Dawn broke too early.
Valerian stood on the edge of the collapsed Hollow Sprawl, watching the sun rise like a fractured mirror—its rays warping as they passed through the thinning fog. His companions were behind him, silent, recovering.
None of them spoke of what they'd seen in the memory pool.
Not yet.
Lira sat cross-legged, her staff planted beside her, maintaining a faint ward that crackled with arcane resistance. Selene paced quietly, eyes distant. And Kael… Kael just stared at the sky, his usual cocky demeanor gone, replaced by a hard silence.
Valerian's thoughts burned.
> "They made me to save the world. I chose to rewrite it."
Alex had said that. He had held the root command. Not just a system user… but its author. Or perhaps, its thief.
And now Valerian was walking that same path, but backward—unraveling instead of writing.
---
System Notification
> [Location Unlocked: The Tower of Reversal]
> [Final Wraith confirmed to reside within.]
