The country of Isom was located on the central continent, revered for being the strongest and largest kingdom in the world. It used to own over half of the continent, money, people, knowledge; everything was under their grasp. There were no countries that were even close to reaching the heights of Isom.
From the most prestigious magic tower that created spells like instant teleportation and flight, to knights that could topple an entire mountain, to trades that held every resource of the world. It had everything, everything till the moment it all disappeared in less than a day.
***
On the capital of Isom, located in the middle, fifty years in the past, exactly an hour before its complete annihilation and twenty minutes before destruction began, the two arrived at the fifth floor. They faced a stone wall covered in darkness, to their right was the same void, while to the left was a blanket of light slowly paving their path.
While they walked slowly, the bustling city began to ring with its cheerful presence. There came the symphony of abstract steps, beats of snapping wood, heavy meshes of horses, disruptions caused by yells, it was a living and breathing city filled with actual people.
Harley’s entire face dropped. In front of them was a street filled with people, walking, running, vendors screaming, and kids jumping, and people who wore leather clothes with swords, bows, and wands attached to their bodies.
The two had arrived in a medieval city. Harley felt uncomfortable; his chest was heavier, and his skin was a lot stickier than usual. He quickly looked down, hugging his body with his arms and feeling the warmth of leather.
He wore a leather jacket over a white shirt and leather pants at the bottom. The dagger that was once placed in the belt around his waist was now replaced by a small bag surrounding his upper body. It was filled with pure, small, sharp iron blades.
“Well, this was unexpected,” Tas commented.
“I was close,” Harley replied.
Before the two could continue on their conversation, a young female child bumped into them as she ran as fast as she could. Her entire body was covered by a gray coat that extended down to her feet, with marks of burn still fresh beneath.
She quickly stopped and looked up at them, bowing and saying sorry. Harley noticed a few scars on her face and a weird piece of plump hair on her head. “That was probably a slave.” Said Harley as the child left.
“So what’s the mission of this floor?” Just as Tas asked the question, a screen then popped up in front of them holding a loathsome message.
[The Floor’s Mission Will Be Revealed After The First Death]
“Wow!” Harley yelled.
Tas immediately pulled a blade out of his small bag and tried to stab himself in the neck. Harley quickly grabbed Tas’s wrist and dragged it back down. “What a bitch!”
“Anyway, let’s explore the medieval ages for now. That’s just how it is.”
“Fine,” Tas replied, sucking on his lips and clicking with his tongue.
The two walked into the mess of a crowd, full of sweat on the face, the entire street releasing gas from the heat of the sun. It was a world where the heat was common, where even bad smells were normal. This is definitely the commoner section based on how bad it smells. He thought, tugging his shirt to his nose to smell something else, but then the shirt was just the same, his nose was hit with pure poison, like his entire body was just about to stop breathing. Tas pulled Harley’s hair, and they went on.
The city was filled with multiple buildings, all made of stone bricks and wooden tilted roofs. Behind the buildings, in a single direction, a giant tower stood on top of a hill. It was painted blue, made entirely of wood in the shape of a spiraling hourglass, and its top wore a sharp hat. The walls were sparkling with golden stars, mixtures of ancient texts lay face, and lines of calligraphy with no other meaning than to look prettier were etched upon.
Beside the giant tower was a mighty castle, placed lower, but it stood just as tall. Stone towers rose like a jagged crown, surfaces unpainted, time filling the gaps with moss, yet still the pressure was shown. It was an old castle filled with centuries of history, something that stood against its own time, a historical monument, the place of God’s chosen.
After a bit of walking, the two spotted a small interesting building. It was the only store with a wooden sign hanging on the edge of its roof, screaming Kudista. It was made of a wooden frame, filled with stone bricks for walls, and the door was widely open. The two entered, spotting wooden tables all around and a desk in front filled with drinks. Above them was an open second floor where the tables were on the sides like seats in a colosseum, a scenery presented at each window.
“Welcome to Kudista, how can I help you?” A young lady, hair tied at the back, wearing leather clothes, and a dirty fabric across her front.
“Table for two,” Tas spoke.
“Follow me upstairs.”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Unlike what Harley expected, their presence was pretty insignificant. Gazes were not thrown, words were not stabbed, the ground filled with drunkards swinging their swords aimlessly, continued on to their charade.
They sat in one of the far corners, their window presenting a nice view of the tower and the castle. “That’s one hell of a castle, isn’t it?” Harley commented.
“The tower is weird, though, it just… it obviously stands out way too much.”
“They could be attention seekers.”
“More like insane people.”
“Blue wood though… It’s an interesting shape for a tower. Definitely never seen one.”
“Oh, by the way, did you order?”
“No.”
“Well, she just left. What is this? Self-service?”
Harley turned his gaze inside the tavern.
“What do we even do? There’s just nothing to do.” Said Tas.
“Gather information.”
“Ughh… you know, I thought I’d be more excited when I saw more people. But after being with you for months, I kind of just wanna be alone for a year.”
“I’d do the same…” Harley replied nonchalantly, his attention still focused on the ground floor.
“What are you even looking at?” Tas asked.
“Just observing.”
The girl then got back, carrying two glass cups of water. “What would you like to order, sirs?”
“Ughh…” Tas spun his head, looking for a list of menu.
“I’d just have a single piece of meat, cooked crunch.” Said Harley.
“Okay, what else? How about you, sir?” She looked at Tas.
“Just- same.”
The girl immediately left as soon as she took the two’s orders. Tas was once again left in his own thoughts while Harley stared at the ground. “By the way, can’t we ask that girl about the info that you want?”
“Tas…” Harley finally stared away from the first floor and back at the table. “You clearly don’t know how the fantasy world works.”
“You thought this was a weapons shop.”
Harley ignored and continued what he was trying to say. “Even if this is a place for those types of things, if we don’t know the code, we will just be targeted.”
“Oh… it’s those type of bullshit. Codes, but then how do you get the code? I don’t know.”
“You’re so loud today.”
“I don’t know what to do! I can’t just not do anything, I need to be restless.”
“You relaxed a lot on the fourth floor.”
“I was thinking of how to get down. This time, I just don’t even know what we need to do. I can kill myself, but you don’t want to.”
“You’re the one who told me not to waste a life, and now you’re like this.”
“I’m sorry, I’m a hypocrite then.”
The ground suddenly shook. An explosion happened outside, the flames erupting above the buildings, and smoke quickly built up in the air. Everyone on the second floor immediately stood up after seeing the explosion, running down as fast as they could. The ones on the first floor, however, stood still, their faces riddled.
“Was that a mage?” One asked.
“That can’t be an explosion, right?”
“Isn’t the barrier supposed to be up?”
“There hasn’t been an explosion of fire in years.”
Soon, outside, Harley and Tas still sat, watching as the fire grew bigger, smoke spread wider, even reaching the sides of their window. The ground was still constantly shaking, and as the people from below saw the ones above running, they all realized the situation. A yell came from outside, the smoke coming with him, and everyone inside the tavern quickly ran outside into a crowd of panicking people.
Then, a giant black figure popped out. The ground surrounding all jumped up high, cracking like a wave, and soon the sky was blocked by the toppled ground. The two just sat, staring as the ground flattened them to the ground. We’re back at it again.
