The tower rose above the horizon like a mirror capturing every beam of light. Its surface had no visible entrances, just impeccably smooth metal reflecting the surroundings. It seemed as if it had not been built, but rather emerged from the ground itself.
Antem halted at the edge of the field, before the base of the structure. The group following him also paused.
— What is this place? — asked the young woman.
— Perhaps the answer we seek, — replied Antem, gazing intently at the cold surface.
Karen walked around the tower, examining it.
— No doors, — he said, tapping the metal. — How are we supposed to get in?
— We will find a way, — Antem said confidently.
The Key to Entry
Antem took out the artifact that now lay in his pocket. It trembled in his hands as if reacting to the presence of the tower. Symbols reappeared on its surface, changing rapidly.
— What is it showing? — asked the woman.
Antem focused on the artifact, trying to understand. The symbols formed a familiar pattern: it was not just a tower, but a pendulum—a key mechanism of the system.
— The tower is the new center of the system, — Antem said. — It hasn’t been destroyed. It has been rebuilt.
— Are you saying that all of this was in vain? — Karen frowned.
— No, — Antem responded, gripping the artifact tightly. — It’s another level. We’re almost at the core.
Antem stepped closer to the tower and touched its surface with the artifact. The metal radiated light and began to dissolve, forming a passage.
— This is it, — he said. — Are you ready?
No one answered, but their looks were eloquent enough. They had no choice but to move forward.
The Entrance to the Tower
They entered, and the world around them changed. The room resembled an endless labyrinth of glass and light. The mirrored walls reflected their faces, but with each step, those reflections shifted: they grew older, younger, and other versions of themselves appeared and vanished.
— What is this? — asked Karen, stopping in front of one reflection showing his youth.
— It’s us, — the woman replied. — Or what the system wants us to see.
Antem gazed at his reflection. It was different: his eyes shone with a cold blue light, and instead of a heart, something resembling a mechanism was visible.
— This is an attempt to confuse us, — he said.
— What if it’s true? — Karen asked. — What if we are merely parts of this machine?
— Even if that’s the case, — Antem replied, — we decide who we want to be.
The Mechanism of Truth
Having navigated the labyrinth, they found themselves at the center of the tower. There stood a mechanism resembling a pendulum, but now it was motionless. Its massive gears and mirrored surfaces seemed to exist beyond the constraints of time.
Antem approached it and paused.
— This is the heart of the system, — he said.
— What are you going to do? — asked the woman.
Antem drew out the artifact, and its light became blinding.
— Destroy it forever, — he declared.
He brought the artifact closer to the pendulum, and it began to move once more. But this time it did not sway back and forth; instead, it rotated around its own axis, altering the space around them. Their world began to shatter: mirrors cracked, the light flickered, but from the shards of darkness, something new began to emerge.
— Are you sure about this? — Karen asked.
— No, — Antem replied. — But the other option is to remain slaves.
He pressed down on the artifact, and the world exploded in a blaze of brilliant light.