Chapter 27 [Forgotten Memories]

Oh, Jonathan… I wish that I could truly express the importance of the Tower’s trials. The secrets of the ‘in-between’ are more than just fabrications of the Tower. More than just tests to ensure our preparedness for moving forward. There are hidden truths in every instance, truths that cannot be discerned without knowing history that has been lost to the ages. I can only hope that the notes I left behind have served you well up to now and that you’re prepared for what’s to come after the Twentieth Floor.

I looked up from my grandfather’s notebook and smiled at the young woman standing near the clearing’s edge. Her deep, red eyes were covered slightly by her long, dishevelled white hair that fluttered slightly in the breeze. Nathaniel stood slightly behind, towering over her short, diminutive figure. Despite her short stature and thin physique, I knew that I wasn’t dealing with a child, and the last thing I intended to do was treat her as such.

“Kasamira. It’s good to see you again, dear.” I stood and bowed slightly while gesturing again for her to take the chair opposite me. “Please, have a drink with me.”

She looked at me curiously for a moment before sauntering over and taking the offered seat. I met Nathaniel’s gaze, and he nodded slightly before turning and jogging off through the forest. Kasamira watched the young man with a frown until he was out of sight, then turned to me and raised an eye.

“Sending away the muscle?” she asked, her lilting voice causing my skin to shiver and dredging up memories of a woman’s soft hum as she rocked me to sleep. Memories that were out of focus due to my poor awareness as a child. I forced those thoughts aside and studied the woman before me. She studied her mug briefly before lifting it and taking a sip, utterly unaware of the feelings she’d inadvertently brought to bear.

Kasamira Vladimir looked as though she belonged in the Academy, with features of a young woman perhaps a year or two my current body’s junior. She was petite, at least two heads shorter than myself with a slim torso and slightly wider hips. In time, she’d grow to be a stunning beauty but… she was already a woman. According to the recording crystals and the data I’d gained through the Network her age was assumed to be between thirty and fifty years.

I’d say that she’s at least forty, yet the only signs that she’s older than sixteen or so are the way she carries herself and the few laugh lines beginning to form around her eyes. Almost the exact opposite problem I grappled with in my previous life. And David was right, she seems… exhausted. I sighed inwardly, wishing I had more information… again.

“Should I not have?” I asked jokingly. “Plan on jumping me, do you?”

Kasamira bit her lip and eyed me like a canine would a steak, then whispered, “I just might…”

“Hah!” A fit of joyous laughter escaped me, made worse by the sudden look of shock and confusion shown on the woman’s face when her attempts to seduce me failed. I’d felt her skills pulling at my Will—likely Enhancements that she didn’t have full control over or thought she did but couldn’t sense their more subtle Effects. Admittedly, had I not surprised myself, they may have taken hold. I gathered myself before coughing and saying, “Sorry. Sorry. It’s just been some time since I’ve been propositioned so boldly. It… brought back some fond memories.”

I leaned back in my chair and sighed with another chuckle while toying with carvings on my cane. Kasamira cocked her head to the side, then pouted slightly.

“Laughing at a girl’s attempts. Hmph! See how far that gets you.” She leaned forward on one elbow, tracing patterns in the table with her other hand while studying me. “A while, you say. Handsome man like you… at the Academy with all of those young flappers running about? I find that mighty hard to believe. Or perhaps you meant from before you snatched this youngster’s body? Is that why we’re alone? The others don’t know?”

The smirk she’d given me as she asked her questions fell when her attempts to ruffle my feathers were met with a calm smile.

“So… is this why you’ve been stalking our group for the last few hours? You wish to know my secrets?” Her eye twitched, and I inwardly thanked David for his attentiveness. It seemed he’d noticed her presence around the time she’d learned of ours. I leaned forward, placing my arm next to hers before waving her closer. She moved closer, and I whispered, “You should know that most young men would be intimidated by such forwardness.”

I sat back and laughed once more at the annoyance Kasamira showed before noticing a thin sheaf of papers lying on the table where my arm had been. She looked between me, then the papers, then back at me.

“You want answers, Kasamira?” I asked, then shrugged. “I can think of no other reason for your pursuing us as you have. I’ll acquiesce, but in return I need assurance… and assistance.”

“Assistance…?” Kasamira tapped her chin with a finger for a moment before she donned a look of understanding. “There are only four of you. You need at least five to earn Promotion Relics from the in-between. Hmm…”

She glanced at the temporary contract on the table—one of a dozen that were mixed in with the miner’s gear we’d discovered on the Third Floor. It seemed the Wielder who’d discovered the place had intended to start a small company. The contracts were mostly basic, assuring a split of profits, a promise to protect each other’s interests when reasonable, and loose loyalty between the two parties. Toward the end, there was a greater clause for perpetual secrecy that would persist long after the main text’s ten-day term—presumably to protect the mine’s location but written in a way that it covered any and all pertinent information.

Kasamira merely flicked her finger lightly and the pages turned from the slight breeze that followed. Her dark red irises expanded to cover the whole of her eyes briefly before fading, then she nodded. She bit her finger, drawing blood, but instead of pressing her thumb to the paper like I expected, she smiled, stood, walked to my side of the table… and leaned over my lap to press her finger down on the paper.

She straightened, brushing against my arm as she did, then leaned against the edge of the table, her eyes almost level with mine despite my being seated. I nodded—unperturbed by her attempts to rile me. I pulled a throwing knife from the hidden sheath within my jacket and pricked my own thumb before pressing it on the line next to hers, thankful that I didn’t have to waste the more expensive binding ink that was meant for the Party Contract in my pocket.

A shock ran through my arm as the contract’s Effects took root. I felt my soul shudder when the tendril crossed between the material plane and that beyond. The first connection was made when the tendril struck the shell around my soul, attaching itself before splitting itself and extending the new path beyond a point that I could follow with my meagre skill. There was another slight shock when that path met with the one extended from Kasamira.

She sucked the blood from her finger, and I was about to cast a Cleanse and Healing Wave on us both when…

“Condition met. Effect 6.”

“Condition met. Effect 8.”

The ubiquitous voice crashed into me, causing me to jerk back in my chair and get a worried look from Kasamira. Disbelief filled my being as I suddenly remembered two more Effects of my old Origin Card, as if I’d known all along what they were supposed to do and they’d never once been blank.

[Effect 6: The Wielder has linked with an Anchor. The Wielder can spot Anchors within a range of 10 meters times the Level of Perception. Anchors who have proven detrimental to humanity are marked by a dim purple luster. Anchors who have proven a boon to humanity are marked by a dim blue luster]

[Effect 8: The Wielder has both formed a link with and removed an Anchor, showing both compassion and resolve. The Wielder can determine and affect the corruption within Anchors that remain within 10% times the Level of Will of the line of neutrality. Anchors below the line of neutrality are unable to conceal their information from the Wielder]

I shook my head, doing my best to chase away the uncomfortable feeling of remembering something I should have known. A soft hand caressed my forehead, and I looked up to see a concerned Kasamira observing me. And she was… glowing.

A dim, lavender hue surrounded her and… an odd… golden tube of some sort hovered above her head. On the far-left end of the tube hovered a blackened chain that constantly shifted, like the tentacles of a higher Ranked Plagued Beast. On the far-right, a simple but beautiful symbol shined with a brilliant white light—the same sharp upside-down heart with a stem that I’d seen countless times when looking at the symbol of the Order. It swayed freely back and forth… and I suddenly saw it for what it was.

It's not a skewered heart… it’s a leaf…

In the center of the tube was a thick golden line, which I instinctively knew to be the line of neutrality. Thinner black and golden lines spanned the length of the tube on their respective sides—one hundred on each—and the oozing purple liquid within was hovering around the thirteenth mark on the corrupted side.

“Kas…” I trailed off, quickly grasping the situation as my senses returned fully. She was still looking at me worriedly, which surprised me—I was no one to her, a fleeting interest at most. Now wasn’t the time to lose myself. “Ah… My apologies. Perhaps I’m reaching my limit on contracts and promises.”

What happens to you? I thought as I straightened up and gently removed her hand, smiling to show that I was fine. My fingers brushed the spare Deck Box within my clothing, and I recalled Zachary’s fate, what he’d done in the future, and what Kasamira would eventually do as well. I steeled my resolve before my doubts began to surface. No. I’ve failed once. I won’t fail again.

“So...” Kasamira looked at me expectantly.

“So...” I parroted her before recalling her prior questions. “Ah, that. I’m sure that those in my Party have their own opinions of my condition. Should it become pertinent—or perhaps even should they voice their intrigue—I’ll fold and lay my cards on the table. For now, Kasamira, I believe I’ll continue to hold them close to my chest.”

“It’s just Kas. Only my mother and those who don’t know me use my full name.” She regarded me curiously before shaking her head. “And fine. Out of respect for you and your Party, I suppose that I can stave off my own interests... for now. But don’t you think that you can sneak away without telling me after we’ve returned to the Origin Floor.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” I chuckled and waved toward the woods in a dramatic fashion. “Well, Kas, now that the formalities are taken care of, how would you like to meet the team?”

There was a crashing sound and a surprised yelp some distance away. Kas whipped around faster than I could follow and suddenly held a blood red dagger in either hand. The blades were curved slightly with nasty looking serrated edges on the inside of the curve and wickedly sharp edges on the outer. It only took me a moment to recognize the weapons for what they were—a pair of jambiyas without the usual ornamental dressings.

Cautiously, I reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. She tensed and looked in my direction, then eased out of her fighting stance when she saw my lack of worry—she didn’t put away her daggers, though.

No scabbards… so either a Card or storage Relic.

More sounds came from beyond the trees as something large and heavy snapped overreaching branches and bowled over the thick brush that blanketed the forest floor. It only took a moment for the head of a massive horned beetle to come into view, followed shortly by the two Wielders sitting atop its shell. An iridescent wall stood in front of the pair, pushing away and snapping any low hanging branches that attempted to hinder the small procession. I did note that Locke was plucking leaves from his hair—likely where the distant scream had originated.

Francis strode into the clearing, pride showing in his countenance as he eyed the gaping Kasamira—at least, as much pride as a beetle could show. I could feel his hubris through our link and could tell he was enjoying the newcomer’s reaction to his entrance.

“You’ve come a long way from the small beetle you once were,” I thought at him through David’s Spectral Connection. Francis stopped his advance and shuddered in excitement while sending me feelings of satisfaction—the most he could do at his current Level. No matter how much he’d grown, he was still a beetle.

“Hi there!” Aurora called before throwing her legs over the beetle’s side and sliding down to greet them. “I’m Aurora. You must be the one that Rowan said has been trailing us.”

She dismissed her Barrier, causing Locke—who’d been leaning on it while plucking debris from himself—to lose his balance and tumble lightly into the dirt behind her. He stood up quickly, brushing himself off and doing his best to hide his swiftly reddening cheeks. Nathaniel, carrying his overly large pack, stepped out from behind the Summon before moving to stand next to Aurora.

“I…” Kas blinked, then turned to look at Rowan. “You’re the one who spotted me? I find that highly unlikely with your Perception being so low.”

“Ya can see what Level his Cards are?” Locke asked, joining the rest of the group after having tidied himself.

I took pity on him and cast Cleanse and Healing Wave, evaporating the dust and increasing the Effects of Vitality in the area by more than double. Sighs of relief came from the group and Kas threw me another curious, yet grateful glance when she felt the additional Effects of the Cleanse that also targeted myself, her, and the giant beetle who’d gotten muddy on his trek in.

“Ahh. That’s invigorating.” Kas breathed out and the darkness under her eyes lessened. The meter above her head even shifted ever so slightly toward neutral, though I could have been imagining things. “And no. The inspection Card that I chose doesn’t have that specific Effect. I do have an Enhancement that shows me copious details of the Wielders I… taste.”

While I was still unmoving—a requirement for Healing Wave to remain active—she reached out and brushed the tip of her finger lightly against the side of my neck, then used that finger to tap her bottom lip. What she was referring to was obvious—the time we’d met on the Origin Floor. She batted her eyes innocently at me before smiling to the others, who—aside from Nathaniel—were glancing curiously between the two of us.

“Ah… Sorry for askin’.” Locke looked down sheepishly, much to the amusement of our newest addition. He shuffled his feet and muttered, “I’m Locke, by the way.”

“Charmed. You can call me Kas.” She giggled and moved to inspect the beetle. “And who’s this handsome fellow?”

The beetle stood taller and fluttered its wings at the compliment. I shook my head and answered, “His name is Francis. He’s a Hercules Beetle and the best mount that our Party could ask for.”

Kasamira patted the beetle’s horn, then returned to the group. “Yours, I take it?”

“He is.” I nodded in confirmation.

“Right! You still haven’t answered my question.” She squinted her eyes at me. “How did you know I was trailing you?”

“Oh, that?” I flicked my eyes pointedly over her shoulder, careful not to move much more than that for fear of dropping the Spell. Kas looked like she hadn’t slept in days, and we’d been travelling for hours ourselves. We could all use the temporary boost in Vitality. “Francis isn’t my only Summon.”

“Hello!” David called louder than he should have for how close he was to her, startling Kas and making her strike out behind her. The attack phased through him, hardly disrupting his ethereal form. He laughed. “Got you! I’m never able to get Rowan.”

“Kas, meet David.” I would have shaken my head at the lad’s antics if I could.

“I see.” Both of her daggers vanished, and she curtsied toward the young apparition. “Pleasure to meet you, David. I take it you’re the fabled ghost of the Academy that no one could find?”

“How is it that everyone else know about that?” Aurora tsked.

We continued to chat amongst ourselves, enjoying the soothing auras of Healing Wave that were further enhanced when Locke cast a full-powered Enhance Vitality—after the go-ahead from Aurora, of course. Everyone explained their roles, with Kas admitting that she was something of an assassin with regenerative abilities. No one went into detail on what Cards they possessed or gave information about their Origin Cards, but that was to be expected.

After the Spells ran their course, Aurora and Kas both took a place on the back of Francis while the rest of us walked the short distance remaining to the end of the Fifth Floor. The trip only took a few hours, the path to the stairs having long been cleared by Wielders past, who tore through the base of the mountain, creating an enormous tunnel leading directly to the hidden cavern where the stairs were located. Several small Parties of two or three Wielders watched us closely as we traversed the long passage. Most were either envious of the mount that carried the two women or disappointed that we already had five members—six being the maximum for entering the in-between as a group.

“Tha’s… Tha’s massive, it is.” Locke’s whispered words betrayed his awe at seeing the stairwell that spanned the width of the cavern before us.

The stairs were wide enough that at least ten Hercules Beetles could walk up them side by side. I looked at each of my Party members, studying their varied reactions and recalling my own ascent so many years ago. I smiled and nudged Francis onward.

“They are like this,” I told him. “Every Fifth Floor we come to, the stairs are built more like those of a temple’s than those you’d find in a common building.”

“That’s… terrifying…” Aurora swallowed loudly enough for me to hear her.

I glanced up to see Kas gently patting her back, though she, too, was looking at the stairs in wonder. Next to me, Nathaniel didn’t seem phased by the gaping whole in reality that stared down at us from atop the stairs. An impossibly still, inky blackness, so dark it seemed a chunk of the world had been torn away, loitered patiently as if waiting for its next victims.

“We’re… really goin’ in there, huh?” Locke asked.

“We are,” I answered before squeezing his shoulder assuredly. “Don’t worry. We’ll go together and still be together on the other side.”

Locke’s jaw set and he nodded before trudging forward. I followed closely while keeping an eye on our surroundings to ensure that none of the other Parties would try anything funny until we reached the first step. Francis trudged on, vanishing with the two women after only five steps. Nathaniel went next, followed by Locke.

I took a deep breath, glanced back to take note of the various unsavory faces that had been eyeing Francis and our equipment, then stepped into the darkness.