The Spire wasn't just a tower; it was a wound in the sky.
Standing at the edge of Old Town, Arden looked up. The crystalline structure rose impossibly high, piercing the cloud layer like a needle of pure light. It didn't reflect the ruined city around it. Instead, it seemed to be made of a material that absorbed reality, pulling the gaze inward.
"It's not physical," Olli murmured, adjusting his glasses as he scanned the structure with a handheld device. "I mean, it's solid, but the atoms aren't vibrating. It's... absolute zero matter. Frozen time given shape."
"So if we punch it, it won't break," Rax grunted, hefting his massive hammer.
"If you punch it," Olli said, "your hand might shatter into a thousand distinct timelines where you never threw the punch in the first place."
Rax lowered the hammer. "Creepy."
The plaza around the Spire was crowded.
It wasn't just Arden's team. The message had gone out to everyone.
