Arise - Chapter 5: New Teammates

At the end of Yvel's declaration, the ground before her split, cracks forming, and dirt tossing over as a large structure rose. Its metallic sheen reflected the sunlight, blinding Regis for a short moment until it settled into place. The structure resembled an open window with strange green mists swirling in the center.

Regis released an inaudible gasp of awe, shivers running across his skin. His heart thumped, and a deep desire to go through the whirlpool of mists rattled into his bones. He scrunched his toes and couldn't stop the twitching of his joints, barely holding himself from running ahead.

"Orsustan, the City of Origins, awaits you behind this portal. May the Tower bless your path as Climbers. I'm sure some of you will have a unique path." Yvel's red eyes gazed deeply at Regos, her lips curling into a slight smile. With her gaze fixated on Regis, she spoke again, "Good luck. I have high expectations."

Most in the crowd cheered and stated they would do their best. His ears drowning in these cheers, Regis held his hands over his ears, unable to block out the loud irritating crowd. He kept his hands over his ears and nodded toward Yvel, who chuckled once and waved over the first batch of people to enter. Watching the crowds of people disappear into the mists, Regis almost started to jump up and down, the excitement building in his flushed cheeks. He couldn't stop thinking about when it would be his turn. The long wait continued as people were sent in ten at a time, the length of the portal. The crowd had around four hundred people at the start, so it was a long process.

Finally, after around twenty groups passed through, it was Regis's turn. He stepped toward the vortex of green mists and leaped across, entering the portal. A numbness spread over, tingling across his skin, almost like he was being tickled. The portal felt like diving into a lake, everything becoming muffled and the vision distorted by waves. Regis couldn't swim in this weird space, relying on the current to whisk him away somewhere. His hands clutched the silver pocketwatch tightly, afraid of losing it in these waters.

…….

After Regis left, Yvel chuckled and waved the others over. A flash of expectation glinted from her eyes, expectations for Regis. She took out her phone and tapped the screen, sending messages to her group.

'I finally found my hope! With him, the Tower will surely turn upside down. All members are to avoid this boy. He has a purpose to fulfill here. :-)'

Yvel sent a picture she had taken of Regis when he came out in his new clothes. The sun looked especially bright today, and the breeze felt so nice as it passed through her hair. Her phone buzzed several times with new responses.

'Leader? Who is this boy?'

'My lady? What do you mean he's your hope? Isn't he too young for you?'

'Ma'am? What happened?'

"These idle idiots. I should convene a meeting for the first time in a while." Yvel said coldly at the nonstop messages before turning off her phone. She relaxed on her throne as the newcomers continued to go through the portals. Clicking her tongue, she regretted not being able to leave to keep watch over Regis, wondering what sort of surprises he would show.

…….

Regis flew out of a vortex and stumbled on the floor, unable to keep his balance. After a series of wild movements, he managed to stay upright and let out a sigh of relief. However, his relief soon ended, and confusion wracked his head at the strange room he found himself in. The room was pure white, the walls, floor, and ceiling all the same size, and had nothing. He was the only one in this room.

"Hello?" Regis shouted out, hoping someone might hear him. His voice echoed back to him. Nothing came in response except the sound of his own voice. Regis refused to give up and ran around the room, looking for a door or clue. He went around and around until he ran out of breath and leaned down on the smooth white wall.

"I thought we were supposed to go to Orsustan. Big Sister Yvel wouldn't lie…would she?" Regis thought about Yvel and how she teased him.

Right as he was thinking of her, a vortex formed out of nowhere, and he jumped to his feet. Someone stepped out of the vortex, carrying a strange-looking lute strapped around his shoulder by a belt. His red hair was short and wavy, his red eyes glanced around the white room, and his body was tall.

Their eyes met. Regis smiled and waved his hand. "Hello! I am Regis Folk. What's your name? Do you know where we are?"

The stranger strummed the strings of his strange lute before suddenly moving his swiping his hand across, a loud noise striking like thunder to Regis's ears. The sounds grew more rapid as the stranger's fingers blurred along the strings. It was not music Regis had ever heard. Nothing came close to this strange electrifying sound and extremely fast pace. After minutes of playing, the stranger ended the song with a single stroke and smiled.

"I am Danube Lycricen. Did you enjoy my performance?" Danube strummed the strings softly.

"It was amazing! I never heard music like that before. What is that strange lute? I've never seen it." Regis applauded and eyed the strange instrument.

"Huh? You don't know this is an electric guitar?" Danube stopped his strumming, clearly flabbergasted by Regis's words. Then, a look of understanding dawned on his face. "I see. You are from the 0th floor. I guess the rumors of that place being so backward are true. This isn't a lute. It's a guitar, a precious friend." Danube chuckled. "So Regis Folk, as an outsider coming into the Tower, how do you feel about it so far?"

"Um….it's not bad. I feel bad about leaving Grandpa behind, but I already met a big sister, so that's awesome." Regis answered.

"Hmm." Danube played a short tune. "I wonder if you're worth teaming up with."

"Teaming up?" Regis tilted his head, confused. "Are we supposed to team up?"

"Why else are we here? As people go past the portals, we are split into these rooms. Once everyone is through, we have our teams. Only the ones who pass the next part of the test can get to Orsustan. You and I have to work together now."

"Eh? Big Sister didn't say anything about that. She didn't tell me at all!" Regis grew frustrated and exhaled loudly.

"You keep mentioning this big sister. Who is–" Danube's words were cut off by the sudden appearance of another vortex, a scream coming from within. A girl fell out of the vortex and tumbled around, stopping by Regis. She groaned in pain and rubbed her head.

"Excuse me. Are you alright? Here's my hand." Regis stretched his hand over. The girl grasped it and got to her feet with his help. She patted the dust from her body and glanced at Regis. Her hair was a vibrant green, her eyes shone like the bright sun, yellow and deep, and her face was beautiful like a muse Regis had heard of in fairytales. What stuck out the most was her long and sharp ears.

"Hello, I'm Regis Folk. You're very pretty!" He blurted out without reservation.

"Huh?"