Golden light poured through the window and hit Dante's face before his alarm could. He opened his eyes and saw the calendar on the wall, today's date circled in black marker. Enter the Tower. His heart kicked against his ribs before his feet touched the floor.The mirror showed someone who looked older than yesterday. Eyes deeper, darker, carved into something that held weight. His face had sharpened somehow, like the last two days had chiseled away everything soft and left only edges.Downstairs, Gianna stood at the stove. The spatula tapped against the pan in rhythm, eggs sizzling, bread toasting, the smell of coffee filling the small kitchen like it always did on mornings that mattered."Dante." She didn't turn around. "Are you sure about this?""Yeah, Mamma. I'm sure."Her hand stopped moving. The spatula hung in the air above the pan."Your father said the same thing." Her voice trembled on the edges, barely holding itself together. "He stood right where you're standing and told

Cold hit first. Then pain.Dante opened his eyes and found himself chained to a wooden frame on a mountain, hands and feet spread in opposite directions. Metal cut into his wrists, ankles burning where the restraints held him in place. Wind screamed across his back, carrying the promise of a cliff he couldn't see but could feel in the empty space behind him.A cave yawned before him. Wide enough for four elephants to walk through side by side. Dark enough to swallow light and never give it back.Three other people hung from identical frames. Two on his left, heads hanging low, hope drained from their bodies like water through cracked stone. One on his right, completely lifeless. Skin pale gray, eyes open and staring at nothing.The one closest to him on the left was an elf. Long ears poking through golden hair that covered her face. Torn clothes barely holding together. Probably a Climber like him, caught in the same trap."You awake yet?" The elf's voice was rough, scratched raw from