The crowd noticed something odd.
"Uh… why are those black-robed women not moving?"
"They've been standing like statues since they arrived."
"Are they… searching for the keys like that?"
Lucien and Marie noticed it too.
The black-robed duo stood silently at the very front of the spire's lowest ring.
Completely still.
Marie's ears twitched. "Are they… analyzing the spire?"
Lucien shook his head slowly.
He didn't understand them but something about their stillness was wrong.
A chill slid down his spine.
"Are they waiting," he murmured, "for the keys to appear before they strike?"
Marie's tail poofed out like a startled cat.
"That's worse."
Suddenly—
RUMMMMMBLE—!!
The entire spire shifted.
Platforms rearranged.
Bridges rotated out.
Rings realigned with thunderous clicks.
And all ten pairs scattered across the first ring, searching.
