The closer they came to the tower, the more the air around them twisted.
Not just wind or pressure—reality itself bent in subtle, unnerving ways. A tree might lean slightly toward them, even without wind. A pebble might roll uphill before resting. The system interface Ren depended on shimmered, hesitated, then returned. This place was wrong in ways too subtle for instinct, but too consistent to ignore.
"Everyone feels that, right?" Kael muttered.
"It's called spatial misalignment," Ilis replied, eyes narrowed. "This entire zone must be caught between tiers. The system's bleeding into physical space."
Meka looked up. "The tower's fingers—why are they open now?"
Ren stared. The hand-shaped structure, once clenched like a fist when they viewed it from the spire, now had splayed fingers reaching upward into the sky. Five segmented arms, each etched with glowing lines of ancient tech-script.
Location Reached: TOWER OF THE VERAHAND
Structure Integrity: 37%
Status: Dormant – Potential Activation Detected
Entry: Manual Required
They reached the base.
There were no doors.
No visible entrance.
Only an enormous vertical slit between the middle and ring fingers of the structure—just wide enough for a single person to pass through at a time.
"It's like walking into a mouth," Meka muttered.
Ren stepped forward first. As he crossed the invisible threshold, the tower reacted. Lights flared upward through its structure. Each finger glowed faintly, pulsing like veins. The slit widened slightly, allowing the others to follow.
The interior was… empty. For a second.
Then, the floor beneath them shifted. Hexagonal tiles slid apart, forming a staircase downward. No sounds. Just seamless mechanical motion, like gears that had waited centuries to move again.
"System, scan environment," Ren whispered.
Scanning…
Structure Composition: Hybrid Organic-Tech Alloy
Temporal Layering Detected
Note: Time Distortion Zones Present – Maintain Chrono Awareness
Seed Resonance: 78%
Seeder Compatibility: Confirmed
Welcome, Successor.
Ren's eyes widened. "It just… welcomed me."
Ilis stepped beside him. "That means someone—or something—in this tower recognizes your status as a Seeder."
"Could be a trap," Kael said.
"Could be a message," Ren replied. "Either way, we won't know until we go deeper."
They descended.
The stairwell coiled downward in a perfect spiral. No dust, no age. As if the place had been preserved, untouched by time's decay.
At the bottom, the corridor opened into a wide chamber. Five tall arches ringed the room—each marked with a different symbol. One was shaped like a flame. Another like a tree. One shimmered with glass, one bled shadow, and the last glowed like static.
Each had a terminal beneath it.
Each had an interface.
Ren approached the flame arch.
The moment he reached it, his system responded:
Accessing: VERAHAND SEED FUNCTIONALITY
Branch Type: Ember Root
Sub-Protocol: Flame Core Integration
– Fire Affinity Boost: +120%
– Adaptive Burn Resistance: Enabled
– Ember Skill Tree: Unlocked
Warning: Core Imprint Required – One-Time Choice
Proceed?
Ren stepped back. "Each arch represents a path."
"Affinity trees," Ilis murmured. "The original Seeders used these to align with specific traits."
Kael stepped toward the shadow-marked arch. Its terminal responded too:
Branch Type: Veil Root
– Concealment Specialization
– Stealth Skill Tree: Unlocked
– Mental Obfuscation: Passive Initiated
Kael raised an eyebrow. "This one's definitely me."
Ren turned back to the flame arch. It called to him—not with fire, but warmth. Potential. Power waiting to be accepted.
But he hesitated.
Meka examined the glass-symbol arch. "What happens if we pick one?"
Ilis replied slowly. "These are veraseeds. Deep imprints. You don't just get powers. You get aligned. Personality shifts, instinctive changes, maybe even memory inheritance."
Kael stared. "So... you risk becoming someone else?"
"Not completely. But close enough to matter."
Ren clenched his fist. "We came here for answers. Maybe this is how we find them."
He stepped forward.
Warning: Veraseed Imprint is Permanent
Secondary Branches Available After Tier 3
Proceed with Primary Imprint: Ember Root?
"Yes."
The moment he said it, light erupted from the floor. The flames didn't burn—they enveloped. Warm. Consuming. Filling him with something more ancient than fire.
He didn't scream.
But he wanted to.
Veraseed Accepted – Ember Root Branch
Core Sync: 94%
Skill Tree Unlocked:
– Ignition Pulse
– Ember Veil
– Burnpoint Surge
Ember Meter Introduced
Passive: Heat Memory (Your flames remember what they burn)
Ren collapsed to one knee, panting.
It felt like he'd just run through the sun and lived to tell about it.
But his system shimmered more clearly now. Its lines were stronger. Cleaner.
Ilis helped him up.
"You did it," she said.
He stood slowly. "I don't feel different… but I do."
Behind him, Kael was already syncing with the Veil Root. Meka hesitated near the glass sigil. She was still unsure.
Ilis walked past them all, straight to the tree-symbol arch.
Branch Type: Verdant Root
She didn't hesitate.
One by one, they aligned.
And as they did, the center of the room began to shift. The floor opened again, revealing a final staircase, descending even deeper.
This time, no lights greeted them.
Only darkness.
Ren took a deep breath, flames flickering faintly from his fingertips.
"Let's see what's beneath the roots."