Chapter 31 [Third Tier]

“Yer sure all I need to do is press ‘em in those little holes?” Locke asked skeptically, holding one of the memory sticks up to the dull light of the cloudy sky. His interest briefly flicked to the directional Relic I’d lent him to safely reach the next meeting place before switching back to the small metal stick.

“As far as we’re aware,” I confirmed. “Once all four are in place, the glass should light up like the one that opened the hidden room and then you press your hand to it.”

“And hold it there until the rest of the group is doing the same. We may be standing in place for a while.” Aurora sighed while also inspecting one of her four keys. She peered at me over the object and asked, “About Kas… Are you sure she’ll accept?”

“Does that mean you’re in favor?” I countered her question with one of my own.

“Was there ever any doubt?” Aurora’s eyes shined with excitement. “Not just one, but twodirect descendants from the esteemed Families! Even if they don’t support us directly, their names alone will help us reach places we never could on our own. Also, I like Kas. She’s a bit odd, sure, but she’s nice and fun to talk to. I’m just not sure why she would join us.”

“I feel like she’ll say yes.” For an instant, I imagined David hovering above me making kissing noises and was glad I hadn’t summoned him yet. “We should do it right and ask as a group back at the manor. I’ll find the time to approach Nathaniel before that time comes and hear his thoughts.”

“More the merrier,” Locke chimed in. “Now, how’s about you pull out ‘ol Francis, eh? I’m startin’ to miss the big lubber.”

“Alright, alright.” I waved my arms theatrically before pointing the head of my cane forward, where two intricate circles burned to life amongst the rubble. Francis crawled slowly from his space while David rushed out and performed a series of loop de loops before swooping down next to Aurora.

“Francis already knows the deal, boss!” David informed me.

It’s convenient that they can communicate when they’re not here, I thought.

“Once again, David, your presence of mind and forward thinking are astounding.” Francis wiggled uncomfortably, so I walked over and ran my hand across his shell to keep him from getting jealous. “I’m counting on you to take care of Locke now, you hear?”

The beetle’s wings fluttered, and he skittered over to Locke, where he crouched down so the young man could climb atop him. I smiled, glad that my Summons were so reliable, then, once I was sure the two were set, I began my trek back to the bank.

“We’ll see you just outside the center!” Aurora called.

I waved a hand over my shoulder to indicate I’d heard her.

***

Now that I’d travelled the path once, it didn’t take long to return to the bank, despite not having David’s or Rosie’s assistance. Knowing what lay on the other side, I didn’t use Dash to reach the outer doorway, opting instead to scale the sickly vines and only then use the Ability to safely descend to the structure’s bottom floor.

Why is this so much different from the other Floors? I mused.Every other Floor seems to track different forms of progression. The Achievements shown when ascending lists the number of Beasts killed of each Rank, how many Floor locations were visited, the time it took to clear the Floor, and the amount of Essence earned—that was it. I suppose I could say the same of the First Floor. I’d always thought the First Floor was unique, since, between my own experiences and the information available through the Network, Achievement lists throughout the Tower were similar aside from a brief clearedmessage when completing one of the in-betweens.

I stepped into the vault and walked to the back side of the waist-high dais, where I removed the four keys from one of the inner pockets of my jacket. One side of the key had a small, rectangular protrusion extending from it, silver instead of black, and the same size as the holes in the podium. Carefully, I fit the silver end of the key against the first slot, then pushed.

It refused to slide in.

I tried the other three slots, which yielded the same results.

Odd. Does this key go to one of the other rooms? I compared the key with the three in my other hand—they were all the same. Ah. There’s the problem.

I flipped the key over and tried again. This time, it slid in smoothly, and the end opposite the slot came to life, shining a bright, iridescent light. I waited for something else, yet nothing happened, so I slid the next one in place, then the next.

Once the fourth key was in place, the top of the podium glowed a bright blue and a grid-like pattern shone beneath the glass. After moving around to the front of the stand, I found that the image in the glass was being projected onto the wall by the lit ends of the four keys.

That’s interesting… Another of the York Family’s Relic designs does something similar. The Network regularly used them during meetings. I wonder how many of their creations are based on these artifacts.

I pressed my hand against the cold glass and waited. And waited. And waited… Nearly fifteen minutes went by before the screen came to life, lines similar to those I’d seen when opening the vault moved back and forth beneath my palm, then winked out of existence, along with the rest of the lights on the dais.

Was there a prob—

The image covering the wall started to spin. I watched as the blue lines meshed with the black, more colors were added, then the circular motion shifted and became a continuous and rapid stream of images flashing in and out of existence, each one replacing the last.

My mind worked to try and comprehend what I was seeing until, eventually, a single image stood out amongst the rest. The scene continued to play out on the wall, but knowing my memory would record the information regardless of my concentration, I stopped paying attention and focused on just one—a squat, cylindrical building many, many times wider than it was tall.

It wasn’t the building that stood out, however… it was the symbol above the massive arched door leading into it.

It was the leaf symbol of the Order.

I leaned against my cane, wondering what it could mean. First, I saw the Order’s symbol through my first Origin Card, next to the gauge floating above Kas. Now… it’s here. Grandpa Charles’ notes said the Tower had a history, a truth that could only be seen by those with the will to seek it out. Is this what he meant?

My instincts pushed me to pursue the matter right then, but before I could think on it any further, the image on the wall stilled. I looked up to find a very familiar Beast looking back at me—the Fiend of the Tenth Floor.

What an odd coincidence…

A thunderous, coarse trumpeting resounded throughout the broken city. Taking one final look at the quickly fading image, I turned and leapt from the vault, escaped the ruins, then ran toward where the rest of my companions would be waiting.

***

From the outer ring, where most of the structures were still somewhat intact despite having collapsed, it was impossible to make out the rest of the destroyed city. About halfway through the second ring, however, there was more rubble than structure. The writhing tentacles of the Fiend stretching high above the toppled buildings became visible somewhere during my hike between the third and second rings.

Now, from my vantage atop a slanted chunk of earth, I could see my Party in the distance—everyone except Aurora—then, beyond them, I had no trouble seeing the monstrous creature standing at the center of an extensive crater.

Its curled tusks wrapped around its face, partially protecting its shining purple eyes. Glowing veins of purple spread from those eyes, pulsating with the Beasts breaths. Chunks of fur and skin were missing across its back and sides, where barbed tendrils reached up and out, moving independently of each other as they lashed out at the dark, cloud-filled sky.

The scenery’s different, but this brings back memories. A tad smaller than the Fiend that spawns on the Tenth Floor, though not by much. I’d estimate this one to be… eight, maybe nine meters tall—twelve if I were to count the tentacles. Hard to be accurate from this distance.

My head suddenly turned cold, an uncomfortable sensation that tended to happen when David was close enough to form his Spectral Connection, yet far enough that he was stretching his limits.

“Rowan… are you seeing what I’m seeing?” David asked, his question echoed, the words overlapping several times.

“I am,” I thought back. “That’s the same Class of Beast as the Fiend on the Tenth Floor.”

“Really?” He came through more clearly than before.

“Really.” I scanned above the piles of debris where I felt his presence behind me, yet couldn’t find him. Shrugging, I leapt to the next block of broken stone and rusted metals before asking, “Can you see the group yet?”

“Not yet, but I can sense Francis. Could you send him this way if Locke doesn’t need him?” David asked, his thoughts sounding almost normal. “Aurora’s breathing is getting heavy. I don’t think she’ll do well with the clutter around that hole.”

“On it.” I sent a quick mental command to Francis through David’s Skill, then hurried toward where I could see the others standing by the crater’s edge.

“You’re here!” Kas was the first to greet me, running up and grabbing my hand. “What took you so long?”

Locke gawked while Nathaniel raised an eye. I winked at the pair, making Kas giggle—I was somewhat surprised she didn’t do anything to rile them up.

“I took the scenic route,” I said before turning to check on Locke. “How are you doing? The pressure should have lessened some by now.”

“Not so good as you,” Locke replied, looking pointedly at me and waggling his eyebrows.

I chuckled, waved the quip off, then moved as close as I could to the crater without stepping into the third ring. From this distance, I could smell the dead, rotten flesh of its caved abdomen—all the same as I remembered.

Something stirred inside of me. My pulse quickened, and I felt Kas squeeze my hand as if to comfort me.

She misunderstood.

Nathaniel moved to my side opposite Kas and leaned against his glaive. No one spoke. We stood in silence, watching the unmoving Beast until a skittering noise sounded and we returned to where Locke was sitting back against a smooth stone.

“Are we really going to kill that?” Aurora’s voice called from a dozen meters away the moment Francis climbed over the final barrier.

Locke laughed loudly and yelled, “Who’s this we yer squawkin’ about? Natty boy here’s done said he’ll handle it.”

When Francis came to a full stop, Aurora slid down his carapace and walked up to Nathaniel, eyes wide. She threw her hands in the air, then pointed at the Fiend and said, “You can’t go in there by yourself, what if—”

“That won’t be necessary,” I cut her off. There was no need to bicker amongst ourselves or put anyone’s lives at risk—my mind had been made the moment I heard the creature’s call when it spawned. “None of you will be facing that Beast. Not until we’ve reached the Tenth Floor.”

Nathaniel’s brows drew down, and he looked like he wanted to say something, but I held up a hand to stop him.

“Nathaniel. I’d set you against a horde of Fallen any day. With your Foundations, I doubt you’d suffer more than a scratch.” I pointed my cane toward the towering monster. “That is a Fiend. One mistake, one step out of line and it could shatter the bones of a Wielder with the same Foundations and other synergies with them. Until you have some Levels in your Enhancements, I can’t let you go it alone, and Aurora and Locke aren’t ready for this.”

“Alright,” Nathaniel stepped back. He didn’t look upset or disappointed—if anything, he looked thoughtful.

“Would you like for me to take care of it?” Kas asked. “Can’t say I’ve ever killed a Fiend without assistance, but then, every Fiend I’ve faced was Level Forty. A Level Ten shouldn’t give me too much trouble.”

“Thank you for offering, but no.” I released her hand, then gently patted her head before walking backward. “A good mentor could never pass up such a grand opportunity. Aurora, Kas, Locke, Nathaniel… Watch closely.”

I took a final step back… and dropped over the crater’s edge.

***

Nathaniel barely managed to catch Aurora before she leapt into the pit after Rowan. He had to admit, his instincts had almost gotten the better of him as well, but he trusted his friend and knew the man wouldn’t have gone in without being confident in the outcome.

“Nathaniel! Let go of me!” Aurora cried. “He’s a damned fool! We can’t let him—”

“Calm down,” Kas interrupted, her melodic voice instantly soothing the young woman. “He’ll be fine.”

“What do you meanhe’ll be fine?” Aurora asked, still upset, but no longer yelling. “He justsaid that thing could kill Nathaniel. Rowan doesn’t have anywhere nearas much Essence invested.”

“It’s not about the Essence.” Kas shrugged. “It’s about experience.”

Nathaniel watched the exchange, only releasing Aurora when the woman’s muscles slackened, and he was sure she wouldn’t run forward. She took a deep breath, then turned and looked behind him. He followed her gaze to find she was looking at Locke, who was just sitting there, mouth agape.

“He could have at least let Locke try to enhance his Foundations,” Aurora muttered.

“Shhh! It’s starting!” A new voice joined the conversation and David drifted down to settle on a bent piece of metal.

“You’re not going to help him?” Nathaniel asked curiously, glancing between the youthful spectre and the large beetle.

“No need,” David responded without taking his eyes off the behemoth, which had just begun to move. He gestured to Francis off-handedly. “We’re to stay here and keep the lot of you from jumping in. Locke, come sit up here. There’s no way you can see from that far back.”

Knowing the Summons would look out for the others, Nathaniel stopped dividing his attention and focused fully on watching Rowan.

***

My hair whipped behind me as I sprinted at the great Fiend. Though it hadn’t moved when I entered the crater, its eyes had begun to follow me and the tendrils protruding from its decayed skin started to move in unison—all except the one closest to its front left shoulder.

No differences to note. Good. After confirming what I needed, I ignored the growths entirely and focused on the tip of its long snout—trunk, according to David’s history. When I was only eight meters from the towering Beast, its nostrils flared.

Without breaking stride, I moved a half-meter to my left. A fraction of a second later, I felt the earth shake as a shower of dust and dirt slapped against my back. I didn’t let that faze me, jumping a full meter to my right when its nostrils twitched again.

Six meters… twitch, dodge. Five meters… twitch, dodge. Four, three. I came to a dead stop two meters in front of the Fiend and stood still as a statue. The little light that streamed from the clouds above vanished when more than a dozen tentacles slammed into the ground in a perfect circle around me. If I’d dodged in any direction, I would have been flattened.

Stunned for fifteen seconds.

I grinned and pulled my blade from its sheath.

“Affliction. Hex.”

I cast both Spells, then activated both Pierce and Rend before driving the tip of my blade into the leftmost of the many barbed tendrils. It alone pulled away, leaving the rest in place. With swift and precise hits, I made sure to leave a mark on every one.

That took eight seconds, which leaves me seven to attack the main body.

I sprinted forward and left as many tears in the flesh of the Fiend’s left leg as I could, Dashing back at the last second, putting the full thirteen meters the Ability would carry me between myself and the creature, then hopping back anothertwo meters. When the Beast came to, it reared up on its hind legs and slammed its massive front into the ground.

A wave of purple energy rippled across the broken earth, rapidly closing the distance I’d managed to gain. I waited until the last second, then jumped over the wave and ran forward, beginning the process anew.

***

Amazing… Kas watched breathlessly as Rowan effortlessly maneuvered between the Beast’s every attack. Her heart fluttered and she could feel the blood rushing through her body. She felt someone watching her, then tore herself away from the battle to meet the gaze of a stunned Nathaniel.

“Can you see it?” he asked.

Kas nodded, then looked back into the crater to see Rowan leap over not just one, but two ripples from the Fiends stomping attack. His feet had barely skimmed the ground before he was running forward in his third charge.

“It’s like he’s moving before the Fiend has even decided to strike,” she confirmed. “I’ve met Wielders who study a Beast’s movements before facing them, but this…”

“Glad to know I’m not crazy.”

She saw Nathaniel cross his arms and return his attention to the fight below. Kas continued to observe, noting the Fiend becoming weaker, slower, and less accurate with every wave. The scene repeated itself twice more, with more tendrils lashing out each time Rowan approached for another round.

When Rowan backed away for the sixth round, the Fiend didn’t stomp as it had before.

“Something’s changed,” she muttered.

***

Five more seconds.

I put a full thirty meters between myself and the monstrosity, then knelt and slammed my hand onto the ground. Two massive circles lit the space before me. Rosie flew out of one, zipping over to land atop my head. From the other, two massive stone hands reached out and dug into the earth, pulling a hefty stone body behind them.

“Good to see you again, Larry!” I called out to the Golem. “Watch that Beast, it’s going to rush forward in three seconds. Try to lock it in place with Stone Manipulation before it builds up speed. Rosie, Entangle.”

The sound of rocks grinding against one another was as much an affirmation as Larry could manage. He ran into range, then placed his palms to the ground, where the cracked stone first deformed, then began to bubble as it turned into a liquid. Rosie shot into the air and started waving her hands above the warped stone. While they worked, I had my eyes on the Fiend.

“It’s coming,” I warned them.

All the Fiend’s tendrils fell limp to its sides, as if their lives had suddenly ended, and the Beast took its first step forward. It lifted its trunk, blaring an angry call as it rushed toward me, its rage making it oblivious to the two Summons working their magic between the two of us.

The first of its legs hit the bubbling stone, dropping it over a meter and causing its back to bear down on its front. Its already weakened leg twisted under the stress, and the sound of bones snapping filled the crater.

As it collapsed, dozens of thorny vines lashed out from within the liquid stone, wrapping around the Fiend’s trunk, neck, and both of its front legs. It happened too fast and the Beast was too weakened from the full stacks of Affliction and the Effects of Overcast for it to escape. The vines dragged its head down into the stone, which promptly became solid when its trunk was fully immersed.

Larry lifted both arms in the air, roared at the sky, then leapt forward onto the goliath’s head where he proceeded to pummel the imprisoned Beast until its body flickered, then vanished.

It may be that I should let him out more…

I took a step forward to praise my Summons for a job well done, but when my foot hit the stone…

I found myself surrounded by darkness.