The wind did not return immediately.
It was as if the world itself was watching them.
Souro stood a few steps away from Selene. The silver grass bent slightly around them, like they were standing inside something invisible.
The crack-shaped mark on her shoulder still glowed faintly.
Unstable.
Alive.
"You killed them…" she said softly.
Souro looked at the fading particles where the shadows had been.
"They weren't alive."
"That's not what I meant."
He didn't answer.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The broken moon loomed above them, enormous and fractured. One of its cracks pulsed faintly — and when it did, both of their marks reacted.
Souro felt it first.
A tug in his chest.
Selene flinched at the same time.
Their eyes met again.
The air between them shimmered.
And then—
A notification appeared in front of both of them.
[Resonance Detected]
[Moonlit Refuse ↔ Fractured Catalyst]
[Compatibility: 72%]
[Shared Survival Probability Increased]
"What… is that?" Selene whispered.
"You can see it too?" Souro asked.
She nodded slowly.
The system text flickered.
Glitched.
For a split second, the words distorted into something unreadable.
Then—
[Warning: External Observation Active]
The message vanished.
Souro's jaw tightened.
"We're being watched."
Selene's fingers curled into the grass.
"By what?"
Before he could answer—
The ground trembled.
Not violently.
But deliberately.
Like something massive had shifted its weight.
In the distance, beyond the silver field, something rose.
A structure.
A tower.
Black stone pierced upward from the horizon, forming itself piece by piece as if the world was generating it in real time.
Selene stared.
"That wasn't there before…"
Souro felt the crescent mark burn again.
This time, it wasn't reacting to her.
It was reacting to that.
A new notification appeared.
[First Trial Initiated]
[Objective: Reach the Obsidian Spire]
[Failure Condition: Termination]
Selene's breathing quickened.
"This is a test?"
Souro watched the tower finish forming.
"No," he said quietly.
"It's a filter."
Above them, the crack in the moon widened slightly.
And far away—
Inside the highest chamber of that newly formed spire—
A boy with calm silver eyes watched two glowing points move across a map made of light.
Nova rested his chin on his hand.
"Seventy-two percent compatibility," he murmured.
"Interesting."
The star-shaped mark on the back of his hand pulsed once.
"Let's see if the Refuse can survive the climb."
The tower doors opened.
And the wind finally returned.