The tower had been quiet for six months.
Not silent...no, it was never silent.
It watched.
Hovered at the edge of everything like a thought you couldn't quite shake off. Always there. Always waiting.
But Zetharians?
Didn't even go near it.
At first, it made sense. Caution. Fear. Common sense, for once.
Then it became something else.
Expectation.
"If you're not going," Kael said one afternoon, leaning against the fence, "then why would anyone else?"
I paused mid-motion, shovel digging into the soil.
"…That's a terrible system."
Zeref, sitting nearby, didn't even look up. "It's not a system. It's influence."
I clicked my tongue. "I didn't ask to be the deciding factor."
Kael smirked faintly. "Too late. You killed a god. That tends to… leave an impression."
Great.
So now I'm a moral compass for an entire world.
No pressure.
But the tower…
It wasn't just waiting anymore.
It was calling.
Not loud. Not forceful.
Just… persistent.
