The emotional collapse inside the Main Dojo somehow continued escalating.
Which honestly should not have been possible anymore.
The room was still recovering from the revelation that:
there was an entirely separate ranged-combat mountain,
Commander Mercer lost multiple duels before breakfast,
and Supreme Admiral Calder was emotionally bonding with ancient heavy assault forms
when Commander Mercer abruptly started marching toward the eastern pathways.
"I'M GOING."
Master Sora moved instantly.
One tiny hand shot out—
grabbed Mercer directly by the collar—
and stopped him cold.
The entire valley froze.
Not because she stopped him.
Because Mercer—
actual Commander Mercer—
could not move.
At all.
Mercer blinked once.
Then twice.
Then slowly looked down at the tiny old woman holding him in place with one hand like an emotionally unstable puppy.
The room collectively realized something horrifying.
Master Sora was absurdly strong.
Mercer realized it too.
Very suddenly.
"…what."
Master Sora looked unimpressed.
"You should check the tower first."
Then she pointed calmly toward Kade.
"And you."
Kade immediately straightened.
Then toward the younger Hale officer standing beside Commander Hale.
"And him."
The younger Hale officer looked visibly alarmed.
Then—
Master Sora turned toward Vincent Torres.
"You too."
Vincent blinked once.
"…me."
"Yes."
Another pause.
"You think too quietly."
Vincent looked deeply offended somehow.
Nearby, Senior Torres looked emotional instantly.
"She understands him already."
Alejandro Torres Jr. sighed heavily.
"That should concern everyone."
Mercer was still trapped.
"…what tower."
Master Sora finally released his collar.
Then calmly pointed farther up the western side of the mountain where portions of the cliffs disappeared behind waterfalls, hanging bridges, drifting clouds, and layered terraces hidden high above the valley.
At first—
the others did not see it.
Then slowly—
through drifting mist—
a structure emerged.
Tall.
Ancient.
Beautiful.
A massive dark wooden tower built directly into the mountainside itself.
Layer after layer climbed upward toward the clouds while open observation balconies curved around the structure beneath hanging lanterns and long prayer banners moving gently in the mountain wind.
The entire thing looked less like architecture—
and more like a challenge.
Kael visibly winced.
"Oh no."
Ryven immediately looked toward him.
"You know it."
Kael pointed weakly toward the distant tower.
"That thing traumatized Krysta."
From somewhere nearby—
Serena and Jules immediately failed to hide their smiles again.
George Benton outright laughed.
"She used to threaten the tower systems back."
"That's because the tower cheated," Kael muttered darkly.
"It did not cheat," George answered.
"It absolutely cheated."
Master Sora ignored all of them completely.
Then turned calmly toward George Benton.
"Show them."
George sighed dramatically.
"Why am I always the tour guide."
"Because Fritz built the tower and John designed the systems."
Reasonable silence followed.
Then slowly—
the room processed that sentence.
Commander Hale blinked first.
"…John Ardent."
"Yes," Serena answered calmly.
"The tower was originally built for Krysta when she was younger."
Now everyone looked fully interested.
Mercer forgot the ranged mountain immediately.
"…for Krysta?"
George nodded while staring toward the distant tower.
"It started as a training structure."
Another pause.
"Then John got involved."
The room immediately understood that meant things became dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Kade crossed his arms slowly while studying the tower.
"What kind of training."
George smiled.
The exact same smile Krysta used before emotionally devastating systems analysts.
"Communication warfare."
Silence.
Then George continued calmly.
"Signal interception."
Another finger.
"System analysis."
Another.
"Encryption warfare."
Another.
"Counter-intelligence."
Another.
"Adaptive information architecture."
Another.
"Psychological data manipulation."
Another.
"Network infiltration."
Vincent Torres physically looked interested now.
Which honestly felt dangerous for civilization.
Commander Hale narrowed his eyes slightly.
"A systems tower."
George nodded once.
"But not just for analysts."
Another pause.
"It was built to teach people how to break impossible systems."
That sentence landed heavily.
Because suddenly everyone understood exactly why Krysta Benton became Krysta Benton.
The tower had not trained her to follow systems.
It trained her to dismantle them.
Master Sora folded her arms calmly.
"Children who only learn combat become weapons."
Another pause.
"Children who understand systems change civilizations."
The room went quiet.
Because yes.
That sounded exactly like the Bentons.
Kade stared toward the distant tower now with visible focus.
"The tower adapts too?"
George laughed softly.
"Oh it absolutely adapts."
Kael looked deeply traumatized already.
"It learns."
Mercer blinked.
"…what."
"It learns," Kael repeated darkly. "The tower remembers how you think."
Silence.
Then Leon quietly muttered:
"That sounds illegal."
"It should be," Kael answered immediately.
George looked far too entertained.
"When Krysta was twelve the tower locked her inside for sixteen hours because she kept bypassing the security routes."
Commander Hale physically turned.
"…the tower locked her inside?"
George nodded proudly.
"She hacked it first."
Reasonable silence followed.
Then Vincent asked the important question.
"…who won."
George looked thoughtful.
"Depends who you ask."
Kael answered immediately.
"Krysta."
Serena answered at the exact same time.
"The tower."
Jules pointed between them.
"And that's why they're related."
The valley dissolved into tired laughter again.
Even Garrick looked dangerously close to smiling now.
Meanwhile the tower loomed high above them through drifting mist and hanging bridges beneath the mountain sky.
Watching.
Waiting.
Almost alive somehow.
Kade kept staring toward it.
"…how advanced is the adaptive framework."
George folded his arms.
"The tower studies behavioral rhythm."
Another pause.
"Decision patterns."
Another.
"Emotional responses under pressure."
Kade looked visibly unsettled now.
"It psychologically profiles users."
"Yes."
"…inside a training structure."
"Yes."
Commander Mercer looked personally offended.
"That is not training anymore."
George looked unconvinced.
"Krysta enjoyed it."
Kael pointed dramatically.
"She threatened to marry the tower AI out of spite."
Ryven blinked once.
"…what."
"She said at least the tower understood her."
Leon physically turned away laughing.
Even Vincent lost the fight against smiling slightly.
Commander Hale slowly rubbed one hand down his face.
"I am beginning to understand why every Benton child becomes terrifying."
"You say that like it was accidental," Serena answered calmly.
Fair.
Master Sora waved one hand dismissively.
"The tower likes difficult children."
"That explains too much," Mercer muttered.
Then the tiny old woman pointed toward Kade, Vincent, Mercer, and the younger Hale officer again.
"Go."
Mercer looked suspicious immediately.
"…why specifically us."
Master Sora smiled.
Small.
Dangerous.
Wise enough to terrify everyone.
"Because the tower will enjoy you."
Absolute silence followed.
Then Kael quietly muttered:
"Oh they're doomed."
Mercer pointed immediately.
"YOU ARE COMING WITH US."
"No."
"You survived it before."
"Exactly. I learned my lesson."
Ryven looked toward the distant tower again.
"…what does it actually do."
Kael looked deeply haunted.
"The tower creates scenarios."
Another pause.
"Then adapts them."
Another.
"Then adapts to your adaptation."
The room went quieter.
Because somehow—
that sounded worse.
Kade's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"A recursive learning structure."
"Yes."
Another pause.
"Grandpa John called it 'dynamic cognition pressure testing.'"
Mercer looked exhausted already.
"That sounds fake."
"It absolutely wasn't," Kael answered immediately.
George looked far too entertained by all of this.
"The tower once locked Krysta into a negotiation simulation against seven hostile trade systems."
Commander Hale blinked.
"She was twelve."
"She won."
"How."
George smiled.
"She bankrupted four of them."
Senior Torres physically wiped one eye.
"She really is magnificent."
Alejandro Torres Jr. looked spiritually exhausted.
"Please stop emotionally adopting the dangerous Benton children."
Too late honestly.
Then Master Sora started walking again.
Everyone instinctively moved with her.
The valley pathways curved beneath drifting cherry blossoms while waterfalls echoed softly through the mountain around them.
And above—
high among the cliffs—
the tower remained partially hidden beneath clouds and hanging bridges.
Watching silently.
Waiting patiently.
Like it already knew exactly who would eventually walk through its doors.
Mercer kept staring upward suspiciously.
"…I don't trust it."
"You shouldn't," Kael answered immediately.
"The tower likes winning arguments."
"How does a BUILDING win arguments."
"It manipulates emotional conditions."
"That is not architecture."
"That is Benton architecture," Leon corrected helpfully.
Fair correction honestly.
Kade's focus never left the distant structure.
"…John Ardent really built this for Krysta."
"Yes," Serena answered quietly.
Another pause.
"He wanted her to understand systems deeply enough that nobody could ever trap her inside one."
That sentence settled heavily into the valley.
Because suddenly—
the tower stopped sounding like eccentric Benton insanity.
It sounded protective.
Like everything else inside the mountain.
The Dojo taught survival.
The valley taught belonging.
And the tower—
the tower taught freedom.
Freedom through understanding.
Freedom through knowledge.
Freedom through learning how systems worked well enough to break them before they broke you first.
Master Sora finally stopped near the split pathway leading upward toward the distant tower.
Then calmly looked toward Mercer, Vincent, Kade, and the younger Hale officer again.
"You four go after breakfast."
Mercer looked deeply suspicious.
"…why not now."
"Because the tower enjoys exhausted people too much."
That somehow felt like genuine warning.
Kade looked upward thoughtfully.
"…it really learns."
"Yes."
Master Sora smiled softly toward the distant structure.
"The tower remembers every difficult child who enters it."
Then she looked directly at Vincent.
"And it especially likes the quiet dangerous ones."
Vincent blinked once.
"…that feels targeted."
"It is."
Leon physically lost composure again.
Nearby, Kael slowly moved closer toward Ryven.
Then quietly—
very quietly—
he whispered:
"Start preparing funeral speeches."
Ryven looked toward him flatly.
"For them or the tower."
Kael considered seriously.
"…yes."
And somewhere high above the hidden mountain valley beneath drifting clouds, waterfalls, and ancient hanging bridges—
the tower waited patiently—
ready to emotionally destroy another generation of systems specialists.