Standing at the edge of the TSA editing building rooftop, with a hand on the railing. Arthur looked over the city, enjoying the faint, cool wind that drew him here on his break, every day for the past 17 years.
"Ughhh... It's not working..." Arthur complained after a series of inhales and exhales.
"Of course it won't; you're not doing it right," A female muffled voice came from behind him in response to his lament.
"Try stepping over the rails; I heard it's easier to jump that way."
Arthur's eye twitched for a second in annoyance before turning around to stare at the lady sitting on a bench behind him, stuffing herself with a burger and a soda as quickly as she could.
Seeing his stare, she paused, hesitating slightly while chewing for a second before asking with a pained expression. "Want some?"
Arthur rolled his eyes, clearly knowing that "No" was the only answer the thin-looking glutton beside him would take.
He took a seat beside her before asking, "What are you doing up here, Liz?"
"What?"
"Am.. I not allowed to come up here?" Liz spoke quickly before taking large gulps of her soda.
"You know what I mean," Arthur said, leaning back against the bench, then clarified. "You never come up here. You said it yourself. It's far easier to get seconds while eating in the cafeteria?"
Liz wiped a drop of soda from her chin with the back of her hand. "If you really want to know, I'm hiding. Turns out... Gabriel in publishing's no saint."
Arthur turned slightly to face Liz, who was still consuming her lunch without lifting her head, with curiosity lingering.
Office gossip was always the best kind, especially for an editor who spent eighty percent of his days at work.
"How so?"
"Tip... don't let him get close to your food at lunch." Liz choked slightly but quickly grabbed the soda can before continuing.
"Besides, if I have to edit one more chapter of The Reborn Eldritch, I need every single brain cell."
Arthur, who was expecting juicy gossip, was speechless, turning back his attention to the clear sky. "I should have expected it..."
"I wonder if I should start seeing a shrink.... Maybe they could tell me what this repeating dream means."
Arthur let his thoughts drift for a moment, forgetting the sound of chewing or her existence beside him in general.
"At first I thought reaching the top of those stairs was gonna be the end since I kept repeating the process each time I fell asleep, but even after reaching the final step I still can't dream about something else..."
Subconsciously, Arthur pulled out a cigarette, twiddling gently in his left hand while deep in thought. "I might also just need a little break..... Who knows?"
Looking at the cigarette he held, the longing in his eyes was as clear as day.
"Who knows?" He repeated to himself one more time.
Glancing from the corner of his eye, he finally saw that Liz was done eating and was staring blankly at him.
"What?"
A copied chapter has arrived from www.NovelPhoenix.com without permission; the author's version there helps support their writing.
Arthur asked while putting down his hand, which held his cigarette, finally turning to Liz fully, trying to mask the guilt beneath a serious expression.
Liz shrugged, ignoring his question as she pushed herself up from the bench, wiping her mouth as she looked down at her watch. "I still have 5 minutes left before break ends, so... I'm gonna see what I can snag from the cafeteria before I get back to work."
"UH... Sure," Arthur, who was ignored, couldn't keep his serious expression any longer as he spoke, so he looked away quickly.
Liz, seeing this, grinned for a moment before being startled once more, looking at the watch on her arm,
She moved for the door that led back into the building at the fastest speed she could muster without running, but not without leaving a few words for the disturbed Arthur.
"I know I could ask... but you probably wouldn't tell me. But if that' is going to help clear your mind, stop judging yourself and get it over with."
Slam..
Arthur looked back at her a moment too late as he faced the slammed door, carrying a thoughtful expression. "Try asking... who said I wouldn't tell."
Looking back at his hand this time without the guilt he was riding on initially, he pulled out a lighter and, with practiced ease, lit up his cigarette
Letting his worries drift off with each exhale.
"I wonder if she'll run into Greg this time...."
At the same time.
Nerrfall Academy, Central District.
Two individuals stood on the top floor of a three-story building, watching the crowd gathered before a mottled black, impossible tower that stretched far into the clouds.
One was dressed in heavy black armor without a helmet, letting his silver-white hair flow onto his breastplate. The other was shrouded in thick, rolling mist that never seemed to extend past five feet from its center, no matter how much it attempted to spread.
"Tch... look how excited they look. The 'qualified to awaken'..." Clicking his tongue in disappointment, the fortress of a man to the right spoke without turning to look at the misty figure beside him.
"It's the cycle, Telmear," a gentle voice—a stark contrast to the gruff tone of the man beside it—came from the mist. "It's the start of their journey. They deserve a little excitement before they face the horrors the tower has in store for them."
"Start of their journey? Excitement?" Telmear's voice rose slightly as his body shook with agitation, the different parts of his armor grinding loudly against one another. "Don't tell me... No..."
Telmear calmed himself before speaking once more. "Is this what the Academy preaches to challengers now? Being excited about awakening within the tower?"
"You were once one of them before the Tower of Authority, Telmear... tell me there was no part of you excited at the possibility of gaining power," the mist spoke casually, unflustered in its gentle tone.
"Still..."
Before Telmear could continue, the mist added, "You could always take a break from the front lines and try explaining to a bunch of fourteen-year-olds what the concept of will is."
"The most they hear before drifting off into daydreams is that they can gain their Authority after successfully awakening within the tower."
Telmear frowned at those words, staring silently at the crowd below as he soaked in the expressions each of them had.
They even had the time to joke around.
This didn't seem like the awakening he knew of.
Finally letting out a sigh of helplessness, He broke the silence. "I just hope the lot of them can make it to the fourth summit."
"I'm more concerned about the headache I'll have in the coming days when the families come knocking, and I have to explain that they might need to birth more children if they are to hopefully gain a transcendent within their ranks." The tiredness could be felt through the mist.
Telmear's expression tensed, a deep frown carving itself between his brows. "Is it still that high, Principal?"
"Shoo... shoo... You still call me that?"
"Maybe when you were still enrolled here was fine, but now..."
Telmear suddenly felt a weightless gaze settle upon him from within the mist. His entire skin crawled, yet he didn't dare meet it, standing in tense, motionless silence.
The Principal is still the same Mist Demon as always... but does this freak have to gauge my strength every single time I come here?!
"Hmm... Hm. Good." The mist retracted its gaze after a brief assessment, finally deigning to finish its sentence. "...Now with your reputation, calling me that is just trying to soften me up."
"You don't seem like you hate it, though," Telmear thought to himself, keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the tower.
"As part of the Summit Faction, you'd think I wouldn't catch you at one of these awakenings. What brings you here this time?" The Principal's voice regained its usual gentle air, asking with casual detachment.
Though mildly curious, he knew the answer might touch on his former student's private affairs. He expected no response, but right as he spoke—
Rumble.
"Finally, it's starting."
Telmear's voice cut through the noise, his expression hardening as he stared at the tower with absolute focus.
Beside him, the Principal fell quiet as well, his presence settling into stillness.
At that moment, the Tower of Authority—which had been nothing more than a plain, featureless black monolith—began to transform at a blinding pace.
Mysterious golden symbols flared to life along the base of the tower's frame, rising swiftly toward the summit as the rumbling beneath their feet intensified.