Awakened by the sensation of cold metal pressed against his body, the young man found himself freezing on the cold, metallic floor, his body pale and nude.
Feeling himself weakening as the floor sapped away his heat, the young man took a few quick breaths and focused his mind. In an instant, he felt the warmth returning to him. By manipulating the Aether activity within his body, he was able to generate some heat for himself.
No longer bothered by the cold, the young man began to look around. Reflexively, he pushed his feet against the floor, trying to walk about, only to find himself floating into the air. Soon, he realized that he was not on the floor after all, but on the ceiling instead. There was no gravity in this place.
All around him, there were what appeared to be metal cocoons, some were emitting low humming and lights while others had long gone silent and dark. In the air, there was a scent of blood.
Floating just above the floor within this room, there was an elderly man in robes. In his chest, there was a dagger, ritualistic in appearance with gems and crystals decorating it. The elder's own hands were on the dagger, bloodied and clutching the hilt tightly.
Drained of blood, his face was pale but it showed an expression of maddened glee.
"What a hideous face," said the young man. "Worse than I remember."
The elder was Kalman. Beside him were fresh clothes, prepared for this occasion.
The young man grabbed the clothes and promptly put them on with practiced motion before approaching the exit, the door sliding open automatically as he drew close. Without so much as a glance back, he left the room.
After traveling down a series of winding hallways, the young man eventually arrived at an open hall with large windows with which one may gaze out into the black void sprinkled with stars.
On the pane of reinforced glass, the young man took a gander at his long, free-flowing hair, gold with a hint of green. It was said that during long journeys across the sea of stars, when supplies would run low, the hair would turn completely green, enabling photosynthesis to reduce the use of precious rations.
"Well, well, is that an Alva I see?" a powerful voice called out. "It is an honor to finally meet one."
Floating towards the young man's direction was a large man with a fiery beard, approaching with a jolly attitude as if he was greeting an old friend.
"Oh, what's this?" the large man continued, his voice expressing mock surprise. "Are those Kalman's clothes? I do wonder where he had gone off to. You wouldn't have seen him by any chance, would you, Sir Alva?"
"Don't play coy with me, Darius" said the young man, his mood clearly soured with Darius's appearance. "I know you're in on this as well."
"Ha," Darius laughed. "Moody as always, aren't you, Kalman? I had thought that it was due to your age, but with this new body, maybe it's just you."
"The location of the slumbering Alva and the forbidden tome of reincarnation magic, was it you who sent them to me? No, it can't be. You're not subtle enough for that kind of work. So who was it then? Now that I've done my part of the bargain, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to tell me."
"Who knows? Maybe I'll tell you if you manage to overpower me with that new body of yours."
Kalman laughed, wickedly so.
"Good, good. I've been meaning to test this body. Since I've gotten it, I've felt more powerful than ever before, more so than that feeble old body of mine that had to settle for the pathetic art of alchemy."
"That's enough out of the both of you fools!" a third voice intervened before things got too heated up, drawing the attention of the two butting heads.
Floating just above the floor, or perhaps the ceiling, there was a woman who wore a golden mask on her face, Anne-Marie. With her arms crossed, she glared at the two elders above.
"If the station is destroyed during your fight, then we'd all be doomed," Anne-Marie warned.
The two promptly cast their eyes towards the void, separated from them with just a pane of glass, albeit reinforced and likely stronger than most steel they could produce with their current level of technology.
"Hmph! Another time then," said Kalman.
"So it will have to be," commented Darius. "Still, isn't it quite hilarious? Not just you and I, but the other elders who had come up here had all found themselves in the same dilemma. With all the power they've gained over the years, if the station is destroyed, they all die as pitifully as the other. Being all the way up here certainly reminds you that we're mortals all the same despite everything."
"If you're done waxing poetry, we should get going. It's almost time," Anne-Marie urged, her voice carrying a hint of crankiness.
The three elders were each here trying to gain something that could only be found on this station that sat atop the tower. Unlike the others, however, not one of them was interested in the mythical Alvan ship.
Returning through the way they came, they eventually arrived at what appeared to be a reception hall, with chairs and desks and offices lined up. The three ignored it all and went right past, seeing as no one was manning the place.
After going through a long, narrow corridor, the three entered a small cabin with chairs and belts to strap them in with. The cabin was one of many within a long transportation machine of some sort, looking identical to a train but vertically aligned.
Strapping themselves in, the elders waited. Darius and Kalman made some conversation to pass the time, though it sounded more like they were arguing with one another, while Anne-Marie merely stared at her pocketwatch, counting the seconds that went by.
Soon, the transportation began to move and the three elders, the only ones onboard, began to descend.
"Never have I ever imagined that it would be so easy to deal with so many elders at once," said Darius.
"Don't they still have the Alvan ship?" asked Kalman. Unfortunately for him, he was not fully in on the conspiracy. He was merely asked to aid Theodore in exchange for help getting this new body of his.
"There's no ship," said Anne-Marie. "The Alva had long sailed into the void with it. At least, that was what the Archmage had claimed. The station is rather huge, however, so it may take some time for the other elders to realize that."
"What a pity," Darius commented as he brushed his fingers through his bread. "What I wouldn't do to see the faces of those geezers and hags when they realized that they were trapped with no way back down. I mean, aside from staying there with them, of course."
"I'm sure it would be quite a sight," Anne-Marie replied with a patronizing tone. "Either way, with the majority of the elders trapped like fishes in a net, the Archmage will be free to do as she pleases."
"Well, at least it's less violent than the revolution ten years ago," said Kalman. "As far as an end of an era is concerned, this one is relatively quiet."
"Not for long though, things will be getting quite noisy soon. The Archmage has some big plans."
"Of course."
Ending the conversation, Kalman stared out the window. There was nothing much to see as it was but the interior of the tower, nothing but white walls. Instead, he absentmindedly admired his reflection, comparing it to his previous body in its last moments.
As he stared on, his mind began to drift and his thought went to Theodore and the others, wondering how far have they gotten.
(Well, I'm sure they'll be fine. As long as those three are together...)
***
End of Chapter 126
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End of Mage Tower Arc
***
