TOWER OF THE EXILED GOD

Chapter 5: The Beast Below

The creature rising from the chasm was unlike anything Kaelen had seen. Its body stretched endlessly, a serpentine mass of muscle and scales, covered in chains that dragged and clanged against the platform. Its head, if it could be called that, split into multiple jaws, each lined with rows of teeth. 

Dozens of glowing blue eyes blinked independently along its body, watching from every angle. 

The platform groaned beneath Kaelen’s feet as the monster’s bulk shifted closer, coils as thick as towers sliding over the edge. 

Varin’s voice was tight behind his porcelain mask. “That’s not a guardian.”

Kaelen raised his dagger. “Then what is it?” 

“A purge beast,” Varin said grimly. “When the tower decides a climber’s too dangerous, it sends one of these.” 

The god’s voice rumbled in Kaelen’s mind, pleased. Not just dangerous but chosen. 

The beast roared, a sound like a thousand chains snapping at once. The blast of air from its maw sent Kaelen staggering. 

“Move!” Varin barked, leaping to the side as the monster’s jaws slammed down, crushing part of the platform. The stone shattered, and chunks fell into the chasm below. 

Kaelen dove the other way, rolling to his feet as the beast reared back. Its glowing eyes locked onto him. 

“It sees you,” the god whispered, almost gleeful. It knows what you carry. 

The dagger pulsed in Kaelen’s hand, responding to the monster’s presence. He took a steadying breath. “Then let’s give it a reason to be afraid.” 

The beast struck again, its massive body coiling around the platform like a serpent around prey. Kaelen sprinted forward, ducking under a snapping jaw, and slashed upward with the dagger. 

The blade sank deep into one of the glowing eyes, and the creature screamed. 

Varin hurled his spear, the weapon crackling with blue energy. It pierced another eye, and the beast thrashed violently, chains snapping around it like whips. One chain lashed across the platform, striking Varin in the side. 

He was thrown against a pillar, the crack of breaking stone echoing through the hall. Kaelen darted toward him, but Varin waved him off. “Don’t stop! Keep it busy!” 

Another jaw lunged for Kaelen. He dove aside, sliding across the stone floor, and slashed upward again, severing a tendril-like chain. Black ichor sprayed, sizzling where it hit the ground. 

The god’s voice growled. You’re too weak to kill it alone. Let me in. 

Kaelen gritted his teeth. “Not yet.” 

You’ll die, the god hissed. And your corpse will be mine anyway. 

The creature reared back, multiple heads snapping toward Kaelen at once. He barely managed to dodge, each strike shattering stone around him. 

Varin’s voice rang out. “Kaelen! Its chains are anchors!”

Kaelen followed his gaze. The creature’s body was tethered to the chasm by thick chains, each one glowing faintly. They weren’t holding it down; they were feeding it power. 

Kaelen’s jaw clenched. “Then we cut them.” 

Varin’s spear lit up again, and he hurled it at the nearest chain. The weapon struck true, cracking the glowing runes. 

The chain shuddered, then snapped, the sound echoing like thunder. The beast roared in pain, thrashing violently. 

Kaelen sprinted toward another anchor, the dagger glowing bright red in his hand. He leaped, stabbing the blade deep into the runes. 

The chain exploded in a burst of crimson light, throwing him backward. 

The platform trembled violently as the beast thrashed harder, now partially unbound. “One more,” the god murmured. “ Cut one more, and it will fall.” 

Kaelen and Varin locked eyes across the platform. They didn’t need words. Both men sprinted toward the last anchor, dodging chains and snapping jaws. 

Varin hurled his spear, shattering a smaller chain, while Kaelen dove under a strike and slashed the final anchor with every ounce of strength he had. 

The chain shattered. 

The beast roared, its entire body convulsing violently. Without its anchors, its massive coils slipped from the platform, crashing into the chasm below. The platform shook as the monster’s weight dragged it downward. 

Kaelen grabbed the edge of the nearest pillar as the ground beneath him crumbled. Varin leaped, driving his spear into the stone to anchor himself. 

The beast let out one final, deafening scream as it fell into the darkness, its glowing eyes blinking out one by one until there was only silence. 

Kaelen pulled himself onto what remained of the platform, panting heavily. His entire body ached, his lungs burned, and his dagger’s glow had dimmed again. 

Varin retrieved his spear, standing over the shattered stone. “You’re lucky you’re still alive.” Kaelen shot him a glare. “We’re both lucky.” 

Varin chuckled softly behind his mask. “Fair enough.”

The platform groaned ominously. Cracks spiderwebbed across its surface. “We need to move,” Kaelen said. 

Varin nodded, gesturing toward a newly revealed passageway. Where the beast had fallen, a section of the wall had collapsed, revealing a narrow bridge leading deeper into the tower. 

As they stepped onto the bridge, the god’s voice whispered in Kaelen’s head. You’re wasting time with him. 

Kaelen’s grip tightened on his dagger. “He saved my life.” 

And he’ll take it if I tell him what you carry, the god murmured. Do you think he doesn’t see it? That mask of his isn’t just for show. 

Kaelen glanced at Varin’s porcelain mask, unease curling in his gut. Varin seemed calm, but there was something in the way he moved, measured, controlled. Dangerous. 

The bridge stretched across a massive chamber, suspended over a bottomless pit. Chains swayed gently below, the faint sound of their clinking filling the silence. 

Varin walked ahead, spear in hand, his posture relaxed. “You’re not bad,” he said without looking back. “Most climbers panic. You think.” 

“I didn’t have a choice,” Kaelen replied. 

Varin chuckled. “No one does.” 

Halfway across the bridge, Kaelen froze. 

The chains below them were moving. 

Not swaying in the wind but slithering. 

Varin stopped, following Kaelen’s gaze. The chains shifted like serpents, wrapping around the base of the bridge. 

“Run,” Varin said calmly. 

Kaelen didn’t argue. They sprinted across the narrow bridge as chains lashed upward, snapping through the air like whips. One struck the railing, shattering it. Another coiled around the planks ahead, tearing them free. 

Kaelen leapt over a gap, landing hard and rolling to his feet. Varin followed, spinning his spear in a blur to deflect incoming chains. 

They were nearly at the far side when a chain shot upward, wrapping around Varin’s leg.

Kaelen skidded to a stop. “Varin!” 

“Go!” Varin shouted, jamming his spear into the chain, sparks flying. 

Kaelen ignored him, sprinting back. He drove his dagger into the chain, the blade glowing crimson. The chain writhed, hissing like a living thing, and snapped apart. 

Varin ripped himself free, but another chain shot upward, wrapping around his torso. 

Kaelen slashed again, but this time, the chain didn’t snap. Instead, it pulled, dragging Varin toward the pit below. 

Varin’s spear clattered to the bridge as he was yanked backward. Kaelen lunged, grabbing his arm. 

“Hold on!” Kaelen shouted. 

Varin’s mask turned toward him. For the first time, Kaelen saw fear in his body language. “Cut it!” Varin barked. 

Kaelen raised the dagger, but before he could strike, more chains shot upward, wrapping around Varin’s body like a cocoon. 

“Go!” Varin shouted again, his voice strained. 

Then the chains yanked him over the edge. 

“Varin!” Kaelen roared, lunging forward. 

But Varin was gone, swallowed by the darkness below. 

Kaelen staggered back, heart hammering. The chains writhed below, dragging their prey deeper into the abyss. 

The god’s voice was calm, almost mocking. He’s not dead yet, but the tower has claimed him. Kaelen tightened his grip on the dagger. 

He had a choice: keep climbing, or dive into the darkness after a man he barely knew.