Ebony Tower

“	It is said that a very powerful being came to this shattered land after it had been destroyed by the Lord of Light. Back then, the Sky Below was not as boundless, and there were much more fragments of divine flame still burning in its empty darkness. That being… wanted to harvest those flames.	”
― Mordret to Sunny about Ebony Tower, Chapter 452 Above and Beyond

The Prince of the Underworld had built a station in the ocean of flames, to harvest some of the divine fire. It was suspected that the prideful demon had either succeeded in his purpose or failed, that was why he eventually left and sealed the Obsidian Tower, which then stood abandoned for thousands of years. At some point during that time, another child of the -unknown- had come to the tower for a short while, although their purpose was very different.^[2]

Hidden from the radiant light of the ocean of flames, a small island cut from dark stone floated in the endless emptiness, surrounded by drifting slabs of shattered obsidian. On its center stood the Obsidian Tower. It was larger than the one every Awakened on the Chained Isles was used to observing in the skies and had no broken chains hanging from its stone slopes. On its desolate surface, remains of mysterious structures could be seen, turned to ruin by the passage of time. Several obsidian pillars protruded horizontally from its edges, stretching into the empty void like strange wharves. There were no Nightmare Creatures on the Island. It seems empty.^[1]

On the dark island, the air was pleasantly warm and bright stars burned in the empty void high above. From the ground, the graceful silhouette of the tower rose like a black rift. Across the island, there were various remains of structures or devices but their purpose was impossible to determine.^[3]

The tower turned out to be much larger at ground level. The ancient pagoda was more or less fit to have been built for extremely tall humans or tiny giants. The closer one looked, the more impressive it was. The unknown builder spent time to ensure that it replicated the magnificence of its Ivory counterpart perfectly. It would have been breathtaking if it wasn't so menacing. Surrounded by nothing but emptiness and silence, the Obsidian Tower appeared ominous just by virtue of existing.^[3]

The walls of the tower seemed to shield its interior even from Shadow Sense. The entire pagoda was covered in a thick layer of soot and beneath it, revealed a much harder and even blacker surface. The gate didn't have any handle so to open it one needs to send a small amount of essence to a particularly bright nod of the diamond weave.^[3] It stood at the edge of an endless void of darkness, empty and abandoned, with everything inside of it made out of nothing by an inhuman mind. It was not a very welcoming place for humans.^[4]

The tower had been sealed before its gates were opened. After opening the gates that had not been opened in thousands of years, the magic that had preserved everything inside was dispelled.^[5][4]

The Ebony Tower and Ivory Tower are connected to each other. With the connection, one can reach past the Crushing and step foot on the heavenly isle.^[2]

On the highest floor of the Ebony Tower was a portal, it connects to the Ivory Tower as long as the divine flame is charged into it.^[6]

The interior of the Obsidian Tower seemed quite mundane.^[5] From the outside, it had seemed as though the Obsidian Tower had six levels but there were actually seven levels. Around the first level of the tower, there are two stairwells — one stair leading up, the other leading down into the underground level.^[7]

The basement of the Obsidian Tower is one giant hall and in it hundreds of dismembered dolls were piled at the center of the hall, forming a morbid hill. Every broken doll had the same face, or rather, all of their faces looked alike as if they were all imperfect copies of the same original. They had the same flawless, inhumanly beautiful features that Saint had, only the craftsmanship behind the faces of the broken dolls seemed much less refined, as though the sculptor had not yet perfected his skill when creating them.^[7]

From the entrance, there is a wide corridor that seemed to encircle the entire first level of the pagoda. The corridor stretched both far to the left and to the right. Here and there, there are large doors leading to differently sized rooms that were situated in the direction of the tower's outer wall, all the way to the bends of the corridor.^[5] Right in front, was an intricate wooden gate decorated with beautiful engravings.^[5] Behind the gate was a large hall with a very tall ceiling.^[5]

There was a stand holding smith's tools and implements, all masterfully crafted from black obsidian and silver. A badly burned worktable with a scattering of beautiful soul crystals on its black surface. A stone wall with mysterious schematics cut into it, the cuts themselves so smooth and deep that one couldn't even begin to imagine what had left them behind, let alone what the schematics described. There were strange devices forged from silver and black steel, some of which are kind of astronomical instruments. There are also mundane things, like chairs, tables, and even something that resembled a very long bed. All of it was perfectly preserved and immaculate, with not a speck of dust anywhere. The sizes of everything were almost fit to be used by a human but slightly different. The shapes of the handles of all the tools were slightly strange as well as the way the pieces of furniture and equipment were arranged in space.^[5]

Then somehow as if an invisible seal was broken, the pristine condition of the hall was gone and was full of darkness, debris, and dirt. Some of the doors in the outer corridor had collapsed and turned to dust, some remained standing and required the use of a tiny bit of essence to unlock them. Behind the doors were all kinds of rooms. Most of them were empty, suggesting that the master of the tower had moved away a long time ago, taking all the valuable things with him, while some contained weathered debris and dust.^[7]

Just like the underground level, this level consisted of only one great hall. At the center of it, was a massive silver brazier. The silver brazier was infected by something like a vile kind of rot, its metal somehow became a part of it. The source of the infection at the very center of the brazier, blackened by the flames, was a severed arm longer than what it was supposed to be and had seven fingers with sharp claws.^[4]

As it had been thousands of years since the terrifying rot was locked in the tower. The black rot, which not even the divine flame nor an actual deity can destroy, died due to hunger and the relentless nature of time.^[8]

The chamber was smaller than the previous three halls upon entering the third level of the tower. In this particular chamber, dozens of porcelain arms floated in the air, each at a different level of being disassembled into tiny parts. On the table were numerous parts that had been scavenged from the disassembled porcelain arms, several skeins of beautiful diamond string, and a long, narrow needle.^[9]

The central hall was fashioned into a vast, somber shrine. At the center, stood an altar cut from a single slab of black onyx, and behind it was an incredibly beautiful statue of a young woman dressed in a flowing tunic, her face obscured by a veil. The young woman was holding a star in one hand, and a bolt of lightning in the other. She was the Storm God, also known as the Goddess of Black Skies.^[10]

It was completely empty, its black walls drowning in darkness and unadorned. There was no dust, no ruined pieces of furniture, tools, or strange metal devices. Not even lanterns. However, there were countless runes carved into the walls. It was the same mysterious runes that the Spell used to describe the Unknown. Somewhere around the dark hall, a strange resemblance of a map, that somewhat fit with the geography of the Dream Realm, was cut into an indestructible stone that even divine fire couldn't destroy.^[11]

The highest level of the great pagoda was not very large, in comparison to the six others. It was one big hall, circular in shape, and almost completely empty. The only thing inside was the arch itself. It was tall and composed of the same material as the rest of the Ebony Tower. The arch didn't seem to have been built instead, it was as if it had simply grown out of the floor, without any seam separating it from the black stone. It looked like a doorway.^[12]

The arch was surrounded by a circle of runes almost like a Gateway but it was actually an entrance to the magical bridge connecting the Ebony Tower to its Ivory counterpart.^[10] To activate the portal, one must infuse divine flames into it.^[12] The connection between the two portals may be affected by distance.^[13]

• The Ebony Tower was described as an ancient black tower with multiple levels containing significant locations.^[14]
  • It contained a hall with walls carved with myriad runes, including forbidden runes whose knowledge could destroy a person simply by understanding or being near them.^[14]
  • Most Awakened were protected from these runes by the Spell, but those without it were vulnerable, especially individuals sensitive to the Names and runes.^[14]
• The highest floor housed a portal archway surrounded by a runic circle used for transport.^[14]
• A portion of the portal's enchantment was destroyed by crossing out runes of space, desire, web, and connection to prevent enemies from entering.^[14]
• The highest level was considered the safest place in the tower, stocked with food and blankets for staying several days in relative comfort.^[14]
• The tower's structure included obsidian walls and multiple key areas such as:^[14]
  • the runic hall^[14]
  • the shrine of the Goddess of Black Skies^[14]
  • the workshop of the Demon of Destiny^[14]
  • the great brazier with a flame that once destroyed the Kingdom of Hope^[14]
  • living quarters on the ground floor^[14]
• According to Rain, the tower seemed to possess an impression, perceived as an echo of the thoughts that belonged to a sleeping giant. It was once flawlessly white, like its sister high in the sky, but turned black after myriad years of burning. Despite being in the Sky Above, the tower was said to miss the fire.^[14]