Runebound Reverse Tower of The Dead

Chapter 266: Rule Breaker

Kael looked slightly annoyed at the current situation.

Which was quite a peculiar expression for someone in his position.

At the Fifth beacon this time, next to an oasis, the group had decided that it was best to stay out of each other’s way. Group here, were only the old man, the Saharan, and Christy alongside Kael. The trial had dragged them far enough that even breathing in the same direction felt like an accusation, and the beacon’s shadow had become the only neutral territory anyone trusted. Beyond it was sand that never stopped moving, and above it was a sky that never cared.

Kael was resting his back against a large palm tree, with Christy nestling under his chest. After the steamy half an hour they had earlier, one realizes that sand and sex don’t work well together. No matter how careful they were, it found its way into everything. It stuck to sweat. It clung to skin. It turned softness into abrasion and left little reminders under nails, in seams, in places neither of them wanted to think about too hard.

"It still itches," she groaned.

Kael snorted; he couldn’t help but do that. The sound came out sharper than he intended, not cruel, just honest. He had spent a year being taught that if something was stupid, you called it stupid, and if something hurt you, acknowledged it, then dealt with it. There wasn’t much room for romantic poetry in a tower that made people drink boiled swamp water and call it a blessing.

"What’s with that look on your face? Are you not satisfied or something?" She smiled at him.

"No, far from it, it’s just," he looked around, "Things seem far more... comfortable."

The oasis at this beacon looked like a reward, almost insulting in how gentle it appeared. Palm fronds barely moved. The water didn’t carry that sick olive tint from the first one. The air even smelled less metallic. If Kael squinted, he could pretend this was just some broken vacation spot in the wrong world. He didn’t like that thought. The tower didn’t hand people comfort without collecting a fee later.

"Isn’t that a good thing? Since that kid died, we haven’t had any issues traveling, and that old man is pretty obedient now."

"That’s the issue, it’s been too calm," Kael said, "This is a trial of Endurance, true to its name, we didn’t have it easy for the first couple of days."

He didn’t need a system window to know the tower liked patterns. It taught with rhythm. It gave you a pinch of hope, then it asked how much you were willing to bleed for it. The first days had been an honest nightmare. Thirst. Heat that cooked thoughts into sludge. Monsters hidden beneath sand. A leadership system that encouraged murder with mechanics and pretended it was "strategy." Then the storm that turned a living person into something unrecognizable.

Comfort meant the next bill was being prepared.

"Maybe the tower is taking it easy on us?" she asked.

Kael frowned, "Like that’s ever gonna happen."

She shifted under him, still trying to find a spot that didn’t make her hiss under her breath. Her skin had that faint redness that came after friction and grit, and Kael’s hands, rough and calloused from a year of punishment, weren’t exactly gentle tools, nor was the thing between his legs that was a monster by itself.

"He shouldn’t have rushed into the sandstorm," she said after a pause.

"Yeah, I didn’t expect it to be that... severe," Kael remembered the sight of the young kid.

The memory landed the same way every time. One would think that a sandstorm would be bad as it covers one’s sight, makes breathing hard, and makes one lose sight of their direction. Not this one. This one didn’t just blind you. It ate you. It stripped you down with patience, turned skin into nothing, left bones looking too clean too fast. It wasn’t weather. It was a grinder with intent.

And what frustrated Kael more, that’s all he could ever call him. Skinny kid, he never knew his name or affiliation. He didn’t get a last word. He didn’t get a title. He didn’t even get remembered properly.

But again... that also could be a small mercy, he sighed.

"You’re sighing like some old man, cheer up," she said as she straddled his lap. She was only wearing her lower underwear now, with her chest exposed, small bits of sand stuck to her chest, which Kael wiped away.

Her attitude didn’t match her injuries. It never did. Although her foot has turned out for the better, thanks to the rest they had for the past few days. She always carried herself like she was daring the world to try again. Sometimes, Kael couldn’t tell if it was confidence or spite. Either way, it kept her moving, and in the tower, movement was survival.

"Want another go?" she smiled.

Kael didn’t hesitate.

He lifted her easily, turning to press her back against the rough bark of the palm tree. The sand had been a nuisance, but here, against the trunk, he could brace himself properly. Christy let out a soft gasp as the bark scraped against her skin, but her legs locked around his waist, pulling him closer.

This time, there was no teasing, no slow build. He entered her in one smooth thrust, and she bit down on his shoulder to muffle a cry. The air around them was thick with heat and the faint scent of dates from the oasis. Kael set a rhythm, hard and steady, each snap of his hips driving them both toward the edge. The tree itself shook from the power behind his calves. Christy’s nails raked down his back, leaving red lines that would sting later, but neither cared.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck, tasting salt and sand. Her breath hitched, her body tightening around him as she came again, trembling. Kael followed moments later, a low groan escaping his lips as he held her through the aftershocks.

They stayed like that, breathing hard, the desert silence slowly reclaiming the space around them.

Christy laughed softly, her voice hoarse. "Okay, now I’m satisfied."

Kael snorted, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Good. Let’s get cleaned up."

She slid down, wincing as her feet touched the sand. "Seriously, I need a bath. And a full change of clothes. And maybe a drink."

The old man was nowhere in sight, and the Saharan had retreated to a far corner. Good. Privacy was a rare luxury in this trial.

Christy found a deep, clear pool hidden behind a cluster of date palms. The water looked almost turquoise, cool and inviting. She stripped off her damp underwear and slid in without hesitation, sighing as the water lapped against her skin.

Kael followed, dunking his head completely to wash away the grit. When he surfaced, Christy was floating on her back, eyes closed, a lazy smile on her face.

"I could stay here forever," she murmured.

Unlike the other oasis that they were at before, which also had a similar color, this one is drinkable.

The surface caught the sky’s dying light and threw it back in ripples, soft enough to look fake. Kael crouched near the edge and watched for a long second anyway. Old habits. The tower punished anyone who trusted first impressions.

"You know," Christy said, "Gotta hand it to that guy, what was his name, he said? Hakim?"

"Yeah, for?"

"I was so thirsty that day I almost drank from the other oasis directly," she said as she cupped a handful and drank from this one.

Kael watched the water slide down her throat and felt his own mouth react out of jealousy. The first days had taught them a simple law. Thirst made people stupid. It made them brave in the dumbest ways. It made them swallow things they would never swallow if their tongue wasn’t cracking and their lips weren’t splitting. Watching her drink without immediately having to calculate consequences felt wrong, like getting away with something.

"Yeah, even I didn’t know that not all clear oasis water was drinking water. That one had so much sodium deposits in it... drinking that was basically drinking seawater."

She then slid into the water and waited for Kael to follow after.

Kael kept watch on the other two from his mini-map. The old man was off to one side, too far from everyone, pretending solitude was safety. The Saharan had chosen a different pool entirely, quiet as always, moving like someone who never wasted a step. Kael didn’t trust either of them, but he trusted their self-preservation. For now, that was enough.

This oasis was large and had several pools in it. And thanks to that, everyone decided that being alone was far safer. Trust broke down, and Fracture rose up. You could feel it even without seeing the numbers. People stopped looking each other in the eye. They stopped breathing at the same time. They stopped sharing space. The silence turned sharp again.

Kael washed off some of the grime and sweat of his nightly adventure, then proceeded to sit back and relax inside the water of the oasis. The cold hit his skin and made his muscles unclench in ways he hadn’t noticed were clenched. His shoulders sank. His hands opened underwater like they were remembering what it meant to not be gripping something.

The tower didn’t give him peace often. When it did, he took it greedily. Even if it was temporary.

Just as Christy rested next to him, a notification appeared in front of him.

[Trial of Endurance has been updated!]

[Only the first three climbers to arrive at the exit will be able to proceed to the next floor. The stragglers will have to redo the trial.]

[Trial duration has been updated.]

[23:59:59]

"Shit..."