Chapter 135

Ways of the Odd (II)

Cain barely managed to crawl into his apartment under the shade of the night, his entire body wracked with pain from head to toe. By the time he landed on his bed, he could barely feel anything but the pain. Gasping for breath, his eyes dumbly looked around, appearing lost in the haze. His mind was a storm, overran by the countless alarms that never seemed to end. For a moment, he believed he would die; he believed the next breath would be his last. That he’d close his eyes... and never open them again.

It was a horrifying feeling, the likes of which he never truly experienced. He’d been close to death before, within the inches of its embrace, but never quite like this; never feeling quite so helpless, quite so haggard and beaten. His body began to tremble and shiver as though thrust into frosty lands, teeth clanking together, making eerie music.

In the unrelenting haze, however, he clutched at the straw of light, extending his arm into the nothingness, yet grasping something. He couldn’t die. He swore he wouldn’t die. Especially like this -- in a disgruntled haze, disoriented, beaten, and broken. His fingers curled into a fist as he gritted his teeth together, stopping the music. Crawling into a fetal position, he began rocking gently, back and forth, back and forth... back and forth. It was like a lull, a gentle sweep of the wind that calmed his stretched nerves.

The moonlight fell gently through the drapes, landing on his snow-pale face. He barely managed to open his eyes and look up at the full moon; he had to endure. Not only this but likely things far worse than this. He knew he would get beaten and broken, time and again -- that is what the Tower does to people, after all. It breaks them. Even the most resilient, even the strongest, the bravest, the most just -- one way or another, one day or another, everyone gets broken. Laymen, stars, superstars... the Tower's real name, the 'Crucible', was apt -- not because humanity had to conquer monsters and beasts and this completely new world of magic. It was because it had to conquer itself.

Those who managed to survive and last the longest were, ironically, the most broken and beaten ones. It was impossible to find a superstar who hadn’t lost a line of loved ones -- so many, in fact, that all turned empty and hollow, so they never feel the sense of that loss again. Just the same, the Tower... finds a way. Bit by bit. Day by day. Year after year. It slowly chips away at the people’s hearts and souls, digging and crawling to their depths, planting the seeds. Eventually, those seeds bloom into flowers of apathy, the coldness beyond measure.

Being broken in body, feeling this pain... was nothing, he realized. The day he learned Emma and Lana died... that was pain. That was the utter hollowness, the ruin. This... was just some backlash. He won’t die. His body would endure. His spirit would endure. Tomorrow, he’d wake up -- exhausted and still in pain... but ready.

He knew what he had to become, which was why he rushed away from others so quickly. He couldn’t let them see him like this; to them, he was the impervious star who would never burn out. Because of that faith, they held the belief they could achieve anything -- rise and continue rising until the very top. But if the one guiding them fell and burned out... so would that belief. And, as if by fate's cruel design, once a belief is broken... it was nigh-impossible to restore it. The pain eased -- no, not really, it was just that his body adjusted slightly to it... just enough for him to crawl under the blanket and rest his head on a pillow, closing his eyes. He couldn’t hold on any longer, passing out, the world in front of him drifting into the black daze, losing all sensation.

He dreamed. He knew it was a dream because he was standing on top of the Tower. He was not on Earth, however, but somewhere adrift in space itself. Way, way, way down below, he saw it -- a tiny, blue dot. He tried to jump, but his body wouldn’t listen. He was an observer of his own dream, an unlikely spectator of something his own mind conjured up.

A brief moment later, a shining beacon of light lit up next to him. And then another. And then another. And another... soon enough, there were hundreds of them. Featureless faces, arms reaching out upward, toward something. He didn’t know how, but Cain knew those were the Champions -- those who’d Conquered their Crucibles. The beacons turned into tiny kindles that began orbiting him, like planets orbiting a star. They whispered something, but he couldn’t hear or discern what. Suddenly, he felt his body lift up and float, gingerly moving upward. Above him, a rift opened up -- one made of pure-white essence, the purest form of Mana. He sensed a calling from beyond, the sort of pull that couldn’t be quite put into words; his heart and soul knew, at that moment, he belonged inside that rift, to wherever it may have led.

Just as he reached the edge and was about to enter, the world vanished as he opened his eyes to the blinding beam of the sun shining directly into his eyes. It took his mind a moment to catch up to reality... and alarms once again began blaring. He groaned instinctively and closed his eyes, rolling over. Though it did hurt... it was much, much better than the last night, he realized immediately. In fact, it was so better... he could easily sit up on the bed and not cry a river of tears in the process.

Just then, he realized he was wholly doused in sweat, his clothes practically blending in with his skin. And, similarly, he realized just how uncomfortable the feeling is. He struggled to his feet and basically limped to the bathroom, quickly drawing up a quick, simple bath while he took off his clothes, jumping inside and lying down, letting the lukewarm water soothe him.

I keep overdoing it, he thought, closing his eyes. I can’t expect it will always be ‘fine’ and that by some miracle I’ll live. He wiped his face, blinking a few times, noting that he should probably shave. All the rewards in the world aren’t worth it...

He remained in the bath for nearly half an hour before getting out, feeling somewhat refreshed. He put on some new clothes and walked out onto the balcony, having made a quick cup of coffee. L.A... was the same. He was certain things had changed, but looking from so high up and with such distance... to him, it was all the same. He, however... wasn’t.

Lighting up a cigarette, he crossed one of his legs over another, and leaned deeper into the chair, drifting back into his thoughts. He noted he was growing bolder and bolder. He didn't have to take that quest -- he knew that. He could have walked away. He should have walked away. All the signs that it would be a nightmare were there... but he ignored them, daftly sticking his head as deeply as it would go.

Sighing, he took a puff and a sip, still trying to ignore the pain. By now, Mana backlash was over, the worst part of the experience, and he could at least use it to soothe his muscles and bones and organs. It was a slow process since he wasn’t a healing-type Class, but it would suffice. Remembering the last night sent shivers down his spine and sped up his heart in anxiety.

He took a deep breath to dispel it, putting out the cigarette in the process. I left too quickly... I hope they’ll be fine. No... they’re strong enough. Unless a dumbly-difficult quest like the last one appears, they should be fine. And I should hope they’re smart enough to avoid quests like those. I... I need to let them fly... otherwise, it would be pointless to keep bringing them with me...

Though the party felt slighted over not being able to fight, Cain fully believed they should instead savor the feeling. Fighting... is eternal -- in the Tower at least. It never truly ends. At one point, people will get sick of it. What drove the most past that point wasn't excitement or battle-frenzy, but something much deeper. Perhaps greed or curiosity; or, perhaps, a sense of a higher calling. Or, better yet, a hapless dream. I’ll stick here for a day or two till I recover... then I should look into Kramer. His group looked too geared-up to just be random nobodies. Maybe Rick will know something?

Cain sighed and brought up his status window, noting the fairly decent changes. This was all without having equipped his new items, or even chosen his classless skill since he’d been too out of it to care. He was getting much stronger -- at a fairly insane pace at that. Yet, all that singled, in the end, is that he’d have to fight increasingly-stronger opponents to keep growing. It would never stop. Today, it was a King. Yet, tomorrow, it could be a genuine Emperor. Hah, yeah, right... he scoffed at the thought; nobody, nobody, had managed to beat a crowned Emperor inside the Tower. And he certainly didn’t have any desire to even try and be the first. Glancing one last time at his status window, he closed it up and went to bed, ready to sleep for a whole day straight.

//Name: Cain Gregory Age: 32 Race: Human

Class: Elementalist Level: 50(+4)

Strength: 56 Vitality: 145 Agility: 59 Stamina: 88

Intelligence: 328 Wisdom: 323 Health: 1452 Mana: 5900

Traits: Labourer(C), Quick-witted(A+), Tenacious(B+), Leadership(SSS-), Analysis(A), Awareness(B), Keen(B-), Charismatic(S+)

Skills: Spell Creation(?), Fire(A-), Frost(B-), Arcane (B), Earth (B), Wind (S), Blink(B), Elemental Shield(B-), Water(C), Blood(C-), Mana Burning (D), Mana Surge(D), Nature(C-), Body(B), Aether(C-), Creation(D+), Singularity(A), Ruin(E), Vorpal Edge(D)

Class Skills: Avatar

Created Spells: Falling Fire(C-), Amnesty Shield(B+), Starburst(SS-)

Talents: Perception(Mythic), Hero(quasi-Divine)

Items: Ember's Quartz(B-), Phoenix's Feather(A-), Crown of Flames(A), 'Velthar's Bracelet(B-), Orb of Deception(S-), Spirited Cloak(A)

Titles: The First Elementalist, Bandit Slayer, Direwolf Slayer, Monster Slayer, Maverick, Spell Creator, The Herald, The One Who Survived Death, Reborn Elementalist, Void Slayer, Slayer of the Nightmares, Blade Mountain Conqueror, The One Who Impressed Spirits, The Master, Usher of the Kingdom, Grandmaster Elementalist, Throne Chaser, Herald of Divinity, Will Divine, Elemental Child, Mankind’s Beacon, The One, Slayer of the Kings

Achievements: 29 (+1 to Main Stats for each achievement)//