《Life, the struggle for existence》 Prologue - A premonition Complete darkness. A darkness so deep and vast, the human perception of black cannot even be attributed to such sights. The color black is but a pale version of what can only be described as a void of color, an abyss of absence. In this colorless world, suddenly a slight shiver ran through the otherwise perfect equality. A ripple, as it were, of the finest sublety. The finest of variations in color. In the spot were this anomaly occured, the color was no longer the exact same as its surroundings. Still, the twilight of color was present, but the spot was the tiniest bit lighter than its neighbors. From this location, another ripple in the fabric of void and absence ran through existence. This time, the ripple was microscopically larger than the previous one, also leaving a miniscule alteration in the color of the spot of its origination. This continued and never faltered. The void could not cease this process, as it was the absence of things, therefore also the absence of action. Over time, the original spot became lighter and brighter. This area grew and took over more and more of the void, until, at one point, something came into existence. In the darkness that had never harbored anything but its own absence, something was created that was not itself. First, it seemed as though there would be no change in the current situation. However, suddenly the existence created a ripple of its own making. This ripple then joined the original wave and they merged into one, larger ripple. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Time passed and more and more things came into existence. More and more void came into actuality and as existence grew, the absence of existence shrank. Existence reached a point it would eventually achieve, complete existence. The void that once had been all there was, was no more. All that was, was all that was. However, as existence reached this point, it had lost its reason of existing, which was countering the absence of existence. Therefore, the absence of existence came into existence, having previously been lost to existence. This time, however, their respective roles had switched. Ripples of inexistence came into being and slowly but surely, the cycle retracted. * Hey there, thanks for reading this way too vague and short prologue, but I felt it was neccesary to set the scene. It also felt like a good way to keep away people hoping for a quick, uncreative Xianxia or anything of the sorts. The story will be quite slowly paced, as I feel the need to set the characters up and not introduce them straightaway all at once. Bear with me, as I tell you of my earth and my imagination. Chapter 1 - Life. Daily, boring life. It had been raining that day. Dark skies that held nothing but the fleeting promise of summer clouded the horizon. It was usually uncommon for bad weather to occur in the midst of June, but then again, this was England. There was no absolute truth in this country, except for the fact that soon it would rain again. Luckily, this was the standard, so there was little surprise when these things occurred. It was only mid day, but a mantle of darkness that was the weather darkened the streets of this normally bright city. The only sources of light in the near vicinity were the shivers of illumination that were provided by the gaps in curtains that protected the in-numerous windows from the outside. Now and then, a dark, metal shape could be seen, speeding by on the road: people longing for the sweet embrace of home, not minding their surroundings, as there were almost no others in the streets. As the streams of water were slowly flowing down the streets, a lone figure could be seen, running in the dark. Wearing some soggy trainers, a matching training outfit and a baseball cap, the young man sprinted down the road. His path was towards a big building with giant windows, releasing a welcoming feeling and a promise of escape from the horrors of the outside weather. His blond hair stuck to his head, due to the amount of water that seeped through his hat. He squinted his green eyes as he tried to make out the best way to run towards his salvation that was a shelter from the rain. Giant muscles, defined by his clothes sticking to his body, created a dark shape that many would be envious of. If it not had been for his face, which was noticeably mediocre, he would have been dreamy for both men and women. As he finally arrived at his destination, he pushed open the glass door and entered the building he had been longing for. Generic pop music entered his ears and he vaguely recognized the song, as for so many pop songs this day and age. He approached the desk and flashed a smile to the girl behind the counter. ¡°Hey Alice, how are things today?¡± The black haired girl grinned slightly as she replied with a look of boredom: ¡°Same as always, except for that god awful weather. I''m surprised you came.¡± Noticing her lack of interest, the man quickly replied: ¡°Yeah, but I couldn''t let you die of boredom! Anyway, I''m heading in.¡± ¡°Later, Elliot.¡± She replied, whilst raising her hand and waving in an unsophisticated manner, still parading her look of agonizing boredom. Elliot took out his membership card and swiped it across the scanner, so that the small, metallic gate would open. As he entered the gym, he noticed that there were not many people around, like he had suspected. A few guys at the loose weighs, as usual. A single old man that was using an inefficient machine and would probably keep doing that until he became tired and stopped to rest and read a magazine. Last but definitely not least were a couple of girls, probably also students here, discussing which exercise to do while actually not doing anything. Same old, same old. Elliot went over to the changing rooms and quickly took out his still dry workout clothes. Good thing he had invested in a good waterproof bag, otherwise he''d have had a terrible time. As he took out his old and beloved Epod that he had kept for almost six years now, he justified to himself why he still had that thing instead of buying a new and better one. It still worked, so why would he spend money on such a trivial thing? His favorite music was stored there and, to be completely honest with himself, he was just trying to avoid all the hassle that came with purchasing a new device. He booted up his favorite playlist and shut himself of from the outside world. As the first sentence of one of his favorite songs entered his ears, he started his routine. ~ Far, far beyond the island. We dwelt in shades of twilight. ~ His workouts usually took around two hours, but because he still had a paper to write, he finished early. As he showered in the small cubicle, his mind was already with his paper. He had been writing about the perception of young adults on mental illness and how that affected the amount of people that sought out psychologists and psychiatrists for their problems. He''d gathered some interesting data, but he had yet to draw a conclusion. Sadly, he had to perform really well with this paper, as his stay depended on it. He had never put in large amounts of effort in his work and therefore had always barely passed with a C. That was, of course, after he had been accepted into Cambridge, as he would have never been allowed in if he had had all C''s. Good thing secondary school was easy and his parents had quite the amount of money, otherwise he''d never been able to enter. The reason that he''d stopped working hard was that he had simply gotten bored. There was no real reward for him to strive towards and the promise of a good job was not enough. His personal life was also lacking, he felt. Not because his family was far away, but because he had no romantic life whatsoever. That was probably due to the fact that he had never been good with women. Or men for that fact. In secondary school he noticed that muscular, handsome guys always were immensely popular, so why not start working out? He found, however, that there were two factors that made them popular and sadly, he only had one of the two now. Even though he was quite muscular, he was not handsome at all. Not that he was ugly, he reasoned, he was just very plain. On top of that, he had no real social skills, so that made for an extreme combination of people trying to have conversations with him and him, just responding awkwardly. Not that he felt lonely or depressed, as he still had friends that did not judge him, immensely, for his behavior. He was at Cambridge, there were far weirder people around! At least, that''s what he hoped others thought. Looking back, he realised that that may have been the reason he''d went on to study Psychological and Behavioral Sciences, as that gave him a gigantic insight in the human psyche. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Still having his Epod in, he left the changing room in his still quite wet training outfit. Walking down the path towards the exit, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. What he''d failed to notice when he first left the changing room, was the fact that everyone that was still present in the almost abandoned gym was staring towards the big TV screen, that was stuck on the wall. Surprised, he took out his ear pods and caught the last few sentences of what was being broadcasted. ¡°So far, no news on these strange, black, giant monoliths, Mary. We can only hope that they do not spell out anything negative for the future. Back to you.¡± On the screen, footage of a gigantic black spire was shown from the perspective of a helicopter. Several white tents could be seen nearby, which clearly represented the involvement of the government. Having missed most of the news, Elliot turned towards Alice, who''d left the counter and was staring at the television screen. ¡°Hey Alice, what in the world has happened?¡± Slowly, she turned her head towards him, while her eyes did not leave the screen. ¡°Some giant, black stones have appeared all over the world! All capital cities have one and apparently there are also some in the middle of nowhere! Elliot, you know what this means, right?¡± Elliot, however, was less enthusiastic about the whole ordeal. He frowned as he replied: ¡°I don''t, is this some sort of prank? How did those massive things get there without anyone noticing?¡± Abruptly, she turned towards him completely, whilst exclaiming: ¡°It''s aliens! It''s fucking aliens, Elliot! The spires appeared out of nowhere, exactly at the same time! How could that possibly be done by humans, it''s impossible!¡± Alice spoke with a look of bewilderment, which quickly influenced the rest. Panic, excitement and confusion spread across the group, which ultimately lead to everyone, except Elliot and Alice, rushing towards the changing rooms. They probably had their phones in a locker and wanted to check things for themselves. Having nothing to say, Elliot smiled awkwardly and made his way to the exit. ¡°Elliot, wait up! Where are you going?¡± Turning around, he saw Alice, still quite shocked by the whole ordeal, but she also sported another emortion he had not seen before. Unrest. ¡°I''m heading home, Alice. I have a paper that needs finishing.¡± ¡°Could you wait, maybe five minutes? I''ll just close early, so we can head home together.¡± Alice had moved in to one of the small apartments opposite to his hall. Even though he barely knew her, they had been having little chats about the weather and such when he came in to exercise. One day, she had spotted him, leaving his hall and she''d called out to him, therefore she knew where he lived and vice versa. ¡°I guess. Hurry up though, I really need to hand my paper in on time.¡± Smiling briefly, she turned around and ran to the back, probably to lock all the doors and turn off the lights. While Elliot waited for her to finish, the people that had previously been exercising now quickly left the building, defying the monstrous dark clouds and their innumerable tears. ¡°Hey, thanks for waiting. I really appreciate it.¡± Looking up from his Epod, he saw Alice standing before him. She was wearing dark blue waterproof clothing, revealing nothing but a small gap for her blue eyes. Elliot slightly jumped due to the abruptness and her close proximity. ¡°Whoa, you scared me there for a bit! Don''t sneak up on people like that.¡± He heard a slight chuckle, but the massive hood did not reveal anything. She slapped his back with her bare hand and started walking towards the door. ¡°Come on, big man. I don''t have all day!¡± Frowning and also cursing under his breath, he quickly followed in pursuit. That slap had really hurt! You''d think it would not have, due to the fact that he was very muscular. Sadly, these were all muscles used for lifting heavy weights, not for fighting or receiving punches. He would probably go down very easily if he''d ever had to fight someone who was not intimidated by his stature. ¡°Give me a second to close up.¡± As he casually waited for the girl to lock the door, he again looked at her unflattering image. She was covered from head to toe with heat insulating, waterproof clothing. Probably very comfortable, compared to his already soaking wet training outfit. He had definitely chosen poorly with his clothing. ¡°Done, let''s get out of here.¡± Alice let him know as she sprinted into the rainy dark. After a while, they came to a stop. Alice was definitely not used to running for a long time, so they took a break, seeking shelter in front of a Tisco''s. The green lights illuminated their surroundings, as Alice leaned heavily on Elliot''s right shoulder, panting. ¡°Man, are you not concerned with those black spires that were on the news? We''ve been visited by aliens and still you''re so calm?¡± She said, gasping for air. Now it was his turn to chuckle, as he formulated his answer. ¡°I''m quite fine, thank you. Of course I''m concerned about what those things are and what their purpose is. Having said that, there''s currently no real threat or problem, is there? If it really were aliens that placed those things there, they would probably also have the power to destroy us, they didn''t though. I reckon that whatever those things are, they''re not dangerous.¡± Surprised, Alice turned her head upwards to him as she said: ¡°Has it not crossed your mind that those things may be the tools that will be used to destroy us?¡± ¡°Oh shit¡± * Have to start somewhere! Let me know what you think, I may or may not take in into account whilst writing! Chapter 2 - Life. Daily, not-so boring life. Chapter 2 - Life. Daily, not-so boring life. Luckily, the destruction of mankind and its planet did not occur. Nothing really happened. Almost a whole month had passed and still nothing new had come out of all the research the governments of the world had been doing. Nothing public, anyway. There was some uprise when some scientists in Sweden apparently found some incomprehensible code, but as no one seemed to be able to decipher it, there had been no new discoveries. There had been an astonishing amount of videos of people sneaking up to the spires, which had been closed off from the public. However, there did not seem to be anything interesting about the spires, except for the fact that they could not be damaged. There even had surfaced a video of a volcanic eruption that hit a remote spire on Iceland. The lava just built up until there was enough to continue its slow journey across the ice. Not a single scratch could be made, which baffled scientists. This cycle of testing and no results continued for almost a month. Then, in the middle of the night, a professor of computer science with a specialization in digital encryption at the National University of Singapore, made a breakthrough. He excitedly posted his findings all over the internet, which resulted in him not gaining any reward except for a few moments of fame. Apparently the code was a complex method of depicting a timer. A timer that was counting down by the microsecond. This sparked international outrage and panic, as the nature of this countdown could not be determined. All over the world, governments and the public prepared for what could only be imagined as the apocalypse. There were still major disputes about what would happen when the timer would hit naught, but the human race prepared for the worst. Meanwhile, life continued as usual in Cambridge. Exams were coming up and the students were far too busy studying to prepare for some doomsday scenario that may or may not happen. Even Elliot had to study, as his stay had still not been confirmed after this paper turned out mediocre. Sadly, his mind was on the events that had transpired the previous month and he suspected that most students would be doing the same. The university will probably see an all time low in results, as most people''s attention will be somewhere else. He had been seeing less and less of his friends as well, because they were either holed up in their rooms, studying, or they quit to visit family before the timer stopped. Elliot reckoned that that was quite an extreme reaction, but then again the timer might actually predict something significant. Simply, no one knew. He had spoken to his parents over the phone and they told him they''d visit a remote spire on the North Pole, as they were interested in what would happen when the timer ended. Fair enough, leave me here, basically living the same day that I¡¯ve been living for the past 24 years. No, of course you don¡¯t have to take me with you. Thanks for asking though, I really appreciate that! You guys truly are good parents. Fuck you. I need to take my mind of things, I can¡¯t continue this cycle of trying to start studying but constantly finding a way to procrastinate. Guess I¡¯ll hit the gym again, no point in waiting around in my room untill the supposed apocalypse starts. As Elliot was leasurely walking down the street, it was obvious that something major was about to happen. He could just smell it in the air. Not really, a more probable cause to think such things was the fact that there was not a single soul in the street and it was earily quiet. The sun shone brighly behind the clouds, occasionaly slipping past its resticting prison, to brighten up the day. No rain today, however, it was definitely not decent weather. A heavy pressure, a feeling of humidity and a dry wind flew through the city, negating any positive thoughts one might have had. Arriving at the familiar gym, Elliot realised his mistake. Obviously, people would not open the gym on the last day of normal life. Alice had gone of to visit some family in Africa and no one had made the effort to assign a new manager. Well, as it could be the last day he¡¯d have the chance to work out, he decided that the police probably wouldn¡¯t care too much if he¡¯d entered without permission. Picking up a stone from the side of the road, he threw it as hard as he could towards the glass door, shattering it. Carefully, not to cut himself on the loose shards of glass, he kicked out the remaining parts of the door before heading inside. The gym was the same as it had always been, besides the broken door and the fact that there was no one there to greet him. Putting in his Epod, he made his way towards the changing rooms. ~ High in the sky, where eagles fly. Morgray the dark enters the throne. ~ While Elliot was comfortably exercising, all over the world people were holed up in their homes, nuclear bunkers and favorite spots. All waiting for what was to come. It felt like even the animals and nature itself was holding their breath as the timer slowly approached zero. The ever ticking of clocks, the merciless continuation of the countdown of what may actually be the end of the world. This silence would occasionally be broken by ¡®special¡¯ cases. One of these cases was a certain student that, while working out, was singing loudly. As the tenor¡¯s voice rang throu gh the once busy building, there was no one to witness this sight. The world was engaged with different problems. Ten. As the final ten seconds arrived, mankind thought of its ancestors and theorised if anyone had known that this would happen. Nine. The question arose, whether or not there would be someone or something that would remember them and their race, if they¡¯d be gone. Eight. Unfounded hope for salvation arose. Hope for a savior, that could end this process. Nothing came. Seven. Confusion about the fact that it would all end this way. Had there been anything that they could have done to prevent this? Six. Unrequitted anger towards the world and the fact that it had decided their paths for them. How dare someone or something else judge us and decide our fate? Five. Despair washed over all, as there was no hope left. No stopping this ever ticking countdown. No chance to save either family and beloved ones or themselves. Four. An unnatural calmness came over the earth, as it waited for its end. Given up all defiance, there was only the acceptance of powers greater than a mere human. Three. Happiness and thankfulness for all that had transpired in their lives up until now. Glee over their experiences, satisfaction for that first love, joy over that one encounter and delight over that particular meal. Two. A look of acceptance and happiness towards family and loved ones, one last time, before it could all end. One. A quick embrace of all that had been loved, one that should never end. While this was happening all over the planet, a particular young man was doing pull ups in a deserted gym in an almost empty city. With his Epod on full blast, he could not hear the speeches that were being broadcasted over giant speakers that people apparently had bought. He did not hear the countdown. He did not realise the world could very well end. The only though that came to mind was: Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. So when would this apocalypse-thing start? Oh well, there was no point in worrying over that now, was there. He¡¯d just finish his workout before taking his phone from his locker to look up the time of the countdown. Zero. As the timer hit zero, for a brief moment it appeared as though nothing would happen. Complete silence. Not a word was uttered and people felt like it would be neccesary to hold their breath. However, as nothing occured, confusion and relief washed over the masses. Nothing had happend, no apocalypse, no destruction and no death. Slowly, hope returned to those that had felt despair just a moment ago. Those that had been heavily embracing eachother also slowly put a stop to their intertwining. Awkward smiles and laughter of relief could be noticed all over the world, as if the anguish they had been feeling just a moment ago, had completely vanished. However, those that had been camping at the massive black spires quickly realised something was afoot. On the bottoms of those pillars, some sort of rings of heat could be seen, forming. Very similar to a mirage, a wrinkling square formed, slowly growing in size. Then, exactly thirty second after the countdown had ended, these ripples quickly shot up to the top of the 800 meters tall spires, stopping at the very tip of these enormous structures. Another thirty second later, the rings dropped at unbelievable speed. Mankind could only gasp at the unexplainable phenomenon as they witnessed it reaching their point of origination. The event that occured thereafter would later be described as ¡®The Waves¡¯. A massive wave of some unknown energy or substance, which the human eye apparently could perceive, was released from the monoliths. These waves traveled all over the lands and seas, until they¡¯d reached another wave from another spire. Those waves that met, simply vanished without a trace. In just a few minutes, the whole earth had been hit by these waves, but still no one knew exctly what their purpose was. Again, confusion spread as people tried to theorize what those seemingly harmless waves could have meant. Thirty second later, the first plane fell. Apparently, there had been some people still willing to travel with the countdown happening, which resulted into a public airplane falling unctrollably out of the sky. It circled a few times before it ¡®landed¡¯ in an apartment complex in the southern part of Chicago. At the exact same moment, all machines and devices, connected to a power source, completely stopped functioning. Only small, old devices that had not had any modern implementations, such as bluetooth or wifi, survived these waves. Planes fell out of the sky, trains ran off their tracks and cars simply broke down. All of a sudden, all electrical sources of light stopped working. The world was covered in darkness and silence, except for the screams of agony of those that had fallen prey to misfortune. Worldwide panic and chaos ensued, as humanity had relied on their technoloy for such a long time. Being unable to use anything they¡¯d previously taken for granted, many mentally broke down. The fear of the unknown and the helplesness that most felt, was crushing for the soul. Riots broke out in the largest cities of the more unstable countries, which lead to the response being overly aggressive, as the unrest influenced all. Those that had previously been dependent on mechanically assisted medication either died or were lucky and were taken care of by another human fast enough. Countries that had had more stable governments were either quickly taken control of by the military and public service or, as was the case in England, people simply did not crash as hard mentally as many others. The government still had a heavy grip on the situation, but because relief forces were soon dispatched, mostly on bikes and without any form of communication, there was little uprise. The part of the population that had some form of illness soon realised that there were no more machines to produce their medication. Besides that, many food producing methods had completely stopped and their means of transportation as well, leading to even more public outrage. Again, in the more unstable countries, a battle for resources broke out, resulting in a massive death toll. Meanwhile, Elliot was sitting in his boxers on the roof of his university complex. Seemingly without a care in the world, he took a bite of his still slightly warm pizza, whilst adjusting the volume on his Epod. Looking out over the once buzzing city, he saw nothing but a shell of its once bright past. No more lights, no more cars and no more people. To be fair, there still were people around, not like they¡¯d all died, that would be preposterous. People just did not like to go outside anymore and who could blame them? Being cut off from the world definitely had been a new experience for him. It had been a week since everything broke down and Elliot still had no idea what was going on. He¡¯d met some people from his university that seemed equally confused, but it was clear the electricity and, for some reason, most mechanical devices, had stopped working. The first thing he had thought of, was the fact that all the freezers would soon be overflowing with rotten food. So he did what any good citizen would have done. He clearly sacrificed his own health for the wellbeing of the nation by eating all the icecream and pizza that he could find. As most people had not returned to their rooms and houses, he took it upon himself to help them as well and enter their property to make sure there would be no foul stench if they¡¯d ever come back. Obviously, he had still been working out, because there was not much else to do without technology. The only thing besides that, that he¡¯d been doing, was ¡®exploring¡¯ the city. More specifically, he¡¯d been ¡®exploring¡¯ houses and buildings he¡¯d never been to before. Whilst Elliot was taking advantage of the situation and was ¡®increasing his life experience¡¯, a scientist on the other side of the planet had made a breakthrough yet again. This time, without his computer and its decrypting software. A new code had appeared when the technology broke down, this time much simpler. It had taken him only a week of almost no sleeping, eating and defecating. Holed up in his apartment, with the world slowly burning and decaying, he had worked tirelessly on the code. The moment he had decyphered the message, the world changed as a whole. * Goodness me, the story finally started. I almost finished setting up everything, don¡¯t worry! Next chapter will include both a partial explanation for this whole ordeal and also the theme for the rest of the story. By the way, I was wondering if the seemingly abrupt and quick perspective changes are a nice read or if they make the story more confusing. Let me know! Not sure yet what my release schedule will be, but as for the first few chapter, I¡¯ll definitely post them as fast as possible, just to set a base for those that might be interested. Chapter 3 - Life. Not so daily anymore. Chapter 3 ¨C Life. Not so daily anymore. The moment the message was decyphered, the passionate scientist became both confused and excited. He had been working on the code tirelessly and now it appeared as though he had made a mistake somewhere. It seemed so out of place, he felt there was no way this was the correct message! The spires were probably put there by forces greater than mankind, so it would be only natural to assume that their message would be something profound and awe-inspiring. However, what he was reading there was something completely different. [table][tr]Welcome to Tower E17. You are hereby permitted to access sector 1. Access to other Towers has been denied until further notification. Due to your status as ''pioneer'', language clarification is required. Please engage the transfer process. Confused, he glanced over it a second time, to make sure he had read it correctly the first time. No change. Letting go of his initial dissapointment, he began analysing the message. It appeared that all the spires were actually called ''Towers'', which contained something called ¡®sectors¡¯. Also, he apparently had access to sector 1 of the spire he had taken the code from. That was the one located in the centre of Singapore, which had obliterated his favorite restaurant when it arrived. It was only a few minutes of walking to the site, so why not just go now? Seemingly ignoring the fact that it was 3 in the morning, he got up from his littered desk and rapidly pacing up and down his room. Well, the government never sleeps, so they¡¯ll let me in again. Probably. Quickly slipping into something less comfortable, but much more presentable to the eyes of the outside world, he left for the tower. Walking down the streets of his city, he thought back in retrospection about what had happened the last few months. When the spires first appeared, he was just going through his divorce with that slut he had once proudly called his wife. She¡¯d been sleeping around with other men as soon as a month after their honeymoon! If that was not the exact definition of a slut, nothing was. Luckily he was a man of science and logic, which let him escape most of the emotional rollercoaster. According to her, that was what had driven her away in the first place, but why would he listen to anything such a horrible person had to say? He felt blessed he had not invested much into their marriage, because he did not lose much either. Then he had found the code and all of his time and effort went into decyphering that masterfully crafted piece of art, which made him feel like he actually contributed to society and he could take his mind off of things. He was on leave for the whole divorce incident anyway and the university had already found a temporary replacement, so he could devote all his time to conquering this code. With these thoughts in the back of his head, the scientist made his way through the silent chaos that was the city. Broken windows, burned down cars and an excessive amount of broken furniture was scattered all over the streets, but besides that it was empty. About a week ago, there had been riots because of the inability and lack of help from the government. He could not really blame either party, as they both made valid points, he felt. Finally arriving at his destination, he saluted the sleepy-looking guard that was posted by the roadblock. ¡°Hey there, good morning. I was just wondering if I could enter the premises again?¡± The guard gave him a good look-over and then asked him, with a hint of aggression, whilst placing his hand on his assault rifle : ¡°Who are you and why should you be given access? Do you have any form of identification on you?¡± Smiling, the scientist took out his wallet and showed the guard his driving license. The attitude the guard had sported completely vanished in mere seconds, as he recognised one of the most esteemed scientists the government had been employing. This man was placed on a very short list of people that had unlimited access to the spires in the country. ¡°Oh, I do apologise Sir. I simply did not recognise you in this time of day! Please, come in. Would you like an escort? Have you discovered anything new?¡± Bombarded with questions by the now eager guard, the scientist simply smiled as they walked down the path towards the central building. ¡°That¡¯s quite alright, you were just doing your job. I have indeed discovered something and I would like to further my investigations.¡± A wide grin appeared on the guard¡¯s weather-beaten face, that had probably seen too many horrors of what human desperation could lead to, these last couple of weeks. ¡°Will you be needing any assistance, Sir? I can easily let someone take over my shift and escort you over the premises.¡± ¡°I am no Sir, just call me Jason. Jason Parks. I wouldn¡¯t mind you tagging along, feel free to do so.¡± Excitement flashed across the man¡¯s face, as he rushed over to the building that probably were the baracks. A few minutes later the man returned, followed by a grumpy colleague. ¡°We¡¯re all set to go, follow me Mr. Parks!¡± The skies finally had started to brighten, as the light of day approached. A warm breeze softened the anxious mood that Jason had been having in anticipation of what was to come. He would be the first to discover such an abnormal phenomenon! He wondered what would happen once he¡¯d reached the spire, as the message had not been completely clear. Sector 1 probably was some hub of information or some other service, that only he would have access to. Language clarification could only mean that there was some sort of method to translate the code that he had decyphered more easily. This method would then be the ¡®transfer process¡¯ the message had mentioned, but he was not sure what that would exactly consist of. Humanity had not invented such a method yet, at least not to such an extent, so this would be a new experience for both him and humanity. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Setting aside his thoughts, he realised they¡¯d reached the base of the massive black tower. Speaking his thoughts out loud, he remarked: ¡°Every time I see them, I can¡¯t help but be in awe of the magnificence that they possess.¡± His companion happily turned his head towards him, as he replied: ¡°Indeed Sir, can¡¯t help but fantasise about who or what made them.¡± Agreeing with that statement, Jason slowly walked towards the black stone and stuck out his hand. As he came closer, he felt as though something reached back, or was it his imagination? A shiver ran through his body as he abruptly stopped in his tracks. He took a few seconds to make up his mind and steel himself for what was to come. He would definitely not back down now, he had come too far. Besides, what¡¯s the worst that could happen? His right hand touched the stone and immediately a cold rush entered his arm. His body temperature fell immensely, to the point where he could not help but feel like he was skinny dipping during a blizzard, in the Antartic. The impossibility struck him harder than the bodily reaction, as his mind could not comprehend the situation. He stood there, frozen in place. His body was unable to listen to any of his commands, as he helplessly panicked inside this cage of his own body. Then, out of nowhere, a thought came to mind. He somehow recognised it as something that was not his own, which was not only due to the fact that it was completely unrelated to his situation, but also because the origin felt foreign. As he focussed on this thought, another one appeared. And another. Suddenly a stream of thought filled his head. [table][tr]Welcome to Tower E17. You currently have access to sector 1. Due to your status as ''pioneer'', language clarification is required. Transfer process will start shortly. Due to your status as ''pioneer'', declination is unavailable. Transfer process will start now. Before Jason even had time to panic about this abrupt notion, an excruciating pain filled his head. Still unable to move, he could do nothing but suffer in silence. He could only imagine what could lead to such unimaginable pain, as absurd images filled his head. A faceless man was slowly tracing a miniscule blade around the trajectory of his head, leaving nothing but a trail of pain and disturbance. A giant cockroach smashed his skull in on a rock, before slowly emptying the insides. Nothing was left except for the empty shell that had once housed his mind. He was slowly sinking, head first, into a pool of molten lava. His head disintegrating, while being unable to move. As these visions of his imagination bounced around his mind, in reality he had been doing nothing but stand straight up, with his hand on the tower. His mind was literally being torn apart and put together again, as something took his knowledge and returned it after some time. A complete day had passed, with the only change in scenery being the countless government tents that now covered him and the doctors that had been measuring his health. They had tried awakening, as well as moving him. However, all their attempts resulted into failure, as he somehow stood there, just as unwavering as the tower he was now connected to. Another day passed and still nothing had occured. Government officials were running impatient, as the numerous teams of scientists could not determine the condition of this quite revered member of society. Plans were made to move Jason and see what would happen, however many were against these plans as they could lead to fatal consequences. Exactly two days after Jason had touched the tower, he regained control of his body and he fell down. Immediately, a team of people attended him and he was rushed to the medical facilities. Most were mainly interested in what had happend to him and not his health, so he was bombarded with questions regarding his experiences. With a distant gaze, the man on the stretcher stared at the ever chaning ceiling. Not a word had left his mouth since he had his body returned. Then, the left corner of his mouth twitched. This repeated itself, until also the right corner joined in. The twitching then slowly formed into a smile. With no light in his eyes, he began grinning. First, a chuckle. Then a slight grin. The grin spread until it had turned into a full laugh. This laughter grew and did not seem to stop. The doctors that had been surrounding him grew worried, as this was obviously abnormal behavior. Suddenly, a fire lit inside his eyes as he finally completed the process of creating a laugh of pure madness. Maniacally laughing, his eyes rapidly spun in all directions. When this moment struck, one of the assisting doctors decided it was in the favor of both the patient as his colleagues to sedate the man. A large needle was stuck inside the man¡¯s arn and he gradually slipped into a state of unconciousness. The bystanders glanced at eachother before carrying the, now mentally unstable but once revered, scientist off to a secluded space for further treatment and assessment. This day would later on be remembered as ''The Start'', as it signalled the start of what was to come. On a completely different continent, another touched a Tower. However, this time, a completely different outcome originated. * Enjoyed the chapter? I know I did! This one almost entirely set up the premise, so do not fear, as Elliot will return next chapter, as well as some other still unknown characters. Do let me know what you think and if there''s any criticism at all, I''d love to hear it. Also, don''t mind the blue streak in the story, I''m still screwing around with tables and I''ll improve soon enough. Chapter 4 - Life. Strange events. Chapter 4 - Life. Strange events. ¡°Dude¡± Startled by the sudden sound, Elliot shot up from his comfortable chair. He had not been feeling well, as he mostly lived on ¡®fresh¡¯ food. All the previously fresh food had been slowly deteriorating over the last weeks and he did not want to start on his ever growing stack of canned food, for as long as possible. Now, sadly, most things he had enjoyed eating in his daily life, had hit the point of no return. A terrible stench had slowly been rising over the last few days, engulfing the city in a mantle of abhorrent odor. Elliot had put the leftover deodorants and aftershave to good use, by spraying it everywhere in the near vicinity of his living space, but it did little to mask the fate of previously juicy fruits. The fact that he just heard a croaked voice, which typically is attributed to being a stereotype of your neigborhood stoner, left him wondering if he had finally gone insane. It only was a matter of time anyway, seeing as though he had been living without any human contact for a whole week now. Overreacting? Of course not, he had just heard a voice out of nowhere! ¡°Dude, I think I¡¯m a magician, man.¡± What? What is actually happening...? Again, he heard the voice, now mixed with excitement. It spoke about being a magician, so maybe this was someone pranking him? But how was that possible when he clearly heard the voice inside his head and not through his ears? ¡°Dude, what? Frank could hear me as well? But, he is like, 800 feet away. He¡¯s in a tent, which is, like, far away, dude. Are you kidding me? Am I hearing some stoner, probably high on all sorts of drugs, talking to me? This is it, goodbye cruel world. There is no turning back for me now. I¡¯ll slowly descent into madness now and soon I¡¯ll be running around naked through town, singing the national anthem. ¡°Dude, do you think I¡¯m like, a superhero now? Call me, the fantastic magic-man, dude.¡± ... ¡°No dude, I just touched the black stone, man. I already had some mushrooms, so I can¡¯t remember what happened, dude.¡± What now? He touched one of those black spires? I am either going crazy, or that spire did something to the guy, making him talk to me in my mind. Let¡¯s hope for the best and assume I¡¯m not mental, then that means that the spire gave him some crazy mind-power. The only way to know for sure if that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll have to go and investigate. Guess it¡¯s time for me to finally move and not sit around all day anymore. I should also probably look for a farm, check if they have some fresh food. There¡¯re loads of sheep and cows in the general direction that spire should be anyway. ¡°Dude, I don¡¯t feel so good. The trip is getting bad, man. Hold my hand, dude. I¡¯m falling, dude!¡± ... After having calmed down, I once again tried to reason with myself, trying to justify what had just occured. The only way that such a thing could be possible, that I can think of, is that this guy had some method of transmitting thoughts through waves and having me translate them back to their message. Like a telephone. Really. Smirking at such a ridiculous thought, Elliot locked the safe behind him. The first time he had walked into the bank, he was eager to take all the money that had been stashed there, hoping that he would be a millionaire once the world turned back to normal. Sadly, this did not happen. Besides, there was a sincere lack of money there. Some gold, that was probably stored there to have at least something fill up the giant safe, had been put into a corner. He had no idea what to do with the shiny metal, so he just left it there and from that point on, put everything he deemed of value there. The reason he had been able to get into the bank in the first place, was the fact that the lock was electronically sealed, which had given way when the Waves hit. He had set up a new system, to the best of his ability, but he wasn¡¯t very proud of it. A simple chain, held together by a giant steel lock, was not as imposing as an actual massive safedoor. Oh well, he had to make do. He had one last look at all his collected possesions and, not seeing anything wrong with this situation, thought to himself: ¡°I reckon that I could fit another chair in there, if I arranged everything differently.¡± The subconscious hoarder then left his makeshift treasure cave and jumped on his bicycle, moving towards the general direction he remembered hearing about. It had been shortly in the local news, that a spire had also appeared about twenty miles east, so he just decided to go see for himself. The trip was, luckily, rather uneventful. Riding through several small towns, he noticed different groups of people, congregating. Obviously, there were the little devils that some people referred to as ¡®children¡¯, but he knew better. Nothing is more vicious and merciless than a child that wants something. Seriously chilling, he went out of his way to avoid these monsters. Another, more heartwarming, event was when he rode into a town that he liked to call ¡®Seniorville¡¯, because of the massive amount of old people there. Not just a few, no the whole town seemed to consist of the elderly! They were all sat on the townsquare, drinking tea and talking about all sorts of nonesense. A group of younger-looking people, that bore significant similarities to the group of military scouts he had met before, was tirelessly brewing and serving the tea. Met with countless tired expressions, he quickly moved on, before he would be swept up in the assisting of the tyrranical elderly. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. As the sky turned dark, he finally arrived at his destination, the town that sported the rather odd name of ¡®Perry¡¯. Very tired, he made up his mind to first find shelter, so that he could investigate in the morning. What he had not foreseen, was the fact that the whole town was completely stuffed with people. Not just the normal townspeople were there, but also numerous outsiders, either in tents or makeshift huts. All houses were either occupied by their original owners or filled to the brim with people. So this is why so many people had left Cambridge. They are all here! A gigantic camp, filled with copious amounts of tents, had been made on the southside of town. The only question that came to mind, seeing all this, was: ¡°Why are all these people congregating here?¡± He now also realised why the voice, he had heard earlier, spoke of tents, this guy was here somewhere! If he couldn¡¯t find a place to sleep, why not just look for the guy now? He must be somewhere in the camp, so the only reasonable plan was to find the tent. Easy. It¡¯s not like there were probably more than a thousand tents there. No problem. After two hours of searching, Elliot was almost willing to ask directions. Almost. ¡°I¡¯ve come so far, it¡¯s not necessary to ask someone!¡± He reasoned. Then, as a god-like intervention, he heard the voice he would recognise anywhere. ¡°Dude, I¡¯m like feeling better. Should we take some more, dude?¡± The voice came from a tent, not two rows down from where he was currently standing. Naturally, Elliot rushed over in desperation, fearing that the ellusive voice would somehow escape him. Ripping open the flap of the reasonably sized, green tent, he stared inside. Two guys in their twenties were sat across from eachother. One, sleezy-haired with a green shirt and brown cargo shorts. Wearing a cap and with a not well preserved ginger beard, the man on the left was the typical stereotype of a stoner. The man on the right was the exact opposite. With a well groomed, small, black beard and moustache, the man¡¯s face gave of a feeling of serenity. His black hair was neatly stuck backwards and he wore a tight suit on his, seemingly, well-trained body. Elliot could not imagine why such a good-looking black man would be sat in the same tent as someone that looked so lost in his own world. ¡°I do say, Archibald, it appears as though a ruffian has made his way onto our property.¡± What. I have never heard such a posh voice in my entire life, and I¡¯ve listened to countless speeches of the Queen! ¡°Dude, I don¡¯t know man. What do you think, dude? Should I use my magic?¡± The voice he had heard before and was so characteristic of he only now realised what was truly wrong with this picture. The crazily posh voice originated from the unwashed and scruffy-looking stoner, and the croaky stoner-voice came from the well-dressed man. ¡°What in the world..¡± ¡°Yes, good man. Indeed. How dare you intrude on our private assembly?I do say, how rude. How rude indeed.¡± You are kidding me. What is going on? Feeling slightly elated, Elliot sought for some form of support, as he started to shake. ¡°Dude, I think he inhaled our Master-Kush, man. See? He¡¯s started tripping already dude. Probably hasn¡¯t had something that sweet, like, ever.¡± As the world slowly turned yellow and green, the last thing Elliot saw, was the scruffy man standing over him, shaking his head. His departing words were slightly unsettling. ¡°I do say, old chap. You have just taken in some Master-Kush, so I fear you will be experiencing some mild form of hallucinattions and possibly some form of paranoia. But do not fret, as we are here to tend to both your mental and physical needs.¡± An ominous grin was the last sight he saw, before everything turned black. * I''m back! Have been very busy these last few weeks with both exams and realising yet again that America has some deep rooted problems, but now I have returned. I hope you stuck with me, because soon the story will become crazier and more fantastical! Let me know if you have anything worthwhile to say, also if you don''t, I don''t mind :D Chapter 5 - Life. The unexpected. Chapter 5 - Life. The unexpected Dear unexpected guest, We do hope you have had an exquisite night, as you seem to have inhaled some of our most esteemed product. It is rather wistful that we have yet to meet and exchange greetings properly, but I assure you that the time for such pleasantries has yet to come. As both me and my associate have duties that need attending, we are sadly unable to attend to your needs at this time of day. Taking in mind the possible side-effects, we would advice you to head over to a nearby water source and divulge in its liquid riches. We would like to express our greatest desire to engage in conversation on the topic of sudden visit and its consequences at a later date. Yours faithfully, Rick Stone and Archibald Leister .. Staring intently at the note, previously stuck to his forehead with some Scotch tape, Elliot tried to focus and read the seemingly endless letter. He had never, in all his years of attending school and university, seen such awful handwriting. Random strokes and crazy outbursts of ink filled the page, making it even harder for him to read, especially in his current state of confusion and disarray. ¡°What happend last night? And what is this note?¡± he wondered out loud. After sitting up straight, holding his head with his hands, he slowly started to recall what had ocurred the previous night. The sudden realisation that the owner of the mysterious voice was not 20 feet away, his rushed entrance and the drug fumes that had hit him. He almost regretted not doing many drugs in the past, as his head felt like a couple of bulldozers had had a party on top of him. ¡°Fuck me, my head hurts!¡± Thinking out loud, he continued his tirade. ¡°Slap me with a scone and a broom, what did I inhale?!¡± Drowsily standing up, he reached for the table next to him, only to find his arms could not reach. Elliot had already not been feeling very well and this falling-addition only increased his sickness. Standing up again, now even more slowly, he stumbled out of the tent and into the noisy outside world. While all around him people were walking about, conversing and generally not having a bad day, Elliot showed the world the insides of his stomach. With a loud belch, he graced the world with an unsightly view, one that could not be forgotten easily. Stepping over the green bits and pieces of his previous meals, he made his way towards the only body of water that he knew of, the giant lake the village was located next to. For some reason it did not occur to him once that he could have just asked any bypasser for some water, he just decided to follow the letter¡¯s advice. What he did not expect, was a completely packed shore. All around the lake, people were gathered, looking at the giant black spire in the middle. Loud, enthusiastic yelling, paired with hushed whispering, created a strange atmosphere that completely flew over Elliot¡¯s head. Pushing away all that dared stand in front of him, keeping him from the sweet water, he reached the shore faster than he¡¯d expected. In his rush to make it to his liquid salvation, he tumbled and dove right into the lake. Splashing about, he resurfaced after frantically waving his arms around. Wildly looking around, he noticed several people swimming towards the middle, trying to touch the spire. In his frenzied state, half awake and still a bit under the influence of the infamous ¡®Master Kush¡¯, he justified their behavior as one, trying to overcome his attempt to drink some water. How and why, he could later not remember, nor did he want to. Having rhetorized that this was the case, he shot through the water, using his (best?) swimming techniques. Onlookers could clearly tell this man was not completely clear-minded, as he displayed what only could be described as water-flailing, whilst moving forward slowly. It felt like it had only take a few second when he finally reached the spire. Sadly, when Elliot went up to the imposing giant, he could not remember why he had swum all the way over there. Neither could he recall why he even wanted to go into the water, the only thing on his mind at that point, was his fatigue. Swimming uncontrollably for over fifteen minutes really took its toll. He decided to follow the other swimmers in their behavior of resting against the pillar. They, for some odd reason, seemed to float perfectly still, not moving an inch. Weird. Oh well, he was very tired and the spire offered the promise of some rest. Reaching out his hand towards the spire, he had nothing on his mind but leaning.
Welcome to Tower D27. You currently have access to sector 1. Due to your status as ¡®new entry¡¯ you have yet to be calibrated. Calibration will start shortly. Due to your status as ¡®new entry¡¯, you are able to decline. Do you wish to start calibration now?
.. What? What is happening? What are these thoughts? Now fully awake, Elliot¡¯s mind worked overtime as he tried to figure out what was going on. Slowly but surely, his mind connected the dots and he exclaimed: ¡°You are kidding me, that stoner guy actually did get supernatural powers from the spire! I mean, yes, I did hope this would be real, but come on.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. You have selected option ¡®yes¡¯. Calibration will now commence. Wait, what? No, no, no, wait up. ¡°I misspoke, don¡¯t mind what I just said!¡± He frantically belted out, but to no avail. Everything turned black. .. Like, really black. Super black. No light black.
Welcome to Tower D27. You currently have access to sector 1. Due to your status as ¡®Many from one¡¯, alteration is required. Alteration process will start shortly. Due to your status as ¡®Many from one¡¯, declination is unavailable. Alteration process will commence now.
Elliot payed great attention to the words filling his mind, but for some reason, his body could not move, rendering him unable to speak. Thinking back at his earlier encounter, the words he thought he had spoken, were actually just in his mind. Overcome by this strange realisation, he could do nothing but wait. For what, he did not know. Sadly, he did not have to wait long to find out what would follow. Intense pain. Incredible pain, to lenghts he had never felt before, or could ever have imagined. What flashed before his mind¡¯s eye, was an image of a giant hand, splitting his body into countless parts with a massive axe. After that, multiple scenario¡¯s flew by, all containing some form of him being split up into different parts, all accompanied by excruciating pain. Darkness. A void of nothing. It could not even be attributed with the color black. The only thing in sight, was the absence of everything. Then, from the darkness, a light. A shiver. .. ¡°Dude¡± No. Please, no. Not this again. I¡¯m done. Another flash of light. ¡°Dude, can you hear me?¡± ¡°No, leave me be.¡± After another flash of light, Elliot¡¯s vision was filled with waves of light. As he opened his eyes, he quickly eyed his surroundings, those being the inside of the tent that now felt oddly familiar. ¡°Not this again..¡± Two heads popped into his field of vision and he sighed, recognizing their owners. ¡°Dude, welcome back.¡± ¡°Yeah yeah, I¡¯m awake. Why am I here?¡± Grinning, the still well-dressed man threw his hands up, before enthusiastically exclaiming: ¡°You touched the stone, man! You passed out, so you got a good power as well, dude!¡± Wait what? ¡°What are you saying? I don¡¯t follow.¡± Now, the scruffy man joined in. ¡°It appears, old chap, that you have been granted a strong power as well. We have observed that only those with extraordinary gifts have received an accompanied surge of overwhelming pain and despair.¡± Startled by the sudden, seemingly crazy, information, Elliot sat straight up. Confused and lost, his face showed a look of turmoil. ¡°I have no idea what is happening right now. Who are you people? Why am I here and what is up with those fucking spires?!¡± * Hey there! Let me know via the poll how the story is doing so far and if you want to see any changes anytime soon! Chapter 6 – Life. Metaphysical and filled with cows. Chapter 6 ¨C Life. Metaphysical and filled with cows. ¡°It''s a pleasure to introduce myself again, as you seem to have partially forgotten our previous encounter. One calls himself Rick. Rick Stone, for those unassociated.¡± Elliot, still staring confused at the two men, blinked furiously before rubbing his eyes. A look of both amazement and bewilderment fills his eyes, as he opens his mouth to voice his questions yet again. ¡°Well, nice to meet you, Rick, but why do you speak like that, when you look so..¡± Tentatively, his eyes glance over the man''s dirty and unsophisticated body whilst speaking. An expression of embarrassment for the rudeness of his inquiry emerges on his face. The one reaction he did not expect, however, came from the man he basically called a hobo with an odd accent. Laughter filled the tent, making Elliot laugh softly as well, still embarrassed. ¡°That was the most pressing matter on your mind, old chap? I do say, how amusing. One has no need for materialistic properties or qualities, due to the mental and spiritual nature of one''s own enlightenment.¡± The well-dressed man nods in agreement, as he looks proudly at his, what Elliot could only assume, friend. ¡°Yeah dude, he''s like, enlightened. He sees everything now, man. The stone develops like, your mental abilities. You become, like, a new person, dude.¡± Raising his left eyebrow, Elliot turns his head towards the second man and exclaims in utter confusion: ¡°And you! You are dressed the way he speaks, and vice versa! Why do you speak like a typical stoner and dress like an important businessman? It just doesn''t make sense! Also, what do you mean by stone, are you talking about the spires?¡± ¡°Archibald, would you allow me to answer the good man''s inquiries? I feel strongly that I could assist him better in this endeavor than you are currently capable of.¡± ¡°Go ahead, dude. I don''t mind, as long as you ask him about his powers, man.¡± A smile appeared on Rick''s face, as he turns towards Elliot. ¡°Good sir, the way one dresses does not maketh the man. It does, however, obliterate any and all preconceived ideas and conceptions about oneself. One can only imagine what effect this could have on less open-minded individuals and does not think this negative characteristic can be attributed to one such as yourself, our good friend.¡± Flustered by this seemingly honest thought, Elliot quickly crawled back verbally, ¡°Of course I do not mind, it only creates an odd first impression. Please continue.¡± ¡°One is quite grateful for this understanding statement. This is my partner, Archibald. We traverse this lovely planet and have been trying to find enlightenment for the past ten years. Finally, we have achieved our goal. Here, at this watery lake. In the middle of nowhere, in the country of old, of legend and myth. We have surpassed humanity and become something more. Something greater.¡± Now, smiling happily, the two men look at each other. ¡°Dude, we finally found it. We did it, man.¡± Grinning fervently, they reminded Elliot of a couple of children, not caring about anything other than their own enjoyment of the universe. This thought also made him smile, which resulted in the three of them grinning simultaneously. This went on for some time, which ultimately lead to all of them feeling rather uncomfortable. ¡°That is quite enough of that. Our dear friend, you wanted to know about the Towers? The only facts that we are sure of, are those that we have already told you, either explicitly or implicitly.¡± ¡°Eeehm, well, I have not been focused that much these last days. It''d be really nice if you could repeat whatever you''ve tried to tell me.¡± Archibald eagerly glances over at his well bespoken friend, as he quietly sits down on his chair. ¡°One does not mind whatsoever, good sir. The things that we know for sure, that we are completely and entirely aware of, are actually very little. We know that the Towers can, when touched directly, send the body into stasis, meaning that the body is unable to move until the process is complete. This process consists of physical or mental alteration of the body, We have seen someone transform into a cow!¡± ¡°We did have some Master-Shrooms that time, though, dude.¡± Archibald excitedly interjects. Acknowledging this, Rick nods. ¡°That''s true, Arch, but we both saw it, therefore eliminating the possibility of it being a hallucination. However, returning to the initial topic: we also know for certain that the alteration process involves a form of pain if the bestowed ability is powerful enough. Oddly, the cow did seem to have a lot of pain, as it mooed quite a lot afterwards.¡± ¡°Dude, that cow was magnificent. It was definitely enlightened, man.¡± A look of annoyance crossed Elliot''s face as he spoke up. ¡°Stop talking about cows, carry on with your findings!¡± Seemingly surprised and startled by this sudden outburst of their new ''companion'', the couple looked quite shocked. ¡°There was no need for such unpleasantries, old chap. Anyway, continuing our previous conversation; people do not always gain ''abilities'', as they sometimes only gain slight improvements in their current situation, such as better memory or such. Therefore, the actual abilities are quite rare, seeing as though we have only witnessed about five cases in all the time we¡¯ve been here.¡± ¡°So, who were these people?¡± Quickly looking at eachother, the pair nod once before Rick continues. ¡°Well, good sir, the first was Archibald here. When we realised some people were hearing him in their minds, I theorized the whole camp either being drugged or something else was afoot. It¡¯s not very surprising that I was the second one to touch the Tower. I also gained an ability, which can be oddly intertwined with Arch¡¯s ability. The third was a teenage girl that left immediately after she had been through the process. The fourth was the man that turned into the cow, which is odd because cows are always female. The fifth was you, old chap.¡± Furrowing his brow, Elliot tried desperately to take in all the information that was being given to him. ¡°Wait, wait, wait. So you are telling me, people are actually gaining abilities from these Towers? Why? How? And why do some people gain rare things, while others don¡¯t? Who or what makes that distinction?¡± A sad look flashed across Rick¡¯s face, as he shook his head slowly. ¡°I fear we do not know, old chap. We simply have no idea on the origin or purpose of these events. All we know is that we were about to embark on another swimming trip to the Tower, to check whether something similar would happen, when you barged into our tent last night. We simply do not know.¡± A loud rumbling could be heard in the distance, as the skies darkened. The past few days had not been very welcoming, but the incoming promise of storm shook the camp. Fastening tents, retrieving all loose equiptment still outside, the residents of the tent camp all prepared for the worst. On the other side of town, a group of three teenagers approached. A guy, about seventeen, with no extraordinary features, was being followed by two beautiful girls. The first was of Hispanic descent, as her lushious black hair curled in the most fantastic ways. The other was a lovely blonde, with blue eyes and an innocent smile. Both the girls were practically hanging on the guy¡¯s shoulders, as they entered the village. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Please, let me hold your hand, James. You¡¯ve held her hand for long enough now.¡± With blown up cheeks, the blonde girl was berating her companion. A slight blush on her puffed up cheeks created a lovely image. ¡°Now, now, Alicia. No need to be selfish here. There¡¯s enough to share for both of you.¡± The guy spoke, with an air of detachment. No real emotion could be seen on his face, as they made their way towards the lake. The two pretty girls kept bickering, trying to get the guy¡¯s attention. When they finally arrived at the lake, the other girl spoke up. ¡°If we are swimming to the Tower, I don¡¯t mind if you look at me in my swimsuit, James. Only if it¡¯s you though.¡± A smile appeared on James¡¯ face, as he looked at her. ¡°You will always be pretty, no matter what you wear!¡± As her face turned bright red, the girl followed suit and quickly undressed, to reveal a swimming outfit. The difference between swimming costumes between the two girls was massive, as one had a ¡®school¡¯ swimming suit, while the other had a rather revealing bikini. Staring at eachother¡¯s chest, a silent battle was being fought. James had no idea this was happening, as he was too busy appreciating his luck. Only a week ago had he suddenly stumbled upon these two beauties that, for some reason, decided to follow him. He literally had no redeeming qualities, as he was just a normal bloke from around the block. No use in not being appreciative though, so he took great advantage of this situation. He had heard a voice in his head, speaking about the spires giving out magic powers, so it was only natural to follow up on that. ¡°Come now, girls. Let¡¯s get this over and done, so we can return to our previous ¡®activities¡¯..¡± He spoke, making the two girls blush even more, before they both nod. ¡°Uhn!¡± The weather seemed to become worse and worse, but Elliot was not done yet. He needed some time alone to think about all the recent events and information that had sprung up. Promising the duo that he¡¯d be back before the storm hit, he strolled out of the camp, towards the lake. There had been some nice spots that he¡¯d be able to sit down nicely. In the distance, he could already spot the lightning in the clouds, assuring massive downpour and gusts. Most people had already gone inside, to protect themselves from what was to come, but he quickly spotted some bags and clothes on the shore of the lake. You are kidding me. Who would go swimming now? Searching the lake for the idiots, he swiftly spotted three people in the distance, floating next to the Tower. He couldn¡¯t be completely sure, but he thought he could spot expressions of pain on their faces. Three people, all with special abilities? That would definitely be a record. The only problem, is the fact that they¡¯d gone out swimming just before a giant storm. Then, they all began to move. First slowly, but then they picked up speed. Very wise, because the storm was now approaching rapidly. Clouds turned black, rumbling increased and shivers of lightning flew through the skies, as the trio made its way to the shore. Still staring at the group of major idiots, he could not help but wonder about their motives and future. If three people that already knew eachother would gain powers, that could be a massive influence on the country, if said powers would be on par with that of Archibald. Shit! I forgot to ask what ability Rick had gotten! How stupid, how could you possibly forget that... Oh well, I¡¯ll ask him when I return, just gotta make sure these people don¡¯t continue doing stupid stuff. With the storm now basically above them, the rain also made its debut. In a matter of seconds, Elliot¡¯s whole body became utterly soaked and his mood dropped similarly. Luckily, the group had made it to shore and was now gathering their stuff. ¡°James, we need to find some shelter and warm ourselves with the heat of our bo...¡± Blushing fervently, the blonde girl did not finish her sentence. The Hispanic girl also sported a blush as she picked up the bags. ¡°Wait a second, I need to try some stuff!¡± The guy, James apparently, yelled in an excited manner. I understand you are eager to find out more about what happpend to you, boy, but it¡¯s a very bad idea to stand in the middle of nowhere with no tall structures when a storm is raging. Elliot was about the yell at them to move, when he was startled by the boy¡¯s strange behavior. Grinning like a madman, he boy spoke to himself loudly. ¡°This is definitely a game-like world now! An RPG I used to play a lot, so there should be stats and titles and all that cool stuff!¡± The rumblind in the sky increased as he exclaimed these odd words. Game? RPG? Why would the world EVER turn into something like that. That¡¯s a ridiculous idea. There is literally no reason whatsoever that this would happen. Even if we were being experimented on by aliens, why would they base their system on a game..? Even more excited, the boy yelled out: ¡°If this is all true, then that means that there is only one way to know for sure!¡± In the the most confident and self-assured way Elliot had ever seen, the boy shouted with a look of determination. ¡°Status!¡± For a moment, there was nothing. No sound, no light and it seemed as though the world had stopped in its tracks for just a mere second. A moment of silence for the idiocy that was occuring, probably. Then, from the clouds a light came down. Directly heading towards the group that was now huddled together, a beam of feathery light came down. Just a miniscule moment before this ray of light hit, the universe seemed to realise its mistake and the ray of light turned back into the string electricity that it had been. Roaring thunder and rolling clouds of darkness swam through the heavens, as a single lightning strike came down and hit the group. Turning all it touched into ash, in not more than a single moment, before disappearing into oblivion, the lightning came and left. All that was left, was a small puddle of black ash, swiftly being spread across the land by the ever rolling winds. * I hope you like the chapter, as I had to throw up multiple times in order to write that stuff in the end. Man, I will never do that again. Shakespeare definitely turned in his grave over that one. I just really felt I had to include this bit into the story :D Do let me know what you think, or leave a rating, those never hurt.