Chapter 10 : The prisoner of the tower

Domgis stood in a space that defied all logic, a hall without landmarks, a temple without a name. The walls seemed to stretch and bend at angles that had never existed, as if the architecture itself strove to be alien to any form of reality. Twisted columns rose, windowless openings offered views of impossible horizons. The floor, paved with rough stones, curved in irregular spirals, shifting beneath his feet like a calm sea suddenly rising. Nothing here made sense. Nothing was supposed to be here.

He climbed a narrow staircase, its steps twisting and melting into the air, shifting with every glance. The ascent seemed endless, each step propelling him further into a place without end, as if the climb itself was a journey through fragmented time. His thoughts grew muddled, every effort to grasp the logic of the place burned his mind, yet he pressed on. He no longer had a clear goal, only the need to escape, to flee.

At the top of the endless staircase, he arrived in a small circular room, a confined space where the air was heavy and the atmosphere seemed to press against his chest. This room, though smaller than the others he had passed through, radiated a menacing aura. A strange, vibrant energy, almost palpable, poured from the walls, an invisible whirlwind that seemed to pay attention to his every movement. It was as if this room was alive, waiting for something. Domgis, panting, observed the space.

The staircase that had brought him here vanished into the floor...

The room was empty, except for two doors. To his left, a sinister door, black as oblivion, seemed to emit a malevolent pulse, a pressure that almost forced him to look away. To his right, a slightly ajar door, warm light spilling from it, soft, like a promise of something unattainable. The contrast between the two doors was as brutal as the war between hope and despair. Without further thought, Domgis instinctively moved toward the door on the right.

He placed his hand on the rough wood, gently pushing the door open. The air he felt upon crossing the threshold was suddenly fresh and invigorating. The light, dazzling, hit him full force. It was a golden glow, the kind of light he had always dreamed of seeing but never believed could exist. Beyond the door, a landscape stretched before him, vast and infinite. A meadow of vibrant green, bathed in soft, benevolent light, spread out under his gaze. Delicate grasses danced under the breath of a gentle breeze, and the sky above was a pure, cloudless blue. He had never seen such a place.

He stepped forward, his feet brushing the grass outside for the first time. The sensation was so new, so unreal, that he nearly lost his balance. He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling the fresh air, as if trying to capture every breath of this fleeting moment. The wind, soft as a caress, grazed his skin, carrying with it the fragrance of flowers he didn't know, scents he had never breathed before.

A strange warmth rose within him, a burning emotion he hadn't felt in a long time, perhaps never. A tear welled in the corner of his eye, but he held it back, forcing himself not to give in to this sudden wave.

The wind whispered softly, lifting his long, immaculate white hair, so pure it seemed to capture the sunlight. His skin, a light beige like desert sand, appeared almost unreal under the golden glow. His eyes, a deep green, were fixed, riveted on the horizon stretching before him: an endless meadow, bathed in freedom. It was the first time he had seen a world without walls, a sky without limits.

Turning around, he saw the imposing shadow of the tower. Colossal, immense, overwhelming, it rose so high that its peak was lost in a swirling ocean of clouds, merging with the sky itself. Its walls were not simply smooth or uniform. They were covered in a multitude of rough patches, like scars testifying to a violent past. Gaping crevices opened here and there, like voracious mouths ready to swallow anyone who approached. The stone composing the tower was anything but natural: it pulsed with a dark light, almost alive. A hypnotic blend of black, red, and violet, as if it contained an evil life within. It wasn't just large; it seemed to be the edge of the world itself, a boundary between the known and the unknown. The base of the tower was so wide it embraced the horizon, almost bending the world around it.

Domgis felt his breath catch. The sight of this structure evoked a strange mix of fascination and terror. His heart pounded violently, cold sweat beading on his forehead. The tower called to him. Not with a voice or a gesture, but with an overwhelming presence, an invisible force urging him to approach.

He felt his legs tremble, the desire to enter growing. A diffuse pain arose in his stomach, a mix of pure fear and irresistible desire. Each second intensified these sensations, making them unbearable.

The tower embodied everything Domgis didn't know and feared, yet he couldn't bring himself to turn his back on it. The darkness it promised was more alluring than the light.

He raised his eyes, scanning the horizon. In the distance, everything seemed peaceful, frozen in an almost supernatural tranquility. But as he looked more closely, he felt a shiver run through his body, as if the world itself had shrunk. Before he could react, he felt a strange pressure around him, as if space was distorting under his gaze.

And suddenly, everything disappeared.

In the blink of an eye, Domgis found himself in the sky, swept up by a luminous whirlwind, the air brushing his body with incredible force. The meadow, the flowers, everything was below him in an instant. He had no time to understand. His body seemed to rise, expand into the vastness of space, until it completely vanished, swallowed by the light itself.

In this infinite expanse, there was no ground beneath his feet, no horizon, nothing but the embrace of the sky.

***

I never saw him again. He had gone somewhere, far, very far.

I never would have believed it possible. Domgis, that boy, had escaped from me.

It was as if something had been broken, a bond I thought unbreakable.