I woke up with someone next to me, our hands linked and a bright light slowly disappearing. Yuri was the name that came to mind when I looked at her. As I stood up, I was having a hard time remembering stuff and my head was hurting. It appears that it was the same for Yuri judging by her confused face which surely mirrors my own. All that I could remember was that she was someone important to me and that my name was The 25th Bam. As I look around the room, It became apparent that we were trapped with no way to escape. We were in a dark and isolated room with no light except those from a few surrounding pillars with torches on top that seem frozen in place and time. The torches produce no heat nor did they move or flicker. The light was barely strong enough for us to see each other faces and obscured everything else. Counting the pillars, there appear to be nineteen pillars surrounding us. I try to recollect how I had gotten here but I could not remember anything. Whenever I try to think back to how I got here, all I was met with was a deafening headache. It seems that it was the same for Yuri. As we move around, we came upon the entrance of the room, where a beautifully decorated door stood there. The door seem to produce a light barely bright enough for us to see that it had an image of a sun and a tower.
With nowhere else to go, We decide to try to open the door. First, I tried to find a way for it to move with no success. It seem that there were no door handles or buttons to press for the door to move. Then Yuri tried the brute force approach of kicking, pushing and even punching the door with no results. The door was so strong, that nothing we did even scratched it. It felt like we had to spend days trying to get the door to move when finally, Yuri and I found a clue to opening the door. The pictures were not there only for decorations, hidden in the tower image was a door much like this one except that instead of an image, it had symbols that appear to form words in it.
The problem was that we needed to figure out what those words meant or how they were useful. Whether it's a set of instruction or a riddle that need an answer or a location to a key or mechanism to open the door, we didn't know nor could we figure it out. With no other choice and nothing better to do, we decide to spend the rest of our time trying to figure out what the words meant. We look for clues in the door or the surroundings with no success. While we look, time seems to have lost all its meaning as we had lost track of how long we had been here ages ago. We did not eat nor did we drink. We were even unable to sleep, all we could do was try to find a way to open that door. We try to raddle our brain for something that we may have seen before that could help but were rewarded with only a headache. It was starting to feel like we were never opening that door, so we spent our time talking and getting to know each other to see if maybe we could guess or find out what it was. While we had fun talking, our severe lack of memories prevented us from talking for long for fear of getting a headache whenever we try to remember something we were not supposed to.
As we ran out of things to talk about, We took the biggest risk we had since we first arrive in this place. We decide to snuff out each torch light by destroying the pillars out of desperation and hope that there was some sort of hidden mechanism that would trigger. If this did not work, we would be stuck here with no light source and no way to find any other clue or hint to open the door. But at this point, it was our best choice when nothing else had work. To break the pillars and snuff out each torch, Yuri and I took turns hitting just one of the pillars over, and over, and over. Slowly cracks began to form in the pillar structure, we hoped that with one of the pillars broken, we would be able to use its broken parts to break the others or at least snuff out the torch lights of the other pillars. After what felt like an eternity, The pillar shatters into pieces with the torch light snuffing out.
With the broken pieces of the first pillar as a tool and more experience breaking the pillars, we were able to reduce the time each pillar took to break. After a while, we had reach the final pillar of the room, The room was almost too dark to see anything. I look at Yuri and she looked at me, If we broke this pillar and it did not work, this may be the last time we see each other faces. Holding each other hand, we each took a piece of a broken pillar and got to work breaking the last pillar. Finally, The pillar broke and everything went dark. When nothing happened, I was afraid that we had made an error in judgment. But slowly, a new light began to shine from the door illuminating the cave once more, but this time on top of where the torch where once located were glowing symbols with a letter on top. For the first time since we got here, we could understand what it was asking us to do. Connecting the symbols in the door to the letter on top of the torch pillars, we got the sentence that seem obvious once we got it.
"What are your desires?" was the question the door asked. With at least a sure goal, we started to think of what our desire was. It was a harder question than we had initially thought. For one, we were missing almost all our memories and for another, it was a question that was normally complicated enough without knowing what it want from us. It could be as simple as simply getting out but that could be its own trouble if we are simply put in another place similar to this or it could be as complicated as getting an answer for a question we did not even know we wanted to ask. We spend what felt like an eternity just thinking and talking about what was gonna be our answer. We even risk headaches to try to remember our past but the most we had gotten were glimpses and silhouettes of people and faint emotions tainted by feelings of loss and sadness. Finally, We had agreed on our answer and went towards the door. We grab each other hand and spoke our desire to the door. "What we desire is to prevent the feeling of loss and to stay together", we said in unison. We waited for what felt like a few minutes for something to happen, but when nothing happened we were afraid that we had made a mistake or had gotten the wording wrong. Slowly a creaking sound became apparent as it got louder and louder until the door opened. With the door finally open, we pass through to hopefully a better place.
Once again, Bam and I woke up in an unknown place, not knowing where we were was not even the strangest part, the giant murals on the side full of images were. It was almost identical to the last one except for the murals that decorated every wall. Bam seem to recognize the place, in fact, it seems that he had some of his memories back. I could also remember being in a place like this but the details were still fuzzy. It appear as if some of our memories had returned. It seems that while I was able to remember much more than before, I would still get slight headaches if I try to remember more than I am allowed to. I wonder what brought on those memories. Looking around, I was amazed by the surrounding murals when I finally remember where we were. "Ah, Rabbit-Ear floor", I said without realizing it as I recognized the structure of the room. It seemed that we were back on the first floor where Headon resided but this time, we were at his complete mercy with our lack of tools and weapons. I could not remember much but both Bam and I could remember that Headon hated intruders on his floor. If he discovers us, There was no telling what was gonna happen to us.
"Bam, We need to get out of here before Headon notices us" I whisper looking around for signs of Headon. "Yeah, We need to be careful or we won't get a chance to ever leave this floor" Bam whispered back. With Headon's giant ears, we were afraid that he would hear us if we spoke any louder. Bam then look at me weirdly, like he was seeing me for the first time. "What, Do I have something on my face?" I ask curiously forgetting to whisper. "No, It's just you look different from what I imagined," said Bam sheepishly. "What is that supposed to mean? Though, I do get the feeling that you used to look different." I said looking at Bam more closely. It was as if this was the first time we could truly see each other. He was wearing a brown long-sleeved shirt, a red vest, and beige pants, It reminded me of something from long ago that I could not quite remember. Now that I look at myself, I realize that I was wearing a white-red dress with my hair tied in pigtails. "Well anyway, We need to get out of here" I whisper to him, the surprise of him looking at me had made me forget the reason why we were whispering in the first place. It was best if we whisper and stay quiet as much as we could to reduce the chance of Headon discovering us. Waiting a few seconds to see if Headon had heard us, we continued moving when he did not appear. As we move around, we came across a hallway that lead to an enormous golden gate. As we look at the gate, we hear a voice directly behind us. "So, Do you like the view so far," said the mysterious voice. As we turn around, our worse fear was in front of us. Headon had appeared and we didn't even realize it. "What, a Cat got your tongue," said an amused Headon holding his staff in one hand while the other was behind him. "What do you want, Headon? '', I ask knowing we were at the mercy of the oldest administrator but refusing to play his game. "How harsh, I thought you guys will be more welcoming to me after all I did for you," said Headon with a smile that told us that none of it was good for us.
"Well, anyway, I am still the test administrator of this floor, It is my job to administer a test to all those that enter, did you think whispering would prevent me from realizing you were here," said a curious Headon. He was clearly toying with us and enjoying it. What a twisted rabbit he was. "What is the test?" ask Bam, his face serious and discontent. It seem that he was, even more, annoyed than I was with Headon. "Well, It is quite simple, Participants Bam and Yuri had to get me a simple item that is at the center of the place behind this gate. Don't worry, you would recognize it when you see it. If you do, You are immediately teleported to the second floor." said Headon explaining the test. "That seems too easy, what's the catch," I ask Headon knowing he would never make a test that was so simple. "I am offended that you would think so low of me, in fact, as a sign of good-will, here is two present for each of you," said Headon looking offended like we had just told him that he suck at his job while giving each of us small packages from the hand that was hidden behind him. "What is it?", I ask trying to see how to open it. "They are a gift, but please wait until the test starts to open them, You may begin at any moment," said Headon while opening the gate with a wave of his staff.
With nothing else, to do we venture forward and into whatever mess Headon has thrown us into. Past the gate appear to be a forest-like region with a suffocating presence that seems to grow stronger the more we venture forward. While we got used to the pressure fast, it continue to increase the deeper we went into the forest. The forest seem to only be filled with giant ironwood-like trees, tiny plants, and fallen leaves. Still, given the fact that it was a Headon test, this was almost predictable. That stupid rabbit had obviously not told us all there was. If I ever get my hand on him, I will personally rip off his ear. Looking at the package that Headon had given us. We decide to venture a little more before making a small stop to open it. Once we sat down, we each took a piece of rock that was nearby and open the package.
Inside was mostly empty except for a small envelope inside. Seriously, could Headon have not just given us the envelope instead of a package? I thought that it was gonna be something big. Inside each envelope were a letter and a ring. My ring had a design of a Violet Night Sky while Bam's resembled a Black Snake with red eyes eating itself. As we put the rings on, they suddenly began to glow before stopping as if nothing had happened. My note explains that the rings were special items that were given to them to make it easier to pass the special tests. It seems that most of the features were locked behind those special tests. But for now, It would work as a basic pocket. We could use it the same as a pocket with the only difference being the screen. The screen had two options, one was a size-changing hologram in front of the rings, and the other was simply showing the information on the rings themself. Bam's note explains what those special tests were. It seem that they were gonna have special tests or limitations on each floor but Headon had requested special permission to merge both the floor test and special test, probably to justify the difficulty. That did not bode well for us. Neither note was signed nor gave any detail on who had sent it. Whoever it was, It seem that even Headon had to follow.
We decide to rest up as it was getting dark and we had spent who knows how long stuck figuring out how to open the door and then meeting Headon making us tired beyond word. We would also need to find food and water as it seem that whatever had prevented us from getting tired, hungry, or thirsty had stopped working once we open the door. Hopefully, we could find food and drinkable water nearby. Well, That was a problem for future us as we took shelter next to a nearby tree and fell asleep together. Once morning rolled around, I slowly open my eyes to see that Bam had already woken up and had begun climbing the biggest tree around to see farther ahead. "Do you see anything?", I yell to him once he had gotten to the top. "There seem to be some kind of structure on the horizon", Bam yell back. Knowing Headon, That was probably where we needed to go. Still, It seem too easy of a test for someone famous for his impossible tests. We decided that since we had no other choice, our best bet was to do some more reconnaissance to find what we were missing from the picture.
As we move further into the forest in the direction of the structure, I began to feel the effect of not having eaten for so long. It seem that Bam was suffering from it as well, He was not looking good and I could only guess how I look. If we did not find food and water fast, we would slowly starve to death. Headon could not have given us something to eat before throwing us into a test, seriously if I ever see that rabbit again it would be too soon. As we neared the structure, We saw what must have been the best and worst sight we had ever seen. It was a nesting ground full of water and food. The problem was that it was the nesting ground of Black Armored Eels, the bigger, stronger, and more aggressive cousins of White Steel Eels. They were very dangerous and extremely protective while being one of the most deadly creatures in the tower. While it seem that our memory was still good enough to recognize the creature, We could only get a headache when we tried to think of where we had seen it or more importantly how to defeat it. It seem that if we were to survive, we would need to steal directly under the nose of the eels.
Add to that problem, the structure seem to be in the middle of said nest. The structure seem to resemble an ancient temple but not quite with an entrance near the bottom surrounded by eels. That stupid rabbit had sent us on a suicide mission to the middle of a nest of monsters. Thankfully, The temple-like structure seem to have a relatively small entrance barely big enough for us to go through. If we could get past the eels, we would be home-free. No wonder the test seem so simple, it was simple in principle. Sneak behind the eels and get whatever is inside that temple and then we were gone. The hard part was doing any of that without alerting all the eels and without starving to death. It seem that Bam realize as well that it was gonna take a lot of planning and luck to beat this test and get out in one piece. First thing first, we needed to get food and water. Food was the easy part, the nest was filled with trees that seem to have fruits in them. We could sneak around the eels while they were sleeping and take some of the fruits from the trees. Water was the hard part, with no way to store it, we would be forced to constantly sneak around risking the eels discovering us. If they discover us, we could be swarmed and killed. "So, What do we do?", I ask Bam as our situation made itself clear to us. "Right now, We need food and Water, We can figure out the rest later," said Bam. He was right, If we did not eat or drink anything soon we would be dead tomorrow. "What's the plan?", I ask. "Honestly, I have no idea," said Bam. He wasn't looking good, almost all the color of his face had left him and he was looking paler than before. I did not even have to see myself to see that I would look the same. I felt like how I looked. "Well, I guess all we can do is sneak around while grabbing some food and drinking water. Hopefully, we can follow the water current to its origin and hope that it is less crowded", I said. Honestly, that was our only chance and we knew it. With no other choice, we move forward toward the nesting ground. As we moved closer, we spotted trails of a Black Armored Eel group. Steering clear of the trail's general direction as we simply were not ready to fight, we continue moving forward. As we got closer to the nest, the trail of destruction caused by the eels was beginning to surround us. All around us were trees with dents and bumps in them. There were also fallen branches and broken scales. It was hard to navigate without getting hurt. We were also getting weaker by the minute, if we did not find anything fast, we would never have enough energy to continue.
Thankfully, we never had to worry about that scenario as we had reached the edge of the nest. There were trees filled with fruits that we could eat and on the horizon was a water stream that seem to go on forever. It was better than I could have thought as the water seem to run off the border where the eels rummaged. I wonder for a brief moment if we were already delirious from how good the situation seemed. Pressing on, the only obstacle appear to be a group of five eels that were blocking the way. All we had to do now was distract the eels. One of us would have to distract the eels that were nearby by running in a long circle, while the other grab the food. Once we had gotten the fruit, we would move towards the water located outside the nest border and hide nearby until they left or got bored. It was a plan that had high risk and high reward.
I decided that it was best for me to distract the eels while Bam grab the food. I was the fastest of us and I was smaller so I could move through trickier spots. We decide on a place to meet up and went in opposite directions but not before hugging each other. This may be the last time we see each other if things did not go well. As I move towards the eels, I grab a piece of rock from nearby and got into position to throw it. Once the eels started to move towards me, it would be Bam's turn to go. With nothing else to lose, I threw the rock with all the strength I had, hitting one of the eels straight in the face. This was it, the eels realized that they were not alone. As the eels got closer to me, I realize that we had two problems. The first one was that they were faster than I realize so I would only be able to keep them occupied for so long even with my headstart and all the obstacles that the path in front of me had. The other was that only four of the five eels were following me. One of them had stayed behind, probably to protect the fruit tree. With the eels fast approaching me, I had no choice but to stick to the plan and hope that Bam could figure something out before I return. I ran deeper into the forest with the other eels following closely behind.
Yuri had just left with the other eels, now it would have been my turn to grab the fruits and then wait until Yuri got back but it seem there was a problem we did not foresee. One of the eels had to stay behind to guard the fruit tree. Even if there was another tree further ahead that was protected, we would die before we could get to it. This was our only choice, I needed to find a way to distract the eel long enough to take a few fruits. Once I had my hand full, it would be next to impossible to run or get away from the eel. The eels were already faster than us normally, but given that we were severely weakened, We stood no chance. Yuri would not last long If I could not get past the eel before Yuri returned. I did not want to imagine what would happen then. I had to look at my options. I doubt that I could keep it distracted for long, nor did I think I can just sneak past it. My best and probably only chance was to temporarily blind its sense, at least long enough for me to gather some fruits and run.
As I look around for something to help, I kept coming up short. There were not many things that could hurt it and I doubt it would leave the fruit tree unless it had no other choice. Looking at my surrounding, I realize that I had forgotten something super important. With a Plan in hand, I quickly got into position and threw a rock toward the last remaining eel. When the eel saw me, It realize that it had two options. Wait for the others to return, or quickly eat me and return. I waited for it to make a decision. It almost decide to wait but I threw another rock to provoke it. As soon as the second rock hit it, it launched toward me at full speed. I only had one chance, if I was too late I would be eaten, too fast and the eel would realize my plan. At the last possible moment, I jump out of the way as the eel ran straight into the biggest tree nearby. A huge dent had appeared on the tree yet it was the eel that suffer the most amount of damage. The hit had knocked it right out. I probably had a few minutes before it would start waking up again.
With the few remaining ounces of energy that I had left, I took as many fruits as I could from the trees, stored them inside the ring, and ran towards the location we had to agree on near the water. As I waited for Yuri, I grew increasingly worried as time passed without any sign of her. When it started to become dark, I was terrified that the eels had managed to catch up to Yuri. I prepare to leave to find Yuri when a sight caught my eye. In the distance was Yuri, slowly walking towards me. She look exhausted and had cuts all over the place but at least she was alive. Later, she would tell me that the eels had almost caught up to her when she found a small hole in one of the tree trunks and hid there until the eels left. Putting the food down and running towards her, I caught her just as she collapse having seen me and realizing that we had succeeded. Once she had recovered enough, we took a bite out of the fruit. It was the single most delicious fruit we had ever tasted.
After not having eaten for so long and going through so much to get it, any normal person would have found it delicious. But for Yuri and me, It was the first meal we could remember and it signified that we were on track to beat Headon's unjust test. The fruit had a sweet flavor and was juicy yet seem to satisfy our hunger. The water nearby felt like the freshes water we had ever drank, it completely rejuvenated us. We eat all the fruits that we had gotten and spent the rest of the day recuperating. We store a few of the seeds in our pockets just in case we would be forced to stay here for long. The next day, we were ready and better prepared to take on the challenge of sneaking into that temple. Yuri's injuries had healed and we were feeling much better. Whatever those fruits were they had brought us back from the brink of death. Our experience with the eels taught us a valuable lesson. Not only were they faster and stronger than us, but they were also not dumb. They could be tricks, but not for long. The only reason either of us survive was because of the sheer strength of the trees nearby. Sadly, There was no way to use the trees to attack the eels or sneak behind them. Even if we use one of the fallen branches of the tree as a weapon, it would not do much damage to the scales of a Black Armor eel. Nevertheless, We had no choice but to try.
We divide the task of creating weapons among each other. As Yuri was the strongest of us, she went back into the forest to look for branches while I prepare rocks to use as a sharpening tool to transform the branches into a weapon. Using two rocks, One bigger than my hand and the other the size of my finger that I found nearby, I took the bigger rock to crush the smaller one in hope of getting a sharp piece similar to what had happened when we broke the pillars before. Once I got one of sufficient size, I proceed to use the smaller pieces to sharpen it. Around an hour later, Yuri return with multiple branches. Our goal was to use the bigger pieces and longer branches as a spear and use the smaller pieces to sharpen the remaining branches to use as close-distance weapons. The faster we could attack the better. If we took too long, the eels would begin hunting us in large numbers while expanding their border and it would be impossible to get inside the temple. Our plan of action was simple, while the eels were confused and distracted from our recent encounter, we would sneak past as much as we could, and when they eventually realize that we were there. We would use our makeshift weapons to create an opening in order to get inside the temple. With a goal in mind, we spent the remainder of the day creating weapons for our attack. We woke up the next day at noon, we had spent all of yesterday working and were exhausted by the end of the day. We were also once again getting hungry but we could not risk the eels another confrontation with the eels. We decide to use the rest of the day to plan and rest for tomorrow. By this time tomorrow, we would be done with this test and on our way out of there.
At dawn the next day, we were en route to the center of the nest. Using the low visibility and the fact that the eels were known to sleep during the night. We hope to take the eels by surprise while they rest, avoiding been discover altogether. As we got closer to the center, we came across a group of sleeping eels. Slowly making our way across, we continued on our way. As we move, the overwhelming pressure from before began to reappear and seem to almost double. It seem that whatever was ahead, was overwhelmingly powerful compare to us. As we continue making our way across more and more groups of eels closer to each other, we felt the pressure continued to increase. It was as if the air around us was falling in on itself, like an ocean on top of us.
An hour later, we had reached the center of the nest but with little time to spare. The sun was beginning to illuminate all our surroundings and the eels would likely wake up soon. We also found the probable source of the pressure. It was an eel almost double the size of all the others, it almost felt like the leader. It seem to act as the guardian of the temple-like structure as its body blocked the entrance while it slept. It was also quite far from all the others eels, It almost felt like it had its own territory inside the nest. In order to get past it and into the entrance, we would likely need to wake it up. Waking up that eel would result in all the others being awoken leading to a quick and painful death if we could not get inside fast enough. If we wish to avoid that fate, we would need to act quickly once it was awake and hope that it would allow enough time for us to get inside. Thankfully, the entrance seem to be completely open, so as long as we got past the eel we would be fine. Slowly, We made our way to the leader, as carefully as possible in order to not wake any of the other eels up. Once we reach the leader eel, we move as close as we could to the entrance. Once in position, Yuri took one of the spears from her ring that we had made and threw it as hard as she could toward the leader. The spear broke on contact with its scales but it had done its job, The leader was stirring.
At first, the leader simply move its head around to see what had hit him and if it could go back to sleep, but when it saw us. It immediately became alert and ready to attack. Now that we had its attention, Yuri threw another spear at it but only like last time, she aim for the in-between of the scales drawing blood from the wound. The eel lead out a large scream waking up all the nearby eels but it was forced to move slightly leading to the door being once more open. The others eels were confused and sleepy, this was probably our best chance to get inside. As soon as the door was clear, we made a run for it. With barely a few second away from the entrance, we were forced to stop as the tail of the leader eel slam into the entrance blocking our path inside. With the entrance block and all the other eels being awoken, we had no choice but to try a last-ditch effort to once again cause the eel to move. With one of the sharpened sticks that we had made, we hit the leader once more in between the scales hoping to cause the eel to move yet the eel's tail remained there with the entrance block. It seems that we would not pass the test that easily. Once again, in quick succession, We took all but one of the remaining sticks and stab the eel with it to no greater effect than simply making it flinch and bleed a little. The other eels had finally realized that we were there and had started to move toward us. The eels would probably reach us in under a minute, and then we would be eaten. With one last chance and out of desperation, we grab the last remaining stick and pour all our strength and feeling into a single strike hoping to hit with enough force to penetrate deeper forcing the eel to retreat. Instead, one moment the tail of the eel was blocking the entrance, the next, the entrance was in sight and the leader's tail was simply gone, shocking both the leader and us. It was as if the pressure that we had felt early condescend into a single point. Sadly, the force of the attack had destroyed the stick into thousand of splinters, hurting our hands and drawing blood. With no time to think of what had happened and the other eels fast approaching, we ran into the entrance and made it inside the temple.
Inside the temple, was a long hallway with a small stairway at the end leading up to a pillar that had an egg with a unique pattern on top of the pillar. It was hard to explain the pattern but it seem to resemble a feathered snake surrounded by stars. That egg was probably what Headon wanted from us. Headon may be known for his cruel and unjust tests but his test is always simple in practice. Within the safety of the temple, we took the time to catch our breath and take out the pieces of splinters that had become stuck in our hands after our last attack. We were still bleeding and the splinter was a risk if left there for the wound to not close and get infected. Once we had taken out all the little splinters, we slowly and carefully made our way toward the egg, ready and alert just in case this place was full of traps or hidden enemies. Once we reach the egg, we examine the pillar for clues of what it was or for any traps that may spring when we take it. Once we found nothing amiss, we examine the egg. The egg felt cold and heavy like a piece of marble or rock. We were unable to store it in our pocket and when we touch it with our hand, it seem to absorb the blood left on it, so maybe it was alive. With nothing else to do, Yuri tried to grab the egg only for it to be too heavy for her to lift even with both hands, It seem that we would need our combined strength to even lift it. We each took a side of the egg and with both of our hands, we lifted the egg. As soon as the egg left the pillar, everything went black for a second as we fell. When we open our eyes once more, It was bright outside and we were on a wheat field with lots of rocks nearby with an announcer talking about a test over a floating speaker.