The woman started calling the names of the elves present in the assembly after the announcement. The assembly of elves slowly started to thin as more and more elves entered the Tower of Gods. Aldon hung with Taeral while the names were being called. When Taeral’s name was called, he bid farewell to Aldon and entered the Tower. A short while later, Aldon’s name was also called. He prepared himself and entered the imposing Tower.

***

The moment his foot touched the floor of the Tower, Aldon found his vision going black. He didn’t panic as he had expected something like this to happen. After a while, his vision was restored, and he found himself in a completely white surrounding. There was nothing but pure white as far as his eyes could see. Even the ground he was standing on was white! It was impossible for Aldon to estimate the distance between any two points in his surroundings.

He waited a while, observing his surroundings cautiously. After discerning that there weren’t any dangers present in the surroundings, Aldon started wandering inside the white dimension. After some time, he became bored of seeing the same white everywhere, and he closed his eyes, focusing on the surrounding Mana. He found a strange Mana Signature coming from a specific direction. Mana Signature was the indication of a presence of something which utilized Mana. It could be an artifact or even a person! Mana Signature was unique to every person or artifact, very similar to fingerprints. It could also be called a ‘Mana Fingerprint’.

Aldon perceived a fascinating Mana Signature coming from a particular direction. When he opened his eyes and tried to walk in that direction, he discovered, to his surprise, that he couldn’t! He tried again, but the result was the same. He couldn’t proceed in the direction of the Signature. He tried to step sideways and discovered that he could walk in any direction other than that of the Signature. Finding the phenomenon intriguing, Aldon once again closed his eyes and concentrated on the Mana Signature, following it back towards its origin.

After a while, a doubt came to Aldon’s mind, and he opened his eyes. Aldon thought to himself, ‘How come I can follow this Mana Signature even now? Usually, the Signatures last only for a short while! But, what use is sensing the Signature if I can’t even take a step towards its direction?!”

Disappointed, Aldon glanced in the direction of the Signature. To his surprise, he discovered a small black dot on the horizon of the dimension. It was certainly not present before! A hypothesis formed in Aldon’s mind as he stared at his legs.

He once again closed his eyes and concentrated enthusiastically on the Mana Signature. After a short while, he opened his eyes and looked expectantly in the direction of the Signature. To his dismay, the black dot had not grown even the slightest.

Not willing to give up on his hypothesis, and having nothing better to do, Aldon once again closed his eyes and focused entirely on the Mana Signature. This time, Aldon didn’t open his eyes for a very long time. When he finally opened his eyes, he looked expectantly in the direction of the Signature.

He was overjoyed as the black dot had become noticeably bigger in size, proving that his hypothesis was correct: He was walking towards the Signature only when he concentrated on it. But, for some reason, he was unable to notice his movements.

Aldon made up his mind to reach the black dot no matter what. He closed his eyes and started focusing hard on the Mana Signature of the black dot.

A long while later, Aldon could finally feel his legs getting tired. Even then, he plowed on, not willing to give up on his goal. After what seemed like an eternity, Aldon’s legs finally reached their limits as they began wobbling uncontrollably. Aldon realized that the end of his struggle was near and didn’t open his eyes, unwilling to witness his failure. His legs walked a few steps unstably, and they finally gave out. Aldon fell forward, completely exhausted.

Suddenly, he hit his head hard on something. Aldon was suddenly filled with hope as there were no objects in this white, barren dimension with which he could have hit his head. He painfully turned on his back and opened his eyes, searching for the object with which he had hit his head.

He saw an ancient, intricately carved black door and a spherical silver door handle attached to it. He began laughing crazily as he realized that he had finally reached his destination. Taking some time to recover his stamina, Aldon stood up. He took a deep breath and twisted the door handle, opening the door. He suddenly vanished from the white dimension.

***

Aldon appeared out of thin air inside a plain room with no windows or doors. An ancient-looking longbow with its battered bowstring lay mounted on a wall. A plain wooden table lay beneath the bow. A wrinkled old paper with some inscription lay upon the table. Other than these three things, there was absolutely nothing present in the room.

Aldon got curious about the wrinkled paper and approached the table. He picked it up and tried reading the inscription. Unfortunately, the inscription was written in a language lost in time. It was now just some illegible scribbles.

Disappointed that he couldn’t comprehend what it said, Aldon tried to put it back on the desk. Suddenly, the old paper crumbled, and the information of a particular Spell was constructed inside Aldon’s mind. Aldon instantly comprehended what the Spell was. It was a Spell to create an arrow from Mana. The person who created the Spell had named it ‘Mana Arrow’. Aldon was fascinated by this method of passing down knowledge without any use of language or any demonstration.

After mulling over the Spell for a few moments, Aldon looked towards the longbow. He closed his eyes and observed it. He discovered that the Mana Signature which led him to this room was from this longbow! He opened his eyes and admired the albeit worn-out craftsmanship of the longbow.

Aldon lifted the longbow from its mount and held it. Suddenly its name appeared in his mind. It was named ‘Alastair’ by the craftsman who had crafted it. He muttered the name in a quiet voice, “Alastair, Eh? A good name for a good bow!” The longbow reverberated slightly in response to Aldon’s muttering.

Aldon was surprised as it appeared that the longbow possessed some sentience. He was not shocked by the phenomenon as he had wielded a Sword with some sentience in his previous life. There were many weapons with sentience in the Human World. No one seemed to possess any knowledge on how they were crafted or how they gained their sentience. He remembered his Sword with which he had gone through thick and thin. He became slightly distressed as he wondered what had happened to his Sword after his death.

The longbow, seemingly sensing his distress, hummed soothingly. Coming back to his senses, Aldon caressed the longbow fondly, feeling happy about its assurance. The longbow buzzed contently, pleased with Aldon’s caress.

Aldon looked around the room once again. A door had appeared out of thin air in one of the walls the moment he held the longbow. Giving the room one last look, Aldon walked towards the door with slow but steady steps. He quickly reached the door and opened it, and was instantly teleported outside the room.

***

Aldon found himself standing in the white dimension again, but this time, he was among the other elves who had entered the Tower of Gods before him. He looked around and saw a few elves being teleported near him. He inferred that this was also a part of the Coming of Age ceremony and began looking around, searching for familiar faces. He quickly found Taeral among the crowd and approached him.

When Aldon neared Taeral, he found him hunched over, staring at a shiny spherical rock. He came behind Taeral stealthily and patted Taeral’s back, intending to scare him. But Taeral didn’t even flinch and just looked back in a daze. Wondering what was wrong, Aldon questioned him, “What’s wrong, Taeral? You look awful!” Taeral answered tearfully, “Aldon... I got a measly rock for all my troubles! I even crawled in all fours to fit in the damn tunnel!” Aldon, not understanding a word Taeral uttered, spoke, “Calm down, Taeral! Speak slowly and clearly.”

Taeral tearfully narrated his ordeal, “I entered the Tower and was teleported to this damned white dimension, but there was no one in sight! I wandered around for a while, but I grew hungry and sat down to eat a bag of chips I had in my pocket. But I discovered that it had disappeared! Worrying that I had dropped it somewhere, I tried sensing it with Mana. Suddenly, I discovered a strange Mana Signature coming from a direction. I didn’t pay any attention to it at first, but as time flew by, I could sense that something delicious was present in the direction of the Signature. I thought that some bastard had taken my bag of chips and was taunting me with the Mana Signature. I angrily walked in the direction of the Signature to give the trouble maker a piece of my mind. Soon, I encountered a tunnel of sorts. Judging that the bastard who had hidden my bag of chips was inside, I walked gleefully into it, thinking I had caught him. But unfortunately, that damn tunnel narrowed as I went deep in it. Near the end, I even had to crawl on all fours just to fit in that fucking tunnel! Even with these challenges, I plowed on in order to scold that bastard till I was satisfied! And what did I find at the end of the tunnel? A. FUCKING. STONE!” Taeral raged with tears in his eyes.

Aldon visualized Taeral squeezing into a tunnel and finally finding a rock at the end and almost laughed out loud. But, seeing Taeral’s condition, he suppressed his laugh successfully. After calming down, Taeral saw Aldon’s longbow and curiously asked about it. Aldon recounted what he had gone through to obtain it.

Both of them looked wryly at each other as they sympathized with each other’s struggle. They looked at the assembly of the elves and discovered that many of them had various artifacts in their hands. With nothing better to do, they started chatting among themselves.

In a short time, every elf who had assembled outside the Tower was assembled in the white dimension. Aldon and Taeral were still talking animatedly. They had become close buds within a short frame of time!

Suddenly, a Black Sun appeared in the air above the assembly and spoke in a low tone, “Silence!” Though it spoke in a low tone, its voice reverberated in the white dimension. Every elf present in the assembly stopped talking and looked at the Black Sun.

The Black Sun, pleased by the attentions of the below-assembled elves, spoke, “Welcome to the Tower of Gods! This is my dimension, the White Palace! If you have entered the Tower, it means that you all are reaching adulthood! It means that you all should behave yourself and refrain from childish behavior.”

It continued, “Now, coming to the crux of the matter, you all had been given a chance to obtain a weapon. Whether or not you grasped this opportunity depends entirely on you. If you had given up during the weapon’s trial, it’s your fault for not obtaining a weapon. To be blunt, it means you are not worthy of possessing the weapon! You would not just give up when you encounter any difficulties in your life, right?! ”

A girl who had given up during the weapon’s trial and didn’t obtain a weapon, complained to the Black Sun, “But, I didn’t know that it was a trial! If I knew it was a trial, I’m confident about clearing it! Can we undergo the trial again?”

The Black Sun laughed as it replied, “No, you cannot! A passed opportunity never comes back, does it?” The girl felt crestfallen at the words of the Sun.

A boy who had been trying to woo the girl, thinking it was too good a chance to give up the current opportunity, challenged the Black Sun, “Hey, you! I don’t know who you think you are but are you willing to duel me for this lovely lady’s chance at another trial?”

All the other elves present, including the girl he was trying to woo, gave him a strange look. They all thought in their heads, ‘Who the fuck does he think he is? A hero saving a damsel in distress? You’re in the Sun’s dimension, for fuck’s sake! Use your head!’

The Black Sun looked amused as it spoke, “Who’s this numbskull?” It continued, genuinely concerned, “Is he mentally retarded?” Hearing the Black Sun’s genuinely concerned voice, all the other elves started chuckling to themselves.

Perceiving its concern as mockery, the boy grew angry. He jumped at the Sun, proclaiming, “I will avenge my humiliation.” He drew a sword that he had obtained in the trial. He brandished it crazily in the air. The Black Sun grew tired of his antics and muttered, “STAND DOWN!” The Sun’s voice carried immense weight as it targeted the boy. The elves surrounding the boy fell on one knee due to the pressure, even when it was not targeted towards them.

The boy, bearing the full brunt of the Sun’s words, was thrown to the ground with great speed. Though he was knocked unconscious, miraculously, he was not hurt even in the slightest. The Black Sun sighed and muttered to itself, “Ah! I had forgotten! There is bound to be a stupid elf in every group that comes here! It had been so long since I had encountered one that I had entirely forgotten about it.”

It then continued, without giving the unconscious boy another glance, “I’ll give you all a Medallion now. Its proper name is the ‘Medallion of Identity’. Bear in mind, that every given Medallion is a unique one. It is also your proof of identity that you are a member of the Elven Empire! Be careful to not lose it, as it is a pain in the ass to reissue them. Oh, and remember to register the Medallion with the Royal Authorities present in the amphitheater.”

It continued, “Though I know that none of you will remember anything from here when you exit the Tower, it’s my duty to explain it.” It shone slightly, and a Medallion appeared in front of everyone. All of them took the Medallion respectfully and were confused by the Sun’s last sentence.

Just when It was getting ready to send them outside the Tower, the longbow in Aldon’s hand quivered slightly. The Black Sun noticed this and scanned the entire assembly carefully. After discovering something, the Black Sun shone intensely as it whispered, “Now, out you go! I have something to talk about with a few elves.”

All the elves’ vision turned black as they were teleported outside the Tower. Aldon too felt his vision turn black.

***

After his vision returned, he discovered, to his surprise, that he was still inside the Tower, in the White Palace dimension. Taeral and an obscure figure were also present in the dimension. He wondered why they were not teleported outside.

His sight fell on the obscure figure, and he tried to distinguish their features. The figure, noticing Aldon’s gaze on them, sized him and Taeral up and pulled out an artifact from their pocket. It looked a lot like an orb. They deactivated the artifact. Suddenly, the obscure figure’s features became clear. It was that lovely girl who had inadvertently caused the commotion outside the Tower! Aldon was surprised and curious about the background of the girl as he knew that artifacts that had concealment functions were extravagantly priced.

The Black Sun suddenly flew in front of the three of them. As the three elves looked at it in question, it spoke, “Ah! What an Era it is! Who would have known that three of the ten Supreme Artifacts of the Tower would find their owners at only one of the Coming of Age ceremonies!”

The Black Sun circled them and spoke praisingly, “Alastair, Luane and... the Rock, eh? I don’t know about the Rock, but the Alastair and Luane are exceptional weapons!” Taeral questioned It reverently, “Oh! All-knowing Master! I plead with you to reveal to me the origins of this Rock and how to utilize it properly?!”

The Black Sun coughed awkwardly as it answered, “I... Uh... Don’t know much about the Rock. It was something that Zuean picked up from the summit of the World Tree. But, it must be of great importance if He categorized it in the same level as his Supreme Artifacts.” Taeral didn’t know whether to laugh or cry hearing that response.

The girl questioned with a pleasant and crystal clear voice, “What are the ‘Supreme Artifacts’? And how are they different from the weapons obtained by other elves today?”

The Black Sun enthusiastically answered, “When the World Tree was nearing its end, the God of Blacksmithing and Crafting, Zuean, on behalf of the request of the World Tree, created artifacts and weapons from most of its branches. He classified the Artifacts which He crafted from the World Tree’s Nine Main branches as ‘Supreme Artifacts’. And the other Artifacts He created from other branches of the World Tree were named ‘Chief Artifacts’.”

Aldon interrupted the Black Sun, “Does that mean the Artifacts that other elves obtained were ‘Chief Artifacts’?” The Black Sun continued, “No. I was coming to it. The Chief Artifacts only number in some hundreds. The Artifacts acquired by the other elves were made by the Dwarven Race!”

All three of them were shocked, “Dwarves? Isn’t that race fictional?” The Black Sun mysteriously smiled, “Nope. They certainly exist. Even today!” It continued, “The Dwarven Race, in ancient times was just a small group of vulnerable creatures with high intelligence. The God, Zuean, taking pity on them, took them under his wing. They then learned blacksmithing and crafting from the hands of the God of Crafting Himself! During Zuean’s biggest crafting job ever, that is, the crafting of the Supreme and Chief Artifacts, Zuean took the permission of the World Tree and provided the twigs and leaves of the World Tree for the Dwarven Race to improve their blacksmithing skills. The Dwarven Race had immense luck as they worked with pieces of divinity, and it inadvertently increased their proficiency and knowledge regarding Mana. The works finished by the Dwarven Race are the Artifacts that were obtained by the others today.”

Aldon glanced at his longbow and spoke his doubt, “This doesn’t seem to be in functional condition. This longbow’s string would almost certainly snap if I used it even once! How can I expect it to aid me in combat?” The Black Sun laughed and answered, “That’s why I retained you three here. When you go back outside, wait till you’re at your home, and then drop a bead of your blood anywhere on the Artifact. It’ll be bound to you for eternity and will undergo some changes. It will then become combat-ready!” He looked at Aldon mysteriously and spoke, “Your Alastair gave some trouble to Zuean while crafting. It sure holds a magnificent secret.”

It continued, “Any questions before I send you all outside?”

Taeral bombarded It with questions, “What happened to the Gods? Why was the World Tree nearing its end? Wasn’t it also a God? Who are you? And how did this Tower of Gods come to be?”

The Black Sun realized that he had spoken too much and replied, “Nope, I made a mistake. No more questions. Don’t worry about losing your memories of this place; the Supreme Artifacts will help you bypass that process. And you fatty... I sure hope you’ll keep the stone always near you! Even I’m curious why Zuean assigned the Supreme Artifact status to it! If possible, come and converse with me again! It’s always fun talking to the younger generation!” After saying Its farewell, It began shining intensely and their vision turned black.

***

The family of the three were getting worried about them when the teleportation circle flashed, and the three elves appeared outside the Tower, unharmed. The Emperor’s eyes twinkled when he saw the three elves appear.

The girl quickly registered her Medallion with the Royal Authorities and disappeared.

Aldon’s head was filled with questions as he barely bid farewell to Taeral, registered his Medallion, and teleported back home with his family. The Throm family, though curious about Aldon’s experience inside the Tower, didn’t speak a word as they teleported away.

Taeral was similarly disoriented as he registered his Medallion and teleported away to his home with his family.

***

The moment the Throm family appeared on the training grounds of their mansion, they bombarded Aldon with questions.