The tower was silent.
Not the normal kind of silence—the kind where sound refuses to exist.
The wards were active. Stable. Perfect.
And yet—
I was no longer alone.
I sat cross-legged in the center of the room, eyes closed, breathing slow. The air felt thicker, as if reality itself was paying attention.
Then—
A pressure.
Not mana.
Not intent.
Attention.
The blade reacted instantly.
"Alert. Observation-tier entity detected."
I didn't move.
"Hello," I said calmly.
The wards screamed.
Every formation in the tower flared at once, symbols burning white-hot before freezing in place—locked, not broken.
Then the voice arrived.
Not sound.
Not thought.
Existence bending just enough to carry meaning.
"So this is the soul that refused to end."
My heart didn't race.
My fear didn't spike.
That alone felt wrong.
"You've been watching," I replied.
"Yes."
The pressure shifted—curious, vast.
"You died correctly."
I frowned slightly. "That's not comforting."
Something like amusement rippled through the room.
"Most souls scatter. Yours… folded inward."
Images brushed the edge of my mind—fractured memories, endless darkness, a will that refused to dissolve.
"You didn't interfere," I said.
"No."
"Then why speak now?"
Silence.
Then—
"Because you were almost erased before you were ready."
The blade trembled.
"They hunt what they do not understand."
I opened my eyes.
The room looked the same—but it felt smaller, like something vast was leaning close without entering.
"What are you?" I asked.
A pause.
"A witness. A measure. A boundary."
"A Watcher," I said.
"A word you use. Not a role I chose."
My jaw tightened. "You looked at us during the exam."
"I noticed two anomalies."
I knew who the second was.
"Lena."
"The blood that remembers. And the soul that adapted."
The pressure intensified—not threatening, just… closer.
"Together, you are inefficiently interesting."
I almost laughed. "That's the nicest cosmic insult I've heard."
This time, the amusement was clearer.
"You will change the slope of this world."
That mattered.
"Is that a warning?" I asked.
"An observation."
The wards began to crack—not shatter, but strain under proximity alone.
"Others will notice soon."
I leaned forward slightly. "Then why tell me?"
Another pause.
Longer this time.
"Because when they arrive… you will need to choose."
"Choose what?"
The pressure receded—slowly, reluctantly.
"Whether you remain something that is watched…"
The room dimmed.
"…or become something that watches back."
The presence vanished.
The wards collapsed—not broken, but exhausted—rebooting themselves in confused silence.
I sat there for a long time, unmoving.
The blade whispered, shaken.
"Contact confirmed. Direct acknowledgment achieved."
I exhaled.
"So it's official now," I murmured. "I'm on the radar."
Outside the tower, the academy slept uneasily.
Above it—
Something vast turned its attention away.
For now.
And deep inside me, a truth settled quietly, heavily:
This world wasn't ready.
But it was going to have to be.