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~~((New Year's Day Special - Page 1 of 12))~~
The farther he climbed, the more exhausted he became. And the more exhausted he felt, the more irritated he grew.

What was with all this bullshit, huh? A stupid tower in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by feldeaths and a storm that could rip through even moderately-aged servants like tin foil--why did it have to be here, of all places?

He supposed it would make sense that the "hidden potential" of the path of destruction would be sealed away in such a difficult to reach location, but seriously. Come on, man. If he didn't find the answer he was looking for at the top of this damn thing, then he was going to tear this tower to pieces even if it killed him. So what if even feldeaths weren't able to take it down? He was angry enough that he was sure he'd find a way. Somehow.

His ragged breaths gradually turned more into growls as his pace began to slow, and his climb gradually became a crawl.

Goddamm Paulie and his goddamn voices in his goddamn head. This was going to be a gigantic waste of time. He just knew it. The disappointment was on its way. Only, it wasn't going to arrive alone. It was going to bring mind-numbing rage along with it.

Which was a very uncommon emotion for him.

Caster Egmond was not a nice man. He had learned that about himself at the tender age of thirteen. He realized how easy it was to hurt people, how trusting everyone was in the basic civility of others. They all seemed to believe that true malevolence simply did not exist in the hearts and minds of those around them.

Surely, everyone meant well as long as they were being polite, no? And maybe even when they weren't?

Regular people were so utterly ignorant in that regard.

That was why, in all things, Caster Egmond tried to keep his cool. Being physically outmatched by almost everyone he met throughout the entirety of his youth, he'd had no choice but to blend in. To seem normal.

To conceal his burning hatred of existence beneath a calm exterior.

He'd gotten so good at it, in fact, that he was sometimes able to fool even himself.