As Natasha’s body fell, Austin turned to walk away. Her body started to become purple and black wisps of smoke, and rose into the air. Austin could feel his cheeks grow wet as involuntary tears fell from his eyes. Even if he knew he had to kill Natasha, he was not happy about it. He really hoped that they could have come to a compromise of some sort.

  The group looked towards Austin with a mix of sadness and shock. Many of them were frozen in place by the result of the battle. Austin could not help but wonder if they saw him differently. Then Maya ran towards Austin and wrapped her arms around him.

  “It’s okay, it’s okay,” Maya said as she ran her hands through Austin’s hair to comfort him. “We know you had to.”

  “I just really didn’t want it to end like this,” Austin’s voice cracked as he tightened his arms around Maya.

  “I know, but things could have ended worse if it wasn’t taken care of,” Maya reassured Austin. She then kissed him on his cheek and pulled away.

  Austin turned to see Regulus approaching him. The lion man had a sort of prideful smile on his face. It was different from his joyful expressions from before. He looked like a teacher or parent after seeing someone succeed. Once Regulus reached Austin, he placed his hand on Austin’s back.

  “I know that was difficult, but you want to be a good leader, right? A good leader sometimes has to make hard decisions,” Regulus said to Austin as if he were mentoring him. Then he pointed his finger at Austin’s heart. “Keep that feeling with you. A good leader does not do things recklessly and with spite. What you did today was necessary. The fact that it hurts to do it proves that you care about your people.”

  “That makes sense,” Austin nodded. “It just still feels so wrong.”

  “I understand your feelings,” Regulus said. “You are just going to have to trust you did the right thing.”

  “I appreciate the support at least,” Austin smiled halfheartedly.

  “Of course, if we are going to be partners, I don’t just want to see you grow more powerful. I want to see you grow as a leader,” Regulus smiled. Then he turned to the rest of the group. “With that, the tower has been conquered! Now, I’ll return you to your home!”

  Regulus snapped his fingers, and the entire area started to fill with bluish white light. It was a very similar sensation to when they entered the tower. Austin felt like his senses were stripped away from him momentarily. Just as quickly as his senses were stripped away from him, they returned. The light that filled his vision disappeared, and he stood outside the tower.

  As Austin tried to make sense of his surroundings, the tower started to break apart. The top of the tower turned into blue light and came apart piece by piece. This continued all the way down the tower until there was nothing left of it.

  “Now what?” Josh asked as the tower finished disappearing. “Where is the so-called treasure of the tower?”

  “Yeah, I’m sort of confused too,” Sean admitted. “If this were an RPG, then we would have at least found a treasure vault or something.”

  “I have to agree with Sean. That’s how it works in games,” Joe said.

  Maya did not immediately comment. Instead, she looked at Austin. She was the first to notice something different. “Look at Austin’s wrist.”

  Austin looked down at his hands, and that was when he saw a golden bracer around one of his wrists. Etched in the bracer was the head of a lion. It actually looked very similar to Regulus. He then raised his hand in front of his face and turned it around a few times. It definitely seemed like the treasure of the tower, but he had no idea what it was or what it could do.

  “I’m guessing this is it, but I have no idea what it does,” Austin said to the group. He extended his arm to show off the bracer.

  “It looks pretty cool,” Sean said. “But that doesn’t really tell us what it does.”

  “That face looks like Regulus’s. Maybe he is in it,” Joe suggested. “He did keep saying that the person who would take his treasure would be his partner.”

  “That’s a pretty good point,” Maya nodded. “Why don’t you try talking to it, Austin?”

  Austin shrugged. The suggestion was as good as any. He knew that he should be used to strange things with all the changes their lives had gone through. He then brought the bracer closer to his face. “Uh, Regulus, are you in there?”

  The eyes of the etching in the bracer flared and glowed golden. The glow was quickly followed by a chuckle. “Yes, I am here. This bracer holds my power and is your reward. There is a lot I need to explain to you, but we can do that later. Enjoy your moment of rest.”

  The eyes of the bracer dimmed, and Austin turned to the group. “Well, I guess that’s our answer. I’ll keep you all informed after I talk to him later. I think now, I want to rest and spend time with Elliot.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “I agree. The tower did not feel like it took too long, but after everything that happened, I need to spend some time with our son,” Maya nodded.

  ***

  After Austin and Maya picked Elliot up from Ava’s house, they returned home for dinner. They learned that even though their time in the tower felt short, it had actually been a few days. Even though it was only a few days, Elliot was so excited to see the two that they would think it had been months.

  Maya worked on preparing dinner for the family. As she did, Austin sat on the floor with Elliot. The two played with toy cars. Any time Austin moved a car in a way that Elliot did not like, Elliot would correct him and inform him that there was a right way to play with the cars.

  It did not take long for Maya to join the two. Dinner needed to be finished in the oven, and she had some free time. With both parents playing with Elliot, he split his attention between them. He took charge and began directing both of them in the right way.

  “Is that lasagna I smell?” Austin asked Maya. The smell of herbs, cheese, and tomatoes filled the house.

  “Yep!” Maya smiled. “My world-famous lasagna. I thought it would be a nice dinner to have.”

  “Lana!” Elliot looked up from his toys to clap his hands in excitement.

  “Yes, we are having lana,” Maya chuckled as she ruffled Elliot’s hair with her hand.

  They played for a little longer before dinner was ready. The dinner was delicious and reminded Austin of family dinners before the Survival Game. Everyone went for seconds to the point of stuffing themselves. Even Elliot ate extra of the lasagna. He stuffed himself so much that he could barely keep himself awake.

  With dinner finished, Austin put Elliot to bed while Maya cleaned the dishes. It felt like such a regular night and one filled with so much comfort. Austin hoped that they could have many more nights like it in the future.

  Maya sat on the couch after she finished the dishes. She let out a sigh and could barely keep her eyes open. The combination of the trial and the big meal finally wore her down. Austin moved to sit next to her, but only for a moment. He placed his hand on Maya and gave her a kiss.

  “This was a nice night,” Austin said.

  “I agree, it was like a return to normalcy,” Maya said with a smile. “But I’m guessing that has to end?”

  “Yes,” Austin nodded solemnly. “I think I need to see what this bracer is about.”

  “I understand. Do what you need to do,” Maya said. “Before you leave, I do have a question, though. Have you thought about what to say about Natasha and Jess?”

  Austin paused for a moment. A combination of tension and sadness filled the room as Austin waited to speak. “I really don’t know. I’ve been trying to figure it out. I’m not even sure how to explain it to Mike and Beth.”

  “I understand. I’ll try to think of something. I was just wondering if you had any thoughts,” Maya nodded.

  “Sorry, I wish I did,” Austin said as he lowered his head slightly. “I know that there will be many people who aren’t happy about it. I don’t really know how to approach it without looking like a tyrant.”

  “Maybe we can get Joe to vouch for you. He’s a pretty unbiased guy,” Maya suggested.

  “That’s not a bad idea. We’ll have to ask him,” Austin nodded as he stood up and motioned to his bracer. “But for now, let me take care of this.”

  “Yeah, we need to figure it out as soon as possible,” Maya nodded as she watched Austin walk towards his office. “I love you.”

  “I love you too,” Austin replied, almost as if it were an automatic response that came without thinking.

  Austin entered his office and shut the door. He then sat in the center of the office with his legs crossed. Before he called on Regulus, Austin looked over the bracer. He reached his senses towards it to try to better understand it. What he saw shocked him. It was as if the object was forged from incredibly dense and powerful Aether. It was similar to how Essence was condensed into one spot, but it had the wild and untamed feeling of Aether. Austin also noticed that the Aether seemed to be of multiple types. If he had to guess, it seemed to be lightning, wind, and earth.

  “Alright, I’m ready to talk,” Austin said to the bracer.

  “About time, I was beginning to think you forgot about me,” Regulus’s voice came from the bracer as the eyes lit up.

  “I didn’t forget, I just had to take care of things first,” Austin replied. “I do have a family that I would like to spend time with.”

  “I’m kidding. That’s understandable,” Regulus said. “So, are you ready for my long explanation?”

  “Yeah, now is a good time,” Austin shrugged.

  “Okay, first off, I would like you to know a little more about me and monsters as a whole. Monsters can come into existence from dense Aether. They are sort of a natural phenomenon. I’m really no different from a monster. I have just lived longer, and I am more powerful. You have a master from the Survival Game, correct?” Regulus asked.

  “Yes, how did you know that?” Austin replied.

  “I can sense his medallion on you. Also, at this early stage, most people who can challenge a tower have a master. Moving on, I’m in a similar position to a master. I was offered the chance to run a tower and connect with a person from a new planet. This allows me to continue my existence while being less worried about my life. If I did not make the choice, there was a high chance that eventually someone would find and kill me. At the very least, for all the Aether I have accumulated.”

  “I see. So, it is really about your safety. Can you still grow more powerful? I know that’s important for Essence users. So, I would think it would be important for you as well,” Austin asked.

  “Yeah, it just becomes different than before,” Regulus said. “My power becomes tied to your own. It actually makes me weaker than I was at first, but it allows me to reach a higher level of power than I would have been able to previously.”

  “Ah, so that is the real benefit. I’m not shocked. Seems like that is a common thing to always be striving for more power,” Austin nodded.

  “Exactly, which is why you need to focus up,” Regulus said. “If anything, your pursuit of power should better ensure the safety of your people.”

  “Right, I’ll work on that,” Austin said. “Now, can we move on to the explanation?”

  “Of course,” Regulus replied with anticipation. “This is the exciting part.”