Finally, the long journey has come to an end.

  Jarad exhales in relief walking out of the caravan. The caravan itself has parked outside the city, on the outskirts under the purview of the border guards. They’ll have to gain permission from the city to head inside if they wish to do any business here.

  The process in itself will probably take them a few hours, considering how slow diplomacy works. Even though there are some high level combatants in the caravan, none are above an entire city and its powerhouses.

  Jarad though, is not restricted to such time wasting restrictions.

  Liam comes to stand by his side, being careful to not plant his sword in the path after the fine he suffered. “So this is the place huh? Seems very unimpressive.”

  “It’s alright. From the reports I’ve seen, it seems like one of their ancestors managed to reach the 15th floor and barely graze the entry to the last section. They have a skull of a Spirit Wyrm, and that is the one thing which still keeps them strong.

  “Otherwise they also have a few High Rankers, although none are impressive.” Jarad simply says.

  Liam nods with mock impressiveness, and then says, “About time you get moving, right?”

  Jarad nods, forces his eyes from the Tower’s wonderful appearance, and starts walking toward the guard tower unflinching. Liam follows him from behind, his hand on the sword ready to strike in the smallest moment.

  The guards look at him suspiciously, but seeing his priestly robes hold back. From within the gates, a man appears.

  The man has an unamusing face, a moustache being his only redemming factor, and he wears the black-red poncho of the city.

  “May I ask for identification from the sir?” The man says in a slightly bored voice.

  Jarad fishes out his badge which entails him to be a part of the Church from inside the tower. Considering his recent promotions, he currently holds authority almost equal to the head priest who sits outside.

  The man looks at the badge, and his face changes.

  “I welcome the Official from Inside. Please, come. Please grant me an order,” The man orders bowing in front of him, handing the badge back to him. Jarad pockets the badge in his inner pockets, and orders, “Please bring a priest from the church. I’m on official business here, and I’d like to be done with it as soon as I can.”

  His voice which holds no trace for emotions towards the man sinks in much easier. Jarad has learned through expression how to effectively wield authority, and how much a formal presence matters. Being childish and informal can come during their respective times, but knowing when to be formal is a critical skill as well.

  The man nods his head, and brings him inside the city. He sends the order through an official, while another official leaves to take care of the caravan. The man offers Jarad his office to sit and rest, but Jarad denies. He decides to roam the outer edges of the city with Liam alone.

  “I must’ve been inside the Tower for way too long if this is how much the beasts outside have grown stronger,” Liam says, looking at the many dilapidated buildings around them.

  “It’s not a problem of the beasts, but a problem of the army here. How many places have we stopped along the way? Were all of them like this? This city is very slowly being swallowed in their own importance and wishing to enter a new age, that they are ignoring the problems in front of them,” Jarad frowns in displeasure.

  So much life is being wasted because of the poor governance here. Jarad finds this place very distasteful. So much of the wasted life could’ve been used to empower the Tower.

  “Excuse me, are you part of the Church? I’ve never seen you here,” Jarad looks at the source of the voice, and finds a middle aged woman with slightly small eyes, and a hint of greed within them. A little girl stands by her side, holding her hand. Her daughter maybe.

  Gesturing for Liam to stand down he answers with a smile, “Yes, I’m from inside the Tower. We just came here through the caravan,”

  “Ah! I greet the Official from Inside,” The woman suddenly bows, even deeper than the man had, “I had expected to catch a glimpse of the caravan with my daughter, but to think I’d be fortunate enough to meet sir.”

  She pushes her daughter’s head with one hand, and the daughter quickly follows. Jarad couldn’t help but wonder if she’s used to this.

  “We are just waiting for the Priests to come.” Jarad says, trying to close the conversation. Something about her unsettles and annoys him.

  “Ah yes of course. The priests must be coming soon, perhaps I can accompany you until then, and answer any question you might have?” The woman says, and Jarad understands what’s so annoying about her.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  Of course he does, he has seen so many of them already. Leeches who only wish to reach high through leeching off of others’ authority.

  He’s about to tell her off when she speaks again, “My son has recently become a climber too! And a pretty strong one from what I’ve heard. He even managed to survive the disaster on the 2nd floor! He’s a most loyal comrade of the Church. But don’t let others tell you otherwise! The thing is,” She comes a little closer to him.

  Jarad can feel Liam unsheathing his sword, but the woman remains ignorant, blinded by her own greed. “Many people here lost their children to the second floor, and are in the process of mourning. Pitifiul ones, they are. But they target my son! My son!

  “They call him unfaithful because the vile Revolutionaries kidnapped him along with many others. How is it my kid’s fault!? Not to mention, they didn’t even manage to corrupt him! The church said he was far too injured to be corrupted by the vile thing! How fortunate, right?

  “But these pitiful women keep insisting that he’s corrupted. All nonsense, all nonsense I tell you,” The woman insists and Jarad’s face changes.

  “Who… is your son exactly?” Jarad asks.

  “Ah, you might know of him. Strong people attract strong people after all. He’s called Adrian Alphona. Son of Shuyang and Jaten Alphona!” She exclaims happily, and Jarad’s gaze towards her changes.

  “Miss Shuyang, as fate would have it, I do know the young man. Have met him and travelled with him for some amount of time,” Jarad says with a smile etched on his face.

  “How fortunate! The Tower is blessing us today!”

  How fortunate indeed.

  “I would like to know more about Mr. Adrian if you have some time?” Jarad asks.

  “Yes of course of course! Please, you are invited to my humble abode. I’ll tell you as much as I can!” The woman begins dragging her daughter as she invites him to her home.

  Jarad decides to let the guard know about his sudden change of plans, and then follows the woman with a smiliar smile on his face.

  “Your smile is kinda scary, you know,” Liam whispers in his ears, but Jarad ignores him. This is truly fortunate. The investigation is picking speed already. Very soon he'll be done, and will finally be reunited with the Tower.

  #

  “This… this is the spirit realm.” The name hangs true and powerful. For some reason Adrian expects something to happen when he utters the name, but everything remains unchanged. Or perhaps something has changed and he just cannot see it.

  Things relating to the spirit realm have always been above the purview of mortals. As far as he knows, even High Rankers can only use it for divination, and never enter it.

  “That really begs the question, as to how the fuck am I here?”

  Adrian looks at himself and around himself. Nothing out of the ordinary can be gleamed from his body, as he is wearing clothes just like the ones he has worn before coming here.

  If there is anything weird about his body, then it’s the face that he’s completely free of the headaches, the distorted vision, and his forever partner nausea. In over a week, Adrian finally feels like himself. Not sick.

  “Did the spirit realm heal me?” Adrian can only hypothesise, having close to zero knowledge about the spirit realm. Even though his clan sacrifices blood to the God in the spirit realm, no one really knows what the principles behind it are, or how any of it ever works.

  Perhaps only the clergy may know, but they’ll never reveal such an important piece of information.

  And then he starts to look around himself, and instantly something captures his attention.

  It’s an orb. It has substance, and yet not. It looks like a ball made of fog, and can scatter at the lightest touch from him. But even as he holds it in his arms, it holds. Adrian’s eyes shake looking at it.

  The orb is fractured, just like his mind. A voice also whispers in his mind.

  –It is you.

  Is it him? Is it his mind?

  –Yes.

  “How could that be…? How could someone look at their mind? How is any of it possible?” Adrian shakes, an unimaginable horror grabs him, and he doesn’t know what to do or say. The orb in his hand feels extremely heavy, as if weighing an entire world.

  Carefully he leaves the orb and watches it float in position just like it has done so earlier, and starts walking backwards. He says walking, but in this space there is no ground to walk on, so it’s more like he floats backwards.

  After walking a little suddenly he collides against something. Turning around, he finds nothing. None of his improved senses or normal ones detect anything, but as soon as he tries to extend his hands, he encounters an absolute barrier.

  “Am I caged here? How do I get out? What’s happening!?” Adrian yells in disbelief and confusion.

  But no answer returns from the mist around him, as if he doesn’t even exist at all. Adrian continues to shout, hoping for some help from any entity here, but he can find nothing or no one.

  Eventually understanding dawns on him that his yells are achieving nothing at all. His body too feels weak, as if he has become famished just from yelling for a few minutes.

  Adrian looks at himself, and is astounded and horrified to see himself actually losing light. As if his body is becoming transparent and losing corporilaity, he’s fading away. A heavy weakness flows into him, and it feels harder and harder to even lift his hands.

  “Is this… is this how I die?”

  Adrian is reluctant and angry. He lifts himself up anyway, even as his body continues to lose light and grow weaker. He cannot give up here. He cannot give up now!

  He begins floating around the edges of the barrier, examining the space he has been trapped into. The barrier also provides him some support. He scrutinises the barrier, pushing against at it at places to find a weak spot. He tries to find answers in the spirit realm.

  Isn’t it said that the spirit realm contains the knowledge of the universe? Why can’t I have any now when I want some!

  Adrian thinks indignantly. Why? Why? Why can’t the world help him a little when he really needs it!?

  He continues to float around even as his body reaches its limit. His body is almost transparent now. It’s a bizarre situation, and it makes him so fucking angry.

  As he is living his final moments, Adrian finally comes across something else. Another orb.

  With the last of his strength, he moves closer to it. Even as his mind is about to collapse from this bizarre transformation, he holds the orb between his hands. And he looks at his soul.

  His soul is cold to the touch, despairingly black and lonely. A few stars twinkle within it, but even they seem lonely. As if bored of their own existence. There is also a touch of red in it, and it feels angry. It feels indignant. It feels scared, and anxious.

  Adrian looks at his soul, and he only has a single thought about it. It’s beautiful.

  And then his vision disappears, along with the rest of his body, unintentionally leaving the spirit realm like he always wanted.

  #