The gateway was an isolated monolith. It stood a few meters high, carved from rough dark stone. The middle had been gutted somehow as if a great beast had scratched through the stone. The inside was covered with lines of golden lights creating charged veins of essence. David felt the power in it, the pull of power within. The closer he got to it, the harder it pulled. He looked at the others to see if they also felt it, but there were no indications.

  “You will die in there,” Chief Ivor said as they crossed one more level of security. There were three—soldiers blocking the way with their trucks and weapons. A wide perimeter had been set around the monolith and makeshift structures erected for accommodations for the soldiers.

  “You keep this much man power here to protect the tower while the soldiers in town patrol with machetes?”

  Chief Ivor snorted, turning his face away. “You don’t know what you are doing. This place was chaos before I took over. I have given the city a sense of rightness. And you have come to destroy it. You are not heroes.”

  “We were not trying to be,” David said. “But what you have done is wrong. The towers are supposed to be explored. Not isolated.” He gestured at the stretch of barren land spread around the massive stone. It looked nothing like a tower, but he knew that within it was a series of interconnected worlds. Or perhaps, Balek’s tower would be different from Amareth’s. He wasn’t curious. He’d take his family home, in search of his parents if they had that choice.

  They didn’t.

  Once they left the trucks, he led them toward the opening. The veins of essence crackled beautifully, like connected nodes of power. He wondered why no one had mentioned something like this prior to them entering the first tower. He’d heard of tower climbers but no one had come back to share insights of what they experienced near or within the towers. That was something he could have done if he had time.

  David turned to face the small army he’d amassed. Zoey had counted. There were twenty-six of them. Gis stood in front, her hands clasped behind her in a soldier’s stance, her eyes focused on him. Carlos stood beside her, a small nervous smile on his face. David noted with growing apprehension that these were his people now. He would have to take care of them, protect them. Lead them.

  “This is your last chance,” David said, his voice loud over the murmurs of the other soldiers. “After this, you will be fighting for your life. This is your choice. You ascend past this empty life that you have lived, away from the safety of the ordinary. If you venture into this world with me and my family, you will be entering a plane of chaos. There is no assurance. Death will lurk close enough for you to smell it, but you will wield the power to protect yourself. You will be stronger, far stronger than you have ever been. If you ask me, I’d say it is worth it, but perhaps only because I have gone in and survived the first tower.”

  David gave them a moment for that to sink in. He had a feeling he’d need as many as he could get but he wanted them to come with him knowing the truth. He wouldn’t lie to them. Their lives were theirs to spend however they wanted—whether to die here during a wave, or to fight and perhaps achieve more within the tower.

  “If you don’t have the will to follow, go back to Chief Ivor. The work you do here is important. You are heroes for every life you save, every monster you slay or defeat. You are warriors still. There is no shame to pick your battles, the right ones. That is not weakness. It is knowing where you belong.”

  He waited to see if any of them would leave, but no one did. Chief Ivor glared at him where he stood, as if his eyes could bore through him. David ignored the small man. He had very little patience for those who hid behind others. But as he turned to face the opening in the stone, he wondered if they weren’t rushing. They could have stayed a bit longer. He felt essence in the air, more than there had been in the city. He breathed it in, closing his eyes to feel the crackle of power within him. Since he attained the Ruler authority, he had a closer relationship to essence, more than before.

  He reached out, his hands brushing the sparks of essence, like dust particles floating in the air—beautiful as they were dangerous. With a flick of his wrists he could spark wonders in life, create a storm of flames.

  “Come with me then,” David said, marching toward the gap in the wall. Closer, his hair stood on end as his body interacted with the essence here. It was different from Amareth’s, harsher in potency. But against him, it felt all the same, invigorating. David sighed as if he’d just sank into a cool bath. Shockingly, it felt like going back home, to a place he’d missed for so long.

  It is not the tower, it is the essence. The power. Down here, in your world, essence is so thin.

  “I wonder what that makes me,” David muttered. Was he even still human? Although Amareth still had some influence over the first tower, it was his domain now. He’d been pondering on how that could help him, but his authority was still too new, too limited. Once he had complete control over the first tower he could use that better. For now he had to focus on what was right in front of him. This wasn’t going to be easy.

  He placed a hand in, trying to test if there was indeed an opening of an invisible barrier over the gap in the stone.

  Lord Balek welcomes you to his tower: Tower of Suffering!

  Within the trial dungeon, your authority as The Ruler of the first tower will be suppressed!

  Those you bring into the Tower of Suffering will be under you. Their loss will be your loss. You will feel their deaths as if it is your own, and their growth shall influence yours.

  Within the Tower of Suffering, your authority as The Ruler of the first tower, your Ruler skills and attributes reduced.

  Do you accept?

  David stared at the messages with a sour look. He’d expected Balek to play some kind of trick yet he was surprised by it. Although he still didn’t know what he’d be losing since his core Ruler skills were locked. Vith wasn’t sure what skills were behind the locked stats, but she said they’d be unsealed when he mastered his spirit.

  “Yes,” David muttered. The stone vibrated and the tremors reached into him, as if something within him shook slightly. The veins of essence pulsed to life and essence flowed through the cracks. Not just the inside, but on the surface of the stone from above. The light rushed, overflowing with power as they rushed down to pool in the opening before him. A spinning ring of light tore open before him, bathing him in golden light.

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  David took a step back to let it build and grow. He stared up at the stone breathlessly as the whole monolith glowed. It was brilliant. The light moved in networks—rushing, connecting and branching as if something above was collecting the essence and feeding the growing ring.

  “What is that?” Gis asked. David turned to her and back at the golden ring. He had sensed her coming, but still, he hadn’t thought she’d come so close. “This is different from anything I have seen before.”

  “You have seen the tower accept someone before?” David asked, his eyes fixed on the growing portal. Now he could see symbols carved in gold on the jagged surfaces. He stared at them, hoping to glean some kind of understanding from them, but he got nothing.

  Old folk-tongue, Ignis supplied. Even more powerful than our language, perhaps because they are the language of the gods. No one knows which race is older, but some gods are closer in essence than dragons. And it seems Balek has some good tricks in store.

  David nodded. The ring widened into a circle large enough to take two or three people abreast. And he could tell the essence around the gateway was stable. Yet, he waited. He wasn’t going to get killed because he lacked patience. That would be foolish.

  You may enter!

  The others got the message too because they pushed forward, eager to get in. David frowned. Although he rejoiced at the number of people following him, a part of him worried. Most, if not all of these people were going to die. He couldn’t hide from that truth. They were not trained for the horrors that awaited them. Apprehension plagued him as he watched them march closer.

  “They have made their choice,” Vith said, the words sending a hollowness through him. Once, she’d comfort him and laugh. Now, her words were mocking or dark like whispers of prowling doom. He raised his hand for the crowd to stop.

  “I will go in first,” He said. “The rest of you come two at a time.”

  “How do we know you didn’t die in there?” someone asked. Smart, David thought.

  “The towers want you to explore them,” David said. “It will try to kill you, but not yet. Not like this.”

  He couldn’t tell if that was a satisfactory answer, but no one left. He turned around, took a deep breath and walked through into an expanse of swirling void. It wasn’t completely dark, but the surface was alive, moving.

  You have entered Balek’s dungeon of trials!

  David realized the swirling wasn’t the surface of this place. It was essence, dancing like sand under water.

  Your presence sends an echo of power through the Tower of Suffering!

  The Dungeon of Trial has been adjusted to fit your presence!

  Use your authority to summon the gatekeeper!

  “How do I do that?” David asked. Behind him, Gis appeared, pushing out of the darkness to form completely. She looked around, spinning as if searching for something that made sense. Beside her, Carlos watched David, his eyes wide and mouth open. David sensed the unease in the man. Gis chuckled.

  “What?” David asked. Gis gestured at him.

  “There are things clinging to you. Like fire, but blue and white, blazing. I can’t explain it.”

  “They can see essence clinging to you,” Vith said. “These ones might be lucky in the tower.”

  David winced. Vith thought they would all die.

  “This place is carved from essence. It is almost tangible. Reach out with your influence and the gatekeeper with react to it.”

  David lifted his hand even as he felt more people come into the void. His control of essence had grown considerably. It was easier to push out his influence without triggering something by mistake. It was smooth, almost as if everything parted for him, or did whatever he wanted with no real push-back.

  You have to push on it, Ignis suggested. Add a bit of authority and it will react to it.

  This was the part of David’s powers he still wasn’t good at. Sometimes it flowed perfectly, as if he was stretching reality or bending it to his will. Those were the times it was actually good, easy.

  When it wasn’t, the essence bubbled and shattered, dispersing like water spilling out through his fingers. He took a settling breath. He had to show the people spilling around him in a crescent that he could take care of them. At least until they had to take care of themselves.

  He flexed his influence on the essence around, searching. He wasn’t sure what he was searching for, but it was there. The rough edge of the power around them spasm, throbbing with life. He tugged on it, pulling it to himself. Essence poured out and flowed to him like a cycle, he was linked to it. Once that was established, he felt himself prepared.

  “Use a simple command,” Vith said and Ignis snorted.

  Use whatever you like, David. You are The Ruler. You are above rankers and Lords. You are not an ordinary climber.

  David sighed, pushing their quibbling away until they were a faint echo of thoughts. Sometimes Vith and Ignis acted like children squabbling to be the favorite. He cleared his throat, tested the tether and his voice echoed like the groan of a mammoth beast.

  [Come.]

  It was simple and direct. The void plane quaked and he heard the gasps of the other behind him as the place trembled. He stood unaffected by the chaos. The essence surface bubbled, heated from within. David quelled it by pushing against it. He could have used his gauntlet, but Vith had suggested he stopped using the gauntlet as a crutch. He pushed his will on the unstable essence until his influence overpowered it.

  “What is happening?”

  David turned to his sister, her bow already in hand. Chloe stood next to her, worry on her brows, but a lot more collected than she was when they first experienced this. David felt a swell of pride. They were different, grown.

  “The gatekeeper is coming,” David whispered just as the message spilled out in front of him.

  You have summoned the gatekeeper!

  Unlike Amareth’s gatekeeper, this one was a figure in flowing purple robe with chains wrapped around it from neck down to the flowing edge of its purple robe. It floated before them, large enough to blot out the rest of the darkness behind. David wondered if it had warped the space somehow.

  You have arrived, Lord Ruler!

  Welcome to Lord Balek’s Domain!

  To go further, you must gain the blessing of Lord Balek. Those who have not been blessed shall be granted gifts to help them in the journey beyond. But for you, my lord, and your family, you shall receive the choice to go directly into the tower.

  David shook his head. If he left these people, he wasn’t sure if they’d survive. “We will stay with the others.”

  As Lord Balek foresaw!

  You should know that your presence will impact the trials. Will you stay and, perhaps, doom your people? Or will you let them face their fates?

  “We will stay,” David said again. He could imagine Balek smirking but he couldn’t stop seeing them die. With him close, he could protect them as best as he could. He let the cloaked figure see that his mind was made up.

  Very well, Lord Ruler!

  It bowed, its chains clinking as it moved. Tiny sparks flew as it moved. David nodded, the silence unnerving him a little.

  Then let us begin. You will receive your blessings and gifts according to your ability. You will be weighed by Lord Balek. But rejoice! The Lord Ruler can grant added blessings if he finds you worthy!

  David frowned. “I can?” David asked.

  From the depth of its hood, David felt the gatekeeper peer into him. It was invasive, but he couldn’t ward against it.

  Ruler Skill [Faith Bestowal] has been unsealed!

  “Finally!” Vith said, her voice lacking all the enthusiasm David expected. “You can use it on those who have complete faith in you. The Bestowals are random though, which means you can’t decide the skill you grant.”

  “That’s better than nothing,” David said. “As long as I can help these people.”

  “Yes,” Vith said sarcastically. “As long as they survive.”