Candice opened her eyes to darkness. An empty expanse stretched out above her to a high ceiling she couldn’t see as she slowly came to her senses; a cold, stone floor beneath her back, dry and motionless air passing her lips with each breath, which was also the only sound she could hear.
“The first floor.”
It was a statement, rather than a question. A reminder, as the last thing she saw before blackness overtook her vision came back to her; a white rabbit holding a golden staff with orbs at each end, appearing in the air above her home in order to take her away, to make her a chosen Regular.
“Indeed it is. Welcome, Princess, it’s been quite a while since I last had the pleasure of meeting one of Zahard’s chosen children.”
Turning her head, Candice could see the Guardian standing there, off to the side. He was partially hidden by the shadows, darkness falling over half of his figure to give him a mysterious and even sinister appearance. She pushed herself up to her feet and began to approach him, the closest thing Regular’s like her had to a God, and stood before him. He was surprisingly short, as discounting the ears the top of his head barely came up to her chin, and bore no expression on his featureless face.
“Can we skip the formalities? Just give me whatever test you have so I can get going.”
The slit at the side of Headon’s head opened slightly, the gleaming pupil of one eye staring out at her in a way that made a chill run up her spine; it was not a gaze that held any amount of kindness. “So impatient? I get so many visitors, but so few of them are willing to stay and talk with me. I suppose there is nothing to be done.” Headon walked passed her, Candice twisting away to avoid bumping shoulders with the Guardian and he paced to a random spot in the room, staff held behind his back, before he stopped and turned back to her. “Hmm. What kind of test should I give the Princess I wonder? A test of strength, of intelligence, of will? You surely hold all of these in abundance already, or else you wouldn’t be here, would you?”
I feel like he’s mocking me. He probably is; what does a title like Princess mean to a “God” like him?
“Give me what test you want; I’ll pass, whatever it is.”
Again, that slit spread open, this time revealing rows of needle-sharp teeth in an approximation of a grin; albeit the kind if grin a predator gave a mouse before gobbling it up. “Very well.” Headon pulled an arm out from behind his back and pointed his golden staff at empty air, a large, black ball appearing from nothing at the tip. “Break this ball and you pass.”
Candice eyed the thing suspiciously. “That’s it?” She took a step forward when she received no answer. “Just pop this thing and I’m done?” Another few steps forward and she was standing directly in front of it. It was black, darker than any black she’d seen before, so dark she couldn’t even see her reflection in it. “No time limits or other requirements? Just smash the damn thing?”
The Guardian remained silent, saying and doing nothing as it waited to see what she would do. “Tsk, fine.” Candice took a step back and raised her leg up, swinging her foot to the side in a semi-circle until it was above her head, before bringing it down like a hammer on top of the ball with all of the strength she could muster. The ball, in response, popped like a soap bubble as soon as she made contact with it, offering no resistance at all and leaving her feeling unbalanced as her heel slammed into the ground. The resulting crash was deafening in the empty expanse, continuing to echo for long, awkward seconds as Candice stood there, though there was not so much as a scratch on the floor itself.
Once the sounds had all died down the Guardian finally moved, raising an empty hand and holding it palm up. “Congratulations, you passed!”
Candice turned to the Guardian, anger and indignation warring with her better judgement as she directed her rage at the being of ultimate power before her. “Is this some kind of joke? Are you giving me an easy time because I’m a Princess?”
“Of course not Princess.” Headon spread his hands wide, holding his staff out to one side and an open hand with splayed fingers on the other, arms out as to encompass everything in the room. “When a Regular appears before me, whether they are the lowest of the low, an heir of the Ten Great Families or even a Princess, I just prepare a test that is equivalent to the value of their wish. That is the fate of the Tower Administrator.”
“Tsk.” Damn Rabbit. So you’re saying my dream is only worth this much? It’s only worth as much as a soap bubble? Yeah, I guess that makes sense. It’s just my selfish little wish after all. One more selfish wish to go with all the other selfish wishes in the world. “Whatever. I passed so send me up. I‘m done here.”
Headon gave no other reaction after that, but Candice felt like he was smirking at her nonetheless as he sent her up.
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