On the seventh night of training, Seong had a vision. He was standing in a place he did not recognize. A field of white flowers, stretching to the horizon. And in the distance, a figure.
He walked toward the figure. As he approached, he saw that it was the child from the tower. The being of silence who had learned to speak again.
"You are coming," said the child.
"Coming where?"
"To the end. To the place where all roads meet. To the place where the first tear fell and the last tear will fall."
"When?"
"Soon. But not yet. There is one more challenge. One more enemy. One more lesson."
"What enemy?"
The child pointed. In the distance, the white flowers began to turn black. A shadow was spreading. Not like the shadows they had faced before. Something older. Something deeper.
"The one who created the first shadow," said the child. "The one who taught fear how to walk. The one who has been waiting for you since the beginning."