Sun had been investigating Kael for three weeks.
Not obviously, Not in any way Kael would notice. Just observation. The kind he had been practicing since he learned to sit still in this body, Watching patterns, Noting details. Building a picture from small things most people walked past without seeing,
What he found was not dramatic,
It was just strange.
Kael arrived on this floor six months ago, Around the same time the children started disappearing,
That could mean nothing. Coincidence existed,Not everything that lined up meant something.
But the seed reacted to Kael, Every single visit. Consistently, And the seed had not reacted to anything else in four years.
That meant something.
The question was what.
If Kael was connected to the missing children, why did the seed respond to him the way it did. Not with alarm, Not with the sharp defensive pulse Sun might expect near something dangerous. Something quieter, Something closer to recognition.
He could not make it fit together.
He filed it and decided to think about something else.
That was when he noticed the ritual next door.
Sun watched the neighbor's house from the window.
The small boy sat at the center of the room. Everyone else gathered around him in a loose circle with the specific expression of people waiting for something to happen.
In front of the boy was food.
That part was normal.
On top of the food were flames.
Sun's gaze settled on them.
Mary,
Yes? his mother said.
Why is the food on fire?
It is his birthday cake,
That does not answer the question.
They are candles.
I can see that. Why are they lit?
It is part of the celebration.
Sun went quiet for a moment.
You celebrate continued survival by setting your food on fire.
It is not like that.
"There are visible flames," Sun said calmly.
Before Mary could respond the people in the room began to sing.
Sun straightened slightly.
What is this?
A birthday song.
They are gathered around a single individual, Sun said, watching carefully, and chanting in unison.
They are not chanting.
They are vocalizing collectively with synchronized intent.
Mary hesitated.
Continue, Sun said.
The song ended.
The atmosphere shifted. Everyone focused on the boy.
Make a wish! someone called out.
Sun frowned.
A wish.
Yes.
Explain,
You think of something you want and then blow out the candles.
Sun went still.
So the flames are necessary.
Yes.
And extinguishing them completes the process.
Well-
The boy inhaled and blew.
The flames went out instantly.
The room erupted into cheers and clapping.
Sun watched in silence.
It worked.
It did not work, it is just-
Sun raised a hand slightly.
They gathered in a circle, he said, counting quietly. They placed fire upon an offering. They performed a synchronized vocal sequence. The subject formed a desire internally and then extinguished the flames to conclude the act.
Mary sighed. Sun-
Sun turned to her.
This is a ritual.
It is not a ritual.
A request then.
No.
A negotiation,Sun said. With something unseen."
Mary rubbed her forehead. You are overthinking it.
Sun looked back at the boy, who was now happily cutting the cake.
What did he ask for?
That is private.
Sun nodded once.
Of course.
He folded his arms, gaze returning to the extinguished candles.
And if the request is denied? he asked quietly.
Mary blinked. What?
Sun's expression did not change.
Do you repeat the ritual, he continued, or has your species simply accepted that sometimes the entity you are appealing to refuses the offering?
Mary stared at him.
Sun looked back at the cake.
You burn food, he murmured, to bargain with something you cannot see.
Mary covered her face.
Sun. It is just a birthday.
Sun said nothing.
He watched the boy eat his cake with the satisfied expression of someone whose wish was already working.
Sun had governed a divine concept for three thousand years.
He had never received a birthday cake.
He was not entirely sure how he felt about that.
Kael arrived two hours later.
The seed shifted the moment he stepped through the door.
Sun noted it, filed it, and turned his attention to the table.
Kael adjusted his papers and sat down.
Today we talk about the races in the tower.
Sun looked up slightly.
Other races. There had been nothing like that organized enough to discuss before his time. The tower had changed more than he realized.
I thought humans were the only ones climbing, Sun said.
Kael gave a small smile. Most people believe that at first.
He paused.
Humans are the most numerous race in the tower. But they are not the only one. He tapped the table once. More importantly, they are the most useful.
Sun's eyes shifted slightly. Useful?
To the system. To the tower itself.
There was something underneath the words when Kael said it. Something careful. Almost like the statement cost him something small to deliver.
Humans are the God of Desire's most complete expression, Kael continued. They never stop wanting. Power. Safety. Revenge. Love. The wanting never ends.
Sun thought about this.
It sounded accurate.
Their desire is not a flaw, Kael said. It is their nature working exactly as intended. That is why the tower was built around them.
Sun tilted his head. So they are fuel.
Kael did not answer immediately.
You could say that, he said finally.
Sun went quiet.
He watched Kael's face while the silence sat between them.
There it was again. The brief expression that appeared when the conversation touched something Kael chose not to show fully.
Are there others? Sun asked.
Kael nodded and turned a page.
The Valyren. They exist mostly between floors thirty-one and fifty. They are the God of Manifestation's race. He paused. They do not just use power. They understand it. They can see how abilities are formed, what they cost, how they function, how to break them.
Sun narrowed his eyes. "That sounds dangerous."
It would be, Kael said calmly,
if they cared.
Sun blinked once. They do not?
No. They lack ambition. They understand everything and act on none of it.
Sun stared at him for a moment.
A waste,he said.
Kael did not respond.
Sun thought about it longer than he let show.
A race that could see through any ability, understand any system, find any weakness. Made completely harmless by removing the one thing that would make that knowledge matter.
He wondered whose idea that was.
What about the ones the tower considers threats?" Sun asked.
Something shifted in Kael's expression.
There is one group you should remember.
He said the word quietly.
"Nullspawn."
The air felt slightly heavier.
They are monsters, Kael said. Not alive in any meaningful way. Not allowed to die properly." He paused. "They are used in trials. As obstacles.
Sun's fingers tapped lightly against the chair.
The ones who resisted the tower were now part of it.
He did not say this out loud.
Kael continued.
There are others. The Veilborn. They follow the path of shadows. They exist on floors fifty-one to sixty. The most despair filled section of the tower.
Sun exhaled slowly.
Kael closed his notes.
One more thing before we finish.
Sun looked up.
Every authority has a counter, Kael said. No power is perfect. Nothing in this tower is without weakness.
Sun considered this.
It made sense. Every system had flaws. Every power had something it could not overcome. That was simply how things worked.
He filed it and moved on.
Nothing about the statement felt significant.
He simply nodded as Kael packed his materials.
The seed pulsed once beneath his ribs as the door closed.
Steady.
Patient.
Waiting.