My future visions have been getting even clearer ever since I fused The Left Lens and The Right Lens. Looking back on my first vision makes me wonder why Shiva created the tower. Why did he choose me from the millions who lived on earth to fulfill this destiny? Weren't there many others with better qualities?
I was used and thrown away so often on earth that questioning everything became a habit. I always ended up hurting myself because I didn't trust what others told me. I knew the nature of the people I attracted so I figured I wouldn't waste time socializing.
I knew that if I trusted or let my guard down I would just get taken advantage of and thrown out all over again. It happened so often that even when I didn't believe their intentions I felt the familiar ache.
I came to hate everyone and enclosed myself in walls, hiding my true nature under multiple masks of different feelings. I wanted revenge on the people who wronged me. And in my defense who wouldn't?
Even after being plucked from earth, I was forced to live one lie after another. I was living a different life in a completely new environment yet I never let my guard down. They called me "The Towers savior" and anyone who lived the life I had before would have accepted their praise without a second thought, drowning in their ego.
I was an outcast in society, yet I was chosen for this destiny because of that very reason. If I had trusted INK I would have doomed everyone. Life on earth would have been wiped out. And if Shiva didn't stop me then who knows how far I would have followed my path of revenge.
Shiva's purpose in bringing me here wasn't to make peace with my life on Earth. It was to forge a new era in The Tower, one of peace and happiness. Even so, I selfishly used the experience I've gained to come to peace with my past mistakes and better myself in the process.
Everything happens for a reason. My life on earth forged my life in The Tower like a steel sword, and my previous view on life was hammered out of me. I know If I had lived my life any differently, the outcome of the path I've followed might have been very different than now. And i wouldn't change anything even if I could somehow redo it.
Yet looking at the most likely future I can't help but ask myself if this road I'm walking on meant nothing. Were all of my previous actions not truly righteous? Will I be able to lead The Tower through the shift that's quickly approaching with an even greater risk of destruction? Will the good karma of my actions outweigh the bad and push my future towards the light?
If someone knew the answer to these questions then would that mean Luna's future is already as solid as ice? I can't help but worry for her. The path of evil she may walk in the future is so great that I fear death if unavoidable. The image of her staying positive is like staying warm while surrounded by ice-cold oceans on all sides, without a single strip of land in sight.
An ice storm is coming faster than anyone could have expected, and I'm afraid that no matter how loud I scream for intervention the destruction will not stop. If this future comes to be then I'm afraid that even with the trust Shiva placed in me, life on earth and in The Tower with be drowned in agony.
Pausing my train of thought and activating my telekinesis I shout the ancient spell word "Ianuae" in my head. The space around me shifts as my location changes in an instant. Taking a couple of steps forward and blinking the blur out of my eyes I lay my palm on the wall to my left. Feeling the icy energy emanating from the area I peer around a battered column. Stone statues line the walls of an ancient altar, now covered in snow, the swords they once held high frozen and cracked. I guessed the statues were once in perfect condition, but now they aged shedding their bright silver gleam.
Most ancient altars have sealed artifacts laying upon thrones of gold, etched with ancient runes of the lost language. But this altar was destroyed by a raging blizzard long ago leaving the area ruined, and the ancient weapon unsealed waiting for the first unfortunate soul to wander into the ancient's clutches.
"Shit... I guess she already touched the artifact..." I sigh as I get the familiar ache of the worst future's probability increasing.
This time it's jumped significantly higher than usual, from 79% to 83%. Speed walking towards the center of the room and clicking a hidden button on the throne seat. A door forms behind the highest point in the altar followed by an immediate rush of freezing air that engulfs the room in snow.
Envisioning my right arm cloaking in darkness I grip the frigid air. Shouting the spell "Umbra Sigillum" I feel darkness ooze off my arm and swallow the icy vortex. I concentrate on the image of the dark seal symbol, and I force a counteracting vision of a sunny beach outward, melting the ice wall to reveal a boy crouching over a girl holding the ice artifact, Ramus Glacies.
The girl may be 16 years of age while the boy looks a couple years younger. As I walk closer I notice a bloody wound covers the boy's back, dying part of the plain yellow shirt he wears orange and red. Shakily the boy meets my eyes staring into mine for no longer than 3 seconds before rolling over revealing the unharmed but shivering girl beneath him. Many questions surface in my mind as I witness this event unfold. The most important of them being "Wasn't there supposed to be only a girl?", "Who is this boy?", "Why did he protect her?", and most of all, "Why can't I read his mind?"
The boy coughs and my instincts kick me back into gear. Crouching beside the two children I deduce that the girl is still alive, she's so cold she's shivering but there's a simple fix for that. The boy on the other hand doesn't stir and since I can't read his mind I have to check if he's okay the old fashioned way. Gripping his wrist I breathe out a sigh of relief, thankfully his pulse is still there.
He hurt himself protecting her but I know appearances can be deceiving. Thinking this boy is harmless, that would be too big a risk.
Considering the unknown factors and the slowing pulse I concentrate my mana on my finger. I focus of the image of a clock stopping and turning backwards to ease the pain and stop the bleeding before urging a small amount of time mana into his body and pulling it back out carefully. Inspecting the flow of mana a surge of energy courses through my body like an electrical current, making my head spin.
I look at the boy stunned as a number of the most peaceful futures in The Tower of Destiny increase in likelihood. The future with the most notable change though is the girl. Her once frigged demeanor controlled by the ancient ice princesses influence turns warmer and more controlled.
Releasing the boy's arm and gently draping it over hers I breath in and out to concentrate as much mana as I can into my head space. Amplifying my power tenfold with The Minds Eye artifact I try once again to peer into the boys mind, yet I instead jump into the girl's most recent memories. I can't tell if it's a good or bad thing that inspecting hers is easier or not.
My consciousness starts to shift as I look over a vivid memory of a short boy with messy blonde hair and a goofy grin. I assume this must be the way the girl sees the boy as a necklace with a lightning bolt chain dangling around his neck catches my eye. "Don't worry Luna, even if your dad dies I'll protect you in his place!" He declares before smiling warmly.
I can tell he means well even if that's an awfully inconsiderate way of saying he's here for her. Luna nods and burries her eyes in her shirt sleeves, tears pouring from her eyes before saying. "Thank you, Skye." in a small shaky voice.
The memory ends with the emotions from the two flow into me. Sensing a complicated sadness hidden behind Skye's kind declaration and the strong sense of comfort Luna feels in him, I find that my interest in them has grown. Deciding it's more beneficial to heal them both, I place a hand on each of their arms and imagine the blood on Skye's back clearing, the frostbite wounds around their arms closing, and an aura of warmth encasing the children before shouting "Plenus Sana" to cacoon the children in a warm healing spell.
Standing up I glance into the darkness behind the throne as it shifts. A girl wearing a brown sweater and jeans appears. Her waist-length brown hair flows effortlessly behind her as she drags a guy by the back of a black hoodie.
"Why do I always have to drag you through your own spell? I'm a light attribute and you know total darkness is just as lethal to me as pure light is to you! You better get your priorities straight before I rip up your black-out curtains in the middle of the night!" She shouts at the guy behind her, flicking her hair our of her face and causing a strand to fall on his face.
"Ugh…you're too loud Ayla. I just woke up." The guy grumbles, blowing a strand of the girls hair out from in front of his face. He resembles a stereotypical goth guy with a pair of dark grey boots, ripped blacked jeans, and a black hoodie that half heartedly covers both sides of his face. His curly black hair covers his forehead and the top of his eyes falling just slightly out of his hoodie.
"Dez! We have more important things to be doing than napping! And I thought I told you to wake up hours ago!" Ayla shouts as she lets go of Dez's hoodie, dropping him on the floor in front of the children.
"It's nice to see that you two are still as friendly as ever, but we have a change of plans," I say as I wave my hand to the boy and girl sleeping in a healing spell on the ground in front of Dez.
"Unfair… I want a nap too." Dez grumbles before using the least amount of motion he possibly can to slide his hands in his hoodie pockets. He pouts and then closes his eyes trying to mimic the sleeping children. Ayla noticing this rolls her eyes before crouching down to gaze at our new guests.
"Oh my! I thought there was only supposed to be one new manaless. And what happened to these two? You didn't fight them did you?!" Ayla asks in a slightly bossy tone. Explaining how they got here in that condition would be difficult to do without giving them the entire story from start to finish, so I instead give them my conclusion.
"Well, the good news is that the worst futures probability has changed from 83 to 62%, while the very best future has increased from less than 1% to 6%." Half way through my sentence Ayla kicks Dez to jolt him from his snoring.
Ignoring it I continue "...though the bad news isn't the most troubling thing. The boy wasn't supposed to be here and I can't read his mind. You both know how dangerous it is to have one manaless in a room and three makes things significantly worst. Even so I'll let the two of you decide if this can be perceived as a good or bad omen."
Finishing my report I notice Dezs ears twitch slightly at the end of my sentence. I can only hope he's more excited about Skye's unknown potential, then the mention of a bad omen. I decide it's best to get his mind off of the situation.
"Ayla, Dez, meet the second and third manaless. You guys are tasked with training the girl, Luna, in a warm and comfortable environment to limit the bad karma." Glancing back down at Skye's body I try once more to read his mind yet not even a spark of intuition comes to me, I guess I got lucky with that memory from Luna.
"And take Skye to him so we can figure out what skills he's most suited for." Dez snorts and I can't tell if it's from knowing he is about to have more responsibilities or if its from the mention of an annoying location. Ayla nods in confirmation and picks the girl up in her arms. Dez sighs and sits up before tying a string of dark magic around the duos waist, tugging it twice to make sure it's solid.
He then grabs Skye and positions him on his back before circling a hole in the floor. "Umbra Trabea" he whispers as a dark portal forms in the ground, and the two prepare to jump through it. "Keep them hidden, if INK finds out there are two more manaless, the worst future will not only become more gruesome, its probability will likely surpass 90%. And this time Shiva won't be able to stop it. Ayla tries to reassure me but Dez senses my urgency and stops her mid-sentence by jumping in the portal, the dark string pulling the rest of the crowd with him.
He may not seem like it but he's even better at observing people and taking action than I am. If it weren't for the two of them INK would have forced me to destroy The Tower.
Walking toward the sealing box that held one of the most powerful ancient artifacts I watch as a prophecy forms. Gazing intently at the words hovering in the air I sigh. "Sometimes I feel like Dez's personality rubs off on me. Prophecies are way too complicated. Especially when I can't predict their outcome."