7 ) And the Title goes to [ All for one, and one for all ]

  Once again, I found my Core off in the Spirit world, resting in a slight dimple in the gray sands that surrounded the Tower of Ascension.

  And… Wait. Is this ‘thee’ Tower of Ascension? Or ‘a’ Tower of Ascension?

  Does each Chosen race get its own Tower, or is it just the one Tower and everyone who comes here is in some kind of moment between moments, so we’re not here all at once?

  No. It can’t be. Because time is still a thing that happens in the mortal world. And if there was only this one tower, then it wasn’t as if they were only seeing one person at a time.

  Or was it? What did time mean in the Spirit world?

  Could I have been frozen in time while waiting for others to Level up and clear out of my way so I could take my turn? Then it could work out that everything I did inside the Tower was happening at a vastly faster rate than in the Mortal world.

  ...Or it might be that there were multiple Towers. Which could mean that instead of moving my Core towards the great big door that led into the tower that was in front of my Core, I could instead head off into the pale mist that blotted out anything that lay in the distance and visit other Towers.

  Or other places.

  Who knows what was out there in the Spirit world? Other Towers, or any number of other places in the world, set aside for any number of Spirit kind, and Gods.

  There could be anything out there... Or, I could just ask Unity.

  “Hover Aloft.”

  Using the power that was granted to me by way of the Air Fish Core I had turned into a Summoning Totem, I lifted my Core into the air and slowly drifted forward toward the door of the Tower that, as always, swung gently open in front of my Core.

  Which was a good thing. I felt that trying to knock on the door by slamming my Core into it over and over again would be rather indignified.

  Standing halfway across the room from her desk, the somewhat shabbily dressed winged Spirit Unity stood and greeted my entry into the Tower with a relieved smile.

  “Welcome back Fell. You were out there for so long, I was getting worried about you.”

  Then the Liaison's face seemed to go still as she tilted her head to the side. “Did someone approach you out there?”

  Was that a possibility? “Like who?”

  Unity sighed. “It could have been anyone, really. The Immaculate One might have approached you. Or any other number of curious parties. Rouge Immortals. Tricksters. Information agents.”

  The winged woman shook her head in resignation. “None of them are supposed to approach the Tower, but the Gods are the ones who made the rules, so it's hard to make them obey them.”

  Turning in place, my Liaison held her hand out toward her desk. “Shall we sit?”

  Hovering along, I followed Unity until I could settle my Core into the tarnished brass dish like stand that she had come up with from somewhere to grant me the equivalent of the rickety chair she herself used as a seat behind her desk.

  With a patient smile, the Liaison sat with her hand folded neatly in front of her.

  “And what did you have in mind for your seventh level ability Fell?”

  I wanted to suspect her of asking that question to lead me into a quick Level up to get me out of the Tower to get rid of me. But really, dealing with me was her main and only job. Liaisons helped Chosen people choose their classes when they were ready to level up to a new Rank, and to pick out what Class power they got as they rose in Levels within that class.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  That was it. That, normally, was their entire purpose for existing.

  Unity, however, was in an odd position. She was the one and only Liaison for the Living Core Chosen race.

  And I was the only Living Core.

  If I died, she went back to whatever not quite existence she had come from, or, in my opinion, and even worse, Fate… Being stuck here, in this Tower, alone, forever.

  So Unity had good reason to step outside of her normal role and to help me. Even with idle questions.

  “So, is this the Tower for my race, or does every single person who comes here in Spirit form have to take turns?”

  Unity blinked rapidly for a moment before giving my Core a grin. “There is only one Tower Fell.”

  The liaison spread her arms out wide, gesturing with both of her hands toward the huge room, which was empty but for the two of us, her desk, and her chair. “Everyone who is advancing their Rank or Level, as well as all of the Liaisons for all of the races... they’re all here with us Fell. Each and every one of them, all at once.”

  Unity gave a nod and a smile to someone I couldn’t see. “It’s just that none of the Chosen can see each other, or the Liaisons of the other races.”

  “Caesar.”

  Rising from a summoning circle whose lines burned with flames the same color as my Core, my innate Totem rose to stand on its hind feet with a book clutched in its jaws, and looked around the room.

  But not with their eyes.

  I had Caesar along beside me here in the Spirit world several times before, all without them seeing anyone else here but Unity either.

  But I knew I could regain Magic into my pool here in the Spirit world. So, anyone and everyone else here must be doing the same.

  And even here, Chaos existed, and as Caesar let the book slip from their teeth to drop to the ground as they began to race around the room on all fours, I could feel… gaps, voids, or places where others stood, or moved.

  Space where Chaos was being taken away by the presence of other living beings.

  A lot of them. In fact, a whole lot of them.

  The huge room that took up the entire lower floor of the vast interior of the Tower was jammed packed with people. Many of them, in fact, were overlapping the same space as each other to the point that I felt a little awkward at the thought that my Core was possibly occupying the same space as one or more other people.

  “Ah, alright. Just the one Tower then. So what else is out there, beyond the fog?”

  My Liaison tilted her head slowly to one side, then the other, a thoughtful look on her face that slowly turned to confusion. “I… Don’t know. That isn’t something anyone felt the need to include in my Bodily Incarnation Packet.”

  Hrmmm… “You seem to always know when I arrive here. And it should be a few days before I level again. Did you want to go take a look?”

  Unity slowly turned her head to look down at my Core, a baffled look on her face. “I… I never thought of doing anything like that.” Her eyes narrowed. “And it’s not as if I had anyone to ask about it. Our God is absent.” Her hands clenched. “But that also means I have no one I need to ask permission from either.”

  What did I just do?

  ...I might have made problems. Both for myself... and others.

  Part of me dreaded the fallout from this, which I might end up having to deal with. Another part of me thought… Others being troubled, instead of just me.

  Good.

  But for now. I had questions. More than I think I’m going to be able to remember to ask.

  So why not go for the big ones first? Or would I be better off starting with the little, unimportant questions and then working my way up?

  You know, to the Pit with it, I had no clue which, or any of my questions, are really important or not.

  Let’s just go with the first one that pops into my head. “Unity. Why is one of my Titles hidden?”

  My Liaison, who had been looking down at her once again, clasped hands, seeming to be lost in thought. Slowly raised her head before looking off to one side as she gave me a questioning hum. “Hrm?”

  Is she evading, buying time? “Title. Hidden. Why?”

  Unity shifted her fingers together awkwardly. “Urmmm… Well, we needed to get the Immaculate One on your side, or some other God that could deal with the Madness trait you had absorbed. But the God of Purity seemed to be your best bet. So I begged Registra to hide a Title that might have made the Immaculate One refuse to aid you.”

  Well.. That’s concerning. “Do I want to know?”

  I do, in fact, want to know. But I needed a moment to think about this. On one hand, Unity had hidden the information from me as well as the God of Purity. On the other hand, she had acted on her own to trick a God on my behalf.

  Let me think about that again, my Liaison had risked a God’s wraith to help me out. So yes, maybe a light touch was called for on my part.

  Unity fiddled with her fingers for a bit. “I think you might have mixed feelings about it. It will give you another thing to worry about, but you should know what dangers you might be facing in the future.”

  The winged woman clenched her hands tight and took a deep breath. “I think it’s best if we keep that Title hidden for as long as possible. But I can share a copy of the notice that I received.”

  [ Damned beyond all measure ]

  [ You have taken possession of the Lexica Anathematica. The book of all things Vile. As such, you bear some degree of ill will from every God who has ever declared anything to be Vile. The Lexica contains instructions on how to Create, Call, Invoke, and Summon all things Vile ]

  With that, Unity set the curious ball with spiraling, overlapping groves carved into it on the table next to my Core. The same little, seemingly wooden ball that Viola had once forced Caesar into playing catch with.

  The same ball that Caesar had transported to the Spirit world inside their mouth. Which, transporting an object from the Mortal world to the Spirit, was something that was supposed to either be impossible...

  Or something only a being on the same level as a God could do.

  “Well. Aren’t I special.”