Opening – After the Predator
Rain's lungs burned, each breath cutting through the dust-filled air of the Spire.The predator was gone — not killed, not defeated… simply dismissed.
The black card felt heavier than it should, as though it carried weight not measured in grams.When Rain looked at it again, the silver line seemed to have lengthened — subtly, impossibly — since the Librarian gave it to him.
The Spire Changes
The climb upward was wrong.Where before the steps had been stone, now they were steel grates. Pipes hissed softly, carrying steam in pulses that matched his heartbeat.
Once, Rain thought he saw the shadow of another climber above him — tall, moving with precision, pausing when he paused.When he tried to call out, the figure melted into the Spire's wall.
New Threat – The Watchers
Halfway to the next landing, he found them — three humanoid silhouettes standing perfectly still on the platform ahead.Their eyes glowed faint white. No faces, no mouths. Just eyes.
One stepped forward. The sound of its foot on metal was almost… polite.
Watcher: "Bearer of the Line. Why do you ascend?"Rain: "Because if I stop, I die."Watcher: "Your death is irrelevant. The Line should not be in your hands."
A Test
The Watchers spread apart, blocking every path forward.Rain thought about the card — and the Librarian's advice. Show it to the next thing that tries to kill you.
He held it up.
The Watchers froze — but instead of fear, their glow brightened.
Watcher: "The Librarian's claim… confirmed. But incomplete."Rain: "What does that mean?"Watcher: "It means you are not the first to carry it. And you will not be the last."
They stepped aside.Not to let him pass — but to reveal a hatch in the floor, leading downward.
Temptation
Rain hesitated. Down was the opposite of where the shard should be.But the hatch's edges shimmered faintly — the same shimmer as the silver line on the card.
His gut told him: whatever was below was tied to the card's true purpose.His brain told him: every second here still counted against the shard timer.
The Watchers spoke again:
Watcher: "Above, you will face the Tower's Wrath. Below, you will face its Memory. Choose."
Cliffhanger – The Wrong Choice?
Rain tightened his grip on the card.
The shard's deadline echoed in his mind. He should go up. He needed to go up.But his hand… moved toward the hatch.
As he began to descend, the metal rungs under his feet grew colder, until it felt like he was climbing into the bones of something enormous and dead.
From far below came a whisper:
"Finally… you've come back."