Chapter 28 [Limits and Tiers]

The shadows seemed to swim away the moment my foot hit the ground. It took a few blinks to acclimate to the quick shift in my surroundings, but once I could see clearly, I found myself staring out into the same ruined city I remembered from my first life.

Debris from hundreds of collapsed buildings lay strewn about the fractured stone ground beneath. Thick, sickly vines grew from the many fissures splitting the land, reaching out and wrapping around the unusual material from which the structures had once been built—metals, stones, glass, wood, none of which were crafted from the familiar Relics used to craft the many structures found within the Tower.

I studied one of the closest vines, noting the pulsating purple veins that shone through the thin layers of skin surrounding them. They dug through the healthy green like worms, sometimes tearing through the plant’s outer layer and attaching themselves to the surrounding structures. It wasn’t obvious at a glance, but I knew if one were to sit and observe, they could track the sickness slowly spreading its influence as the strands found their way to the few healthy vines that remained.

“Hmm…” A soft sigh caused me to look up to where Aurora and Kas were still sitting atop Francis. Aurora’s face was strained and slightly pale while Kasamira looked relieved. The latter stood on the great beetle’s back and stretched. She smiled broadly before pointing her thumb over her shoulder and saying, “It’s still sorely lacking compared to home but the atmosphere here is vastly superior to thosehollows.”

She turned in the direction we’d come from and stuck her tongue out at the empty air. I understood the meaning behind the gesture, but it seemed rather aimless since the darkness and stairs we’d departed were nowhere to be seen. Aurora grimaced at the younger-looking woman in front of her and rubbed her temples.

“Howare you so chipper?” she asked. “My head is killing me!”

“Yer tellin’ me!” Locke cried. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say I was totin’ another me on my shoulders!”

I turned my gaze on the young man, who was sweating and looking strained despite not carrying any pack—his was loaded onto Francis’ back with Aurora’s and my own.

According to the Network’s records, the pressure being exerted here should be exactlyfive-hundred-twenty-thousand. His Essence Limit must be lower than that. Quarter-million? Less, maybe? My personal experience from my first life was more akin to Aurora’s—meaning her Essence Limit should be roughly a million.I rolled my shoulders, trying to sense any differences between the prior Floors and the in-between. I find it rather disturbing that I can’t feel any change. From my understanding, I should be feeling relieved, much like Kas… as should Nathaniel, though I can’t say I’m surprised he isn’t showing any reaction.

“Nathaniel, how are you feeling?” I asked, wanting to bring him into the conversation despite knowing the answer. I’ll need him to take point on this since I’m sorely lacking in the information department. That bit of journal reading I managed exposed that the Order—or Grandpa Charles at the very least—knows about these different Tiers Nathaniel mentioned. I wish I had the journal he left for dad that covered these lower Floors.

“I feel—” Nathaniel closed his eyes, bounced lightly on his toes, then snapped his eyes open and continued, “—well, not much, honestly. There’s a subtle difference, as if a pressure I didn’t know was there has lessened.”

“Why?” Aurora asked. Her color had mostly returned, and she looked like she was adjusting quickly. She gestured to herself and Locke—who had beads of sweat on his forehead—then elaborated, “Our textbooks mentioned this, but there was never any mention of it affecting Wielders differently. Why is it that you all are having such a grand time of it while it feels like we’re struggling to exist?”

“Feels like wadin’ through mud if ya ask me,” Locke said through gritted teeth.

“Have you ever been outside one of the twelve municipalities and met an older Wielder?” Kas asked before I could answer. She stepped off Francis and fell soundlessly to the fissured stone ground before Aurora, then looked up at the taller woman. “Perhaps a high-ranking Guild official? Anyone who reached a Floor worth bragging about?”

Aurora shook her head in response, and Kas smiled playfully. The white-haired woman took a few steps back… then the space around her rippled and her figure subtly warped, like I was viewing her through a thin veil. I looked on with interest as the veil swiftly expanded toward the lot of us.

What fine control.

I watched the others’ reactions as the wave of pressure washed over and engulfed our entire Party. Nathaniel’s muscles tensed, Aurora stumbled, Locke fell to his knees, and I… felt absolutely nothing.

Kas flicked her blood-red eyes in my direction, winked, then the veil suddenly vanished. Locke and Aurora both gasped for air while Nathaniel looked at me—likely waiting to see whether or not I perceived Kasamira’s gesture as an attack.

I clapped my hands and exclaimed, “Bravo! Bravo! Though a warning would have been preferred, I must admit that having such a reference will make the explanation easier to understand.”

Kas curtsied, lifting her knee-length black skirt gently before skipping over to examine some of the nearby fauna. With a flick of my cane, a circular design filled with a complex structure of circuits materialized in the air next to Francis. Rosie fluttered out, made a large loop around the beetle’s horn, gently pet him on the head, then zipped over to land on my shoulder.

“I’m sorry it’s been so long,” I whispered to the little blonde Pixie. She patted my cheek before plopping down to sit on my shoulder. “My friends here are having a rough go of it, and I think your Invigorating Spores are just what they need to get back on their feet, wouldn’t you agree?”

Rosie looked away from me and spotted Aurora and Locke—who were both sitting on the ground with their backs against Francis. Aurora had gotten her breathing under control, yet Locke appeared to be getting worse by the second, no thanks to Kas’ display.

Rosie’s wings fluttered and she rushed over, stopping less than a meter in front of the two, where she cupped her hands and closed her eyes. Locke’s eyes were closed, but Aurora watched unblinkingly as Rosie worked her magic. Kas had also ventured closer, finding the proceedings more interesting than the slowly-spreading Plague.

The glowing green aura around Rosie dimmed slightly. She opened her eyes, approached a nearby crack in the broken stone, knelt, and shoved her hands down into the dirt below. The moment her hands hit the earth, green light spilled out from the crack, followed by a rapidly growing stalk that further split the stone until settling at a height of around half a meter, then sprouting buds which opened into beautiful yellow blossoms twice the size of my open hand.

Dimly lit orbs no larger than the nail on my pointer finger flowed from the centers of each of the buds, bathing our surroundings in green light and revitalizing those nearby. Less than half a minute passed between the time Rosie’s hands had hit the dirt and the flower stood in full bloom.

“Beautiful,” Kas whispered.

Locke opened his eyes and looked around before sighing in relief. “Thank you, Rosie. I’m already feeling better.”

Rosie patted his shin, then flitted back to me, where she settled on my shoulder. Kasamira looked between her and Francis a few times before her eyes settled on me. Ignoring the unspoken question, I took a seat on a nearby chunk of debris and looked at Aurora.

“My intentions had been to cover this topic at length once we returned home, but since you asked and it’s relevant to our current situation, I’ll take some time to touch on it. We’re safe here so long as we don’t approach the center of this mess, but I have no desire to stay any longer than needed.” I cleared my throat. “As you already know, every Wielder has an Essence Limit—a limit on how much Essence can be invested in their Deck before experiencing pain or risk of impairment. A lesser-known fact is that this limit is determined by the density of a Wielder’s soul, more commonly referred to as their spirit.”

It seems I’ve already lost Locke. I scratched my temple with the head of my cane, wishing we were in my old lecture hall where I kept ample gadgets and posters for those who needed visual tools to learn. I’ll catch him up another time if he doesn’t put it together himself.

“Disregarding the Origin Floor, every Floor in the Tower is filled with Plagued energy, and every subsequent Floor has more of this energy than the last. Your Essence Limit, or rather, your soul, is what determines how much Plagued energy you can withstand. If—”

“So, the short’s tha’ the Plagued energy here is kickin’ my soul’s arse, yeah?” Locke asked. His voice was mostly free from strain, and he was actively trying to wave more of the glowing green spores toward himself.

“That much is obvious,” Aurora snapped. “Now, if you can refrain from interrupting, I’d like to know why. We didn’t have anyissues on the Fifth Floor, so why now?”

Perhaps I didn’t give the boy enough credit. I smiled and continued, “The Essence within a Wielder and the ambient Plagued energy in any given space constantly fight for balance. When the Essence contained in your soul is significantly lower than the amount of surrounding Plagued energy, that Plagued energy rushes to you in an attempt to fill the void.”

“An’ if your Essence is way higher?” Locke asked.

“Then you’d experience the opposite reaction. If the amount of Essence you’ve invested is significantly greater than the ambient Plagued energy, it presses against your soul and tries to escape.” I leaned back and said, “That’s the gist of it. As long as your Essence Limit is within ten times the difference of the opposing forces, you’ll feel discomfort, but won’t be damaged by the pressure. In fact, putting yourself in a situation where there’s a disparity is a potent soul training method.”

Kas and Nathaniel both nodded in agreement at that last statement, each with very different expressions. Kas was scowling at whatever experience I’d dredged up while Nathaniel…

Am I seeing things or are his lips turned up slightly. Interesting. He must have fond memories of his training, or at least of whoever mentored him.

“I appreciate you going into more detail than what the Academy offered, but one thing is bothering me,” Aurora said, looking up from the notebook she’d pulled out while I was speaking. “You mentioned testing our Essence Limits once we returned to the Origin Floor… Shouldn’t we have done that before ascending? What would have happened if our spirits couldn’t handle the pressure?”

“Poof!” Kas exclaimed while making the hand gesture for an explosion.

“No, no poof,” I chuckled. “Should your Essence burst outward, you’ll face a similar experience to having a Card forcefully removed from your Deck. In fact, your connection with any Cards attached in the damaged area will break, and you’ll have to deal with the backlash. If you manage to survive and stay in a low-density area, you can recover with time.”

“May as well be a poof,” Aurora grumbled. “The backlash from losing multiple Cards at once would kill most Wielders. What about the inverse?”

“Without your soul protecting you in an area where the Plagued energy is denser than your own Essence?” I raised an eye. “With nothing holding it back, the Plague infects you, and you die quickly and painfully.”

Aurora and Locke both visibly shuddered.

Locke squinted at me and asked, “An’ what about ‘er other question, eh? How’d ya know we could handle this?”

“Oh, that?” I asked. “That was never an issue. Other than a few areas that have been purposefully altered by a Wielder—much like that cavern of Demon Glass we discovered on the Third Floor—the maximum pressure of the ambient Plagued energy on any given Floor remains constant. I added up the amount of Essence we’d each invested in our Cards when we were discussing our roles.”

I pointed to Locke and said, “The sum of the Essence contained within your soul is ninety-three-thousand, three hundred. The pressure here in the in-between is five-hundred-twenty-thousand. Your Essence Limit can’t be more than ten percent lower than your invested Essence, meaning the absolute minimum density of your soul is just shy of eighty-four-thousand. You only needed to be above forty-three-thousand to survive here… albeit you’d have been under tremendous stress until we finished the challenge. Lucky for you, it seems your Essence Limit is much higher than what you have invested. If you truly feel your weight has doubled, then I’d put your limit at around two-hundred-thousand.”

“Ya did all tha’… while we were talkin’?” Locke asked incredulously. “When’d ya even have the time?”

“I’m not sure where you got that figure, but if it’s right—” Aurora broke off, jotted something down in her notebook, then continued, “—then the difference between my Essence and the ambient energy is nine-hundred-eighty-thousand. So, all of that Essence is trying to… break out?”

“That’s right. Keep in mind that the pressure on the Fifth Floor is only fifty-two-thousand, ad my guess is your Essence Limit isn’t far from what you’ve invested. That means this is likely the first time in a while your soul hasn’t been under so much stress. The first time since you over-Levelled Precognition at the very least,” I answered, then, wanting to move on from the topic, swiftly added, “If you wish, we can go over the various Floors and their pressures at a later date. For now, I’d very much like to learn something myself. Nathaniel, if you would, please tell us what we need to know to challenge the different Tiers.”

Nathaniel, looked at me, then turned to Kasamira.

“Please tell me I don’t look like a Nathaniel.” The woman laughed, then waved to the rest of us. “This is all you. I’ll be happy to help with whatever Tier you choose, but I’d rather avoid paying a visit to mummy dearest, so my lips are sealed. Well, for now…”

She smiled coyly before blowing a kiss in my direction as soon as the others turned back toward Nathaniel.

Ha! She’s not giving up, is she?

I reached out, grasping the air before tucking my hand in my jacket pocket. Kas hid a smile behind one hand and waggled a finger at me—at the same time, the contents in bar above her head ticked just a smidge toward its center.

Would you look at that? I’m still having trouble seeing how this impish woman had the history she did in my previous life. I must admit that I enjoy the little vixen’s company. I’d like to get to know her better first, but maybe she can join as our fifth. Points in her favor since she didn’t make it far on the path she chose, and I have no doubt that had that not happened, she would have been a major player in the push for the upper Floors.

Nathaniel was drawing something on a canvas he’d pulled from his pack, so I took a moment to observe our little ragtag group.

Four Wielders, all with amazing potential. Each one of them is a gem that’s just begging to shine. It’s all so exciting! To be a part of something so—

“Right!” Nathaniel clapped his hands together to get our attention, then pointed to the large board he’d leaned against his pack. Three rings were drawn on the canvas; a small ring in the center, a larger one around that, then another that held them both. There was a crude star on the upper edge, the numbers one through five evenly spaced along the outer ring, and a few dozen X’s in the second ring. He tapped the star.

“This is us—we’re somewhere along the outer edge of the in-between. These—” He pointed to the number three, which was closest to the star. “—represent secret rooms that can be found in some of the more intact structures. To enter the rooms, you’ll have to locate a hidden switch that opens a small panel and reveals a glass screen. Just place your hand on the screen and after a few seconds, the door to the room will open. Everyone following? Locke?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Locke grumbled. “What’re all those in the middle?”

“Once all the rooms are open, Plagued Beasts will appear in the second ring,” Nathaniel said. “They may only be Corrupted Rank Beasts, but they are Level Ten, so we’ll need to get a feel for them first before diving in. At this point, there will be a Level Ten Fallen Ranked in the center waiting for us, and defeating it will yield Second Tier rewards, which include the usual First Tier rewards plus an increased Essence payout and an instant five percent boost to your Essence Limit—”

“A what?” Aurora interrupted.

An instant increase? I was just as surprised as her, but not only was I surprised, I was outraged. How many lives could have been spared if the people just knew about this? I knew Wielders who locked themselves away for months at a time after stagnating just to get a one percent increase. Even now that I know I can’t share it, or I’ll be endangering the rest of my Party. I need power. It always comes down to power.

“The Third Tier rewards are better.” Nathanial tapped on the map. “These Plagued Beasts aren’t like the Beasts in the rest of the Tower. When these die, they simply fade away without leaving a corpse, but they will leave behind items we need. Every room in the outer ring has a broken Relic that has to be repaired using pieces dropped by the Beasts. Once the Relics are repaired, we all have to hold our hands on the Relics at the same time to challenge the Third Tier. Once that’s done, the Plagued Beasts in the second ring will vanish and there will be a Level Ten Fiend in the center.”

Aurora drew in a sharp breath and Locke choked on a piece of jerky he’d started gnawing at. I turned to look out across the ruin landscape, judging the center to be around a kilometer in, where I could just make out a few of the strange buildings that were still partially preserved.

“So.” Nathaniel looked at me. “What are we doing here, Rowan?”

I twirled my cane and grinned.

“We’re taking the Third Tier, of course.”