The Tower's Secret

16. [Part 2] First Test

Grey trailed his hand along the walls of the passage as he strode forward with Kyn. The soft disjointed thumping of both their feet echoed through the long walkway, mellowing out the sound of his own beating heart.

Having finished all six puzzles with relative ease, he and Kyn were now trekking into unknown territory once more, and Grey knew with a growing certainty that the obstacles ahead would only be harder.

He chewed on his lip, the absence of conversation discomfiting him slightly, for he was still unsure on how to perceive Kyn. The latter was quite amiable; but somehow, a deeper darker knowledge seemed to be hidden within his eyes—like he knew too much, possessing dangerous secrets in his breath.   

Grey shifted his head and glanced at Kyn from the corner of his eyes, careful to be discreet while studying his companion. Kyn was definitely older than he was, but not older by too much. Maybe around Asis's age? Grey could not place the exact number, for a certain exoticism lay within Kyn that obfuscated his guess on age. Was it the hair? Or the eyes?

Then suddenly, he noticed on the nape of Kyn's neck lay a small tattooed symbol that shimmered slightly when hit by light. It was gold, the color of Light, similar to the young man's eyes. Curiosity coated Grey's mind in soft folds, and he leaned forward in attempt to study the symbol further.

Abruptly, Kyn whipped his head around and gazed directly at Grey with an unreadable expression, his ever scrutinizing golden eyes exuding a hint of danger. "What is it?" he asked lightly, "You have been looking at me for a while. Do you want to ask me something?" His voice was soft and pleasant—yet cuttingly cold, almost threatening.

Grey jolted, inhaling quickly. "Um yes. I was just wondering..." he thought of something to ask, "what do you think about this Floor so far?" He clenched his hands, "Do you like it?"

A pause...and the feeling of danger dissipated, replaced by an atmosphere of normalcy again. "Well, I'm in the middle of a big maze-like floor where any dead ends or wrong moves mean death. How can I possibly not like it?"

Grey was relieved that tension had dispersed, but he cocked his head to the side, trying to conceive Kyn's response. He furrowed his eyebrows. Did Kyn derive...pleasure from coming close to death?

"That was sarcasm, Grey," Kyn said softly, slight amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Oh..."

"Hah, Grey, you really are an interesting person. You don't look that much younger than me, but your speech and actions resemble those of a child. I wonder what storyline you come from..." he mused.

"Well, I, uh-"

"Nevermind me," Kyn cut him off, "To answer your question, I definitely do not like this Floor. Though there is some semblance of pattern and order, everything else is left up to this Floor's whims. A maze is easy to solve, but an ever-changing volatile maze is not, and the tests we must past have been and will different every time. We can never predict what we might face next, and we do not have the power to decide what we want. Thus, I'd say that this is my least likeable Floor."

"Least likeable? But we have only been on two Floors so far..."

Kyn paused. He sighed, "Grey, give me a break, will you? I don't know who taught you how to speak, but I know my grammar isn't spot on. Less likeable."

"Sorry.."

"No, You're good," Kyn waved his hand, "Anyway, now that we're on the topic, what do you think about the Tower?"

"Hmm. I guess-"

Their conversation was cut short when the end of the path finally appeared.

Grey inhaled, other thoughts momentarily forgotten, his vision tunneling to that single opening before him. "We are here..." he breathed. This was it. His footsteps slowed as he halted to pull out his daggers from his boots.