Chapter 3: The Reverse Tower of The Dead

{Welcome to the Reverse Tower}

A blue notification appeared before Kael’s eyes, hovering in the air as if etched directly into his mind. White letters glowed across a translucent blue box, cutting through the dark haze of pain and exhaustion clouding his vision.

He didn’t feel welcomed.

Blood clung to his skin, dripping from torn flesh and cracked bones. Every breath was fire in his chest. His vision swam, darkening as he struggled to process the world. If it weren’t for the intrusive blue box, he might have believed he was truly going blind. Instead, the words imprinted themselves right behind his own eyes where even sight was not needed.

***

{Error… Error! Recalibrating!}

{The Reverse Tower only allows the Dead to enter it! Recalibrating!}

{Adjustment impossible. Cannot send User Kael Ardent to the Tower of Trials.}

{Recalibrating… A Living must not Die inside the Reverse Tower… Healing User Kael Ardent!}

{Recalibrating…Cannot make decisive judgement! Sending an administrator of the Reverse Tower to solve the issue.}

***

Before he could even comprehend the string of messages, a green light cascaded over his body. The icy grip of the river water vanished, replaced by a warmth so alien it made him shiver with disbelief. Bones popped and realigned with agonizing clarity. Torn muscles stitched themselves back together. Cuts, bruises, and blood, all healed. His construction clothes, ripped and soaked, were pristine again.

Kael struggled to stand, muscles trembling from the trauma he had barely survived. The world around him was no longer the city, the river, or the scaffolds. He was in a room that stretched endlessly in every direction, a stark void of hard, white marble beneath his feet. No walls, no ceilings, nothing but the cold solidity of the floor and the strange weightlessness of emptiness surrounding him.

Then, a shudder ran through the air. It tore apart the nothingness before him, revealing a room filled with blurred shelves and piles of documents, impossible to discern in detail. From that space stepped a small creature, impossibly formal and terrifying at once.

A rabbit.

It was hovering in empty air, and wore a top hat where his rabbit ears peaked from holes made at the hat’s rim, it wore a sparrow-tailed vest, and a monocle that reflected the white void with glinting cruelty. A cane dangled from its paw, though it clearly had no need to walk. Its eyes burned like rubies, fixed on Kael with a gaze that felt as heavy as judgment itself.

“WHY ARE YOU NOT DEAD?!” the rabbit’s voice boomed, sharp and shrill, echoing unnaturally in the void.

Kael stumbled back instinctively. “Y-you… calm down man! Or… monster? Whatever you are… I almost died a minute ago! Telling me to die the moment I got here is a bit… not cool.”

“Cool? COOL?! No, no, no! You fool! THE LIVING SHOULDN’T BE PART OF THE REVERSE TOWER!” The rabbit shrieked, thrashing its cane in Kael’s direction. “It’s for the dead only!”

Kael swallowed hard, backing further until his shoulders collided with an unseen barrier. “I… I received an invitation from the tower… while I was dying, so…”

“You blundering fool! You should have died in your world! You’ve confused the Tower into thinking you’re one of the dead, and now you’re among those who truly belong here!” the rabbit fumed, stamping the floor so violently it reverberated in Kael’s bones.

“So… this isn’t the same tower that everyone goes through?” Kael asked, voice trembling.

“That should be obvious! This is the Reverse Tower, YOU CLIMB DOWN! NOT UP!” the rabbit barked, its ears twitching with irritation. “A second chance for those who died in the Tower of Trials. Those who make it to the top… well bottom… are granted a wish.”

“And a wish… for what?” Kael whispered.

“It’s obvious, Resurrection what else would anyone that’s dead would pick, but still some can grant their wishes for others. But no one ever did that, even those that cleared it before. Still…” the rabbit said, voice cold now, red eyes narrowing.

Kael’s stomach twisted. “But… I’m not dead.”

“Exactly!” the rabbit screeched. “That’s why this is chaos! A living climbing the Reverse Tower… and what if, by some ungodly, astronomically impossible miracle, you actually clear it? That… would be catastrophic!”

Kael opened his mouth to protest, but the rabbit jabbed its cane at him. “Yes…I could kill you here. Easy. Problem solved. Should correct everything and then you can climb like everyone else… we can’t have you a living being going out to the real world and telling them that they can get another chance after they’re dead. It’ll be annoying…” A notification suddenly appeared, interrupting its tirade:

***

[The Administrator Torrac is forbidden from killing a Climber who hasn’t broken the rules. Violating this rule results in removal from office and mandatory participation as a climber.]

[Climber Kael Ardent is advised to never divulge the existence of the Reverse Tower to others. Doing so intentionally will result in the immediate execution of Climber Kael Ardent even outside the tower!]

***

The rabbit froze mid-gesture, its monocle tilting precariously. “To hell with that… It was just a statement, I wasn’t actually going to kill him…” it muttered, shaking its head.

“Listen here, Climber. You’re in for a terrible deal. This tower is designed for those that died and experienced the Tower of Trials, they’re all more knowledgeable, more informed and more used to the life of killing and fighting. Spare some of the fools that died in the first few floors. And you are, alive, they won’t like that.”

“So… what am I supposed to do?” Kael asked, exhaling shakily.

“Don’t ask me. I didn’t put you here,” the rabbit replied curtly.

Kael opened and closed his mouth, he was about to complain but then stopped himself. This was a second chance. One that was freely given, without a price, after all he is still alive. Besides if the tower didn’t invite him he’d be swimming with the fish by now, and the New York river fish were not friendly.

Kael straightened his shoulders. “I got a second chance. I’m thankful. So… what now?”

“Thankful? Anyone else would be pissed, I think you’re weird.” The rabbit adjusted his monocle.

“Anyone else would be dead. I got a new lease on life, I’m not gonna complain about that, so tell me what am I supposed to do in this tower? Looks empty to me.” Kael looked around.

“The rules are different here,” the rabbit said.

“How different are we talking…” He asked.

“You’re not fighting just monsters. You’re competing against dead climbers… for now.”

Kael’s stomach sank. “As in… vastly experienced and skilled people who climbed many floors and are starting from scratch… Smurfs… and I’m just a noob scrub?”

“You got the gist of it… That’s why I told you, I’d be pissed if I were you,” the rabbit replied, folding its arms.

Kael opened and closed his mouth, but swallowed. This was a second chance, freely given. Once again, better than the fish… probably.

The rabbit’s ears twitched. “Fine. First, know your system. Do you understand how an awakened system works?”

“Yeah, I heard about it. I need to say something like Status Screen.” Immediately a window appeared in front of Kael.

Status Screen

Name: Kael Ardent

Level: 1

STR: 12

INT: 8

DEX: 11

STM: 10

“That’s simple, looks almost like a game…” Kael muttered.

“Wait till you climb more. Then it’ll look impressive.” The rabbit waved a paw, and a door rose from the floor. It had a metallic texture and a handle, the meaning obvious.

Get on with it and piss off.

Kael moved forward, then a small bronze ring fell from the air in front of him, etched with a tiny skull.

Frowning for a second, then it looked up “You’re giving him that?” the rabbit said aloud, adjusting its monocle. “Generous of you…”

“What’s it do?” Kael asked, picking it up.

“Try it on first,” the Rabbit said while smiling.

As he slid it onto his finger, it felt almost unnaturally cold.

***

[You have worn: Ring of the Dead]

***

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