Had

"Had I not been bound to silence I could have provided proof enough of a broken heart, even for you."

_________________________________________

Stepping into the swirl was like stepping through a door, except with a door you can anticipate what's on the other side.

What he saw was a giant gate made of a mysterious black metal. Glowing symbols covered the gates. Lucy stepped out of the vortex right behind Jack, chuckling to himself, muttering something incomprehensible. He walked toward the gates and they began to open of their own accord.

Jack couldn't take another step. He wasn't afraid. No, he's seen life and death. What stopped him was the pressure that was being exerted on him. It was as if thousands of mountains were crashing down onto him, as if Atlas shifted the weight of the world to his shoulders instead.

His knees buckled and he fell onto his forearms. When the gates grew wider apart, he could see it. The thing emitting the pressure, the feeling of his head splitting open.

It was a tower.

One that went on beyond the clouds, beyond the stars, beyond this world. It was the Tower of Babel, the place where all your dreams could come true.

"It's a beautiful sight, isn't it my friend?" Lucy was beside him, patting his back. "Don't sorry, the pressure will go away soon. You're doing better than most. My first time seeing the Tower was horrible, I fainted and would have died if someone had not come by."

They waited there, and slowly but surely Lucy's words were right. Jack was soon able to sit up and after another few minutes he could stand.

He got up onto his feet, legs trembling. "What was that? It felt like building was right on top of me."

"It was the pressure or the Tower. A kind of test to see if you're worthy to climb the floors."

"And if I wasn't worthy?"

He shrugged "Guess you would have died" and then walked on towards the Tower. Hesitatingly, Jack followed behind.

The distance between the gates and the Tower wasn't large. The Tower was set in the middle of a field roses, with a dirt path that could fit two people comfortably walking side by side.

"Tell me Jack, what do you know about the Tower of Babel?"

He thought for a second and then said "The usual stuff right? The Tower of Babel was supposed to reach God but before it could be finished God made it so that everyone working on it spoke a different language and it was never finished."

Lucy smirked and spoke with a tone dripping in arrogance. "What if I said that that's wrong? What if the Tower of Babel was built, that the people of Babylon finished the Tower, despite the language barrier? What if I said that God tried to destroy Babylon because of it but was unable to so he hid the Tower? Now what if all that were to be true?"

"I didn't come for a story, why is this relevant?"

"Don't you think it would be a good idea to have some information before hand?"

"What are you hiding?"

With a grin, Lucy quickened his pace and ignored Jack's question. "Keep your chin up Jack, we're almost there."

They walked in silence to the double doors of the tower. The closer they got to it the Tower, the more details Jack could make out. It was white like marble, except more pure. The walls went straight up, appearing to have been birthed out of the Earth itself. Unblemished and clean, not a single scratch, no sign of erosion as if even the wind was subdued by the pressure the Tower emitted. The doors were plain, made out of dark oakwood. there were plain, alabaster white door knockers. Jack reached up and grasped one, then he knocked three times.

BOOM BOOM BOOM

It was a loud, hollow sound. Then the door began to creep open. It took a full minute for the double doors to open fully, and only darkness lay before him. He turned back to Lucy, and before he even had a chance to open his mouth, a force grabbed him and snatched him into the Tower. The last thing he saw before the shadows consumed him was Lucy mouthing the words 'Good luck' with a sly grin.

_____________________________________

"There goes another one. Looks like my quota for the month is finished." he said to no one in particular.

"Why him? What made him so special that you used your last Administrator's Contract? You know we don't get many of those, and you already used all yours up for the next ten years." It was a feminine voice, one that could swoon millions of men with just a word.

"I had a hunch." He said with a grin. He then turned around and saw the owner of that sweet voice.

She was beautiful, tall slender legs, pale skin with long curly red hair. She stood about 5'6 with the heels she had on. The formal skirt she had on did little to hide her 'abundance' and the blouse and jacket combo perfected the attire of a business woman. Even though she had a natural beauty, the red lipstick added a touch more appeal. This woman was Aster Rothiem, a 'coworker' of Lucy's.

"A hunch?" she said frustrated, her pale skin quickly becoming redder with each second that she talked to this horrendous person.

"They're never wrong, and you know I'm right." his charming voice dripping with arrogance.

She sighed knowing that he's just trying to get under her skin. "Fine, but what do you plan on doing now? You still have another decade before you can get anymore of those."

"I'm finished for the month, I'm going to sit back in my office chair and watch how my new rising star progresses. Who knows, he might surprise me and make this whole ordeal worth it. As long as he makes it to the fifteenth floor, it will be worth it."

"Can I ask another question?"

"Always."

"What did you promise him?"

"Vengeance"