Chapter 25

After the game of chess Scar and Rose left the office together going down to the arrival hall once again. After going over the traits and customs of the Tamarin again with Rose in preparation of Scars travels to the Tamarin jungle he entered a capsule and left the Golden Tower. Rose however with Frank in his preservation pack went back to the platform. After entering his master-key he entered a new destination for the platform as it was by default set to go between the office above and the arrival hall.

After setting the destination the platform once again started moving but this time in the opposite direction. Along the wall of the golden tower spiraled two different conveyor belts. One went up, the other went down. Rose was on his way down to the dungeons. Once again the platform started speeding up but not as fast as it had previously gone up as it could not exceed the speed at which gravity pulled otherwise Rose would be lifted off from it.

Through the window Rose could see the ground coming closer rapidly but right before he reached the underground the platform stopped. Most Ancients were not involved in the building of the Golden Tower. In fact only 5 people had designed the entire tower; Boren, Mys Tara, Rose, Scar and a fifth one who disappeared during the Dark Elven war.

Rose and Scar had been in charge of designing the bottom half of the tower that reached into the earth while Boren and Mys Tara built the upper half that reached into the sky and beyond. This is why a different transportation system was in place for the bottom half. This was also due to the danger of the outer shell of the tower reaching very high temperatures. Rose then walked from the outer rim to a tube that was in place in the center. In it was a circular pod big enough to hold one person. There were several of these tubes which all could go up and down with the use of air-pressure.

Rose entered and entered his master-key after which he selected the bottom-most floor. There laid the entrance to the dungeons below.

After the Dark-elven war the Ancients picked up the speed at which they created new beings and races to fill up the lands around them. They did this with the Dark Elves as a basis because they had something in their genetic code that the Ancients had not. People in the future had no powers to control mana. After capturing one Dark Elf the Ancients took a sample from her and used the genetic make-up to create new species. The species that were made closest to the dark elves were the elves or the true elves as the humans ironically named them. This of course did not happen without failures. Those failures were put in the dungeons where they could live peacefully. Many of the Ancients thought it too cruel to kill of the new lives that they had made.

The failures that survived however were not true failures. They were merely species that were too volatile, too strong and unbalanced to share the continent with the other races. There were 384 of them. With the addition of the latest three; namely Boren, Mys Tara and Frank it would bring the number up to 387. Knowing the inhabitants of the Dungeons Rose knew that they would not join Boren and Mys Tara in their ventures thus making it the only place to safely keep them in the tower.

Rose finally reached the bottom most floor.

'Good day sir.' said an Ancient guard who was embedded into the wall to the right while the one embedded in the wall to the left was quiet and had his eyes closed.

'Good day Prometheus, Aegis. Do you have anything to report?'

'Nothing sir, except that we will need extra provisions for the new arrivals.'

'You have my permission. I leave this with you. Throw it into the dungeon and make sure that Boren and Mys Tara know that it is Frank.'

'Yes sir.'

After affirming the order Prometheus the Ancient to the right stepped out of the wall and took Frank from the hands of Rose and carried him towards the Dungeon doors. Because of the beings that were in there the dungeon door was perhaps the largest door in the entire tower. It was 50 meters high and 40 meters wide made out of a solid metal. Prometheus and Aegis however were special Ancients. They were given bodies that allowed them to go through walls. This was something that the Ancients had figured out during one of their many experiments. Using mana to its limits they were able to warp space and matter around themselves and whatever else they had close to them. The range however was greatly reduced compared to the normal use of mana.

The one specimen in the dungeons that had this same power was locked in a special cell at the very bottom of the dungeon safely hidden away from the other inhabitants and even if he did make it out these two Ancients would be more than enough to stop it.

'I will take care of Frank. Is there anything else?'

'There is not. I will take my leave now.'

Rose went back up to the top to work out his plans and maybe get some sleep. The Ancients did not need rest but it did help clear out their systems. During the sleep mode their minds would run diagnostic programs simulating dreams but really it just cleaned up the system. The system inside of the Ancients could not understand irregular or in-comprehensive behavior. It was a system based on logic and the world was filled with illogical things. To prevent those things from clogging up the system the Ancients after having entered the world and left the golden tower would need to regularly sleep.

The exceptions were Aegis and Prometheus. While one was awake the other was asleep. Though he was not really asleep. His mind was inside the dungeon observing it and taking care of it.

I woke up, it was cold very cold but after a blast of hot steam that blasted warmth into my body all the way to my bones I felt warm again but also very very sleepy. I looked around and saw that I was yet again in an unfamiliar place. The one carrying me then gave me to a similar being. They were Ancients but not like Boren and Mys Tara. These were larger. Much larger. The being that had previously held me now went away again while the one now carrying me walked towards a giant gate. I could barely move my neck and look up. Then I remembered that I had changed into a guava which would explain why the Ancients looked so huge.

In the corner of my eye I could see something getting closer. After turning my head I saw that it was the door. The door did not move but we moved ever closer to it. Righ before hitting the door I hid my head under my wing as to guard it but nothing happened. After a moment I figured that the door would've opened so I looked from behind my wing but all I saw was metal behind a blue glow of mana that surrounded me and the hand I was carried in. After a while I ended up on the other side of the door. It was very dark but then the moment the Ancient put his foot on the floor the mana that surrounded him activated the lights. I could now see that I was in a hall that was just as high and wide as the door that we had just gone through. Beyond the hall was another door to which and through which the Ancient walked.

After that I saw familiar faces. Boren and Mys Tara seemed to have noticed that someone was coming but at the strange sight of an Ancient carrying a Guava they couldn't help but stare at me.

The Ancient carrying me then said:

'Boren, Mys Tara. It is good to see you. I have spoken with Rose and provisions will be provided to you three. I leave Frank with you.'

Boren and Mys Tara were then looking around and past Prometheus.

'I can see that you brought us the provisions but where is Frank?' Mys Tara asked. I thought she was joking but after seeing her serious face I realized that she wasn't. Hearing this I felt Prometheus hand shaking slightly as he laughed.

'These are not your provisions. This is Frank who turned into a Guava using the device that you illegally gave him.'

Prometheus answered.

Borens and Mys Taras eyes were now completely focused on me with unbelief and sorrow in their eyes. I did not know why though. After a short silence Boren and Mys Tara came over and Prometheus handed me over to them.

'I shall leave you three alone for now. Provisions will be provided tomorrow.'

After saying what he needed to say Prometheus went back through the wall and back to his post.

Boren and Mys Tara still hadn't said a word to me. I was slightly worried that they might start eating me so I tried to talk.

'Tjirp Tjirp Tjirp Tjirp Tjirp Tjirp '

Ah right... I forgot about that.

I then activated my mana and with it I said:

'Hi, long time no see.'

Any doubts they had were now washed away but the sorrow remained.

'Just a moment, I'll change back to a more human form.' I said in mana.

Then when I tried to bend my neck I found that the bracelet was nowhere to be found.

'I seem to have lost the transformation device.' I said again. Boren and Mys Tara could no longer stay silent and answered.

'It wouldn't have helped. Guava is the one race that you can't change back from. Their genetic and anatomic structure is far too different for it... I am sorry.'

'What do you mean? I asked. Feeling that the answer would tell me the reason for their sorrowful looks.'

Mys Tara took over as Boren couldn't speak.

'It means that you will stay as a Guava till you die. Which given that Guava's have very short lifespans would be in a maximum of 2 years.'

I couldn't believe what I had just heard. My life only just really began and the end was already in sight. I just could not believe it and as an automatic reaction I froze up and didn't say a word. My thoughts were frozen as well since I did not know what to say, think, feel or do. What was there to do? I now knew why they were sorrowful but it might have been better if I had not known.

We then stood there for what felt like hours. Silently staring in each others eyes. None of us cried because nobody had died but the impending end of my life was more than enough to silence our very thoughts.

I recognized this sorrow. It was very similar to the sorrow I felt after I had talked to fathers guard who told me of the ambush. After that talk I also walked home mindlessly. If I hadn't met Kaito at that moment I might have never gone out after my father and stayed in that vegetative state for who knows how long.

Can I really afford to stay in this vegetative state any longer? I have just a few more years to live. Every day, hour and second matters for it is one step closer to my end. I must make it a meaningful end. There is much I need to fix and accomplish.

I had never lived with the intention to start a family and get married all I wanted was to change the world for the better. With two years left to live I could still do that.

'It is alright Boren, Mys Tara. It is time we get serious about changing the world.'

I said in mana. This woke them up and light returned to their eyes. They too realized that I was not yet lost. I was still alive and able even as a Guava bird.