The first thing Leon noticed as he stepped onto the floating platform at the heart of the Tower of Aether was the silence. No wind. No echoes of his allies. Not even the sound of his own footsteps. It was as if the world itself held its breath. The glow beneath his boots intensified, and the platform began to ascend.
[You have entered the Aetheric Core.] [Trial Initiated: Tower of Aether, First Gate]
Suddenly, the walls fell away. He was suspended in an endless void. The sky, or what passed for it, shimmered with aurora-like threads of color that danced and twisted in patterns he couldn't understand. Magic. Time. Memory. Everything was folding and unfolding around him.
And then came the voice.
> "Leon Albrecht... Reborn King. Blood of the Flame Pact. Bearer of Sovereign Fire. Do you seek power or truth?"
Leon instinctively reached for his sword, the Crownfire Blade. It blazed to life in his grip, but its flame flickered strangely here. "I seek the strength to change fate," he answered.
> "Then face what binds you."
The light fractured. Images flashed in the air around him: his mother's fading smile, Serah screaming on the battlefield, Kael bleeding in his arms, Mira walking away during the Siege of Hallowmere. Every failure. Every loss. Every sin.
He fell to one knee.
> "You carry more than flame. You carry guilt. Rage. Despair. Can such things forge a king?"
Leon looked up, eyes burning. "I will rise, no matter the weight."
The light condensed, and from it stepped a figure—identical to him in every way. Same sword. Same armor. Same scars. But its eyes glowed with cold, blue fire.
> "Then prove it."
They clashed.
Leon met his reflection with fury, their swords igniting on contact. Sparks and Aether crackled with each strike. His double moved with perfect precision, matching him blow for blow, as if reading his mind.
He was fighting himself—but not just in body. The clone spoke between attacks.
> "You speak of justice but bathe in vengeance."
> "You lead with fire, but leave ashes."
> "You call yourself reborn, yet you cling to the pain of the past."
Leon roared, "You know nothing of what I've endured!"
> "I know it because I am you. Every lie you told yourself. Every truth you buried. Every weakness."
The fight became more brutal. The void echoed with the clang of blades, the hiss of magic, the scream of spirits who watched from the edges of the trial. Each time Leon struck true, he felt his own pain. Each wound he suffered, the clone bore as well.
Exhausted and bloodied, they locked blades once more.
Leon whispered, "This ends now."
The clone smiled. "Then let us burn together."
Leon dropped his blade.
The clone's eyes widened.
He opened his arms and embraced the copy, who stiffened, confused.
"You are my pain," Leon said. "But I won't run from you anymore."
They exploded into flame.
When the smoke cleared, Leon stood alone—but changed.
[Aether Trial Complete. Inner Flame Reconciled.] [Mythic Trait Gained: Sovereign Flame - Level 1]
A silver flame now pulsed beneath his skin.
Time returned with a rush. Leon blinked as he reappeared in the Tower's chamber, kneeling at the center of the ritual circle. Mira rushed forward.
"Leon!"
He grunted as she helped him to his feet. Kael and Veyra hovered nearby, concern on their faces.
"You were gone for hours," Veyra said. "The magic around you was... volatile."
Leon wiped blood from his lip. "To me, it felt like a lifetime."
He looked at his hands. The flame within them pulsed steadily, no longer just destructive—but alive.
"I passed the first gate. The Tower... accepted me."
[System Update: You have become a Recognized Bearer of the Aether. New Questline Unlocked: War of the Seven Towers.]
Before they could celebrate, the chamber shuddered. A figure appeared in the air above them—a projection formed of Aether light.
A cloaked being. Masked. Ancient.
> "Bearer of Aether... know this. You have awakened a power older than the Courts. But you are not the only one."
Images flickered behind the figure—seven towers, scattered across the world. One of them—bathed in blood-red fire—was already active.
> "The Crimson Court has awakened the Tower of Ash. Their Champion rises. The race for the keys to reality has begun."
The figure vanished.
Leon stood still, his hands clenching.
Kael said grimly, "What the hell did we just start?"
Far to the south, within the shadowed halls of the Crimson Spire, the Court gathered.
A ritual of blood and shadow spiraled around a single figure—a man once broken, now rebuilt. Valek, the Crimson Champion.
He knelt in a circle of burning runes, chained by red lightning. Four robed figures surrounded him, chanting in a dead language.
"You will rise bearing the Mark of Ash," one said.
"The Flamebearer has passed his trial. You must be his shadow. His death."
Valek opened his eyes—and the room darkened.
Power radiated from him. His body bore scars from ancient tortures. His blood was not blood at all, but ichor infused with cursed Aether.
He stood.
"Leon Albrecht... I will take your crown."
The Crimson Court roared their approval.
Back in Stonefall, the war room had changed.
Maps now bore sigils of the Seven Towers. Serah stood beside Mira, Kael, and Veyra. All wore new armor, titles etched in enchanted steel.
Leon sat at the head.
"We have confirmation," Mira said. "Three towers are awakening. One in the desert kingdoms. One beneath the sea. One in the north."
"And the Crimson Court already controls one," Kael added.
Leon nodded. "Then we must form a counterforce. Not just soldiers. Not just power. We need alliances. Secrets. And we need to break the rules."
He held up a crystal—a sliver of the Aether Core.
"We change the System."
The council fell into stunned silence.
Serah whispered, "Can that be done?"
Leon looked toward the east, where the next tower loomed in myth.
"We'll find out."