The metal feels cold yet warm, rough yet smooth. It defies logic in a way. It makes me confused as to what it is.

  {Would you like to purchase mutation: “Void seer eyes” for 150 essence? You have 21 essence.}

  “Snowstorm, get over here.” I say. “Have you heard of mutations?”

  “What?” He replies, landing beside me. Evelyn has long gotten off my back and is hugging one of the spikes of the spire like a lifeline. Speaking of spikes, the spire looks like a really pointy black twizzler. Yes, twizzlers have been around for over 1000 years. The spire looks like 3 long tubes weaved together, each tube topped with a curling spike at the top. there doesn't seem to be any entrance. When I last got here I landed at the bottom, but this time I landed on the top.

  “So you don't know?” I ask, and he reluctantly nods.

  “It irks me not to know something…” He mutters, then freezes.

  “I now see what you mean.” He says, staring as something I can’t see.

  “Did you get offered a skill?” I ask.

  “Pages of the past. It costs 30 essence, and I have 32.” He responds. “It lets me see anything significant that's happened around me within 24 hours. It also grants me a photographic memory.”

  “Didn't you already have a photogrampic memory?” I ask, confused.

  “Photographic, and no, I just had a good memory. This'd be a step up. I think i'll get it, but thats less important. Tell me about that eye of yours.” I nod, pulling up the screen asking me to replace my eyes.

  “It's annoying that theres nobody to ask about these skills first.” I mutter.

  {There is.}

  I freeze.

  “What?” I sat, staring at the screen that popped up in front of me. Snowstorm didn’t see it, judging by the fact that he hasn't jumped out of his scales yet.

  {I said there is. Just ask me.}

  “It… works like that?”

  {Yes.}

  “Works like what?” Snowstorm says.

  “The screens are talking to me.” I tell him.

  “What do you mea-EEP!” He leaps out of his scales as he sees something.

  {Your companion in lacking in bravery.}

  “You can say that again.” I mutter.

  {Your companion in lacking in bravery.}

  “I didn't actually- you know what? Never mind.” I roll my eyes. Evelyn has stopped hugging the spike and has walked over to me.

  “Who are you talking to?” She asks, confused.

  “A screen in my head.” I say, completely aware of how insane I sound.

  {Do you want me to show myself to her as well?}

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Can you?”

  {Not yet, but when you reach tier 3, yes.}

  Thats interesting.

  “What are the tiers?” Snowstorm asks, coming over and sitting beside me. Sure, we came here to figure out these shiny rocks on our hands (and shoulder in Snowstorms case), and if we can just ask this… whatever its name is, then thats all the better. Does it even have a name?

  {There are 5 tiers. Reaching a level threshold for your species will grant a species evolution, which will increase the threshold and bring you to the next species.}

  “I knew that already.” Snowstorm said. “I wanted to know what the evolutions are.”

  {I can not access that information at the moment.}

  “Bummer. Can you tell me about the eye?”

  {Yes. Would you like the description?}

  “I want to know what I'd be buying, yes.”

  {You don't have the required essence yet, so you aren’t buying anything, but I understand your intent.

  Mutation: Void seer eyes. The void seer eyes allow the user to see beyond what is false into the truth of what is around them. Illusions become knull to the user and you can see the flow and types of mana around you. Eves can be charged with different types of mana for varying effects. }

  “That sounds awesome!” I say. Now THIS is the good stuff! This sounds so badass! Beware my all seeing eyes of infinite darkness!!!!!!!!

  “Abhor, stop looking retarted.” Snowstorm says flatly. I glare at him.

  “Go shove a goat up your a-”

  {I recommend sitting somewhere dark to accumulate essence}

  “Why somewhere dark?” Snowstorm asks, confused.

  {Different individuals can accumulate essence through different conditions. One obtains essence by merely existing, however sitting in the correct place will let you accumulate essence faster.}

  “What is essence?” Snowstorm asks.

  “Does it matter? Its giving us superpowers.” I counter.

  “Well, if it's corrupting my soul or turning me into an abomination, I'd like to know.” Snowstorm says flatly. That's… a really good point. There’s no winning in an argument against Snowstorm. So annoying…

  {Essence is will given ethereal form. It is the basest form of existence of which all matter is formed from. It is also a secondary fuel of godhood and life.}

  “So if we gain enough essence we can become gods?” I ask curiously. Being a god sounds cool, though not like a big priority. Being immortal sound boring as hell.

  “Did you not read the “Secondary” Part?” Snowstorm says flatly. “It sounds more like the bricks of a wall, while whatever the primary thing is would be the mortar.”

  “Whats mortar?”

  {“The stuff holding bricks together”} Comes the response from both Snowstorm and the screen.

  “Oh.” Is all I can say. I look around us a bit, feeling out the spike walls.

  “I feel like we have gotten really sidetracked. Though the essence thing sounds important.” Snowstorm says. “How do I get essence?”

  {Through either reading or being in cold places.}

  “Are their books nearby?”

  {I doubt it.}

  “Is there a cold place nearby?”

  {In the hatching spire below, yes.}

  “I thought s- wait really?”

  {Yes. There are good places to cultivate essence below.}

  “How do we get inside?” I ask. “There doesn’t seem to be a door anywhere.”

  {The hatching spire was created by the system, so it's one of the few things I can disclose to you. There are 3 ways to enter. 1:Wait for a full moon. The moon will open up the roof for exactly 2 minutes. 2: Go underground from the entrance 50 miles north. 3: Use the key.}

  “There's a key?” I ask, thinking. I look down on the stone on my hand. What if it isn't an octagon or something like I thought? Could it be some weird circle?

  “Snowstorm, come on.” I hop off the edge. Snowstorm takes a minute to follow, and I realize I forgot evelyn was there. I feel like shes been difficult to manage. Have we been treating her like a pet? Is keeping a human as a pet a bad thing? Probably no and yes? I hope. Maybe I should say sorry to her sometime, but she still tried to kill me. But she didn't know I was sapient. So why did she speak when she attacked us? Does she just like the sound of her own voice? That'd be funny if it were the reason.

  Anyway, below the spire itself is an area of sand. Enough to stand on, though not enough to want to make a hut or something. Below I find what I remember. 5 stones. The blue square and purple circle are acting up though. While the triangle, diamond, and claw thingy are all a dull color, like an LED light turned off, these 2 are glowing like the same LED lights turned on to full power. When I raise my arm closer to it, the light only grows brighter.

  “What in the world is this?” Snowstorm mutters, landing beside me. Evelen falls off his back onto the ground, then barfs on the sand. She really isn't good in the air, huh? Maybe its a lack of stats.

  “No idea. But its got something to do with us.” I say. after thinking for a moment, I press the stone against the bigger wall stone, and the glow gets brighter.

  {Key detected. Opening roof for 5 minutes.}

  The roof of the spire began to open. The spire peeled apart like a lily blooming.

  {Welcome home, Abhor of time.}