"You killed him; there's no way he's still alive. Did you see the rock you threw at him?"
"No, I don't think so… I hope he's still alive, for God's sake."
"If I throw the same rock at you, do you think…"
"Shut up, he's waking up."
— The enemy who had been causing them trouble earlier was now tied to the ground with his own clothes, his head bleeding from the hard blow of a rock that had fallen on him. They had disarmed him from head to toe, finding, aside from the sword he carried, a dagger and, luckily, a first-aid kit, which was quickly used to disinfect and bandage Kaelen's shoulder —.
"You"
said the man lying on the ground, looking at me with satisfaction.
"Me? Oh, it's because of the rock—I didn't have anything else in my hand"
Kaelen pushed me aside, approaching that man until he was down on his knees.
"Now you're going to answer all our questions; your answers will decide how this day ends for you"
"Pfff, stealing my moment"
Although I was going to threaten that man in the same way, he didn't seem to let the situation get to him; I could tell he was observing, looking for the slightest opening to attack. It was like being in a lion's cage, being analyzed as prey.
I didn't like that; we had to show superiority.
I grabbed the dagger and approached him, grabbing his hair to lift his head and placing the dagger against his neck.
"Are you going to answer our questions?"
Kaelen said nothing; he stepped back to observe the situation, just like that guy who kept doing the same thing.
Finally, he sighed.
"Start by asking them if you want me to answer them"
"Where are we?What is this place?"
Two questions in one sentence—I had so many questions I didn't even realize it. Still, he answered; he had to answer.
"Alright, I understand the situation better now, are you guys new here, right?"
"We're the ones asking the questions. Answer quickly; I'm getting impatient."
"You're in the Tower of Babel, and this is one of the twenty-two known floors—the twelfth floor, the Hanging Floor."
At that moment, new questions popped into my head: The Tower of Babel? Twenty-two floors? Those answers didn't answer anything; they only increased my doubts.
I sighed as if I'd worked eight hours straight.
"Why am I here?"
"I don't know."
"How did I end up here?"
"I don't know."
"How do I get out of here?"
"No idea."
I gripped the dagger tightly and held it right next to his neck.
"Do you think I'm joking?
"No, I'm serious. No one knows for sure who built the tower or why, and I can't answer your other questions because I didn't appear in the tower—I was born in it."
I see. Even though he hadn't answered my questions, I had valuable information. I turned to Kaelen, and another question came to mind.
"Tell me, what kind of creatures are in this tower?"
— That question wasn't answered immediately; it wasn't that he didn't want to answer, but rather, he was trying to find the right words to answer in the best way possible—.
"This is the Tower of Babel, where branches of humanity from different realities were brought here to survive by force, fighting against creatures of unimaginable terror. Concepts that would normally be untouchable must be eliminated, or we will die. It is said that it was possibly created by the engineers. Did you see a being dressed entirely in black?"
I turned back to Kaelen; we both had the same being in mind.
"That must be a yes. We're in the year forty-nine after the Great Exploration."
"Wait, I don't need that. There's more important information."
-I sighed-
"You look dehydrated; you can tell by your lips"
"And where are you going with that?"
"I have water and food in my tent; I can offer you a drink"
It was easy to see where he was going with this. Although I was skeptical, this guy had given us quite a few answers, so I released him from his bonds.
"Tell me your name"
He said the moment he was freed.
"Oberon, Vesper Oberon"
He turned to Kaelen, who hadn't answered his question.
"Kaelen"
A curt reply that showed his distrust. Still, it seemed enough for that man.
"My name is Krax Lovedrapht. I'm a mercenary who was tracking a fugitive. Seeing you walking with children in your arms, I mistook you for him. I'm sorry."
Kaelen approached him.
"You're too late. He's dead. You're terrible at your job."
His anger was evident in his words, an anger that Krax easily sensed when he realized the state of the children.
"I'm sorry"
"Why are you apologizing? You weren't the one who killed them"
After that reply, Kaelen simply fell silent, picking up one of the children.
"Take one too; his shoulder is useless. Of course, I'll keep your sword and dagger for now—you never know when you might turn on us."
Krax took one of the children in his arms and set off with us.