Arise - Chapter 4: True Power

Shouting out to the top of his lungs, Regis strode across the grass, lunging with his fist extended out. Right before his fist reached the beautiful Yvel, his feet slowed down. He hesitated, thinking if it was alright for him to hit Yvel. He had never hit anyone before, not even when he was angered by the jeers of others for a whole year. Stopping his fist, Regis scrunched his brow, troubled. But a loud sigh made him flinch, followed by his eyes rolling around until they stared at the blue sky.

Regis fell flat on his back, his muscles and bones aching from hitting the ground. Panting, he said, "Big Sister Yvel. Do I really need to punch you? Can't I climb the Tower without getting into a fight?"

Yvel leaned over with her arms crossed, her red eyes narrowing dangerously, making Regis shudder in fear, but her beautiful face made also him blush hot-red. She sighed and picked him up, patting the grass and dirt off his clothes. His head throbbed from her ruthless chop as she spoke. "Some trials on the floors may not necessarily entail conflict. That is true. But the Tower's nature is that of conflict. Wars, faction rivalries, battles. All of them breed conflict. You need strength to climb the Tower and discover the purpose of being called here twice."

"I've never hit anyone though…." Regis fiddled with his fingers, shyly looking away from Yvel.

Yvel sighed again and grasped his wrists. She knelt to see him eye-to-eye, a pair of blue and red eyes locking into each other. "To be a Climber is to strive higher. You can't do that without the resolve to fight. It appears I can't force you to find that resolve, but I'm sure you'll find it later. For now, I'll train you in the basics."

Regis watched, not wanting to blink to see everything. Although he wished not to fight, he could tell how serious Big Sister Yvel was about it and complied. He prayed to the Tower that he wouldn't need to fight as Yvel took up a stance and punched, a clear sound of a snap rippling through the air as a shockwave rose from her fist and parted the grass.

"It's a simple punch. Very simple to do. Tuck your shoulders, bend your knees, keep your back straight, hold the punch by your waist with your other hand up as a guard, and release." Yvel patted his shoulder, knees, and back and moved his hands. She raised her hand and pointed to the fingers. "Curl your fingers in so the tips are at the edge of your palm, tuck them in, then place your thumb over your index and middle. Keep your wrists straight. Your punch earlier was so pathetic I couldn't believe it. Now, practice that a thousand times."

"Eh?" Regis staggered his gaze to his hands and back to Yvel, who tilted her head with an unnerving smile. Gulping nervously, he copied Yvel's stance and started his hellish training.

Hours later, his body was covered in sweat, and his fists couldn't unclench because he had them clenched for so long, and his lungs burned furiously, choking for air. Regis walked, nearly tripping over on his own shaky feet, to the pavilion where Yvel waited on her throne. Lifting his fist, he smiled brightly and said, "I finished it!"

"It's good to see your spirits still high after that. There's a bath in that area and some clothes I found for you. Wash up and come back here." Yvel shuffled her shoulder while slumping in her chair, tapping away at a strange rectangular object.

"Um? What is that?" Regis pointed at the weird rectangle. It resembled a box that Grandpa used to store a watch, except it was so thin, like a needle.

Yvel looked at him weirdly until her eyes glinted with realization. "That's right. You came from the 0th floor. I heard the technology is quite low over there. You'll learn about it later. For now, just wash up."

Holding in his curiosity, Regis dragged his feet over to where Yvel pointed, a place surrounded by a wooden fence, smoke rising from within. The sight that greeted him amazed him, his mouth gaping wide at the large pool of hot, steaming water. Had he been dreaming the whole time? Regis thought so as his eyes darted from left to right. Back in his home, the most he could do was a tub of cold water with a bucket of lukewarm water to wash off after the bath. The waft of steam tingled the pores of his skin, and his wide mouth curled into a smile.

'What am I waiting for?' Hurrying out of his clothes, Regis leaped straight into the pool and yelped, the heat boiling his skin red. He misjudged how hot the water was. However, after a time, the water no longer hurt and became soothing, making him sigh in satisfaction. 'I've never taken such a bath before. So good!'

After scrubbing the amazing soap around and drying himself off with a large towel, unlike the small one he used at home, he glanced around for the clothes Big Sister Yvel said she put out for him. He spotted some clothes hanging on a beam and went over to them.

"Big Sister Yvel. I'm done. Is it your turn?" Regis exited the bath area, wearing the clothes she gave him. "By the way, what are these clothes?"

Yvel peeked from her left eye and looked interested. "Those clothes do suit you. I like to play dress-up games on my phone, so I have some confidence. A nice blue sweater vest draws out your eyes, the white short sleeve makes the blue more pronounced, and the white shorts match the top and the black shoes with black knee-socks. Hmm. Maybe I should get more clothes later. Are they comfortable?"

"Yes! Thank you. These clothes are easy to move in." Regis stretched around, showing Yvel how well the clothes fit his body.

"Regis," Yvel said shortly.

Hearing her call his name, Regis stiffened and straightened his body. "Yes, Big Sister Yvel!"

Yvel got off her throne, waved Regis over to follow her, and led him to the open plains away from the pavilion, from the labyrinth exits, facing the boundless fields of grass. She stared at the horizon while patting his head. "After some thought, I decided to show you the heights and power you may reach or have to face in the future. Stand back."

Regis took several steps away from her, already sweating from the tension, the pressure emanating from his big sister. Yvel drew a deep breath and raised her hand in a chop, and out of nowhere, a strange red substance gathered around her hand like flames, shining brilliantly and casting a new set of shadows. Slowly her red-glowing hand tilted and suddenly appeared further down, a fast swinging motion he could not pick up.

Staggering to his rear, Regis clenched the long grass, unable to comprehend what had occurred. The ground had split and parted, a long trench stretching to the horizon and reaching so deep the bottom was shrouded in darkness. More than that, Regis shivered as his eyes glanced up. The clouds also split in the same direction as the newly formed trench. Already, so many questions flew around in his mind. What was that red glow? How could a single hand part the earth and tear the sky? What in the Tower did she do?

"Phew….That was, I guess, around thirty percent?" Yvel's statement only furthered the thunderous claps of shock reverberating in Regis's mind. Her hand reached out to him, and Regis avoided it, dropping his head to the floor, fearful of being cut in half.

"I'm not going to cut you. But you must be careful. Only with strength can you avoid someone from splitting you apart as I did to the clouds and ground." Yvel raised an eyebrow and picked up Regis. He was still dazed by what happened that he couldn't move or think.

"It's getting late. Go to sleep and dwell on what you saw." Yvel dropped him on a bed in the pavilion and returned to her throne.

As the sun rolled over for the moon to take its place, Regis heard only the sound of his heart, still beating fast even hours after Yvel's demonstration. The image of the ground and sky being cut in two seemed to have been etched under his eyelids. Every time he closed his eyes to try to sleep, he saw the memory over and over again.

In the end, Regis got no sleep. Rubbing his red, sleepy eyes, he got out of bed and washed his face in the basin, seeing only the ground and sky parting in the water's reflection.

"Regis. Today, the first of the fresh Climbers usually come out. Hide in the pavilion and come out when I signal you to." Yvel gave Regis a plate of cake.

"Why?" Regis graciously accepted the food and munched on the cake. He noticed a table full of empty plates with crumbs and leftover frosting.

"Usually, you would want to stand out. But for your case, we need to be careful about the attention you can draw to yourself. If it's known that you won in a few hours, that would spell trouble for both you and me. And you don't want your big sister to be in trouble, right?" Yvel patted his head.

"Ok!" Regis agreed. He trusted Yvel's reasons.

Hours later, the first batch of people exited the labyrinth. However, Yvel didn't give him the signal to enter. As the day drew to a close, a crowd had gathered near the pavilion, all looking in awe and adoration at Yvel. Finally, she gave him the signal, and Regis popped out from behind the pavilion and sneaked into the crowd. Everyone had their own tents to pitch up and sleep in, so Regis followed suit and stayed in his tent.

The next day, at the end of the third day, at the brink of twilight, Yvel addressed the crowd, "Welcome to everyone who succeeded in exiting the labyrinth. Congratulations on taking the first step as Climbers of the Tower. Now let's move on to the next stage, Orsustan."