The Tower's Secret

17. [Part 2] A Step Forward

Thaisa was cold. Or maybe she wasn't feeling coldness, but...fear.

She shivered, hugging her arms and shrinking away from the other characters around her. Ever since she had left the six-passaged room and entered the new area, she was beyond terrified. The abundance of characters, the checkered floor test, the screams of the ones who failed the test, the pressing atmosphere of danger—it was all too much for her to handle.

And what was worse: her brother could not assist her this time around, as explicitly ordained by the rules on the ceiling. Those simple words "No helping each other" had ripped her from her semblance of security.

Resisting the compulsion to curl into a ball, Thaisa glanced ahead. Thias was currently standing twenty feet away before the translucent wall, likely attempting to estimate the distance between tiles and find a solution for crossing the room.

However, Thaisa suspected that another reason he was up front instead of next to her was that he himself was struggling to reign in his worried emotions, and he did not want her to see him in a vulnerable state. His current mentality was evidently attenuated, and ever since the two of them had arrived on the second Floor, he was pushing himself beyond his limits.

Thaisa sighed. The best way to help her brother was to at least take care of herself, for he was already burdened with keeping himself alive. To alleviate his worry, she just needed to survive...

But how? How could she solve such a daunting problem? How could she climb over her wall of fear and uncertainty? How could she even stand on par with these other characters who were so much more gifted than she was?

Thaisa looked down. Oh, she was so helpless, so useless, so-

Suddenly, Thaisa jolted, remembered something from the past. Maybe...a solution to her problem. Her eyes widened. Would it work?

Thaisa grabbed her bag, rummaging around as her breathing quickened. Reaching through the folds of cloth between the different objects, her fingers finally chanced upon a soft loop of laces. Thaisa gave a small tug, and a set of worn-out sneakers popped up from the beneath other buried items. She weighed them in her hands, studying them for the first time in a while. The soles were bright red and shiny, contrary to the main dirty appearance.

Excitement bubbled through. This could work; it could really work.

For as she remembered, the shoes possessed the ability to adhere to any surface, be it glass or wood or metal—they could climb walls. The sneakers were originally obtained at a cheap price from a trader in the Field of Objects because of the nature of the terrain on the first Floor. With completely flat plains and not many walls or vertical surfaces for climbing, the sneakers were more or less useless. However, now, the perfect time had arisen for her to put the shoes to use.

If she—instead of setting foot on the tiled floor—walked up the walls and across the ceiling, she could arrive on the other side without breaking any rules. She could survive.

Thaisa quickly slipped on her sneakers, tying the laces tightly and wiggling her toes to ease herself into the paddings of the inner shoe. Time to test the sneakers out on the ground. She stood with her feet flat and then tried to raise one leg up, instantly feeling a resistance to the motion from the sole of her foot. Increasing her strength, she tugged her leg harder, and finally, small pop sounded; her leg was off the ground.

Perfect; the resistance was the large enough for her to stick to the walls without falling, but also small enough for her to walk without sufficient difficulty. Thaisa exhaled with satisfaction, lowering herself to the ground to rest her legs for the moment. She closed her eyes.