They walked into the tower. The metamorphic black rock layer was at least a few hundred meters in thickness. The black rock slowly turned white and then translucent as they reached the second threshold. There was a translucent wall there with a faint glimmer of iridescent light. Torga and his soldiers walked right through this membrane.
Arcen followed Jenna, expecting to feel a surface, but he felt nothing at all. It felt like his momentum slowed to a crawl at the center of the membrane, but he walked out of the other side at the same speed he walked in.
A familiar hum rang in his ears as soon as he stepped into the tower.
“?∵?∵∵?∴?∴∴∵?????∷∷???∵∵??”
Gold veins grew from the corners of his vision, resolving into shapes. The whispers in the hum reverberated in his bones.
╭ ╰︶?? ERITHERIA ?? ︶╯ ╮
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ EVERYTHING IS ALLOWED ╰︶
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ NOTHING IS FREE ╰︶
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ YOU HAVE BEEN INITIATED ╰︶
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
This ‘screen’ was completely different from what Arcen was used to. It had no buttons or the corporate polish of Helviter dashboards. It was organic, like staring into a brain with pulsing gold roots. He had fleeting memories from eight years ago when he first saw something like this.
Is this what that girl was talking about?
The letters fluctuated wildly. He had a feeling it was only meant for his eyes, and only he could make sense of it in English. She had mentioned something called Rootsong. Arcen wondered what difference that made. She had shown him his stats in the Mind Matrix with alternated names assigned by his company.
Are they the same ones here?
When he wondered about himself, the gold veins in his eyes changed shape as the hum whispered a different tune.
╭╰︶?? ERITHERIA ??︶╯╮
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯NAME╰︶
????
NAMELESS
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯TITLE╰︶
????
NO TITLE
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯CLASSIFICATION╰︶
????
QUIESCENT
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ ATTRIBUTES ╰︶
????
LOVE [5]
??
HATE [8]
??
TRUTH [9]
??
DECEPTION [8]
??
ORDER [7]
??
CHAOS [6]
??
HOPE [5]
??
DESPAIR [9]
??
CREATION [6]
??
DESTRUCTION [2]
??
LIGHT [5]
??
DARKNESS [8]
??
LIFE [7]
??
DEATH [6]
??
FUTURE [16]
??
PAST [3]
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯SKILLS╰︶
????
PREDICT [1]
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯MAIN CONTRACTS╰︶
????
NO CONTRACTS
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯SUBCONTRACTS╰︶
????
NO SUBCONTRACTS
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯TRAITS╰︶
????
SWALLOW
??
SUFFERENCE
??
EMBODIMENT
??
WEIGHT
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯DOMAINS╰︶
????
NO DOMAINS
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ITEMS╰︶
????
NO ITEMS
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯QUESTS╰︶
????
NO QUESTS
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯TRIBES╰︶
????
NO TRIBES
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
?╭─ GOLD ─╮?
╰ 0 ╯
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
?╭─ AURA ─╮?
╰ 0 ╯
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
Alright, what do these things even mean?!
He was seeing a lot of the word ‘No,’ and he had the creeping feeling that he was definitely not built for climbing towers with an empty list like this one. The numbers did seem to align with what the oily girl showed him earlier. Traits was a new word, and he had no idea what those words meant beyond their general definitions.
The gold veins in his eyes shifted yet again—this time without him thinking about anything.
╭ ╰︶?? ERITHERIA ?? ︶╯ ╮
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ QUEST ╰︶
????
EARN YOUR NAME
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ DESCRIPTION ╰︶
????
KILL ONE LIFE FORM
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ CONDITIONS ╰︶
????
HALF YOUR WEIGHT
OR ABOVE
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ DURATION ╰︶
????
NO DURATION
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ REWARDS ╰︶
????
NAMING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ PENALTIES ╰︶
????
NO PENALTIES
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
╭────────────────────╮
︶╯ STATUS ╰︶
????
PENDING
╰─────────╮╭────────╯
Arcen couldn’t dismiss these hallucinations with the eye gestures that he was used to. He stumbled on the controls by accident, repeating the word ‘Close’ in his head. He had never seen a Mind Matrix screen that interfaced directly with thoughts like that. This was something that lurked a layer beneath everything that he knew.
This is really a tower only thing.
He only had what the oily girl told him in the hot springs to go with. He hadn’t seen this in any documentary about towers that he’d watched.
He could ask Torga what these gold veins were for a detailed explanation, but he’d already embarrassed himself earlier by freaking out about the government message. He could read what was in his eyes.
The tower wanted him to kill something to earn his name.
“Eritheria, that’s the name of this tower,” Torga spoke, breaking the awkward silence.
“Ah, it’s true then? Towers really do name themselves?” Arcen asked.
He’d thought it was just poetic phrasing for people naming a tower. It seemed like he had it backwards, and it was only further confirmed with the gold veins that he saw.
“Yes. The towers are alive,” Torga whispered. “We’re in the gut of a giant, as they say. Sometimes, the giant speaks too.”
Torga was too dramatic; he was selling the horror like they were sitting around a campfire. Arcen didn’t like this piece of information about the towers or the use of the giants as an analogy. He had a different take on it.
We’re crawling up the asshole of one.
The tower was engulfed in pitch darkness beyond the glimmer of the membrane they stepped through.
One of the guards did something, and a mysterious point of light started hovering above him. It worked like a floodlight taped to a drone.
The ground floor of the tower looked just as he expected. Bioluminescent plants grew everywhere, complex vines scattering the wet rock walls. Some plants looked more like plant-like fungus with bulbous heads that erupted in orange spore clouds every now and then.
There were even more small critters and weird plants along the way, but he couldn’t stop to take a better look or appreciate any of it. He was too afraid to fall behind in the dark.
The tower floor was segmented into chambers. A similar glimmering membrane from the entrance separated each chamber. They were as spacious as one or more football stadiums. Every chamber had a slightly different ecosystem from the other.
After passing through six chambers on a winding path, they finally reached the research station. It was tucked away in a corner of a chamber, surrounded by huge bulbous plants that looked like water balloons on the ground.
The station looked more like a camp. Several tents with the letter ’H’ and ‘R&D’ were anchored to the ground with tethers. Large floodlights kept every corner well-lit, powered by generators. At least fifty people walked around with assault rifles. Helviter had hired some sort of private military or a tower guild for security.
A building loomed beyond the tents, made of eight containers stacked together. They had been painted black once. Now they were covered with vines and meshed with the mossy ground below.
“This is the research station Gamma-17, Mr. Henwick, Ms. Jenna,” Torga said, gesturing at a tent after the gate closed behind them. “My guards will show you around. Please report to tent four when you’re appropriately dressed for the task.”
Arcen looked at Jenna as Torga’s guards led the way for them. He wasn’t told about this dress requirement.
“I wasn’t told to bring any special clothes?” He asked Jenna.
“Oh, don’t worry, Mr. Henwick. We already arranged the hazmat suit for you. I’ll help you put it on,” Jenna said, gesturing towards the tent ahead with a smile.
Hazmat suit?! Seriously, what the hell did I get myself into?
The security guards guided them to a tent the size of a small house. The interior was a fully furnished modular room, complete with a bedroom and a washroom. His hazmat suit was laid on the bed.
“Alright, let’s get you dressed,” Jenna said, rolling up her sleeves after closing the door behind her.
She worked fast, stripping him down to his undergarments without even asking him first. He felt pampered like a medieval royal for the first time in his life. He would’ve turned pink if he weren’t already purple. The incessant tickle in his throat was at an all-time high.
He found himself in a brand new yellow hazmat suit in about ten minutes. This suit had its own battery pack and temperature control. He was relieved when she showed him how it worked.
At least I’m not gonna sweat my ass off inside this.
He remembered something when he saw his trousers.
“Excuse me for a bit, forgot to take my vitamins,” he said, smiling nervously, taking his wallet out of his trousers. He opened the washroom door.
“Of course, Mr. Henwick,” Jenna said, smiling back at him.
Once the washroom door was shut firmly behind him, he opened the wallet and slowly pulled out the sticker card with the black dot.
He scraped the black dot from the white plastic card and firmly tacked it onto the inner lining of his left glove. It blended perfectly with the dark fabric.
Alright. Now, to put this shit on the whatever egg.
Torga guided them towards the main building made of stacked containers. A thick door slid open, revealing a white interior where every surface was clean and metallic. It was very well lit, and almost every wall had some sort of display.
Jenna brought his hazmat helmet and helped him put it on. It had his usual headgear slotted into it. The fleshy inner layer was cold against his skin, like chicken breasts. The suit’s interior lit up when the helmet sealed against the neckline.
Torga guided him into an ‘integrity check’ room with another door like an airlock. The second door opened after the first was sealed shut. Arcen walked out of the other end, leaving Torga and Jenna behind in the lobby.
The lab section was much more spacious than the lobby. It was almost two containers in size and packed with scientific equipment. He counted six other people wearing similar hazmat suits working at various stations. They all nodded as he passed them towards a man who was waving at him.
“Dr. Bourbon. Nice to meet you, Mr. Henwick.”
Arcen shook the man’s thick, gloved hand. He was an old man with gray hair and a full beard. He had no visible mutations on the parts that Arcen could see through the helmet.
“The specimen is ready for you.” He pointed to a walled-off section behind him. Arcen followed him there, and the doctor parted the thick translucent curtain for him.
Is that a dead guy?! What the fuck?
This section looked more like a mortuary. A man was lying on a small bed in the center with a folded towel across his crotch. He had two small horns on his forehead, red scales on the sides of his face and his shoulders. Thick fur lined his chest, thighs, and upper arms. He looked almost like an ape, except neatly trimmed and well-maintained. His mutation wasn’t very common among the hybrids, a monkey man with a sprinkle of reptile.
“What the—”
A black ball protruded from his chest.
That’s the egg?
“This is the specimen. I apologize for the dreadful…presentation of it,” the doctor said, placing another folded towel over the man’s face.
“I-is he dead?” Arcen wasn’t briefed on any of this. The monkey man’s chest was moving ever so slightly. The black orb glowed orange, like it had molten metal inside it. The rhythm was far too slow to be a heartbeat, but Arcen was worried nonetheless.
“He is, regrettably, deceased. This is how we found him.”
“In the tower?”
“Yes. This is something new. We’re trying everything we can throw at it, which is where you come in.”
“It’s safe, right? I wasn’t told—”
“Oh, don’t worry, Mr. Henwick. The black egg has no means of locomotion or any means of attack. We’ve already performed extensive scans and tests. It just looks intimidating, but it is completely harmless.”
Fuck. I’m going to die, aren’t I?
“Who is this man?”
“This is a former ascender. A guildsman. His name is Norm Lorraine. You may have seen him on TV. He was quite popular last year,” the doctor said, opening a container with a thick coil of wire in it.
Arcen wasn’t that familiar with popular tower climbers. He was too busy with work. His siblings would certainly know. Kylan was obsessed with these new celebrities, especially one female live streamer who was as big of a star as an old world A-list celebrity. Climbing wasn’t the only way to exploit the ‘tower gold rush’ as it was called.
“What happened to him?”
“We’re hoping you can finally answer that question.”
“Ah, I see.”
So that oily brat wasn’t lying?
Dr. Bourbon plugged one end of the thick wire into a box the size of a washing machine. It looked like the machine Arcen’s headgear connected to in his office, but this one had more boxes, wires, and pipes all over it.
“But I can only see the future?” Arcen asked, trying to act surprised.
“Today, you will see the past. We’ve made some modifications to the headgear.”
Dr. Bourbon plugged the wire from the machine to the back of Arcen’s suit. His headgear started squirming immediately. The flesh rubbed against his skin, and his Mind Matrix opened. He saw the change immediately.
──────────────────────────
?DUALITY CONTRACT?
──────────────────────────
Category: Chronos
Title: Glimpses of the Past
Cost: $1,300 [Single Use Minimum]
Daily Quota: $1,400,000
1.4 million daily quota?!
“Does it say Glimpses of the Past?” Dr. Bourbon asked.
Arcen gulped, trying to focus. The daily quota was utterly insane. More than ten times higher than his normal limit. “Yes,” he said, wondering what he was going to do here that was going to cost that much.
“Then you are ready.”
Dr. Bourbon grabbed a small metallic cylinder from a tray. It had a thin tube connecting it to the machine. He placed it gently over the dead man’s head and rotated it, locking it in place.
“Keep in mind, these visions would be in much greater detail than you’re used to. We have four sessions planned. Each dive will take three hours.”
Three hours?! Oh no.
“What about headaches?”
“You can rest between each session for up to an hour. You’ll be provided the best medical care if the need arises. Ms. Jenna will take good care of you between sessions.”
So I only get the ambulance if the hot woman can’t fix me? Why did I agree to this again?
He knew the answer.
Money.
┌──════════──???──════════──┐
Start
└──════════──???──════════──┘
He was Norm. He was taller. He got out of bed on a Thursday morning in a penthouse apartment that oversaw a city much larger than New Manning. It looked like one of the old cities, maybe New York.
The Mayday ruined population centers beyond recognition. Wherever this was, Norm reigned over an ocean of red trees and crumbling buildings. Norm was rich. His apartment screamed luxury at every corner.
He stepped on a plushie that squeaked loudly on his way to the bathroom. He groaned as he bent down and put it on a cabinet nearby. The cartoonish monkey was a weird decoration for his otherwise sleek, minimalist apartment.
Must be his kid’s toy? Surely?
Arcen couldn’t parse the exact thought that flashed through Norm’s head. There was a kid somewhere in the equation, but Norm wasn’t exactly thinking about love when he saw the toy. There was a tang of bitterness.
Divorced, maybe?
Norm brushed his sharp teeth, checked his pale red eyes, and washed his face. He had two walk-in closets. The bigger one held all his work outfits. A dark camo pattern was his favorite. He quickly rigged armor plates around his body, forearms, shoulders, and thighs, and put on a thick vest that covered his torso. In the next room, he had two backpacks and a large cubic suitcase already packed.
┌──════════──???──════════──┐
Skip
└──════════──???──════════──┘
┌──═════════──???──═════════──┐
HELVITER INDUSTRIES
︾
──────────────────────────
?Contract Activation Successful?
──────────────────────────
Contract: Glimpses of the Past
Cost: $3,700
Remaining Daily Quota: $1,396,300
└──═════════──???──═════════──┘
Huh? What the fuck is this?
The headgear went blank for a second. Arcen had never seen this ‘Skip’ command. It was likely something R&D added. It meant he wasn’t in control of this headgear. Someone else was. He was simply here to watch. He noticed the cost had doubled in that one glimpse into the past. It seemed the $1,300 was the minimum.
Maybe because it’s way more detailed?
┌──════════──???──════════──┐
Start
└──════════──???──════════──┘
Norm drove a heavily modified, matte black Chevy pickup to a private airstrip through root-riddled streets.
┌──════════──???──════════──┐
Skip
└──════════──???──════════──┘
┌──═════════──???──═════════──┐
HELVITER INDUSTRIES
︾
──────────────────────────
?Contract Activation Successful?
──────────────────────────
Contract: Glimpses of the Past
Cost: $1,300
Remaining Daily Quota: $1,393,700
└──═════════──???──═════════──┘
Every new scene took a minimum of $1,300. This was way more expensive than his day job. The $1.4 million quota made a lot of sense.
They must’ve targeted it wrong. That’s why they skip quickly. To save money.
┌──════════──???──════════──┐
Start
└──════════──???──════════──┘
Norm was hiking up to the tower entrance. This tower was thinner and newer, and the road there was a full hike up a mountain forest carrying two backpacks and a suitcase. Norm was strong enough to do that on foot. Arcen noticed the clearing that he saw before he walked into the tower. This seemed like the exact same place, back before a road was excavated towards it.
Three other people were waiting at the entrance for his arrival.
“Venti,” Norm said, nodding at the young man with orange hair and a mane of feathers around his neck. He had a long pole strapped to his back.
“You’re late, we came here two hours ago.” Venti stood with his backpack, clearly in a hurry to get started.
“Long time no see, Bower.” Norm waved at the other man. The top half of his face was an exoskeleton mask with two glowing holes for eyes. He wore a long coat to hide the rest of his body.
“Likewise, Norm,” Bower said quietly.
“And who‘s this?” Norm pointed at the short figure sitting on a rock nearby. “Are we going on a school trip or what?”
The third one wore an oversized hooded coat. Norm couldn’t see their face clearly. The child stood as he approached the rock they were sitting on. They wore a pair of long boots stained red with the recent blood rain.
“That’s the kid who found the shaft. Just here to show us the way,” Venti said, tossing a bag at Bower.
”What’s your name, kid?” Norm asked, looking at the child staring down at him.
“Ivy, nice to meet you!”
The voice was that of a girl. One that sounded too young to be climbing towers with grown-up strangers.
“Is that thing even old enough for this?” Norm asked Venti, ignoring the girl completely.
“Doesn’t matter. She’s here for the money, like everyone else. Climb or die. That’s the deal,” Venti said, heading towards the tower entrance. “Hurry up!” he yelled over his shoulder, clapping his hands.
Norm didn’t agree with this new world. He’d been an elementary school teacher before Mayday. Children didn’t belong in towers, but he kept seeing them nevertheless, both dead and alive. He didn’t say anything further on the topic because it didn’t matter in this new world.
They walked to the hole in the tower, their feet sinking into bloodied mud from the recent rain.
“So is it real? This shaft that goes up four hundred floors?” Norm asked Bower. That’s what he had come all this way for. If it were true, this was a shortcut like no other. A tower typically had around a thousand floors. Skipping half of a new tower was a huge advantage over other climbers.
“It is. We tested it with animals yesterday,” Bower said calmly. He was a man of few words.
A notification popped up on Norm’s Mind Matrix.
┌───────═══?\?//?═══───────┐
GGC UNITED STATES
︾
He brushed it aside.
Gold veins rippled through his vision for a split second. Norm heard whispers in his ear. It was spoken words of a language Arcen couldn’t understand by the sound. He only understood it because Norm did. The team walked into the tower through the same glimmering membrane Arcen walked through.
”......:∵∷∷∵∵∴?ERITHERIA?.:..::...?∷∵::WELCOME, ASCENDER NORM∴∷?∵∷∵∵EVERYTHING IS ALLOWED. NOTHING IS FREE.∵∵∵∵::...YOU HAVE BEEN INITIATED?:::..?∴∵∴?∵??∵?.“
Arcen remembered similar words being written on his eyes. Norm seemed to process all of it without relying on vision. He dismissed it in his mind before the gold veins even had the chance to manifest.
Eritheria? I saw that name too. So, this is the same tower, then.
The forest had looked familiar, and the entrance had looked familiar. The name was the final confirmation. Norm had come here some time ago when things were different and new.
At the tail end of that long whisper, gold veins weaved something that Norm wanted to pay attention to.
He can pick and choose when he wants to see something?
╭────────────╮
?╭─ GOLD ─╮?
╰ 135,890 ╯
╰─────╮╭────╯
╭────────────╮
?╭─ AURA ─╮?
╰ 1,587,630 ╯
╰─────╮╭────╯
Norm dismissed it before Arcen could fully read it. He was brushing everything aside like pop-up ads.
He placed his cube shaped suitcase in a small crevice near the entrance and pulled out two scaly gauntlets from it. They were made of crystalline red scales. The gauntlets tightened around his forearms. He clenched both his fists, flexing his reliable weapons.
“Nice gloves you got there!” The kid remarked as she came up next to him. “Mind if I put my boots in here?”
“No, go ahead.” Norm gave her space, puzzled about what she was doing. Climbers usually put more things on before climbing. This child was taking things off.
“You’re going barefoot?”
“I need to feel the ground,” she said dropping the hood, smiling politely at Norm.
Not this fucking kid again!
She was glistening, a thin layer of her oil coating her from head to toe. Arcen would recognize those bright orange eyes and that annoying face as long as he lived.
“Whoa, slimy. What are you?” Norm tried to get a closer look at her, reaching for her with his gauntlet hand that was the size of her head. She recoiled and kept a distance.
“Keep your mittens off me, please!” she said, letting her long coat slide off her shoulders, revealing an oil-drenched black bodysuit underneath.
┌──════════──???──════════──┐
Skip
└──════════──???──════════──┘
┌──═════════──???──═════════──┐
HELVITER INDUSTRIES
︾
──────────────────────────
?Contract Activation Successful?
──────────────────────────
Contract: Glimpses of the Past
Cost: $25,700
Remaining Daily Quota: $1,368,000
└──═════════──???──═════════──┘
That's the day 1 drop!
Please feel free to comment, meme and point out any typos/missing words. Greatly appreciated. <3
Posting daily for 3 weeks straight from here, I'll see you in the next chapters!
