When they were alone in the kitchen he looked at his parents who just stared back at him expectantly, not saying anything just waiting for their son to be ready enough to say something. He sat down and thought about what he would do if there were scars, nothing he guessed, he couldn’t do anything, he remembered the feeling of his entire back exploding in pain for only a moment before everything went black; something that large? Would it make equally large scars?

  His mother started to clear the table just to stay busy and Jed went to wipe the counters. So, what if there were some scars, he reassured himself, no one could see them obviously because no one had said anything. He stood up, the noise the chair made as he slid back made his parents look up with gentle expressions.

  Without a word he took his shirt off and turned around, he heard the sharp inhale from his mother and knew it wasn’t just some scarring, somehow he knew it was a lot. He turned and saw his mother quickly pulling her hand away from her mouth. His father had an odd expression and kept slightly bobbing his head in silent acceptance like he’d been expecting it. He took his phone out and told his son to turn around again, he snapped a photo and handed it over for Dorian to look at; he took in a sharp breath as well.

  As he saw the extent, he undid his pants and pulled them down until he stood in his underwear and rotated to look at his legs. He’d never noticed them in the dim dungeon, he’d worn pants the whole time he was back; the mirror was too steamy from the shower…

  The scars started at his Achilles tendons and ran up his legs, meeting under his butt to form a single line. It ran up his spine, splitting onto his shoulders and down his triceps stopping on the outer edges of his forearms. It ran up into his medium length hair that covered it even after his mother cut it. It had been dark out and the scar was faint, the tattoos running out of them like roots bursting from the ground.

  The ones on his arms weren’t very noticeable until you were looking for them. He was pale from no sunlight, his arm hair covered the signs that it ran up so far, and the other scars on his arms from his training made it look like just another scar even if he didn’t remember getting one that big. He could’ve passed out or something.

  “Well, that’s… extensive.” Jed said trying to lighten the mood.

  “That’s definitely a word for it.” Dorian answered blankly, still looking at the phone.

  “Just keep it covered if you don’t like it, are you nervous about people seeing it”?

  “Not really, I guess, I just don’t want to explain what it is every time someone sees it”. His dad snorted a laugh, his son cared more about not wanting to talk to people than how he looked.

  “Well, I don’t think anyone would have a hard time figuring out it’s a Focus. Toria, you ok?” She was still quiet while Dorian pulled his pants back up.

  “I know you told us it was a full skeleton… but I didn’t think it would be… did it have a skull also?” Dorian bit his cheek trying to remember.

  “Dunno, I would assume so though”. She hugged him tight as he answered her.

  “I’m just glad you’re ok and you’re home”.

  “What will you do when he moves out, Toria?” Jed joked. The look she gave him could have shattered stone; Dorian noted internally that that was probably not the best moment to make a leaving joke. “Well, should we get you over to the Academy?” Jed picoted quickly, Dorian looked at him oddly, like his father had said something insane.

  “I know where it is, you don’t have to walk me.” His mother gave a knowing smile, a twisted glean in her eye.

  “We could hold hands also; my little boy can’t go to his first day of school alone”! She tried to pinch his cheek, but he stepped back while laughing and holding his hands up.

  “I’m rich and powerful now, mom, I can’t have you walking me everywhere”.

  “HA!” his dad boomed, “Hear that Toria, our boy is rich! He can retire us, I can’t wait!” Dorian raised an eyebrow in response and smiled jovially.

  “Then I’d get murdered by all your loyal customers, I’m afraid it’s impossible for you to retire”. Jed laughed again and clapped his hands together telling them that if he wasn’t going to the academy he needed to head to the bakery and make sure his workers had started the ovens properly. Of course, it didn’t matter if they had or hadn’t, Jed could warm them quickly himself if need be, but his team was diligent and almost never forgot to light them.

  Toria walked him almost all the way with the excuse of going to the store which was conveniently located down the street from the Academy, he noticed her watching from the corner until he was on the property. Dorian would be annoyed by this, but she did just find out he was alive last night… he stopped walking at a horrific thought, would the entire family be coming by for an explanation?? He turned and looked in the direction of his house like he’d be able to divine some sort of answer from here. Store… there was food in the pantry so she’s buying excess… he swallowed and groaned internally.

  The academy was massive, like a train station or an airport; it was more of a compound than a building. It was a mixture of encamped defensive positions, education center, and training facilities all in one. It was the only ‘public’ entrance to Tower Base, the city that had developed around the tower. When the Towers first popped up they, obviously, flipped the world on its head.

  Monsters, magic, medieval weaponry stronger than modern weapons, people becoming so powerful normal laws couldn’t contain them, normal food and materials become useless to the normal population. Pretty quickly people popped up around the base of the Tower to buy and sell these goods, professions like blacksmithing and leatherworking became so relevant that new techniques were coming out practically every month. Pre-Tower blacksmithing was more akin to a hobby, many techniques lost to times. Chemistry evolved into true alchemy, everything fantasy related become, more or less, real life. All this was done out of necessity, out of human will to survive.

  Anytime anyone says monsters they think of some TV show, movie, game, comic, although they get the look and powers right most of the time; how easily they tear people apart. No one told anybody how terrifying it is to see the most powerful weapons of the modern age, once so feared by everyone, bounce off the stronger monsters in the later months of the Decimation. Massive walls were put up around the Towers that dotted the Earth, defensive structures, experienced fighters, and advanced weaponry created with materials from the Tower, and the climbers of Earth started to proactively clear monsters to stop them from escaping. They reached higher and higher levels trying to reach the peak of the Tower.

  These Tower Base towns quickly grew into cities of Climbers and their families, people that got their Focuses but didn’t want to fight; it was the new world inside of the old world. In the early days of the Emergence, when the Towers started to appear, the monsters cleared huge areas of land around them. They destroyed buildings, harvested humans, reproduced and then did it all again in the same order. These destroyed areas were eventually cleared of monsters and debris and the land was the start of these tower base populace centers.

  On the outside of the walls was the rest of the city, the old world, where people knew what was going on but didn’t let it change their every day. Sure, there was new tech, clothing and fashion; new techniques to do old things. But, there are always people who choose to be ignorant and can make an excuse for anything, setting their narrative no matter how idiotic or short sighted it might be; even if could mean their death.

  At the gates of the Academy, large black metal things with engravings covering them, Dorian approached two guards who stood near a guardhouse. One of them turned and looked attentive but said nothing until Dorian was a few feet away. “Can I help you, young… Climber?” he took in Dorian’s lithe muscles, the scars, the way he moved and walked, it made it hard to tell that Dorian hadn’t stepped foot in the Tower a single time. Made it hard to recognize him as a future student not an active duty Climber.

  Dorian smiled internally at the thought of already looking like a Climber, it was like when you’re young and someone assumes you’re older and treats you as such. It didn’t last long though, Dorian had to give himself up, he really did need directions. “I’m actually here to talk to administration about enrolling” his grin showed no signs of awkwardness even if he felt a little. The guard’s eyes opened a little wider in surprise before he answered, he pointed in a direction and told Dorian how to get there before signing him in and letting him go on his way.

  He looked at the campus as he walked, the area in the distance closest to the Tower progressively became more and more fortified. The buildings stopped resembling classrooms and dorms and morphed into training locations, walls, and encamped weapons positions. With the combined work of the Inner and Outer cities, weapons that harnessed Focus power could be made. Some Focuses that were geared toward crafting and those with them worked with the engineers of the outer cities to make weapons even non-Focused could use. They looked like machine guns, large in caliber, as the barrels looked thick even from afar.

  The buildings closer to him looked like university buildings, brighter colors and less defensive. Administration was exactly where the guard said it was, Dorian had no trouble finding it and didn’t have to wait to speak to anyone as there wasn’t anyone else in there aside from him and the two people behind the desk. It was two women, both of them clacking away on a keyboard, focused on whatever they were doing. Dorian let the door close softly and approached the desk.

  “What is the issue, young man”?

  “No issue, just here to enroll.”.

  She didn’t even look up as she responded, “Semester has started, it is too late to enroll unless prior permission is given”. Her tone was adamant, one hundred percent sure he was in the wrong place.

  “I should have, last night a guy said he’d inform administration about my…” she had finally looked up and gave him a motherly eyebrow like she’d seen right through her son lying. “Alder Glass or something, I’m not lying!” his voice may have adopted a small bit of desperation. “the head of Focus research sent a letter to my house last night, he said he would”. She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes.

  “You better not be wasting my time, young man.” She reached over to pick up a phone without taking her eyes off him until she dialed a number. “Admin here, is Alder there?” she said curtly then waited. Dorian rocked on his heels nervously, had that guy lied to him? Would Dorian have to wait another year to enroll? “Yes, Alder, I have a boy here who says you would give him enrollm-“.

  “YES!” boomed from the phone “YES LET HIM IN, I’M ON MY WAY”! She had held the phone away from her ear almost like she had been expecting the yelling to continue, she put it down and smiled at Dorian.

  “Well, let’s get you enrolled before he gets here and kidnaps you, yes?” Dorian laughed at her… joke? He ended with a nervous chuckle as she didn’t even smile at what she said.. She had not been exaggerating; Alder nearly broke the door when it slammed open.

  He was breathing heavy like he’d sprinted a marathon. The man was in loose clothes, a lab coat that almost looked like a robe. It was covered in stains and pockets bulging with devices and tools.

  “Yes, the boy from last night, the one who was in the tester for more than a year, he came quickly, very good, very good… not quickly enough but only a few hours of testing will be missed”.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  Manic muttering reached Dorian, the woman behind the desk, flinched slightly when she heard the end of the sentence and groaned as if she knew what was coming. She didn’t warn Dorian in the slightest, she didn’t have time. “GOOD! Come quickly! Heather finish this will you? Call me if you need more information from him we must begin”! Dorian had already been dragged several feet from his position in front of the desk before he could manage to try and fight back. He wasn’t sure if it would have mattered because Glassus was strong… very strong.

  As the head of Focus research he must’ve pushed his powers farther than most; Dorian wished he’d had a better sense of estimating power levels. The mannequins he fought, some of them gave off a more pressured feeling when he walked toward them which Dorian believed was a budding “danger sense” of sorts. He had read that high level climbers could guess power levels of their opponents; it was something developed over time and constant battle.

  Dorian pulled his arm free much to Alder’s disappointment, he didn’t stop following the crazed man which was the only thing keeping Dorian from being dragged away again. He had been staring at Glassus’ back trying to sense his power, or anything really, when he realized Alder had been asking him questions. “Huh, what?” Dorian shook his concentration free and focused on the words.

  “Tell me, what does your Focus do?” he searched Dorian exposed skin to look for signs of it, Dorian was thankful that he’d worn longer clothes and that he kept his back away from the man.

  Dorian chewed his cheek and eyed the man, both of them stopping. Dorian looked apprehensive and Alder expectant, waiting for the answer to the question he asked. “I’ll tell you why I was in the selection for so long… but I don’t think I’m comfortable sharing my abilities or anything like… that” … Alder’s face flashed disbelief, anger, sadness, and greed.

  “But you must!” he moved to grab Dorian again who was ready this time; Alder was surprisingly fast, but Dorian constructed a small barrier in front of the man’s hand. It crashed into it with a crunch, Alder had been moving it with much more power than Dorian expected. Alder’s hand recoiled, fingers bent back, a look of shock and pain filling his face. Then raging curiosity took the man and ecstasy bloomed on his face, the pain gone completely. “WHAT WAS THAT?! My boy, my boy, what did you do? Some type of transparent force attack”?

  Dorian had deconstructed the barrier as quickly as he’d placed it, Alder hadn’t been looking for it so he’d not noticed, but he would if Dorian did it a second time, so he dodged Alder’s next attempt. This had all happened so fast, Heather, the woman at the desk barely had time to yell before Alder reached with one good hand and one crumpled. “ALDER! Alder stop!” she shouted making the other woman look up sharply. Heather stood to stomp toward the two, the other woman picked up a phone and dialed three digits.

  “Again, do it again!” Alder was saying repeatedly; was that drool coming from his mouth? Dorian made small steps hidden under his feet to jump at on angles, keeping them close to the ground and under Alder’s gaze. They were like little bumps making it seem like he just had some extremely fancy footwork. Alder kept reaching and Dorian dodged for as long as he could, but Alder was faster, much stronger, and relentless.

  He grabbed Dorian roughly and pulled him close “Tell me, boy!” the manic grin shifted to more diabolical and the man’s eyes were drills. When they bore into Dorian’s he saw lines in them, runes, and they glowed faintly as he focused more. The runes then lit and extended to his temples, going up into his hair and wrapping his ears to meet up and land at the base of his neck. A sensory Focus, Dorian thought. His brain raced for ideas, what could be do, he’d been caught.

  “Where is… impossible, I can’t see the Focus, it’s hiding? Where are you, where are you? Dorian struggled as Alder held up his smashed hand that popped and cracked as it reformed on its own. His fingers started to shift into silver, and he pointed them like he was going to chop the air. All he did though, was slowly move it toward Dorian like he was aiming a bow and arrow, his grin growing hungrier. There was a smacking noise, Heather had hit the back of the man’s head, and he barely reacted.

  “ALDER, release that student at once! Alder, ALDER!” she watched the hand slowly get closer, knowing that it would part the boy’s skin like a knife in butter. Then there was a loud cracking noise and Alder rotated head over ass away from Dorian. He flew a couple feet, then slid to a stop on the ground. Alder sat up and looked around angrily then paled, “Ah… yes… Kentwood, you would be… I guess they called you”. He glared at the two women now helping Dorian to his feet.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing to this student, Glassus?” he stomped to the man still sitting on the floor, Dorian felt each step physically, like bass in a song. It shook the air with every footfall, Dorian could tell this guy was very, very strong. “When you got this job, when I vouched for you, you said you wouldn’t do this shit anymore”.

  “But, but, Oliver, he was in the training room for over a year”!

  “I don’t care if he came out of there as the top Climber in the world, if you grab another student like that again I’ll fire you, we’ll see who keeps the authorities off your back then”. Alder’s head was down so he didn’t notice the slight flinch in Kentwood when he mentioned how long Dorian had been in there. “Do you understand me, Glassus”?

  “Yes, Oliver, yes.” Then he looked up hopefully “can I still take him to my-“he was firmly shutdown by Oliver, both women, and Dorian.

  “Come with me, young man.” Oliver spoke to Dorian as he moved to walk next to him. “Heather will you please give me his information; I will finish this in my office”.

  “Yes sir, I will bring it up.” He nodded and smiled at her, gratitude and fatigue evident in his features. They took an elevator to the top floor which opened up into a room with three doors, each one having a nameplate on them. The one on the left was for Alder, Head of Focus Research, the knob looked dusty as if he hadn’t been there for months… Dorian guessed the man lived in the lab. Oliver Kentwood, Head of the Climber’s Association, had the door in the middle, and on the right side said Evelyn Drydus, Emissary to the Unfocused.

  “Shouldn’t there be a military head also?” Dorian asked before he could stop himself.

  “It’s located closer to the Tower, easier for them to command in case of an attack from the Tower”.

  “Dorian laughed, “Nothing has escaped the Tower in years, why would you need it there”? his smile faded as Oliver didn’t even look back, he didn’t answer, he just walked into his office. Dorian couldn’t see the man’s face, but he felt the foreboding nature of the silence.

  “I’m not going to beat around the bush,” Oliver said, groaning into his chair, he moved his hand over his desk and two pots, one tea and one coffee by the smell, and cookies appeared. Dorian had heard of high-level dimensional spaces that could hold organics in a static state until they’re taken back out, they were rare, only found on upper floors of the Tower. He filled his cup with coffee, no cream or sugar, and leaned back waiting for Dorian to help himself. As Dorian poured he started again, “your situation is not as unheard of as everyone thinks, rare, yes, but not unheard of”. Dorian recoiled, sloshing a bit of tea into his lap.

  “But I’ve never heard of-“

  “No, you wouldn’t have, we always cover it up, you just came out at an odd time with a guard who hadn’t been… well briefed is a good word for it. It’s true no one has ever been in there for longer than a year, but our longest recorded is a month shy of one year”. He sipped again and looked at Dorian over the mug, “the Tower gives these scenarios to those with particularly hard Focuses to master, special Focuses that grant obscure powers, laws of nature, pure ridiculousness all must be mastered before entering the main Tower”.

  “Why?”

  “We don’t know, really. When we had the first person stay in there for six months, he came out with almost full mastery of his Focus, no life-or-death battle experience but refined movements and a style unique just to them, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about”. He sipped his coffee again and leaned forward to refill his cup.

  “One thing we do know, however, is that each time one of these special Focuses enter the tower something unexpected happens. Everyone that goes into the tower with the Numen will hear a message in their head, “A Numen has entered the Tower, a step toward Evolution has been taken”.

  “E-evolution?” Dorian’s cup was right under his lips, he had completely forgotten that it was there. “Numen”?

  “It roughly translates to Divine Gift, the Focuses labelled as such are all, I guess divine is a good way to put it. They’re on a totally different level than other Focuses, that doesn’t mean they can’t be beaten but the difference is clear when you watch a Numen fight. The Focuses themselves are strong but it’s like those chosen were also prodigies, they became so strong so fast…” his sentence faded away as he remembered something.

  He looked back at Dorian, “currently all nine known Numen are a part of the top twenty climbers, five of them in the top ten. They climb the Tower as a group to figure out anything they can about the Tower. What the Numen are for, why the Tower is here, how it got here, who is making the Focuses? We know so little”. His frustration was clear, his eyes glazed over, lost not in memory this time, but a slew of hard questions.

  “So, I’m one of these Numen?” Oliver nodded. Dorian scrunched his face up in thought “Hmph.” Is all Dorian could say as he sat there, Kentwood’s gaze locked onto him. “Do I, well, I guess what’s next… Do I just go into the Tower with them? I don’t know if I’m ready for all that, Mr. Kentwood, I’m still a kid. I’ve never even killed a monster or heard their screams; all he could think about was his fathers’ story. He technically wasn’t a child anymore, but he sure felt like one.

  “Calm down, Dorian, calm down. I wouldn’t send you in there without training even if you were with the Numen. You will go to Academy, how long you’re there for is entirely up to you and your progress”. Dorian let out a deep sigh in relief, the adrenaline running through him slowed back down as he sat back and breathed in slowly. He was excited to go into the Tower but faced with the thought of going in without training was terrifying.

  “Dorian can you, no, will you tell me of your time in the training room”? Dorian hesitated, not sure if he would say anything or not, Oliver picked up on this and smiled at him. “This might help you trust me more.” He reached over and put his hands on one of his desk drawers, Dorian couldn’t see what happened but there was a soft glow and a click before a drawer slid open and Oliver handed Dorian a manilla envelope. “That cannot leave this room but take all the time you need to look it over”. Inside the envelope there was profiles and dossiers on the other Numen. Names, birthdays/places, dates when they received their Focuses. Their ages were there but some didn’t make sense, one of these women was like seventy when she got her focus and that was years ago, she had to be in her nineties now and still active.

  Their power descriptions were general, things like “Ice” or “Sound” no further description of its power, where the Focus was, or what it looked like. It didn’t even gauge the level of strength, Dorian assumed that was confidential or maybe the Numen hadn’t told the Association that much. There was one here that made no sense whatsoever, everything was a question mark on this man’s page, like a comically redacted file on some obscure military mission from a movie. He was one of the first people to acquire a focus, his previous job just said “civilian”, and his Focus granted him something very obscure.

  “What does “Lie” mean under this guy’s Focus?” Dorian asked as he looked at Kentwood.

  “Ah, yes, him. Lyle Dozer, better known as The Liar. His Focus allows him to do some extreme things, incomprehensible things.” He laughed and shook his head. “Before the emergence he was just an office worker who was bored with his life, he wished every day for something to do, something to burn the days away in a less benign way. So, he traveled whenever he could and when he did, he lied”.

  “He lied? What does that mean? Who did he lie to”?

  “Anyone and everyone. He told people different names, lied about his job, he simply lied about himself to see what he could get people to believe, and very often they believed him. Very rarely was he caught and called out, if he was he could just disappear. He never did anything malicious, but he was a total enigma”.

  “So how did that turn into a Focus”?

  Oliver let out a breath tinged with resignation and mirth, “no idea”.

  All the descriptions were vague, but things could be inferred… a “lie” though? “Seriously”?

  “In his early days that was a problem but now that he’s been a high-level climber for so long his Focus has become extremely strong. As you probably know, each time you progress a floor in the tower your Focus “levels up” thus increasing things like your bone density, overall durability, strength, increased senses – Lyle being one of the highest climbers in the world makes him extremely strong even without using his power. No one really knows how strong he Is, or what his power actually does”. The old man chewed his cheek before continuing with a sour expression, “His fame as the strongest climber allows him to get out of the inquiries that most Focused go through”. Dorian nodded as if that did make sense, but it was still crazy. One man having so much power and clout to just say “no” to the government.

  “That’s the… but his name is “The Liar”, is that just because of his past”?

  “Like his power specifics, I don’t know. It’s what he told us to call him”.

  “So, his Focus has got to be crazy strong, right?” his eyes glazed over as he imagined having the strongest climbers’ Focus.

  Seeing Dorian’s face, Oliver let out a guffaw, he clapped his hands together and leaned forward. “We’ll run you through some classes to see where you’re at. Basic knowledge of the ins and outs of the Tower will probably be needed, your combat is most likely up to par or far above,” he winked at Dorian. “and then finding a team for a few trial runs and you should be good to start climbing for real”. Butterflies riding a rollercoaster looped in his stomach at the thought. It was really happening; he was really about to become a climber.

  “I, I think I already have a team, or some of one.” He said blankly, still noodling on the thought of seriously becoming a Climber. Would he like it, or would something happen to him like it happened to his dad?

  “Oh? Old friends from before your bonding, I assume? If they were your age they’d be in second year by now, no”?

  Dorian looked up on the edge of sadness, “that’s not a problem is it?? We’ve been dreaming about climbing together since we were kids”!

  Oliver smiled at him, “there might’ve been one if they were year three or higher, but first years do mostly Focus acquisition and acclimation. Some basic info you can catch up on by yourself with some reading but if you do well enough on these early tests we could start you in the second year”. Kentwood smiled again at the clear relief on Dorian’s face.