Nothing would happen just by staring at it, so Soral began to climb the stairs. He was grateful for the railing as he slowly climbed higher and the ground sank away beneath him. The stairs seemed solid enough, but the surrounding scenery of the slowly crumbling castle made each step tentative.

The balcony was wider than it had appeared from below, and he could now see a large set of engraved wooden doors leading to the inside. The doors looked heavy, but freshly polished. Someone was definitely still living there. As he reached out a hand to open the door, a powerful male voice filled his mind.

‘Traveler who seeks wisdom, ponder the price in your heart before you enter.’

Price? He hadn’t thought about there being a price. Maybe he should just figure things out on his own?

‘Silence, old bird!’ Insanity boomed back, ‘Watch how you speak to my child!’

Soral was growing more used to the conversations in his mind, but the volume of this one was a bit overwhelming. Hearing no response from the… old bird? Soral grabbed hold of the door handles and pushed them open. Inside was a vast library of ancient scrolls and tomes, each neatly organized and kept.

At the center of the room was a large desk, where a man with dark hair sat pouring over one of the scrolls in question. Behind the man on a specially made perch was a phoenix. It’s sleek feathers glowed and shifted in the light just like flame. This effect was not lost even though the wings and tail feathers were tipped with a more silvery color.

That could only be the old bird in question, though it was difficult to think of a phoenix as being old, even though it technically was a bird. The man who looked up as Soral entered also seemed oddly familiar, but not his appearance. Soral was confident he had never seen him before.

“You shouldn’t be here,” the man warned, “The knowledge in this tower is dangerous.”

It had been a while since someone had actually spoken to Soral so he was a bit surprised, but quickly moved on. “I was guided here by… someone.” He wasn’t sure how much he should say.

“Guided?” the man repeated and looked to the phoenix, “Zarius?”

“It wasn’t me,” Zarius denied, “but his is a special case. The rules of this tower do not apply to him.”

That was good to know, but they continued to discuss things as if he wasn’t there, so Soral broke in and decided to throw caution to the wind.

“She said you could help me return to my time,” Soral told them, stepping forward. As cool as being in the past sounded, Soral was eager to return home. He had finally dealt with Doc and cleared his way out, only to have this happen.

“Your time?” the man asked, “Are you from the past or the future?”

“The future, I am pretty sure,” Soral replied.

“That is a problem,” the phoenix agreed, “You must return swiftly to avoid changing your fate.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

That sounded like a big deal. Soral actually kinda liked his fate, so he couldn’t have that happen. “I also want to return soon, but I don’t know how. She told me you could show me the way.”

“Tell me,” the man spoke, “What is your name in prophecies? I might be able to help.”

Soral hesitated. Was it alright to tell this guy? “Who are you?” Soral asked, reaching out to listen to the man’s thoughts.

“I am Densooth,” he replied with perfectly aligning thoughts, “I read many prophecies so I may be able to find a clue.”

‘Zarius said the rules don’t apply to him. Could he be the Wild One? Only someone who can break the laws of the world can end my cursed existence.’

Soral backed out of his thoughts very quickly, suddenly even more hesitant to answer. Being able to break the rules of the world made sense. Traveling backwards in time seemed very against the rules of time in general. That didn’t really tell him how to get back, though.

“The Wild One,” Soral finally answered, not missing Densooth’s momentary excitement before he calmed.

Densooth shuffled through some prophecies before showing one to Soral. “This one mentions you, but it is hard to say if it will be helpful.”

Soral took the prophecy and read it over.

“A hero who will save all

An actor on the stage

One who defies logic

Can be held in no cage

No barriers contain him

The Wild One is free

No laws can restrain him

His future will see

All that he touches

Will turn to gold

Those whom he favors

Will prosper unfold

A dream in reality

Brings wishes to life

A powerful hand

To both cause and end strife”

He had to agree with Densooth. He wasn’t sure if it was helpful or not, but he did have a better idea of what he was now. A dream in reality. He could use dream magic and make the impossible happen.

“I think I’ve figured it out, thanks,” Soral said, and was about to leave before he remembered Sloth’s words about his carelessness, “I should probably make you forget meeting me before I go, huh.”

“I would like to remember, if possible,” Densooth spoke up, “Zarius, how much will the future change if I remember?”

“It will not. Both now and then you are always looking for him,” the phoenix confirmed.

“Why do you want to remember?” Soral asked. He was hoping it wasn’t for some creepy reason like it being easier to track him down.

It was not, but the tale Densooth summarized was not exactly pleasant either.

“To all but you, gaining knowledge from this tower requires a hefty price. I can only assume my reason for gaining the knowledge must have been incredibly important, but I can’t remember. I sold my memories in return for access to the endless knowledge this tower holds. That is why, as selfish as it may be, I cannot bear to lose any more.”

He sounded so miserable that Soral had to take pity on him. “You had better not make me regret this in the future,” he warned, then left the tower.

He tried to return to the place in the desert he had first appeared in the past without creating a portal. No portal had taken him to the past, and no portal was likely to take him to the future either. Before he tried to break through time he should try a little test that didn’t bend it. Magic swirled around him as he closed his eyes, and he suddenly felt a hot, dry gust of wind sweep past him.

“I did it,” he whispered as he saw the empty desert before him. Well, empty aside from his sandstone hut he had created.

‘Well done, my child,’ Insanity congratulated, ‘Now go. I eagerly await the time we will meet again.’

Soral was about to go when he paused. Wouldn’t it be bad to run into himself? Just in case, he should try to return a bit later since he wasn’t sure exactly when he vanished. Maybe morning of the next day, in the red house. That should be safe, right?

Magic began to swirl around him again, this time more ferociously than before. Soral didn’t focus on that. Focusing on the details only slowed him down. He was a dream in reality. He could do whatever he wanted. He just needed to dream it up.

The magic expertly wove as he imagined his goal. He leaned backwards, trusting that he would arrive before his back hit the sand. The next moment he fell backwards onto the fluffy couch in the red common area, startling Lala who had been sleeping restlessly in the armchair nearby.

“Soral?! You’re back! What happened to you?’ she exclaimed, before suddenly switching gears, “You need to hurry. The Black Wolf is here and he has Howler.”

Soral shot up. “What?!” he demanded.

“When you vanished, he showed up and started bossing everyone around. He was freaking out about that drink. And then Howler confessed to giving it to you and no one has seen him since.”