THE WEST TOWER
711 Words
The West Tower stood beyond the walls of Franclis.
Not tall.
Not glorious.
Just old.
Its stones were blackened by age. Cracks ran like dead veins through its body. No banner flew above it. No permanent guards remained.
Only an iron gate.
And an unnatural smell.
Nox stood before it while the sun was still low.
The royal messenger who had given him the seal waited nearby.
“Clear the lower levels,” he said. “If you live, return before nightfall.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then the problem solves itself.”
Nox nodded.
Fair.
He pushed the gate open.
Metal screamed.
Inside, the air was cold and wet. A spiral stair descended into darkness. The walls were scarred with claw marks and black burn stains.
Astra residue.
Unstable.
He descended slowly.
Light steps.
Controlled breathing.
Astra flowed thinly through bone and muscle.
Not for attack.
For awareness.
On the first level, he saw a corpse.
Not human.
A hairless beast, shaped like a dog, with bones protruding through its flesh. Its mouth split too wide. Astra lines pulsed wildly in its chest.
A failed thing.
Experiment or mutation.
He moved on.
On the second level, sound came.
Scraping.
Claws on stone.
Heavy breathing.
Two creatures emerged from behind pillars.
Larger.
Their bodies were crooked, as if their bones had grown wrong. Their eyes were completely white.
They attacked without hesitation.
The first leaped.
Nox stepped aside.
Boxing footwork.
Straight punch.
Astra reinforced joint and bone.
The skull collapsed.
The second charged from the side.
Nox turned.
Silat.
He hooked its neck and used its own weight.
Slammed it to the floor.
Crack.
It still moved.
Nox stepped on its neck.
Astra pressure.
Motion stopped.
Silence returned.
These were not the goal.
Only guards.
Below, the chamber widened.
An old hall.
Ancient symbols carved into the floor.
A large circle.
Something moved at its center.
Humanoid.
But distorted.
Four arms.
Ribs exposed.
Astra flowed outside its body like black smoke.
It turned.
And spoke.
“…human…”
The voice was hoarse.
Not fully monster.
Once human.
“Astra… too much…”
It attacked.
Not with claws.
With pressure.
The air in front of Nox rippled.
He jumped aside.
The floor cracked.
The creature swung an arm.
Astra lashed like a whip.
Nox advanced.
Not retreat.
He closed the distance.
Boxing step.
Hip rotation.
Punch to the exposed ribs.
Astra focused to a single point.
Not wide.
Dense.
Bone shattered.
The creature roared.
It swung again.
Nox angled his shoulder.
Aikido.
He caught the arm.
Twisted.
The joint failed.
He kicked its knee.
Karate snap.
The leg collapsed.
It fell to one knee.
Nox stood before it.
Its eyes flickered.
“…kill…”
Nox did not hesitate.
He struck the Astra core in its chest.
A short vibration.
Astra met Astra.
The body went still.
And collapsed like wet stone.
Silence.
Nox steadied his breath.
This was not a beast.
It was a victim.
Someone had pushed past Astra’s limit.
And failed.
He examined the floor.
Beneath the circle of symbols, an iron door waited.
He opened it.
Inside was a small chamber with stone racks and metal plates.
Old writing.
Not Franclis language.
More… direct.
More technical.
He recognized the shapes.
Not words.
Diagrams.
A human body.
An Astra core.
Flow lines.
Like the reliefs in the ruin.
But more detailed.
“So it wasn’t only experiment.”
“It was research.”
And Franclis had hidden it.
He took one plate.
Not all.
Enough.
Proof.
He returned to the surface as the sun lowered.
Outside, the royal messenger waited.
“Done?”
“Cleared.”
“And?”
“There was something inside that wasn’t a monster.”
The man’s eyes narrowed.
“That was not part of your task.”
“It is now.”
Silence.
Then the man tossed him a pouch of coins.
“Your payment.”
Nox caught it.
“And remember,” the man added, “you saw nothing.”
Nox turned away.
“Then,” he said without looking back, “you saw nothing of me either.”
The West Tower remained standing.
But now Nox knew.
The city was not only built on ruins.
It was built on secrets.
- Writer
