Theater

"Did you hear? People with monocles have been appearing all over the middle region of the 21st and 22nd floor."

"Monocles? Why monocles?"

"Nobody knows! But everytime they appear, something strange happens around them."

"And I heard one of them always carries around a book into which he records the local customs and folktales! It's so strange!"

"Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

"It is a big deal! Picture this, you're just doing your work and all of a sudden, someone you know walks up to you and starts acting all strange! Soon after, other people also appear and start questioning you about the local tales and customs! And guess what? They all have a crystal monocle hanging on their right eye!"

"That's creepy..."

Four regulars sat around a circular table on the outside of a cafe. Before them various sweets and coffee cups were laid out neatly, but by the looks of it, none had been touched.

"The first appearance of these people was 3 months ago! It started with a man named Roy who ran a blog on the 21st floor!"

"It all started recently huh?"

"Do you think it could happen to us?"

"Nonsense! Ever since it appeared, the strange happenings have been confined to the two floors. We're totally fine!"

They were currently on the 23rd floor,a group of regulars that had ascended from the previous floor just a year prior.

Winston smiled as he heard their discussion. He quietly sipped his coffee while sitting just beside them on one of the benches. While acting as a faceless, he figured it might also do well to do well to enhance his talent for Bizzaro Sorcerer. Playing as Amon, it was bound to be marked with plenty of strange things right?

Speaking of Amon, his avatars had also gotten an upgrade.

He turned his eyes sideways, glancing at the plethora of members that sat alongside him.

To his right was a young woman with unblemished golden hair. Her pupils were shining like jewels of the finest sapphire and cheeks that were tinted with the shade of a morning ray. Her lips were like a blooming rose and her chin was slanting and cute. Her nose says don't you dare. And eyes say why don't you?

It was one of Winston's avatars, one he had taken the time to experiment with. He wished to see just how pretty he could make an avatar. Suffice to say, it got the job done. It was to the point that she got a fan page made about her on the Box the first time she made an appearance on the 22nd floor test. After that, Winston always kept her in a layer of illusion, away from prying eyes. Though it was still strange to say the least. Having himself openly checked out by the other regulars as a woman, when he was actually a man.

Though he had finally figured out the limits of his shapeshifting. He could not truly reverse his gender, but he could completely get rid of the current one. Meaning, that this particular avatar was genderless.

The woman wore a white corset with a flowing red robe that covered her legs.

Then, opposite to Winston sat a tall and imposing man. He was 6 feet 5 inches tall, with a neatly trimmed beard and muscles that were clearly visible even under his shirt. His eyes were slanted and sharp, appearing a majestic brown in colour as was his hair.

And finally, to his right sat another man. This one wore a long dark robe and a pointed top hat. On his right eye hung a crystal monocle. As Winston glanced at him, the avatar smiled and pinched the monocle on his eye.

Figuring out the brain made of shinsu was a matter of great importance for Winston. It allowed him to bestow some degree of autonomy to the avatars, lessening the burden on his own mind.

"Seems like we're getting famous." The hulking man, Bruce as Winston had begun to call his avatar, spoke. Although talking like this served little purpose since he was always connected to the avatars like a hivemind, it offered a sense of normalcy in the environment. To the others, only two people were sitting on the table. And to offer the final sense of normalcy and perfecting the act, he was simply playing along.

Of course, since the avatars now had their own evolving brains to work with, there were always some things and facts that could be gleamed from them. Talking to intelligent people always bore benefits, and as of the current timeline, Winston had yet to meet anyone smarter than him. Although Khun might be competition.

"It was bound to occur. All the more feedback for us once we get to Sequence 4."

"It's also done well with the digestion of faceless." The young woman, Charlotte, said with a clear expression.

"Right. But we should move on to playing characters that are familiar with someone. Playing Amon will only bear fruit after it gains significant traction." Amon said.

"Didn't you do that already?"

"Someone more influential is needed. Perhaps a princess of Jahad." Amon's lips curved into a mischievous smile.

Winston smiled back and shook his head.

"Too risky. A princess candidate like Endorsi would be alright."

Amon visibly deflated as he heard his words. But he bounced back quickly.

"What's our next move?" Asked Charlotte.

"Send out some avatars to make two beacons in the lower floors. Until then, we ascend further."

There were no mermaids in the tower. Well... there were mermaids but they were on the 76th floor and above. Winston was not going to find any as he was. And even if he did, there was no saying if the singing of mermaids would have the same effect.

As for the ritual of the Prometheus, he had no idea what it was so he could not attempt it.

So that left the ritual for the Door Pathway, which was to set up 4 beacons at far away places in the spirit world and consume the potion.

Winston had thought about it before. Did he even need to consume the potion with a ritual? There was no will of the original creator in the potions. He had understood at least that much. But the potions themselves still contained the corresponding divinity. It could make him lose himself. Not to mention consuming the potion itself and the transformation that followed were always dangerous. A Beyonder's spirit and body were molded all over again to suit the potion. One could easily lose himself in there.

And so, Winston needed to make the preparations for the ritual.

After a bit, Winston and his avatars got up from the cafe and left.

The group of regulars that were sitting around and chatting were still discussing about the strange happenings on the floors below. Just then, one of them noticed a glint on the table, just beside his coffee cup.

He turned his head and picked up a strange crystal monocle.

~~~

~~~

"You mean to talk to him?"

"I want to try."

A dark light fell atop the brick walls in a dimly lit cave. The surroundings seemed saturated with a bluish hue around which water like waves floated around.

In this cave, two people stood around.

One of them was a middle aged man. His hair was sprawled about and in his mouth lay a single cigarette. He wore a black shirt and caramel pants.

The other was a young woman with bright red hair. On her face was a mask that covered one of her eyes and she wore a flowing dress and held a golden pole in her hand.

"You sure?"

"Can't say. But if we can get him, it would be for the best."

"Didn't you previously say his fate was elusive? That it was better to not get in his way?"

"I did."

"Why the sudden change."

"Fate has underwent sudden change. Even if he doesn't join, it would be better to try."

"And what of Bam?" The man pricked his ear with his pinky finger.

"He needs not know."

"And if he finds out?"

Hwaryun smiled.

"I leave that to you then. Mr. Jinsung."

Jinsung Ha, the slaughterer of the Ha family scratched his hair.

"What has Khel Hellam seen all of a sudden. He of all people should be more careful with following fate."

Hwaryun chuckled.

"Sometimes, in the face of Fate we are unable to do anything. But that shouldn't be considered synonymous with inactivity right?"

Jinsung raised an eyebrow.

"And what did you see?"

Hwaryun shook her head.

"It's still clouded." She turned back and began to walk away. And as she did, she left another comment. "But whatever I might see, or whatever Lord Hellam has seen... it might shake the tower for years to come."

Jinsung Ha was the only one left in the cave. Stranded with only his own thoughts. Eventually, he sighed and headed off to another area of the cave. An area where he could hear the sound of combat.

~~~

Winston dreamt of a movie theater. He was only one in the entire theater, sitting in the middle row and watching a movie he had watched when he was little. The movie that was playing was 'Awaara,' an old classic of Indian Cinema.

Winston sat still in the dream, quietly watching the movie.

Somewhere before the intermission, the doors to the theater opened up and a man came inside. He could not see the face of the man, nor could he take account of any other features like hair, height or way of walking.

The man came to the middle row, walked to it's center where Winston was sitting and sat right beside him.

Nobody talked and as the dialogues of the actors on screen began to disappear, leaving only a resounding echo in their ears, they began talking upon the arrival of the intermission.

Winston was not even sure of the contents of their talk. Perhaps it was something about friendship or maybe it was something about his opinions on how different stories suit different actors, or perhaps it was something completely different.

They talked beyond the intermission, extending even into the second half of the movie.

As the movie continued and they descended back into silence, time passed in the blink of an eye. After the movie ended, the man said something.

Again, Winston was not sure what he said. But if there was a single word he could catch in there, it was 'years.'

Winston woke up in the middle of the night, his face and back drenched in sweat. Immediately, he performed a ritual, asking himself to provide him the strength to remember the contents of the dream.

Again, the details were cloudy.

There was little he could remember except weirdly vivid descriptions on how the scenes of the movie played out.

He could not remember anything about the man, his words or even the layout of the theater itself.

Winston was left musing about the dream. In the end, he summoned all his avatars and they all sat in the room, discussing about the possible implications of the dream.