The Spire stood at eleven-hundred feet. Iris gazed up at the magnificent monument through the fall of snow. Wonder thawed any freeze the cold might have caused. She finally found it, and she had found it first. 

Her people first learned of its existence two-hundred and twenty years ago. The governments dubbed it the Panacean Spire for its purported ability to rid entire systems of anything from plagues to economic instability and was said to even hold the capability of preventing death. 

Janus, her homeworld, was located near the tip of the Perseus Arm. She could hardly remember the fresh and salty smell of her planet’s twin oceans; it had been seven months since she left. She could not go on any of the official expeditions due to her lack of experience, but there was no law preventing her from going solo. Iris surprised herself by finding the Spire, not even the most skilled star-charters could judge its position with the information given. 

All knowledge of the Spire came from tablets found deep within the cave systems of Iris’ planet. Most of the writings were unintelligible from unknown centuries of weathering. The only details that could be deciphered told of the Spire’s properties and the word “snow”. No one knew for sure if the ancients had ever actually visited the Spire, or who told them about it. But at this point, none of that bore relevance.

She had no means of calculating the distance between where she landed and the base of the structure. Nonetheless, Iris trekked forward in what appeared to be the correct way. The closer she got, the more sheer size of the Spire baffled her. It was rather easy to hear “eleven-hundred” and diminish that to a simple number, but this felt much more personal.

Iris observed very little life other than trees and birds. The land seemed barren and lonely. She hardly noticed her surroundings as her eyes were glued to the colossal tower ahead of her. It felt alive and welcoming. 

After walking for what felt like ages, she reached an area that seemed to be just short of thirty kilometers from the Spire. The air around looked strangely distorted, almost in a forcefield-like fashion. There was no generator visible, so it could not have been of human design. Hesitantly, Iris reached out her hand, and surprisingly, it went right through the field. The other side felt warm, and an immense wave of comfort flowed throughout her body. Eager, though still wary, she stepped into the other side. 

With the cold gone, her focus strengthened. She noticed that even in the warmth, snow continued to fall. Warm snow. Being closer to the Spire meant that she could partially see the finer details of the material in which it was composed. It appeared to contain a sort of marble-esque stone, the darker streaks now standing out. Iris regretted that she had not brought binoculars. She left all of the non-essentials on her ship, expecting the trip to not last very long.

Concluding her stare of admiration, she began searching for an entrance. Unsuccessful, she decided to walk right up to it. It became clear that she horribly miscalculated the remaining distance, and so three hours later, she reached the base. Even with the sun going down, the warmth endured. She was stuck here until daytime, as the night’s chill would have certainly meant death. 

A great sense of pride filled her heart. Over two centuries of expeditions and high-end search parties only for her to discover the Spire in less than a year. This would bring fame to her family. These were merely outcomes she hoped might happen. She went searching because she was mystified by the stories and believed its legendary power might save her world. 

She reached out to touch it, and the surface felt even warmer. Evidence pointed to the warmth coming from the peculiar stone rather than the Spire itself. A great feeling of tranquility bathed her in radiant joy. Her heart felt full. Following her press, the surface seemed to cave in, leaving an opening large enough for her to fit through. At first, fear kept her from entering, but that soon faded away. Iris took the first step into a place where none had ever stepped, yet one where all dreamed they could. 

Nothing could accurately describe the interior. All emotions experienced on the outside only multiplied with each step deeper. What met her on the other side took her by surprise. She found herself standing in a dimly lit, rainy street from back home. Reading the sign, she realised it was the road leading to her childhood home. This revelation brought with it a feeling that Iris had a hard time grasping. She had not been to this place for over two decades. It was like a painful melancholy, but a necessary and constructive pain, one that bore necessity. She found it strangely pleasant. 

Looking up, she saw no perceivable roof. This, she expected, unlike anything else in the room. Thinking it dumb to stand there gawking, she began to walk down the street, her footsteps echoing loudly. It looked endless, and she lost track of how much time went by. The longer she pressed on, the stronger the emotion became. 

Eventually she began to tire. Her voice came out coarse after months of disuse.

“How long does this go on for?”

There was an immediate change to the atmosphere as her words echoed through the spacious area. The road began to dissipate and the lights went out. Darkness soon enveloped Iris. Following a short period of silence, the sound of a chime came from her left. Turning towards it, she saw a soft lavender light illuminating what appeared to be an entrance. She wasted no time escaping the abyssal gloom.

The door led into a spiral staircase going upwards, assumably to the peak of the Spire. Happy to have progressed some, Iris pressed onwards. Unlike the road, the staircase eventually ended. Her instincts told her that she was nearing something important. It only took a little longer for her to reach yet another door. 

Walking through, she entered a room coloured just like the light that showed her the way. Exquisite-looking furniture filled the cozy space, and had a long window looking out towards the snowy horizon that covered the adjacent wall.

“This is rather unexpected.”

The calm, lively voice startled her. She looked for an owner, but found none. Who else could have been here? Coming in, there were no other vessels but her own.

“Be not afraid, find a seat and rest.”

Cautious, Iris inched towards one of the many empty chairs and sat down. She looked out of the window, astonished by the view that it provided. Something flashed in her peripheral view, and when she turned towards it, an odd figure faced her. They had the head of a human, but more eyes than any human she had seen. Their hair carried the omnipresent shade of lavender, with snowy streaks. Although anomalous, nothing about the being particularly threatened her.

“Welcome to the Tower of Sevarnu, human,” their beautiful voice rang throughout the chamber.

Iris remained quiet.

“There’s no need for timidity, speak.”

“Sevarnu?” She managed to respond.

“The Force of Snow and All that Melts It. Eternal, Forthcoming, Secluded. Greater Created.”

Iris shot the stranger a puzzled glance. She could not follow along with the odd words and the uncanny emphasis with which they were said.

“Me. I am Sevarnu. I built this place. Who are you?”

“My name is Iris. Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

Sevarnu grinned, “Only if it is a question that I can answer... and only if you can comprehend such a response.”

“Why?” 

“Ah, a single syllable yet it carries so much power. Fundament to hearts of all your kind. I digress, this tower serves as an archive to all that can be known.”

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“So it’s a library?”

“Not quite so. This tower only allows myself and others like me to understand it. It acts as a lens into things the likes of which would take human scholars aeons to uncover.”

Iris let out a quiet chuckle. Sevarnu fixed their gaze on her, amused. Obviously the strange entity was nearly as astounded by her and she was by them.

“This is the first I have ever seen mankind in the flesh. I apologise if I seem unprofessional, but I simply do not know what to expect.”

Intrigued, Iris replied, “What exactly are you? Not to sound rude, just with the way you’re talking, it seems that you’re not typical.”

“Indeed, I am not typical. You would not understand if I were to go into full detail about my nature and the likes of how I came about. Just know that what I am is of an incomprehensible scale.”

She replied with an unsatisfied huff, “Ah. Well can I ask another?”

“Of course.”

“Can the tower do what the tablets said it could?”

“Tablets? What are you speaking of?”

“Back on my homeworld, it was said that this place had powers unlike any ever humanly possible.”

“Oh, yes. This tower repairs anything in its field of influence.”

Iris jumped out of her seat in elation, “How?!”

Taken aback, Sevarnu replied, “The stone used to make the tower possesses the properties you desire. Assuming you want to use it to help someone, you bring them into its area of influence. That is not doable, however.”

“What do you mean?”

“The tower moves around periodically. It was mere luck that you happened to land on the right planet”

Clinging to hope, Iris sat back down. “Is there any way you could stop it... or move it to the planet Janus?”

“While I could do that, I will not.”

“Why not?!”

The mood shifted. Sevarnu seemed to get irritated. “This tower was never meant to be found by any of the Lesser Created. Your people can be needlessly destructive at times.”

“How can you say that about my people. The people of Janus have been extra careful to not make the same mistakes that our ancestors have.”

“Then why do you need the tower?”

Iris did not want to answer this.

“Please refrain from jumping to conclusions. I want to help you, but my authority is limited.”

She got up and moved away from Sevarnu.

“Now it is my turn to ask a question. For what purpose did you really come here?”

Iris stared out the window, “To bring peace to Janus.”

Sevarnu chuckled, “I thought they kept away from repeating the past?”

“What I meant was our leaders take great care of the planet.”

“But not of one another.”

Iris nodded. She could feel the tears beginning to well in her eyes.

“Dear Iris, I can sense your sorrow. Be honest so I may offer any reprieve that I can.”

“My wife. She’s sick.”

Sevarnu moved next to her, “Tell me about her.”

“Huh?” Iris had only just noticed how short she was in comparison to the entity. 

“What is your lover like? I have always been curious about the topic of romance. Since I answered your curiosity, do me the pleasure of answering mine.”

“Like the snowfall on the inside of the tower’s field. Beautiful, delicate as the falling snow, but warm. Her favourite flowers are orchids, and she likes to collect old statuettes.”

“Does she have a favourite statuette?”

“She’s very fond of the one I got her for our fifth anniversary. It’s of Sisyphus.”

“Sisyphus. That is an intriguing name.” Sevarnu giggled.

“Do you know the story?”

“I am afraid not, would you mind telling me?”

She took a deep breath, “He was the first king and founder of Corinth, a very ancient city on the planet where humans originally came from. His pride led him to believe he could trick Zeus, a god of old. Zeus responded by forcing him to push a boulder up a hill only for the boulder to roll back down. He would have to do it for all eternity.”

“Is he still pushing the boulder?” Sevarnu seemed to have enjoyed the story

“Well none of that actually happened,” Iris said.

“What if you told that to the people of Corinth.”

Iris supposed they made a good point. There was a time when calling the tragedy of Sisyphus a mere “story” would have received only mockery.

“Then I guess he’s still pushing it,” she relented.

“Seems futile,” Sevarnu smirked.

“I think that’s the point.”

“Hm. That was a very amusing tale. Perhaps I shall reward you for it.”

Iris responded with hesitation, “You don’t have to. I enjoy telling stories.”

Sevarnu moved around the corner saying, “Ah! But you have kept me company. You could have just left when I refused to help you.”

“I suppose…”

Shortly thereafter, Sevarnu returned with something small clenched in their hand. Whenever they got closer, Iris saw that it was a small clump of white rock; the stone used to make the tower!

“I thought you said-”

She was cut off by Sevarnu’s sudden, serious tone, “Let no one find you with this. Speak naught of it, and naught of me.” 

“But why?”

“You are possibly the only human I will ever interact with. Take it as a special thanks for giving me this opportunity. But there are members of your kind that would use this with nefarious intentions.”

Iris, gravely confused about what concerned Sevarnu so much, nodded in acknowledgement. The way that Sevarnu reserved themselves afterwards told her that she should leave soon. 

“One last question, if I may,” she said.

“We do not have much time, but continue,” their voice sounded anxious. What could worry a being like Sevarnu?

“What was going on in the first room?”

“I assume you mean what you saw when you entered,” they replied. 

Iris nodded her head.

“That room represents the difficult-to-understand emotion produced by environments that make one feel oppressed yet safe in that oppression.”

Their response produced more questions than answers.

“Why, though?”

Sevarnu turned from the window to face her, “When bars are familiar, freedom becomes foreign. Have you ever walked from the darkness into the light? Does it not burn to look about the sun’s radiance when one has been submerged in shadow for too long? I was simply curious and had the means to pursue understanding.”

Their voice almost carried an offended tinge to it, as if Iris’ questioning had gone too far this time.

“I see…” She still felt as if her question was not truly answered.

“Farewell, Iris, make haste.”

“Take care, Sevarnu,” she replied.

Taking their advice, Iris hurried out the door and down the spiral staircase. The staircase led directly outside this time, and without taking time to question, made way for her ship.

Sevarnu watched her from the tower.

“So they actually managed to find it,” a deep voice came from behind.

“Greetings, Lum.”

“You ought to move the tower soon,” Lum moved to stand by their side.

He stood at the same height as Sevarnu, dressed in long, dark grey robes. The light danced in his fiery eyes, and his short, black hair hung just above his eyebrows.

“What brings you here, Apotheote?” she avoided his gaze.

“They’re on their way.”

Sevarnu’s face went pale, and she rushed around the corner. A few chimes sounded, and the room turned into a massive map. Lum walked around, looking at the various solar systems depicted.

“Are there any safe systems left,” he said mockingly.

“A few.”

He turned to face them, “Well if I were you, I would focus on keeping this place away from the Lesser Creation instead of having tea with them.”

Sevarnu grew even more concerned. They had no idea how long he had been watching, or what he had seen. Running over to the other corner, they found a system that had yet to be discovered by either mankind or any other intelligent species. 

“What did the Lesser want?”

They turned to face him, “She wanted to use the tower to heal her wife.”

“Ah. It must’ve lost its wits and fell off a cliff,” he laughed, “Did you help her?”

“No. I answered a few questions and sent her- it away.”

Lum faced them and smiled, “Good to hear.” 

The tower landed on the world Sevarnu had selected. Both beings went over to the window. A vast, white desert stretched endlessly into the horizon. Lum began walking towards the spiral staircase.

“Farewell Sevarnu, and safe travels.”

The room was left in an ominous kind of silence. All they could do was look vacantly out into the sea of dunes, thinking of Sisyphus.