Tower of God: Sequence Strength

Winston opened his eyes.

He was in a room. It was dimly lit in all corners and a lonesome lamp stood in the center, hanging by a metal pole.

It cast his shadow behind him, and the slight sway of the darkness all around seemed eerie.

He looked around himself.

The room was filled with a table, a bed and a window to the side.

Through the window, he could see nothing but a dark theater. The movie theater was entirely empty and there was nothing playing on the screen.

He walked towards the table, his footsteps echoing in the dark.

There, on the wooden surface was a book. It's pages were tinted yellow, telling of it's age.

The book held many cryptic words, that seemed foreign to Winston.

It was blood red in writing, as if written using fresh blood.

Right beside the book were three cards. First was the Hanged Man, inverted and clear. It seemed upright in his eyes and the man, with his leg crossed over was smiling eerily.

Below the inverted hanged man was the Tower. And right beside it, was a picture of a Devil.

The devil, unlike the traditional Tarot had a disgusting smirk on it's face, as if it was taunting him.

Winston's pupils shook in his sockets for a time before he turned his attention back to the notebook.

The words still remained unintelligible, before they became foreign.

Sowly, he began to recognize them.

It was English. He wondered why his brain took some time to recognize the symbols. Slowly, he read the words out in his mind.

"Death is near..." the words somehow echoed in the room, carrying faint whispers that gnawed at the heart of normalcy.

His heart shook and a chill travelled up his spine.

A sharp click sounded and he instantly turned.

There was a faint light filtering through the window.

As he gazed outside, he saw that the theater was lit up with a white light from the screen. Various caricatures moved about on the screen. It showcased two travellers meeting a man who was breaking a mountain. They talked for some time before taking off.

But that was not what caught his attention.

His eyes travelled down to the seats.

The previously empty theater was fully filled with people.

No, not people. They were shadows at best. For each of them held the same outline and the same posture. Each head was perfectly round and each shoulder was perfectly levelled. All of them sat, their bodies dark and like a void. Suddenly, all of them turned. They all looked up to the window which was at the very back of the theater. The characters on the screen also turned to look at him. If deliberately, Winston saw a faint tug at their lips.

They were all grinning from ear to ear!!

Instantly, he sat up straight!

Huuuu!

He inhaled sharply, his breath caught in his chest.

Sweat poured from his temples and his pupils shook lightly. If not for his body control, his hands would be shaking as of now.

What the hell....

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~~~

Winston walked out of a large castle that had been constructed out of stone. The sky reigned overhead with crimson clouds and splashes of red blood, flowing with an otherworldly chaos marred the bottom of the stone castle.

He looked back at the structure. It was opulent and gigantic, as if something that was constructed for giants rather than humans.

The walls held various floral and wheat like patterns, as if the plants themselves had been turned into stone.

The castle had been made by his Mother Pathway avatar.

The plants had sprouted out of the blood, red and gigantic and formed a gigantic castle like structure. Then, his Demoness avatar had turned the entire castle into stone, effectively etching the structure into the floor's history.

It was, of course, supported by actual architectural- mystical and mundane- knowledge from his White Tower, Hermit and Paragon avatars. It wad something that could survive in the floor of Death's surface for hundreds of years, with each wall crafted with immaculate craftsmanship.

And to think it was made for temporary residence of merely three days.

Well, this would still be used by the avatars after I leave...

Winston looked on at the structure before his gaze turned towards a certain direction.

"They're certainly making a scene."

"Indeed." A feminine voice replied to his left. It was high pitched and sweet and it rolled on the ear with a pleasant undertone.

Winston turned halfway, gazing at his avatar.

It was a beautiful woman with a perfectly carved face. She had a cute nose and a short forehead. Her cheeks were full and had a rosy tint and her lips were plump and full. She had a pair of bountiful breasts and a voluptuous figure. She wore a beautiful green robe, adorned with various plant like patterns.

Her beauty was staggering. It were as if all forces of nature had stopped to steal a glance. The rain stops for her and the soil makes way in the presence of her beauty. She was the epitome of feminity and motherhood.

It was the Mother avatar.

"Aren't you supposed to be training?" There he goes again, talking to his imaginary friends. Truly a schizophrenic.

"Perhaps. But aren't you supposed to not be checking yourself out?" She raised an eyebrow at him as her eyes loomed on Winston.

"I can't help it. I'm really too beautiful as a female." Winston clicked his tongue as he shook his head. He truly felt regretful. If only the other party was not... him. He would have genuinely considered marriage.

Alas, venturing into the territory of the Mother Goddes of Depravity was not something he would ever do.

Maybe I can give Tiara a demoness potion after I ascend to Godhood? Winston mused.

Suddenly, he heard the avatar chuckle sweetly.

"Well, I wouldn't be too opposed to it." She flexed her figure as if in a mock display. "I really am beautiful. Men can't help but want me."

"I'm curious how Khun Eduan would react if he saw you." Winston guffawed as he imagined the scenario.

Khun Eduan finds the love of his life and abandons all his other women, vowing to always be loyal to her and her alone. Then, at the wedding night, it gets revealed that 'she' is actually a 'he'.

"Now I'm genuinely curious about that." The avatar scratched her chin in contemplation.

She turned to Winston and smirked.

"Why don't we send Charlotte in?"

"Eh. We might." Winston chuckled. "But we have more pressing matters to attend to, do we not?"

The Mother turned to look into the distance.

"Which one?"

"Both. Well.. one is more important than the other. It's the first time a dream has spoken in riddles. Every other time has been mostly straightforward. It's the first one I can't instantly grasp."

"Does this call for a meeting?" The Mother asked, her tone sweet and charming. Her words themselves calmed the crashing waves, as if they had been pacified by a lullaby.

"I suppose so." Winston's eyes gleamed with colour as he looked on into the horizon. "Send in a normal avatar. After everything is done on this floor, I'll join them to go to the next one." He said. His lips tugged upwards, revealing a genuine smile.

Death is near huh... we'll have to see about that.

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A/N: Nice.