Arise - Chapter 2: The Prelims

Regis rubbed his rear, hissing from the bruises on his arms. Extending upright, his legs regained strength, and he exhaled deeply to calm his rampaging heart. He sighed in relief to see the silver pocket watch still in his palm; it was his grandpa's last gift to him and needed to be cherished.

"Ahem. I have given everyone some time to adjust. Stepping through the door can have effects on those unprepared." Trying to find out the source of the voice, Regis glanced around the vast fields of roses, tulips, and other flowers before he realized it came from above.

"Huh?" The voice came from a woman floating in the air, her clothes not fluttering still despite the breeze brushing through his hair. Regis couldn't tear his eyes away. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, more beautiful than the portrait of the queen back home. Her blonde hair rested lazily down her shoulders, her face surpassed anyone else's, and her red eyes glittered like rubies, shining brighter than the ones Grandpa got from a client to use on their watch.

"Hello!" Regis shouted. The woman remained still and continued speaking. After a further glance, he noticed her body seemed transparent. Rather than a human, she resembled a ghost floating under the high heavens. Was she real?

"As I mentioned earlier, welcome to the first floor, all of you chosen by the tower to become climbers. However, no one ever said this climb would be easy." The woman smirked and brushed her hair back. "To reach the true test of the first floor, we have a preliminary exam, a short journey to separate the failures from the rest."

A loud snap came from her fingers, and Regis shuddered, not from a sense of fear or chill like in the night, but from the ground. The earth itself was shaking and cracking. Regis fell to his knees and gripped the dirt, grasping for stability. Yet, the ground erupted under him and hurled him into the sky. Unable to calm himself, Regis shouted as a gut-wrenching pain forced him to hug himself.

Peeking through his tears and slightly opened eyelids, barely holding open against the rush of wind, his eyes witnessed the ground caving in. A great hole formed, sucking him in. Helpless, Regis clung to the patch of ground he was on, closing his eyes and hoping for the best.

After a few minutes, the gut-wrenching pain ceased, freeing his stomach from the agony. Regis's eyelids fluttered for a moment before they opened. He observed his surroundings, unable to understand where he was. His current location was in a large hollow chamber underneath the surface, and holes riddled the walls like a beehive.

"By now, all of you should be within the underground chambers." The beautiful woman's voice returned. This time, she floated within the hollow cavern, staring at him, but Regis could feel her eyes weren't truly looking at him, not in the same way his grandpa did. She almost resembled a doll or puppet. Sure, they had eyes, but they did not truly look at a person.

"The goal of this prelims is to find your way through the complex cavern labyrinth and make your way to the exit within three days. Don't worry about food or water. They will be provided to you." The woman shrugged her shoulders. "Anyone who does not pass this prelim can try again as often as they want. But I wonder how many of you will pass?"

Her fingers snapped, and a clock appeared out of nowhere. It grabbed Regis's attention. This sort of clock never existed in Grandpa's workshop. Certainly, none floated in mid-air without a base. Only two hands and numbers held still in the air.

"Ah! What am I doing?" Regis rubbed his eyes and jumped up and down. Glancing from hole to hole, Regis tried to figure out which way was the best, pointing around. He paused when he turned to a certain area. A stir rose in his mind, nothing coming in words. Just a feeling, a feeling that he had to walk down this tunnel.

Relying on this unknown itch in his head, Regis walked forward, the feeling growing stronger. The tunnel had bumpy walls and smelled like fresh dirt. The path was uneven, and Regis nearly tripped several times. After following the path, he arrived at another series of tunnelways. Before he could make a decision, his stomach growled and grumbled, and a wash of hunger dropped him to his bum.

"Hungry!" Regis called out. The woman said food would be provided, and Regis glanced around expectantly, searching for the food. Out of nowhere, a bowl of soup and a plate full of bread appeared before him. Regis gulped. The soup was steaming, and the bread was soft and warm to the touch.

"Thank you for the food!" The bread paired well with the soup, absorbing the flavor. To his amazement, the food was refilled if he asked it to. Regis ate and ate as the clock ticked down until his stomach was satisfied. An amazing meal! Regis licked his lips and stood up. His body cracked and groaned in delight.

Each tunnel seemed the exact same, no matter how Regis looked at them. But only one gave him the strange feeling from earlier. He wasn't sure what it was. Something kept nagging in his head that he needed to follow. Regis patted his stomach, burped, and continued walking down the tunnel. He relied on the strange itch to guide his walk whenever he met a crossroads.

Hours went by and passed on. Regis turned around a corner and shouted in wonder at the large flight of stairs leading to a gaping hole where a light shone through. Excited, he climbed up the stairs.

…….

"Hah…." Yvel sat on a golden throne, a red carpet stretched out under her feet and split off, extending to all the holes in the ground. Unable to contain her boredom, she yawned and slumped, unbefitting of someone of her stature. But she didn't care. The rules and mannerisms could go to hell for all she cared.

"I wonder how the newbies are doing?" Yvel pulled out her phone and dialed a number. After a few ringtones, a click came from the other side as someone picked up.

"My lady? Why are you calling at this time? Isn't it the preliminary round right now?" A man answered from the other end.

"You idiot! You said that becoming the administrator of the first floor would be a new experience. But here I am, sitting down and doing nothing! I'm dying of boredom here." Yvel scolded her call partner. "Why in the tower does it have to be so boring?"

"Sorry, my lady. I thought that perhaps seeing newcomers right as they start anew as climbers might spark some interest in you. Maybe some could be recruited at an early stage." The man spoke calmly despite her protests.

"Bah! It doesn't matter how many we recruit or what we do in the future. Everything is meaningless." Yvel spoke, her blond hair split unevenly down her face. Her depressing words only made her slump harder in her chair.

"Don't say that, my lady. I can say for certainty that your life isn't meaningless. It isn't to the rest of us." The man's voice broke at the end.

"Hmmm…." Yvel tightened her grip on her phone, careful not to break it by accident. Then, she heard a loud shout and saw the most unusual sight. A small boy made his way out of a hole. He had brown hair, deep like tree bark, and blue eyes like the ocean. Yvel's mouth quivered, unable to comprehend or say anything.

She glanced at the clock in the air. It had only been a few hours since the prelims started. Impossible, she thought to herself. This boy should never have arrived right at this time unless he had always picked the correct pathway. Yvel stood from her throne, rubbed her eyes several times, and still saw the boy looking around until he spotted her.

"My lady? What is it? You suddenly fell silent." The man asked, concern flowing from his voice.

"I'll call you later."

"My lady?"

Yvel cut the call short. The boy ran down the red carpet and stopped a few feet away from her. He huffed and panted, grasping his knees for support. He was such a weak boy, yet he somehow made it through. Yvel approached the boy as he regained his bearings.

"Excuse me. Is this where I'm supposed to be?" The boy's blue eyes glittered, reflecting her figure.

Yvel felt a smile creep onto her face. Recalling the records in her memory, she knew no one had exited the tunnels as fast as this boy. Her red eyes fixated on the boy. Perhaps, her decision to administer the first floor wasn't a waste.

"What is your name?" Yvel asked.

"A-ah? My name is Regis Folk." The boy flushed red and looked away.