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Chapter 13 : First Fire

With a breath of relief returning to Alec's panic-stricken heart, making him calm and significantly more tranquil. With that tranquility he then spoke.

"Thank you for these clothes, and most importantly foe rescuing me yesterday."

Recieving his thanks, Myr, the keeper of the responded in kind to Alec.

"Your fully welcome. A night of rest has made your mind to be running at full force it seems. Let's go get you a breakfast now, I will show you how to make it. After that we will head to the third floor, which I have renovated slightly for you to workout."

Finished saying that, Myr then walked alongside Alec to the spiral staircase. It lead them to the first floor, where after entering they moved towards the kitchen. Passing by the long dining table Alec looked towards the window, seeing an early morning sky outside.

Stopping to look at it with slack jaw, it took him before reminding himself that it was fake. That there was still a storm going on outside, one he had to prepare himself to survive against in order to not be turned into stone.

'What a beautifully evil thing.'

Thinking that Alec quickened his pace, all in order to catch up to Myr. Who had walked a little ahead, now about to enter the kitchen room.

Entering it not much time after, he saw the room to be nearly the same as before. Only with there being a stock pot filled with water and oats, sitting on the table enclosed by a thinly painted circle.

Picking up a small log of wood, Myr then handed it to Alec from a distance. Which he caught and looked confusedly at the spire's keeper, who handed him this object. The keeper then said.

"Light it in up flames."

In response Alec only had a single word to say.

"How?"

"The object in your hand can easily be made flammable. You have to learn that your ability isn't only for the purpose of moving around, or lifting up objects. Rather it is to help you perform whatever you need from them, under the condition that it has the capacity to do it. Try making a motion that comes natural to you, whenever lighting up something in fire."

At which contemplates the action he has made the most for this action, and in his mind a matchstick appears.

Holding it between his index finger and thumb, he then moved it through air like how one would do to light a matchstick. It does not set aflame at once, so he does it twice, thrice, and after the sixth time it starts to catch fire.

Alec looked at it with a feeling of great surprise, which quickly transformed for him into jubilation. As he turn his head at Myr to see if the other party noticed what he did.

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"Great job. Remember the core feeling behind it and you will easily learn do replicate it in other aspects. Now bring that burning log and make contact with the circle here."

Following the instruction told to him, Alec brought the light up wood clos to the painted circle. That light up as soon as the fire touched it, but it did so in a strange manner as if almost syphoning the flame off of it.

This caused the wood to burn up faster, until it was completely charred up. That was when Alec lifted by the usage of his ability, and after looking in the spot Myr pointed at threw it inside a bin.

Meanwhile the circle had completely lit up, and then immediately it started to close in of itself. Covering the periphery around the base of the pot, that directly made contact with the table's surface.

Seeing this exaggerated manner of cooking, made Alec recognise his bar of strange-but-cool-experience had gotten way too high in way too little time.

In the moment following that the oats got cooked , which Alec put into his plate and walked to the eating table. Where he finished the meal, then returning back to kitchen and put the dishes into the dishwasher. Finally after he took them out and put them in place, did Myr spoke.

"Since you are done with your breakfast we should head up now."

After saying that, the both of them then walked to the other end of the room.

In the opposite end of the room to the first staircase they had got here from. Making them cross the entire breadth of room, finally reaching to the other spiral staircase leading to the second floor.

Stepping on it they headed to the second floor, where it took Alec a long moment before his eyes could adjust to the light. Since the brightness here was much higher than the both floors below.

Finally when he could see, Alec looked at a beautiful field of flowers in front of him. Alongside that a deep blue sky, and some trees were present too at a distance. It captured Alec's complete interest, as he went forward to take in the fragrance of the flower. Looking at Alec doing so, Myr then spoke.

"These are all the products of alchemy. Growing faster than your average plants, but with a lifespan of less than six months. Which I did because it would be an utter shame for any life to suffer under such a curse."

Listening all of it Alec couldn't help but ask.

"What is this curse actually?"

The spire's keeper gave answer to this question from Alec.

"This curse is rooted before the spire was ever built. You remember how I told sea is extremely dangerous, right? That's not how it was always. Back then a mighty dragon used to lord over this sea. Collecting tarrifs from anybody who wished to cross this sea with their ship. Although it brought a monetary compensation that was not there prior, the dragon's tariffs also meant that no pirate could plunder the ships here."

With a deliberate pause the spire's keeper stopped to talk, meanwhile their walk still continued, ending that pause soon Myr then spoke.

"Then one day a 'hero' arrived. He had heard that there was sea which was oppressed by a dragon. So in order to liberate and bring 'justice' he went to slay the dragon, and half-succeeded in doing so. You see, while the dragon's body was successfully killed it's soul remained. Leaving the body in the place where he killed the dragon, the 'hero' left and the dragon's body rotted."

There was a hint of something different at the end, in the tranquil voice of the keeper. A barely expressed anger, that vanished as soon as it showed itself. Almost making it seem like he misheard it.

"The rot then turned into a curse, causing more than half of the sea life to mutate and horrendously transform into monsters. That terrifies the sea a thousand steps from here till the boundary of the sea. Next effect it brought was the sea storm outside, representing the rage of the late creature. Finally using it's soul as sacrifice the dragon unleashed a curse, tha I've described to you earlier."

Stopping close for a moment, to break a dried up branch from a tree. Myr then completed the task and continued speaking.

"Before any of this could affect the rest of the world, my master prevented the waters of storms from escaping outside. Made it impossible only for only the monsters of this sea to ever exit from this place. And finally built this spire to monitor, and seal the curse in its place never to spread more. This is what the curse is, and the spire's purpose."

By the end of the story, Alec and Myr had reached the next spiral staircase. That upon crossing they got to the third floor, where a massive running track became visible to Alec.

Yet his mind was still in a contemplation he had, as Alec spoke the question he very much wished to know.

"How long have you been alone in this spire?"

"A couple centuries must have passed, why?"

Clutching his chest lightly with one hand, he took a deep breath and released it, before saying.

"Doesn't it get hard to endure loneliness like this all by yourself?"

Looking while directly facing at him, the spire's keeper spoke in a lighthearted tone to Alec.

"But I'm not alone. I have this entire spire given to, my very life, a purpose which despite being forced to me, I have found meaning in on my own. And yesterday I found a guest whom I helped by being in this spire."

By bending one knee, Myr then got to Alec's eye level and then the figure spoke solemnly.

"Loneliness is a difficult feeling, but it is even more difficult when you keep yourself still. Move around, witness things around you, and try finding a purpose no matter how small it may seem at first. That was how I endured my loneliness."

Bt the end of the sentence, the keeper's tone of voice became much more consoling.