Episode 11: Open the doors of the tower of dreams that suddenly rises (11)

13

Cain

(I will be a wanderer and a stranger on the earth)

was lost in the depths of darkness.

A darkness so dense that not even the sunlight could penetrate it, like the darkness of a coffin. He would have thought that was where he was if it weren't for the fact that the space was not only so narrow that he could barely move his arms and legs, so narrow that his head hit the ceiling, but also long.

He had been crawling for a while, and there seemed to be no end in sight.

He was not making progress.

In fact, one could say quite the opposite. As he moved forward, the path became narrower. The cold, hard metal of the walls (he was sure it was metal, even though that was nonsense) pierced him more and more, and it felt as if he were being torn apart.

But even that wasn't the worst part. The truly horrible thing was that he couldn't turn back even if he wanted to.

He was stuck. Either he kept moving forward or he would stay there forever in the darkness.

He had no choice, so it wasn't difficult to gather the courage to continue. But it was painful. It was a constant weight on his chest because it felt like he was burying himself.

(why)

His march through the darkness continued for hours. Or at least what seemed like hours to him. It was hard to measure time when he couldn't even see his own body no matter how hard he tried; his eyes couldn't adjust to the darkness, they couldn't. To begin with, this wasn't darkness, but something else.

(why am I)

Something worse.

(why am I doing this?)

Simply moving forward was going to end up shattering him at this rate. He imagined himself shattered into dozens of pieces and packaged like a toy for a child.

Maybe I'm going back to the beginning, he thought in the midst of his delirium. Maybe this isn't a tomb but a birth canal.

Maybe I'm returning to whatever spawned me, a seed of evil.

A child of the demon.

As if the situation wasn't bad enough, it got ten times worse. Cain heard a click-click. When he realized it was the sound of jaws clashing, like the version of licking lips of another kind of predator, it was already too late, they were upon him.

Spiders.

Countless spiders. A whole swarm that quickly engulfed him as they bit him and injected their venom. His right eye soon swelled. He instinctively knew that if he could still see anything, the light would have completely disappeared from his right eye by then.

Soon everything else would disappear too, they would devour him without a trace.

Unless he fought back.

Unless...

(I have)

Counterattack.

He gathered a few spiders, closing his fist. He felt their bodies bursting, blood and other fluids sliding between his fingers.

(I have so much)

He did what he had to do. Bringing the spiders to his mouth, finishing the job. Chewing them.

(I'M SO SCARED)

They were crunchy.

They were delicious even as their venom slid down his throat.

A sweet poison that would drive him mad.

(I'm already mad)

More and more spiders. Straight into his mouth, sliding down his throat. Barely chewing sometimes. He felt them wriggling. Still alive. He didn't know how he didn't choke between his urge to vomit and those things going down his throat.

(I'm already mad)

He didn't care what disgusting things he had to do, to what extent he had to degrade himself. As long as he survived in the end, he could accept anything as necessary. He hadn't come this far to die now! There wasn't even the slightest possibility of looking back!

14

"Let's go."

He felt something on his shoulder, dangerously close to his neck.

Fear was like an ice pick driven straight into his heart.

"It's hard to know since the sun doesn't reach here, but I think it's time..."

Cain could barely contain himself, avoiding punching the shadow looming over him. He took a deep breath. His vision cleared. It was just Yonah, not a sinister shadow, not an enemy. And the spiders and that impenetrable darkness were nowhere to be found because it had all been a terrible nightmare. Stress beating him up as soon as he let his guard down, that is, when he fell asleep and had no other choice.

"Another nightmare."

It wasn't a question.

After the brief scare, Yonah's face softened instantly.

She shared his pain, not just pitied him, but it didn't matter. He wasn't that proud. A person deprived of everything would accept anything, even pity, because it was an improvement.

But she was wrong.

Anyone could decide that he had been having a nightmare, but clearly she believed he had dreamed of the past. Of the way he had been treated from the start.

Or of the day they had met, which happened often.

His most terrible nightmares had always happened when he had his eyes open, and he couldn't help but return to them, so vivid that they were more memories than dreams, permanent scars on his soul.

What he had just woken up from was not a memory. Not even a vision of the future.

Just agony, a nameless or shapeless anxiety.

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"Cain?"

"It's nothing. Well..."

"It's nothing new."

"Yes."

He didn't like lying to them, but it was a harmless lie at most. What good would it do, after all, to waste their time (because she would tell Victoria too) with a strange, disgusting dream that meant nothing?

"Don't worry. We're together now, and nothing can separate us. Not even death."

A solemn and completely disinterested statement. Cain avoided the gaze of her honest eyes.

Life was unfair.

He was born with nothing, and he ended up with more than he deserved.

"You say it so convincingly that I want to believe you. In fact, I do."

"But?”

She supposed it was natural to expect something like this, knowing him and how the conversation had gone so far.

However...

"No, there's no 'but.' Seriously."

"Oh, I see."

She didn't understand.

It was clear in her eyes, she was simply willing to let it be for now. Caim wasn't surprised. He himself didn't understand half the time. Maybe because he was a son of the devil, maybe because humans were strange and highly contradictory creatures, maybe both. Because he was both. Something in between.

They emerged from the tent, one after the other.

Victoria was sitting in a corner with her magic staff passed under her legs, held not by her hands at the moment but by her thighs squeezing it.

She had been on guard duty, that was clear. And she was bored to death. She was idle to the extreme.

She looked at him significantly.

As for the meaning in question, she didn't dare to guess.

"Good morning."

"Eh?" She was surprised, but recovered quickly. "Oh, yes. Good morning. And to you too. Sorry."

It felt a bit strange to give such a normal greeting in such abnormal circumstances, but it was important to maintain manners.

Yona shrugged, as if to say these things happen. Or don't worry so much, I forgot too, it's not a big greeting or a way to say good morning.

Caim wanted to ask how things had gone for them. No one had woken him up to take guard duty, after all, they had let him rest without further ado. Which was very nice, of course, a demonstration, although he didn't need any more, that they cared.

But they already helped him enough.

He had brought them here after all.

In the end, he decided to keep his mouth shut.

If they had been attacked during the night, at the very least they would have told him by now. In fact, they would have woken him up, either them or the commotion. Better not to waste their time with useless questions.

"I know there's no way to know, but I wonder how much longer it will take to reach the second floor. It would be terrible if we've barely begun."

If everything they had done to get here was just the first steps even on the first floor, then... Yes. What madness.

"Yes, totally agree."

Not to mention the other floors. There was a rumor (completely unfounded, of course, since so far no one had returned alive) that the Tower had "only" twelve floors. Still, it was outrageous, looking ahead he couldn't even imagine what they would find on the fourth floor, let alone the eighth. Or the last one.

Anyway.

It was also just a rumor that creatures like him had something to do with the Tower. If there was anything confirmed about them, about the seed of evil or whatever they were, he wouldn't have had to go so far in search of answers and peace.

It was a rumor with more foundation, however, since according to the records children like him had only started to be born after the door to the Tower appeared floating in that field of wild roses that never withered.

That was a fact.

They broke camp, Caim tucked the device back into his coat once more, and they resumed their march. Nothing and no one bothered them for a good while. Caim didn't see it as a reason to celebrate. Rather, he found a way to make him more nervous.

"I should be grateful that nothing else has befell us. But instead, I wonder what awaits us around the corner."

The answer turned out to be...

Well, nothing special or worrying. A huge room with as many torches as pillars and, at the back, an older man (maybe he was forty, maybe a few more, hard to tell sometimes) sitting in front of a counter on which he displayed all kinds of things. Weapons, ammunition, the necessities in a world like this where the fight for survival was a daily routine.

Caim sighed. What a joke.

How was that any different from the life he had outside?

"That man was the second human they had encountered inside the tower. They had to kill the first one, but he…"

Simply laughed when he saw them. His laughter seemed, at least, jovial.

"Well, well. New customers. It's always a pleasure."

"Customers?" Yonah repeated.

"As you can see, this is a shop, and like any seller, I need people like you to keep going."

Yes, it was the most normal thing. But he was talking about normality in a crazy world they were unfamiliar with. For starters, could it be true? Did this man have a business here? Enough customers for it to be of any use to him, besides? It didn't make sense to her.

"Even if you accumulated mountains of money, what good would it do you here?" Victoria asked.

And that.

What good was it for? What was the purpose?

"Money? Ha! As you rightly say, it's worth nothing here. What I want in exchange for my... valuable items is something else."

Victoria grimaced.

"Don't make that disgusted face. I'm not that superficial." The truth was that he had thought the same as Victoria. Thankfully, he didn't want to try it or his head would already be rolling on the floor. He wouldn't let anyone lay a hand on them. "It's a substance that monsters in this Tower drop when they die. We usually call it Vital Essence. But you can call it whatever you want, as long as you bring it to me."

"We haven't seen anything like that."

Vital essence.

There was no way he was referring literally to the monsters' blood, right? Even if they decided to cooperate, it would be a hassle to gather it and bring it back to this guy.

"Why do you think I set up the shop here? It's a central point. Everyone passes through here sooner or later. It's the perfect place, as this is just the beginning, you haven't seen anything yet."

They had been talking about that a few minutes ago, and it seemed they had been right when they least wanted to be right, as usual, that's life.

"What's stopping us from killing you and taking everything you have?"

Caim looked at Yonah, but remained silent, trusting her.

As he had done so far.

Suddenly he realized he hadn't said a word since the conversation had started. Why? He licked his lips.

"Me. If you want to do it, go ahead. I'll even forgive your first attempt."

"Interesting."

It's not that he wanted to kill non-hostile people just because it would be easier, he wasn't a thief or a killer, just a survivor, doing what he had to do to get by, no more no less.

But yeah.

Interesting that this little bastard spoke so confidently, when he was an old man facing three young people, one of whom was obviously a mage. If Victoria's attire didn't make it obvious enough, the classic black with blue trim, there was her staff, that he couldn't overlook.

And yet he practically threatened them.

Speaking as if he could not only defeat them, but with enough ease to afford to spare their lives if they went after him with the intention of killing.

It had to be a bluff, right?

On the other hand, he was here, right in front of their eyes.

He couldn't deny that.

That he had survived.

Facts and rumors, huh?

"Not as much as the only man in the group hiding back there. Has the cat got your tongue?"

The silence was over. He couldn't ignore that provocation.

"Watch what you say."

It had to be a bluff, or false confidence. It wouldn't matter even if it were true. If he got scared easily, he wouldn't have come this far in the first place. He was willing to face that old man and any obstacle the world put in his way.

He wouldn't like it, but he would do what he had to do.

"Is it because of the horns, because you're a son of the devil?" False confidence or not, he was an arrogant bastard. "I assure you, I couldn't care less."

Caim was gritting his teeth, but suddenly he relaxed. That...

That was something he had only heard from two people in his two decades of life.

Now there were three.

Suddenly he didn't know what to think.

"The matters of the outside world are literally another world's business. I couldn't care less even if you really are that, and not just have some decorative horns, like I have an extra pair of toes on one foot. At the very least, all the poor bastards wandering through this hell are your brothers and sisters. So evil, so deserving of punishment." He smiled maliciously. "So trapped. So we must have solidarity, man. Solidarity."

How easy it was to say that. He might not care who or what he was, but only out of greed, only because he had no scruples and any currency would do for him.

Still, that was an improvement, Caim was willing to accept it.

And if he crossed the line, he would see if he could really handle the three of them.

First and foremost, the most interesting thing he had said.

"Trapped?"

"I don't know what purpose has brought you here, but haven't you even looked back, huh?" This fact seemed to amuse him. Caim didn't find it funny at all. Not that, nor his reaction. "No one knows what's at the top of the tower. But there's no way back the way we came. The only door leading out is closed, not only that, as soon as someone new enters, they disappear. By the way, here's proof of my solidarity."

Caim tensed slightly, sliding a foot back, when the vendor reached into one of his pockets. But he hadn't reached for a weapon. It was just a strange black crystal.

"What is this?" Best to get to the point.

"A crystal that only grows in this place. Squeeze it when you need it, concentrate, and you and your companions will return here. Even if you go far, to the fourth or fifth floor."

Caim and Yonah were surprised, but Victoria was the most surprised of all. After all, no mage could teleport, it was one of the few things they couldn't do.

Or at least that was supposed to be the case.

It could be a lie, but she believed him. However, she didn't trust him. That was something completely different.

"What's your name?" Caim asked.

"I highly doubt you care, but if you need to call me something, call me Virgil."

Caim shrugged.

"As you wish."

Open the doors of the tower of dreams that suddenly rises, Part 11: END