The Tower Of Infinite Dimensions

"Mom, I promised," he smiled, sitting on the couch.

One of the springs was torn and bruised. The pavement outside had been crushed.

"Don't make this house bigger… it's already as big as it gets. Just try to make money for yourself, and I will too… I'll get you out of this place," he said, puffing out his chest with a dream in his voice.

Where did my desire to have that desire go?

Did it fade with the crushing regret that I'll just become another regular guy in this world, buried under debts, regrets, and poverty?

"Adam, you're a kind boy," his mother said, patting his shoulder like she did when he was younger.

"We already have enough. Trust in the Lord. And I'm not making the house bigger—I'm adding walls. A safe house means a safe family, after all." She pinched his cheeks.

"But we have to do something."

"And that something… is you doing better in school."

"Ehh…" he sighed.

My dream of wanting to be free—it's still in me. Actually, it always was. That was my goal. And money… money was the only way to make that dream come true. I only wished I wasn't tied to anything. But how impossible that dream was…

I woke up in a room. My eyes widened as I looked around.

I must have collapsed from exhaustion. Still in the doctor's room…

I stood slowly. My body was hot with sweat, trying to release heat as I walked out of the lab.

Destruction had swept the town.

Will this keep happening to me?

What the heck is this world? Why do I always experience pain from it?

I saw sheep broken from their pastures… goats roaming freely through the shattered city.

Fireflies floated over the ruins. There was no light left—none from the town.

Only the soft ceiling glow and the glow of those creatures.

"Where did you come from?" I raised my hand, and one firefly landed gently on my fingers.

A breeze blew through the cracked trees.

The broken streetlamps flickered, faintly lighting the town like a final farewell.

"Hey!" a voice cried out. Yuri ran toward me.

Her leg had been repaired, but her arm… gone.

She had saved me. And I was grateful for it.

Adam looked away. "I'm sorry."

She smiled.

"Why are you sorry? This is our life. The pain we endure isn't your fault."

She held his hand. "Meeting you was a blessing."

I cried—for the first time in a long while.

Was it because she was a robot? Why…

Then Yoku came running up. "Adam! It's ready—we have enough supplies! We can finally leave Rixton! I'll wait for you."

Yuri brightened. "Wait! I'm already excited!"

She ran up to Yoku. "Adam, we'll wait for you!"

"Wait…"

I took a picture of them, walking away side by side.

…

I ran to the tavern.

Half of it had been destroyed yesterday.

The headphone butler still sat calmly in the dining area.

"Mr. Adam, it's a pleasure to see you again. Aren't you supposed to leave? There's not much good in staying in a town doomed to fall."

"Aren't you?"

"I'm not."

"…I see."

He already knew the answer to everything.

"Thanks for everything."

"That girl… I don't know how, but…"

He paused. "Never mind, Mr. Adam. Just think of her as special. She's the only one who truly wanted to leave this island. May you find life."

Click.

I took a picture of him, surprising him slightly.

I smiled—faintly, not quite real—and left a gold coin behind.

I ran toward the farming area.

There was the old robot with a straw hat.

"Hahh. You didn't have to come all the way here just to greet an old man," he said with a smile.

Adam realized how stupid it was to ask them to leave.

"Thanks for everything."

The old robot handed him a small loaf of bread—that was all he had.

Adam sat down and ate it slowly, enjoying the taste.

The old black android waved goodbye, smiling warmly.

As I walked away toward my comrades…

It was peaceful.

I see now.

I let go.

…

We left the town, the remaining robots waves goodbye at us.

Yoku, Yuri, and I climbed into the kettenkrad, the transport cage slowly lowering us down the surface of the city's stratum.

 the kettenkrad, with yoku already packing the thing it was half filled with his stuffs and even alisto the robot full of it, suddenly the black cat, rested on the of the carts…

Yuri smiles "She's still alive, that's no wonder… cats always have this ability to survive in great deals"

Adam looks at her, how weird…she was resting on yoku workshop when the attack happened, so its fine, I think…

Adam's eyes widened.

It had been so long since he'd seen the destroyed buildings below the tower.

The mechanical hum still echoed beneath the rubble.

We reached the surface and began driving.

The pavement was cracked and rocky, but in the distance…

A massive gate—taller than any building, larger than the island itself—stood before us.

The way out.

AM didn't lie. This was extremely massive no wonder this takes a ton of energy to open

Yuri's eyes sparkled. "Finally… So this was it."

Adam looked at her. "Yep."

Yoku smiled. "Our final destination."

It feels so melancholy—like a dream or a stage of life that's just ended.

You want to rest… forget the journey… and just be at peace.

Adam pulled out his camera.

Click.

One last picture of the Lower Stratum

They drove forward—toward the upper stratum's ...

{Volume 1 End}