Practice

For the entire nine years, the fact that he lacked special abilities tortured Axel. But he knew what real pain was like a year ago. His lifeless eyes drifted to the open window leading to the ceiling balcony. Memories flashed in his brain, attacking his whole being like poisonous gas. He coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground. Dead, dull eyes still continued to gaze at the balcony, as if doing so could bring back his cheerful, bright brother who would pat his head and say, "Welcome home."

One year ago, on this very day, he received the news that his brother had died. His brother's guild members filled the entire yard, carrying his unrecognizable body. His limbs were horribly torn from his main body, his face utterly disfigured. It was a miracle these people could recognize his brother as their guild master, 'Nyx'. Axel, however, with just one look, immediately recognized him. Was it because they shared the same blood running in their veins? Or because they had the same genes? The brother he waited for day and night, whose messages he eagerly awaited on his phone from early morning until late at night, whose face brightened his desolate world... was now lying lifelessly in front of him.

Axel collapsed in front of his brother's body. When he woke up again, the guild members handed him Nyx's ashes. Their faces were filled with tears, their voices hoarse. Axel listened as they explained that they did not burn Nyx's body; the tower did, just as it always did to bodies that died inside it. They had managed to retrieve his whole body because of a spell, but the spell only lasted twenty-four hours. After that, once undone, the Tower would burn the body into ashes, erasing the dead body's existence. That was how the Tower got its name, "Tower of Erase."

The guild members were unsure if Axel was listening, but they continued to babble on. They narrated how Nyx had wanted to challenge the 50th floor by himself. They tried to stop him, but Nyx was a stubborn fellow. Once his mind was set, he would do it regardless of what anyone said. So they had no choice but to let him go, expecting his return. Instead, what came out of the 50th floor gate was Nyx's broken body...

From start to finish, Axel did not say anything. He just sat on the ground, caressing the jar that held his brother's ashes. The guild members stayed by his side and left when it grew late. There was no burial, no ceremonies. Axel did not express a desire for one, so the guild members did not initiate anything, but they mourned with Axel. Remembering it now, Axel's eyes lifted toward the stairs. Right, he had to change his clothes. His brother always told him to change first before having dinner.

Axel didn't know how the night had passed or how he had gotten up the next morning. He didn't even know how he had made it to school. All he knew was that he was now numb from the pain.

For some reason, a group of boys had grabbed his collar on his way to his classroom and brought him to the schoolyard. Today was their special ability training class. All third-year students were mandated to attend this class to learn how to use their powers properly.

However, for some reason, these students dragged him onto the field. Since Axel didn't have any powers, he was exempt from attending the class. Since he was deemed useless, his classmates found a better way to make use of him: as a living target for them to practice their abilities on.

Axel couldn't move his hands. They tied him up to the basketball field fence, tightly binding both his hands and feet with rope. His classmates stood twenty meters away from him.

Axel's dead eyes stared at each of their faces. For a long time, he had never received any help from anyone in this group. Some weak-willed people threw sympathetic glances at him, but they didn't do anything to assist him. They were too scared to go against the strong, afraid to take his place—even the class teachers.

A sharp whistle echoed at the entrance of the basketball fence. A man in his thirties entered, dressed in a red jumpsuit. He carried nothing except his watch. In these days, handheld phones no longer existed; they had been replaced by smartwatches with holographic screens that allowed users to do almost anything—browse the internet, access social media, create and upload files for work, watch movies, and listen to music.

The man who had just entered was their instructor. He stood in front of the class and greeted them good morning. The students greeted back, seemingly excited about the training.

The instructor didn't waste time. He quickly called the first person to demonstrate.

As Axel watched them proceed, he could only bitterly laugh. Initially, he had hoped this instructor would save him from this hell. But the man turned a blind eye, as if he were just a scarecrow wearing their school uniform.

The student who was called was a member of the boys' gang who had tied Axel up. His special ability involved controlling water. The boy had an upturned nose, ugly slanted eyes, and a big mouth. He sneered at Axel as he chanted a spell. Suddenly, a huge waterfall dropped like an ice-cold heavy bomb onto Axel, soaking his clothes.

The waterfall continued to pour icy, piercing cold water for ten minutes before it finally stopped.

The instructor glanced at the boy, barely giving the shivering Axel a glance.

"Is that it?"

"No, there's something else," the boy evilly grinned at Axel. "Something that I'm practicing and want to do right now."

The boy raised his hand again, and this time, a body of water soaked Axel completely, from his neck down to his legs. It was as if there was an invisible barrier controlling the water, encasing Axel completely.