My head was throbbing.
'Ugh, what happened?'
"Wait."
Why am I in my room?
I look around and I'm in the room I spent a majority of my life in.
'Ah, must be this dream again.'
I move to slap my face awake, but—sluggish. My limbs drag like they belong to someone else. My eyes trace the motion slow, slower than they should be.
'Where are the scars on my hands? The Caluses and scars are gone.'
A lifetime of power, stripped away. No tightness in my grip. No steel-corded muscle beneath my skin. I clench my fist, expecting resistance, and feel nothing
I quickly get a grasp of my bodies physical ability and slap myself hard.
SMACK!
No change.
The scent hits me first—amber incense. Warm. Musky cedarwood curling into my lungs like a whisper from the past.
Beo. He bought it for me.
"Maybe this'll help?" He grinned, shaking the small box in front of me. "The woods might be a bit too far for now, but hey—close enough, right?"
And just like that, the city smelled less like steel and more like home.
'Ha… it quickly became a source of comfort and a favorite smell of mine.'
I look around my room, a bottle of water on my desk with a note on it, clothes scattered around my room, and this messy bed I was laying in.
'My room. A century's passed, yet it's still the same.'
I stand up off my bed and look around. I walk towards my desk, an open a notebook with notes from a lecture I had sits with half of an eraser and a mechanical pencil. I go pick up the water bottle with the note on it.
"Fei, don't be a dumbass. Hydrate. Rest. You're not immortal."
- Beo :>
A small smile forms on my face.
I glance over to my laptop which was also on the desk. It had been with me for a good few years, from games and other entertainment it had helped get me through my early twenties. College and studying took up a ton of my time, so rarely did I ever have time to hang out with people outside of classes so online games were the next best thing.
This really was the room I spent my early twenties in.
My eyes seem to drift towards my open door that has a sign that says, "Fei's Lair."
A soft chuckle leaves my mouth.
"Ha…"
"Beo's idea."
It was my brother; he thought it was so funny… declaring my room as my lair. I thought it was so stupid, but it grew on me.
My mind seems to wander to my older brother.
'He was only a year and a few months older.'
Beowulf Elison.
The image of my gauntlets around his neck flashes into my head.
When Beo became that beast…
"I could have ended it."
Contrasting to the cold steel gauntlets around his throat, the warmth of his note lingers in my chest, but something feels wrong. The silence. Too deep. Too unnatural.
My breath stills. My skin prickles.
Then—
A scream.
My stomach plummets. The world narrows.
Beo.
Like a bolt my bare feet skim over the cool hardwood floor. I swiftly avoid any scattered books or pieces of clothing. My muscles knew where to step even before my mind did—I jump down the stairs, landing hard, a jolt of pain shoots up from my heels, but I endure and keep running.
My body remembers the movements, but my muscles can't keep up. A misstep. A spasm.
My legs seize. I crash.
THUD!
'Damn cramps!'
"AGGHHHH Aghhhghh!"
He sounded like he was being tortured.
I swiftly recover from my fall and rush over, practically bashing the door open, my nostrils were greeted with a strong metallic smell and a silent room.
Before my eyes I saw the body of my brother Beo. For a moment the visage of the beast overlaps with his collapsed form on the floor. Crimson trails trickle from his eyes, his nose, his ears—like his body is weeping.
"Why is this happening?!"
I quickly kneel on the ground looking at his vitals but they're all fine. His breath is even. His heartbeat, steady. But his face is streaked with blood, eyes shut like he's sleeping through it.
'Just what the hell is happening?'
If you hadn't heard him scream bloody marry just moments ago, you'd wonder why this man was sleeping so soundly while bleeding from his orifices. I lifted him up and laid him on his bed.
'Damn he's heavier than I remember.'
He was sleeping peacefully.
'Long dark brown hair, lightly tanned skin, mono something eyes (She means Monolid), big mouth, and a friendly face… he looks just like before. Besides all the blood of course. But why was he bleeding?'
The blood. The scream. The silence.
None of it makes sense—until my eyes catch on the glowing numbers of Beo's digital clock. April 15th. 7:50 PM.
A cold chill crawls up my spine.
No.
Ten minutes. That's all I have.
I curse in wordily.
'Shit! I have to quickly prepare. I have 10 minutes before we're taken to the Proving Grounds of the Tower.'
I look back to Beo's body peacefully sleeping with blood slowly coagulating on his face.
'This didn't happen before so why now? We haven't even entered the tower. So why? Wait.'
I hesitate. I think back to when my hands were around his throat.
Tears were spilling down my face. In the winter of our expedition into the uncharted lands, the blood took hold of Beo. He understood what was happening to him.
He had his back turned to me.
"Fei, I'm sorry. I have a selfish request to make. I don't want Cilphy, Ken, or Ura to see me like this, least of all you. But Fei please kill me. I don't know who I'll be in a few days."
Beo then turned to me with crimson tears falling from his face.
Swiftly I leave Beo's room and gather essentials, tools, weapons, clothing, etc.…
5 minutes later.
I return to Beo's room with the gathered supplies.
I grabbed a wet washcloth and attempted to clean a majority of the dried blood off.
I began to speak to Beo's unconscious body.
"This is all happening too fast. This house, the scream, your blood—I'm completely out of my area of expertise. For a moment, this all seemed like a dream or some trick. But my cheek still stings so no luck there. Do you know Beo, how many times I had thought what if? Sorry your sister's a little delirious after seeing your past self— your you self, or I guess your now self."
I stop cleaning his face for a moment and just hold his hand in mine. It's warm and callused. He was always strong, holding us up financially and morally.
I press my forehead to his knuckles. When I was seventeen, he had worked a double shift at the docks, his hands were torn raw, but he still came home with takeout and a big smile. "Fei, guess what I brought?" he'd say, like it was a game. Like we weren't barely scraping by.
My vision begins to blur as tears start flowing from my eyes.
But even that was taken care of, apparently, he got scouted out by some big wig while he was working at the docks. It was a security job, and he would be getting paid much better money for his physical talents. He couldn't stop talking about it. He got our favorite takeout as a way to celebrate.
"You never yelled at me, you always communicated with me if something was wrong, when you cried, I cried… I always felt your love."
I remember when I told you I felt like I didn't deserve you, that you'd be better off not having to worry about me. You looked so sad when I told you that.
***
Beowulf had just recently turned 19.
Fei was about to turn 18.
"Fei."
I say through choked tears.
"Yeah?"
Beo took a seat next to me swung his arm over my shoulders and pulled me in for a side hug
He had a solemn yet worried face. He spoke to me slowly and calmly.
"What do you need from me? Clearly something's up if your saying stuff like this. I don't want you to feel like you're holding me back, I care about you. That's why I take care of the other stuff, the annoying stuff. I want you to be able to do whatever you want to do. Whether that's getting the necessary education you'd need for something or providing you time to pursue whatever interests you have. For instance, martial arts, I could easily see you become one of the greats if you dedicated yourself to it. Truthfully, I know you'll thrive no matter what you decide to do. Let me worry about the boring and annoying."
"B-But I see your hurt hands, what the work does to your body."
"Those are scars remember? Plus, I got a good job as a security guard now so at worst I'm not getting enough sleep. But if your still worried about my body I can take some more time to look after it when I'm off work."
"I… I just… I just don't feel like I…"
I remember I couldn't finish my sentence. Because I couldn't say what I didn't truly believe. But also, because his big bear hug wouldn't allow me to say such things about myself.
I promised myself that day I'd do my damnedest to ensure I could take care of myself and be a pillar of support to Beo like he had been for me my whole life.
***
I manage to clean off the rest of the blood on his face.
"This time will be different. I'm sure of it."
As if the Tower had heard my proclamation, our ascent began.