guest book for some kind of an event and given that it was laying on an intricate tablecloth with dried flowers laid nearby, I had to agree.

I flipped through the pages a few times and read several of the names. Susan Thompson, William Trent, Uriah Rojas. There were so many names written in the book. Many had faded with time, their ink smudged. I flipped to the final page with names on it and noticed that there were a few names that seemed to be fresh compared to the others. A total of three names were written in clear, distinct handwriting with well defined lines and undisturbed ink. Richard Giles, Maria Leads and Isaiah Rook.

The fresh look of the names made me wonder how long ago they had been written. They couldn't be more than a few years old, much too fresh to have been before the fall of the world.

Tala knelt down and picked something up from underneath the table. It was a pen. She gave me a smile then proceeded to write down her name. She then handed me the pen and insisted that I do the same. After I wrote my name I placed the pen back down on the table. I was about to turn away from the book when my attention fell back on my name. It was weird seeing it written down like this. My first true mark on the Fallen States. My name, written down to hopefully last for years to come. Would it outlive me? Would someone else stumble upon this book and wonder the same questions I had? Would I ever see the book again?

Tala picked the pen up once more. "Can't forget Theo." She wrote his name under mine and closed the book with the pen inside.

We walked away and through a set of black doors at the end of the hallway. I pushed one open and let Tala through. "Do you think Theo is okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I do." I said. "If he's anything like his father, he's probably doing better than we are."

She let out a short-lived laugh. One that meant she agreed with me but still had reservations. We let the doors close behind us and found ourselves in a half circled lobby. A few leather chairs and sofas were pushed up against the walls. Abstract paintings, watercolor portraits long faded away, and broken lamp sconces decorated the pale white walls. A large matted rug laid down at the center of the room. An elevator door rested on the far end of the room between two sets of stairs that lead up to the next level.

"How much higher do you think we need to go?" Tala asked.

A flash of red light cascaded down from the two sets of stairs. It swirled together with hues of gold and silver in a dance that drew the eyes. "Something tells me we are almost there."

I took a step forward then stopped when I heard the sound of an old door straining to open. I looked towards my left and saw Theo stepping out from behind another set of doors. He made eye contact with me then looked at the light descending from above. He started to run.