Tower of Promise

"Finally! I can now enter the tower!" 

Darkness roamed the sky as a cold breeze assaulted the humanity of Earth. A rustling of leaves horrified their uptight ears with the crows in contact dancing along the gust escaping the impending descent of a storm surge. 

To the people of Earth, it was a bad omen. 

In pure contrast, upbeat music as loud as thunder resonated in the entirety of each capital of each country. Roads were congested with cars and humans in a festive mood. Dangling banderitas of assorted colors further amplify the celebration of the quarterly opening of the tower.

In Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines, the usual number of tourists gathered suffer drastic inflation. From the common 5,000 a day of visitors, the crowd had now become exaggerated as they reached an immense crowd of 23,000! 

In the center of the park, just a meter away from the notable statue of the national hero, an outstanding tower of a thousand meters in diameter became the major attraction. Its height was as far as eyes could see, piercing the heaven. 

It was the Tower of Promise. 

Exactly 50 years ago, the Earth merged with the Towers. What started as an origin of horror had now become the center of excitement for Earthlings. 

Accepting the trial of the tower and becoming a player could grant them immortality and otherworldly powers.

And now, on March 5, 2050, a new set of players are about to emerge. 

On the foot of the tower, a group of young dreamers had gathered. They were lined up behaved as they awaited their turn. 

In front of them, a door too tall for Earthlings to enter was thriving. Made out of materials of unknown origin, the door of the tower stood without blemish. 

It is only through touching the door by a QUALIFIED can one enter the tower. 

Looking at the door with awe, the fresh set of dreamers was brewing with enthusiasm. 

"Dreamers, you who just turned 18 these past three months, I would like to congratulate you all on being here. It takes not only passion but guts to accept the Tower's calling. It is our pleasure to welcome new saviors of Earth…" 

A man clad with magical armor stood before the door. His eyes were fiery red as he scanned the crowd of dreamers. If one would just look keenly, a dark fog was escaping his mouth as he talked. The surrounding field boiled under his steps, deeming the soil infertile.  

"We all know that in the tower resides not only treasures but also, challenges. It became a common saying among players that "with high risks, come high rewards". But, we saw several players perish in the hunt for larger power. At this very moment, I would like to warn you, as an experienced player who has seen hundreds of deaths, please… please… matter your lives more, there is someone out here on Earth, waiting for you to come back." 

A long speech escaped his mouth along the dark fog that became unnaturally unstable as sparks were attempting to break out. His eyes fixated on a young boy whose eyes wandered somewhere. It was obvious that he was not listening to his motivational speech. 

As tears streamed down young people's faces from being touched, the boy yawned his lengthiest yawn ever. The man felt his nerves twitching from this sight. Seeing this, the timid girl beside the boy couldn't help but feel worried in his stead. She poked the shoulder of the boy as she pointed to the front where a furious man was at.

The boy was your average teen. His coal-colored hair was roughly maintained as traces of dust lingered atop it. His ragged clothes reflected the very definition of scrap. And his facial features with a nearly-flat nose, dry lips, and tedious eyes seemed to shoulder every suffering in the world. Not to mention his chin and its twin that lingered below it that gave yet another definition of an average guy. 

Standing among his peers, his appearance was nothing to note. He was a typical nobody. With this in mind, the speaker didn't mind him anymore. Instead, he searched for potential talents to recruit.

In the crowd, two particular persons had caught his attention. 

"With that, it would be my honor to open the curtain to future players. I would like to welcome you all, pride of Earth, to the home of players… the Tower of Promise!" 

When the storm died out, the man had finally ended his speech. The last drop of rain hit the palm of a boy as he touched the door. Cool breeze boiled in contact with his agitated body. He couldn't contain his excitement as he finally wailed. 

"Tower! I'm coming!" 

[Ding!]

[The tower welcomes its new player.]

The body of the boy turned into golden particles that merged with the tower. With open arms, the tower welcomed his presence with a worldwide announcement. 

This process repeated for a full hour before a total of 460 players on Earth finally disintegrated into golden lights. 

Their parents looked at the tower with awe. They couldn't wait for their triumphant return. 

—--

In his tedious eyes, a spark of hope began to materialize as Alab entered the tower. His eyes gradually became watery as he reminisced about his life on Earth for the last time. 

Alab grew at a foster home. He had been there for as far as he could remember. When he developed eyesight, solemn foster kids were the first thing his sight landed. He had heard vagitus of newborn babies as various mothers visited their foster home late at night. 

From that, he had also witnessed them leaving their babies that were yet to walk, the day after.  

He saw how water broke. How their caretakers were being paid to foster a child. How a kid leaves and got adopted by their foster parents only to be returned to a depressed state. 

How a kid dies from malnutrition… on untaken care of disease… he had seen it all. 

At first, he thought that it was normal. It was the age of players where unprepared parents preferred attending the social trend of entering the tower and leaving their accidental child at foster homes. 

However, as he grew older, he unknowingly developed a longing for his parents. He wanted to meet them. He waited for a day, weeks until it turned into months. And before he knew it, he had been waiting for 15 years. 

And that was when he said that he had enough. 

He tossed the idea of looking or waiting for them. He had enough of waiting. 

Developing a new goal to divert his thought, his eyes landed on the tall structure whose top remains a mystery, the Towers. Since then, he swore that one day, he would become a player.

A player who would stand above all and witness what was at the top of the tower. 

Going back to the present, his body dispersed into golden lights as he touched the door.  

A much-awaited system then rang in his head. 

[Ding!]

[Congratulations! You are now eligible to be a player!]

[You will now enter the tutorial]