The silence of the Tower pressed down on Kael, thick and suffocating. He stood still in the dimly lit corridor, his eyes flickering from one end of the hallway to the other, trying to pierce through the inky darkness that clung to the stone walls. His breath was shallow, the eerie stillness around him amplifying every sound the soft scrape of his boot against the stone, the distant drip of water, the faint thrum of his heartbeat in his ears.
He had faced beasts, traps, and puzzles on the floors below, each challenge more brutal than the last. But this... this was different.
There, at the far end of the corridor, stood a figure. It was tall, draped in a cloak that seemed to flicker and twist like liquid shadows, its form nearly blending into the darkness. At first, Kael thought it was merely a trick of his tired eyes, some illusion conjured by the Tower. But then it moved.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the figure shifted. A presence so unnatural that Kael's instincts screamed at him to move to run, to fight, to do something. But his body betrayed him, frozen in place by an inexplicable force. The figure raised its head, revealing a mask a white, smooth face with a crack running diagonally across it, splitting its expressionless surface. The eyes behind the mask were dark slits, too narrow to see clearly, yet Kael felt them bore into him, searching, calculating.
"An Ascendant," the figure said, its voice not quite human. It was soft, yet its resonance felt as though it came from the walls themselves, as if the very Tower had spoken.
Kael's grip tightened around the shard in his hand. The jagged edge of the stone dug into his palm, a reminder of the dangerous world he had been thrust into. But he knew instinctively that this figure was not like the other monsters of the Tower. It was something else. Something far more dangerous.
"Do you know why you are here?" The figure's question cut through the silence, unsettling Kael more than he cared to admit. The tone was neither hostile nor friendly it was merely curious, as though it were posing a question it already knew the answer to.
Kael didn't answer immediately. He wasn't even sure how to answer. His mind raced, the familiar urge to flee gnawing at him, but he stood his ground. His gaze flickered to the hallway around him. The way the shadows seemed to deepen and pulse with the figure's presence. It was as if the Tower itself had bent to this being's will.
Then, he spoke, his voice steady despite the unease settling in his chest.
"I climb to survive."
The words felt hollow in his mouth, as though they didn't belong to him anymore. He had climbed for survival, yes, but the deeper he went into the Tower, the more he realized that survival wasn't enough. The trials, the battles, the shards he had absorbed they all made him stronger, yes, but they also made him hungrier.
The figure didn't move, but Kael could feel its attention on him, waiting. The silence stretched between them, thick and uncomfortable, like the calm before a storm.
Finally, the figure spoke again, its voice colder this time.
"Survival... is the simplest answer. But it is not the right one. It is the answer of those who cannot see beyond their own hunger."The silence of the Tower pressed down on Kael, thick and suffocating. He stood still in the dimly lit corridor, his eyes flickering from one end of the hallway to the other, trying to pierce through the inky darkness that clung to the stone walls. His breath was shallow, the eerie stillness around him amplifying every sound the soft scrape of his boot against the stone, the distant drip of water, the faint thrum of his heartbeat in his ears.
He had faced beasts, traps, and puzzles on the floors below, each challenge more brutal than the last. But this... this was different.
There, at the far end of the corridor, stood a figure. It was tall, draped in a cloak that seemed to flicker and twist like liquid shadows, its form nearly blending into the darkness. At first, Kael thought it was merely a trick of his tired eyes, some illusion conjured by the Tower. But then it moved.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the figure shifted. A presence so unnatural that Kael's instincts screamed at him to move to run, to fight, to do something. But his body betrayed him, frozen in place by an inexplicable force. The figure raised its head, revealing a mask a white, smooth face with a crack running diagonally across it, splitting its expressionless surface. The eyes behind the mask were dark slits, too narrow to see clearly, yet Kael felt them bore into him, searching, calculating.
"An Ascendant," the figure said, its voice not quite human. It was soft, yet its resonance felt as though it came from the walls themselves, as if the very Tower had spoken.
Kael's grip tightened around the shard in his hand. The jagged edge of the stone dug into his palm, a reminder of the dangerous world he had been thrust into. But he knew instinctively that this figure was not like the other monsters of the Tower. It was something else. Something far more dangerous.
"Do you know why you are here?" The figure's question cut through the silence, unsettling Kael more than he cared to admit. The tone was neither hostile nor friendly it was merely curious, as though it were posing a question it already knew the answer to.
Kael didn't answer immediately. He wasn't even sure how to answer. His mind raced, the familiar urge to flee gnawing at him, but he stood his ground. His gaze flickered to the hallway around him. The way the shadows seemed to deepen and pulse with the figure's presence. It was as if the Tower itself had bent to this being's will.
Then, he spoke, his voice steady despite the unease settling in his chest.
"I climb to survive."
The words felt hollow in his mouth, as though they didn't belong to him anymore. He had climbed for survival, yes, but the deeper he went into the Tower, the more he realized that survival wasn't enough. The trials, the battles, the shards he had absorbed they all made him stronger, yes, but they also made him hungrier.
The figure didn't move, but Kael could feel its attention on him, waiting. The silence stretched between them, thick and uncomfortable, like the calm before a storm.
Finally, the figure spoke again, its voice colder this time.
"Survival... is the simplest answer. But it is not the right one. It is the answer of those who cannot see beyond their own hunger."
Kael felt a flash of irritation. Who was this being to lecture him on survival? He had seen the horrors of the Tower. The twisted, deformed monsters lurking on every floor. The broken bodies of Ascendants who had come before him. There was no room for anything but survival.
But before Kael could speak, the figure continued.
"Tell me," it asked, its tone turning more probing, "What do you seek in this Tower? What is it that drives you to climb, when all you know of it is pain and death?"
Kael's heart beat faster. He could feel the weight of the question, the pressure of the Tower itself pressing in on him. He had been so focused on survival, so intent on reaching the top, that he had never stopped to consider why. Why had he kept going? What was he really seeking?
His thoughts flickered back to the moment when he first stepped into the Tower, the initial shock of being thrown into its depths. He had no choice but to climb no choice but to fight. But that had changed. The more he climbed, the more he learned about the power that resided here. The shards that pulsed with untold strength. The monsters he had slain, their remains now feeding him.
His gaze hardened, his jaw tightening with the clarity of his own thoughts.
"I seek power." The words escaped his lips before he could stop them. "Power to control my fate, to take back what was taken from me. To understand what this place is, and to use its power to escape."
The figure's head tilted slightly, as though it was evaluating him. The air around them hummed, the very walls vibrating with the strange energy that seemed to emanate from the figure.
"Power..." The figure's voice was tinged with a hint of amusement, or perhaps pity. "A common answer. But it is not the one I expected. You see, power is a dangerous thing, Ascendant. Many have sought it within these walls, and all have fallen."
Kael stood tall, the shard gripped tightly in his hand. He had no time for games. This was a test, he realized. The Tower itself was testing him testing his resolve, his purpose. He would not be swayed by illusions or half-truths.
"I'm not like them," he muttered, his voice low but firm. "I won't fall. I'll make it to the top."
The figure's gaze never wavered. For a moment, Kael thought it might respond with more cryptic words, but instead, it took a step forward. The air seemed to warp around it, bending with the pressure of its presence. A strange light began to glow between the figure's hands, flickering and coalescing into a solid form.
It was a shard.
But unlike the ones Kael had encountered before, this one pulsed with an intense, almost unbearable energy. The glow was blue, shifting like the night sky before a storm. It hovered in front of him, radiating power.
"Take it," the figure said, its voice now deeper, more resonant. "This is the Shard of Insight. It will give you a glimpse of the truth. But heed my warning: knowledge has its price."
Kael didn't hesitate. He reached forward, his fingers brushing the shard. The moment his skin made contact, a wave of cold rushed through him. His mind exploded with visions flashes of the Tower's twisted halls, images of countless others who had climbed before him, their bodies warped by the shards they consumed, their souls devoured by their own ambition.
The visions were overwhelming, suffocating, and Kael staggered back, barely able to keep his feet beneath him. The world around him spun, the weight of the knowledge crashing down on him like a physical blow.
"The Tower isn't just a place of trials," the figure's voice echoed, distant yet somehow still clear. "It is a prison. And it is waiting for those who would dare to defy it. What will you become, Ascendant? Will you survive, or will you become like the others?"
Kael fought to steady himself, the shard's power still thrumming within him. The figure was gone, its form vanishing into the shadows from which it had emerged.
And Kael was left standing, alone, with the weight of the Shard of Insight in his hand, the terrifying knowledge of the Tower's true nature burning in his mind.
The climb had only just begun. And the price of his power was becoming clearer with each step