Chapter 207: Final Tower World (1)

Chapter 158: The Final World

The morning was freezing, and the sky was a flat, dull grey.

Nathan stood at the edge of the capital’s defensive walls, looking out over the dry, broken wastelands. The sun was totally hidden behind thick clouds. The air felt heavy and uncomfortable, like the sky was about to fall and crush them.

The TCA had offered them a heavy transport truck, but Nathan turned it down. The entrance to the final World was close. Way too close.

Valerie had given them the exact coordinates before they left the guild. The scanner pointed to a deep, jagged ravine just a few miles outside the city walls. The TCA map didn’t have a name for it. It just had one word printed in red ink: UNKNOWN.

"Well. It’s time," Nathan said quietly.

Nobody argued. The party simply fell into a tight formation. Their brand-new gear from Vex gleamed in the dull morning light. Nathan’s Starfall Cloak shifted smoothly around his shoulders, flowing like dark water. Mirko’s heavy Bulwark Bracers locked into place with a solid clack. Elise’s Glacial Crown let off a soft, freezing white mist.

They walked through the capital’s heavy steel gates and stepped out into the dirt. The ground out here was cracked and completely dead, covered in the scars of ancient monster attacks. Even out in the open, Nathan could feel the magic in the air. It was thick and swirling, pulling them toward the ravine like a strong river current.

’Master,’ Mirko said through their mental link. She was walking right beside him, but her voice sounded tense. ’The magic out here feels completely wrong. It is not like the other Tower Worlds we have cleared. It feels... older. Much darker.’

’I feel it too,’ Kuro added from the shadows. ’It feels like the rot from the Court, but deeper. It feels like the actual source of the disease.’

Shiro walked with perfect posture, her golden eyes scanning the horizon. ’The Young Lord must stay sharp. This is the Shepherd’s true home. He is not going to let us just walk up and knock on his door.’

Nathan gripped Moonlight tightly in his hand. "Nobody said it was going to be a walk in the park. We go anyway."

The ravine suddenly appeared in front of them. It was a massive, jagged cut in the earth, like the ground had been ripped open by a giant claw. The walls of the cliff were completely smooth and pitch black. The magical energy was so strong here that Nathan could actually see it. Thick waves of pale, sickly light rippled up from the bottom of the pit. The magic pushed against Nathan’s skin, cold and invasive.

Down at the very bottom of the dark ravine, a portal was waiting.

It wasn’t the clean, glowing white light of a normal Tower entrance. It was a rotting grey-green color. It looked like a dying star.

"The final World," Smithy whispered, staring down into the pit. "I honestly never thought I would live to see it."

Nathan turned around to look at his party. Garrett. Dillon. Elise. Smithy. Mirko. Kuro. Shiro. This was his family. They were the entire reason he was still fighting.

"Whatever is waiting for us in there, we handle it together," Nathan said, looking each of them in the eye. "We watch each other’s backs. We do not split up for any reason. We trust our gear, we trust each other, and we do not stop swinging until the Shepherd is dead."

Garrett nodded slowly, resting Volcan on his heavy shoulder. "Together."

"Always," Dillon said, tapping his katana.

Elise stepped close and gently grabbed Nathan’s hand. "Together," she said softly.

Nathan turned back to look at the portal. The ugly grey-green light pulsed slowly, like a giant lung breathing in and out. It was waiting for them.

"Let’s go."

They hiked down the steep, rocky path into the ravine. The black stone walls rose high around them, totally blocking out the grey sky. The portal grew massive as they got closer, its sick light washing over their faces. Nathan felt the temperature drop with every single step. The cold started seeping right through his boots and into his bones.

And then, just as his foot hit the bottom of the ravine, he heard it.

It was a voice. It was faint and sounded far away, but it was crystal clear.

"Welcome home, little rabbit king."

Nathan froze in his tracks. The voice echoed off the black stone walls, curling around his neck like freezing smoke. It was the Shepherd. And the voice was coming directly out of the portal.

Nathan looked back. "Did you guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" Garrett asked, looking confused.

"The voice," Nathan said, his grip tightening on his bow. "The Shepherd just spoke."

The rest of the team traded nervous looks. Nobody else had heard a thing.

’He is targeting your mind specifically,’ Kuro warned through the link. ’The Shepherd is reaching out. He just wants you to know that he is watching you walk into the trap.’

Nathan’s jaw clamped shut. "Then I won’t keep him waiting."

He stepped forward. The grey-green light wrapped around him, and the final World pulled him inside.

The very first thing Nathan noticed was the total, absolute silence.

It was so quiet it actually hurt his ears. It felt like the entire World had been wrapped in a thick, heavy blanket to drown out all sound.

He was standing on an endless, perfectly flat plain. The ground wasn’t made of dirt or stone. It was totally smooth and completely white, like polished bone. He looked up. The sky was purely white, too. There were no clouds, no sun, and no stars. It was just a blank, blinding absence of color that stretched on forever.

The rest of the party flashed into the World right behind him. They instantly grouped up, drawing their weapons and looking around wildly. Their faces showed the exact same uneasy feeling Nathan had in his gut.