Chapter 206 – Floor 32: Part 1

Floor 32 – You Can’t Go Home Again.

You have been offered a reprieve and a choice. Spend your time in peace, where there is no danger, and you may live a normal life. Afterwards, you can choose to stay and relinquish all of your gains earned in the Tower, forever barred from entering again.

Or, you may return to the Tower of Avarice to continue pursuing your dream.

The choice is yours.

Reward: Compendium of the Celestial Language

The Compendium contains a list of the most basic Words of Power to round out the education of a Speaker. Includes: Mend, Light, Dark, Heavy, Heal.

Mathew lowered his arm, which contained the message from the Tower, and looked around at the town he had suddenly found himself in.

It was a small village with several thousand houses in long, neat rows. Here, uniformity and standardization dominated the landscape. Every home was a harmonious blend of brick and stone, meticulously layered to create a seamless, almost hypnotic line of similarity across the town.

There were no differences in the house; each was a complete clone of the next right down to the shade and placement of bricks stacked in alternating patterns. The bricks were all shades of red and warm beige, the stones grey or an earthly brown.

Each of the houses had a symmetrical façade, with evenly spaced windows framed in matching stone arches. The rooftops were uniformly pitched with gentle slopes in an A-Frame. They all had black shingles that were so clean and vibrant that they looked freshly installed.

The homes had front gardens that followed a similar pattern of consistency. Each had neatly trimmed hedges in a dark green, well-placed pathways of light grey stone that led to the front door and blooming flowers in the same red, blue and purple shades.

Streets divided the sections of housing, wide and broad enough for two vehicles; Mathew saw they were empty of traffic. They ran straight in each direction, not curving or alternating at all. They were flat as if the entire town and its road were on a board.

After every ten houses, there was a small park with a playground, green lawn and exactly seven trees. Benches were placed at regular intervals down the street with lamp posts in between.

The overall effect was one of deliberate harmony, where every element had a sense of purpose and deliberate placement. Mathew couldn’t find a single thing out of place, and it almost made him dizzy. He could see easily becoming lost here if it weren’t for the street signs providing directions.

A pair of people approached him, a middle-aged couple who held hands as they walked down the street.

The man was in his early to mid-fifties, with a look about him that was professional combined with a casual elegance in how he carried himself. His dark hair was neatly combed back with a touch of grey at the temples to accentuate his age.

He wore a well-tailored, charcoal grey suit with a white shit and a striped silk tie. Mathew saw a gold Rolex on his wrist. The man’s demeanour was calm and collected despite Mathew’s sudden appearance, and he had a welcoming expression on his face.

The woman matched him perfectly. Of a similar age, she was a picture of grace and style. Her hair was brown and neatly curled without a single hint of grey. She wore a flower-patterned dress with a modest neckline and a belt to match. Her neck was adorned with thick pearls, and her hands had several prominently displayed rings.

They looked like they had just stepped out of a black-and-white movie or a propaganda poster from the second world war.

“Where the hell am I?” Mathew muttered, thinking for a moment that he had been transported back in time. They smiled at him as they neared.

“Heya, neighbour! Welcome to Asylum! We’re so glad you could come to this Floor!” The man said as he stuck out his hand to shake Mathew’s. It was rough and calloused with a firm grip. The woman also shook Mathew’s hand while giving him a large, friendly smile.

Mathew was shocked by the fact that they both had mana inside their bodies; he could practically see it swirling around them. These two were high-level, possibly more powerful than Mathew to quite a large degree.

Oddly, the ‘Buzz’ didn’t activate at all.

“You’re both from the Tower? But you’re so normal looking!” Mathew blurted out, unable to stop himself from asking. The couple didn’t seem offended, instead, the man threw his head back and laughed while the woman smiled and nodded.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“We are. I’m Susan; I just reached Floor 57 before arriving here.” Susan explained.

“Arnold, Floor 63.” Allen added.

“I.. don’t understand. I thought this would be Floor 32, that’s where I’m supposed to be.” Mathew replied with a frown. Had he been brought to a different Floor for some unknown reason? Before his thoughts could spiral out of control, Susan reassured him.

“People come to Asylum at different times in their journey through the Tower. I don’t believe it has anything to do with your progression but rather your mental state.” Susan explained. Seeing that Mathew didn’t quite understand, Arnold interjected once again.

“You were about to crack. The Tower sensed weakness in you and sent you here.” Arnold said, gesturing to the homes around them.

“Why? Do the gods want to give me a little rest and relaxation before continuing on? That doesn’t seem like their typical actions.” Mathew responded.

“No, the opposite, in fact. Someone up there is obviously hoping you quit and stay here. The easiest way to take someone out of the Tower without killing them is to send them here and let them decide to stop the journey.” Arnold clarified.

“Did you make any enemies on your way here?” Susan inquired, and Mathew let out a scoff.

“Of course, who hasn’t? I can think of plenty of gods that want to see me fail. I’m just surprised Unyielding Declaration would let them send me here.” Mathew rationalized.

“Unyielding Declaration?” This time, is was Arnold’s turn to be confused.

“My god, I’m Mathew, the Apostle of Unyielding Declaration.” The couple’s eyes widened, and they visibly withdrew from him.

“An Apostle? I can’t say we get many of those here. Usually, they are so dedicated to their deities that they would never dream of staying.” Arnold explained before holding up his hand to stop Mathew from talking.

“Whatever your reasons for being brought to this Floor, you’re here now, and the choice to stay is yours alone. This isn’t a prison; you can leave at any time.” The older man finished.

“Come, we’ll show you to your new home. It has all the amenities, and it's freshly stocked with everything you’ll need for your stay.” Susan said.

The couple walked with him down the street, their pace slower to accommodate Mathew’s limp. They would point out the various parks and who lived in what houses, although Mathew had no idea how they could tell them apart.

Other people appeared as they walked, many wearing similar clothing as the couple or various other casual outfits. But several were like Mathew, recently arrived or unwilling to change. Their armour, weapons or magical items didn’t blend well with the surroundings, and they stood out like a sore thumb.

“So, I can leave at any time?” Mathew asked in curiosity. This Floor didn’t seem so bad. There was no one trying to kill him, and everyone was friendly. He nodded at another man and woman, this couple much younger than Susan and Arnold.

There were even children! Kids played in the parks overseen by parents and even grandparents! An entire community, wedged into the space of a Floor of the Tower of Avarice. It was something Mathew could never have imagined.

“Anytime, if you want.” Arnold replied.

“Or, you can stay. Give up the fight and settle down. It’s a good life here, as normal of a life you will ever find for yourself.” Susan added.

“What do most people choose?” Mathew inquired, looking at another large group who were gathered in front of a house, playing games and washing their cars. All normal things you would see on a weekend in the United States.

“If I had to guess? Half and half. A normal, peaceful life is hard to give up after everything we went through in the Tower. So what if we can’t use our Blessings here, or we age normally? Its better than dying quickly on the higher Floors.” Arnold explained.

“And we can be together, that is a Blessing in itself.” Susan added with a smile.

“This is you.” Arnold said as they stopped in front of a house that was the same as all the others. They had walked about a mile from where Mathew had appeared, and he hadn’t seen a single thing change at that distance.

“You’ll find everything you need inside. Rest and relax. Even if you choose to carry on to the next floor, a respite will do you good. And, after a few days, you might find yourself wanting to change out of those clothes and into a nice suit.” Arnold joked, straightening his jacket.

Saying goodbye to Susan and Arnold with a promise to see them soon, Mathew entered the house. The door was unlocked, and when he saw the interior, he was struck by how normal it was.

The porch led to a living room, bathed in the soft glow of the afternoon sun. It stretched out before him in a welcoming expanse, with a comfortable-looking sofa facing a small, tidy fireplace that already had a stack of firewood ready next to it. A modest armchair was beside the window, and a bookshelf filled with books and magazines.

The hardwood floor looked brand new and spotless, with a rug at the center of the room beneath a coffee table.

Beyond the living room was the kitchen, a large, open space with vintage appliances that reminded Mathew of the 1950’s. A stove, fridge and kitchen table dominated the room. Walking over to it, Mathew found that the cupboards and the fridge were packed with food in recognizable brands from his home.

Upstairs were three bedrooms with walls adorned with floral wallpaper and a second bathroom. After decades, possibly centuries, of travelling or making do with whatever accommodations he could find, this was paradise.

A sense of normalcy struck him. Peeking out the glass door of the kitchen, he saw a large backyard with a perfect lawn and a swimming pool. Lawn chairs ringed the water, and there was a fire pit.

“I can see why no one wants to leave.” Mathew muttered as he finished his tour. Sinking gratefully into the comfortable sofa, he rubbed his leg with one hand to relieve the pain while pointing his other at the fireplace.

“Burn.” Mathew commanded in the Celestial Language. Strangely, the universe didn’t react to his call, and the Word of Power failed to light the stacked wood on fire.

“Right…no Blessings.” Mathew whispered. He had thought that the Words of Power may have been exempt, but it seemed this place was completely cut off from the rest of the Tower. After resting his leg for an hour or so, and half dozing in the soft, he finally got up to cook himself something to eat.

He burned it horribly; his cooking skills left a lot to be desired. He hadn’t had much of a chance to cook since he entered the Tower, and, truth be told, he wasn’t good at it when he was home either.

Dumping the charred eggs into the trash, Mathew pulled out a carton of milk and a box of cereal from the cupboard. His supper finished, he got the hottest shower this house was capable of and crawled into the large, king sized bed in the master bedroom just as the sun was setting.

He was going to enjoy this Floor.