The hotel had grown quiet.
Outside, the rain continued to fall over Voidspire, its gentle rhythm echoing through the corridors.
Inside her room...
Alexi sat alone beside the window.
A single lamp illuminated the room with a warm golden glow.
She slowly opened the drawer of the bedside table.
Hidden beneath a neatly folded piece of cloth...
Was an old photograph.
She carefully picked it up.
The corners had faded with age, but the faces were still clear.
A younger Levi Ravenheart stood with one arm around her shoulders, smiling as though he didn't have a single worry in the world.
In front of them...
A little Arthur was laughing, his raven-black hair completely soaked after insisting on playing outside in the rain.
Alexi couldn't help but smile.
"...You always let him do whatever he wanted."
Her thumb gently brushed across Levi's face in the photograph.
"...Where did you go...?"
The smile slowly disappeared.
"So many days ,months..."
"...and not a single clue."
"I don't even know if you're alive."
Her voice trembled.
"I want to believe you are."
"I have to."
"Because if I stop believing..."
"...then Arthur loses both of us."
She lowered her head.
"...He still talks about you, you know."
"Not often..."
"But when he does..."
"...he smiles."
"He still believes you'll come home one day."
A tear rolled down her cheek before she gently wiped it away.
Then...
Her expression shifted.
She looked down at her own hands.
Opening and closing them slowly.
"...Strange..."
She stood from the chair.
Only a few months ago...
She could barely sit upright without feeling exhausted.
Back in Dimension Echo...
She had been confined to her bed.
Every breath had felt heavy.
Every movement had drained what little strength she had left.
Yet now...
She could walk.
She could cook.
She could travel across an entire city without collapsing.
"...How?"
She quietly whispered the question to herself.
"It doesn't make sense."
"The doctors..."
"They said there was no cure."
She walked over to the mirror.
Her reflection looked healthier than it had in years.
The pale complexion that illness had given her was fading.
Even the constant fatigue seemed to have vanished.
"...What happened to me?"
She closed her eyes.
The only answer she could think of...
Was the Collapse.
Ever since they were swallowed by the black rift ...
Things that should have been impossible had become reality.
People awakened.
The impossible became ordinary.
Perhaps...
Somewhere within the chaos...
Her body had been changed as well.
She looked back at Levi's photograph.
"If you're still alive..."
"I hope you can see him."
"Our son."
"He's becoming stronger every single day."
"But..."
Her voice softened.
"...He's still just a boy."
"No matter how hard he tries to hide it."
She carefully placed the photograph against the lamp on the bedside table.
"I'll keep watching over him."
"For the both of us."
Outside...
A bolt of lightning briefly illuminated the room.
For a split second...
Alexi thought she saw a familiar silhouette reflected in the rain-covered window.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Watching.
She turned immediately.
"...Levi?"
There was no one there.
Only the rain.
She smiled sadly.
"...I suppose..."
"...I just miss you that much."
The room fell silent once more.
Only the sound of rain remained...
Accompanied by the quiet hope that somewhere, somehow...
Levi Ravenheart was still alive.
Rain tapped steadily against the windows of the hotel.
Unlike the warmth and quiet in the other rooms...
Tom and Alex's room was silent.
Alex stood by the window overlooking the glowing streets of Voidspire, his gaze fixed on the distant tournament arena.
Tom sat on the edge of his bed, carefully cleaning the blade of his sword with a cloth.
For several minutes...
Neither of them spoke.
Eventually, Tom broke the silence.
"...You're thinking too much."
Alex didn't turn around.
"I'm thinking just enough."
Tom smiled faintly.
"What's bothering you?"
Alex's eyes remained fixed on the arena.
"The prize."
Tom paused.
"The Ring of Ascension?"
Alex slowly shook his head.
"I don't believe that's all there is."
Tom frowned.
"...Why?"
Alex folded his arms.
"Think about it."
"The System announced the Ring of Ascension as the grand prize."
"But does that justify inviting awakened from every continent?"
"Does it justify a tournament this large?"
Tom considered the question.
"...Maybe."
"No."
Alex answered almost immediately.
"The Ring is powerful."
"I won't deny that."
"But..."
"I've seen kingdoms go to war over things far less valuable."
"This..."
"...feels different."
Tom rested the sword across his lap.
"You think the System is hiding something."
Alex nodded.
"I do."
"The Ring of Ascension may simply be the reward everyone knows about."
"But I suspect..."
"...there's another prize."
"One the System intentionally chose not to reveal."
Tom raised an eyebrow.
"And what makes you think that?"
Alex looked down at the Book of the End resting beside his bed.
"I don't have proof."
"Only a theory."
"But the Book has been changing ever since we arrived."
"It only does that..."
"...when events of enormous significance are approaching."
Tom's expression became more serious.
"If you're right..."
"...then we won't be the only ones interested."
Alex finally turned toward him.
"Exactly."
"The awakened aren't the ones I'm worried about."
Tom immediately understood.
"...The demons."
Alex nodded once.
"And possibly..."
"...the Watchers."
"...Maybe even the gods."
Tom let out a slow breath.
"You think one of the Demon Lieutenants could appear."
"I think it's possible."
"If there's something hidden behind this tournament..."
"Something capable of shifting the balance of power..."
"They'll come."
"They'd be fools not to."
Tom tightened his grip on his sword.
"...Then the kids are walking into something far bigger than a tournament."
Alex looked toward the rain-covered window.
"I've had that feeling since the System announced it."
"This doesn't feel like a competition."
"It feels..."
He paused.
"...like someone is gathering pieces on a chessboard."
Tom quietly nodded.
"And we're the pieces."
Alex smiled faintly.
"No."
"We're the players."
"But the one who arranged the board..."
"...has yet to reveal themselves."
The room fell silent once more.
Rain continued to fall outside.
Tom eventually looked toward Alex.
"If your theory turns out to be true..."
"...what do we do?"
Alex closed his eyes.
"For now..."
"...nothing."
"We prepare."
"We observe."
"And we protect the others."
He looked once more toward the towering arena.
"Until I know what the true prize is..."
"...every possibility remains on the table."
Somewhere beyond the storm...
Far beyond the lights of Voidspire...
Something unseen had already begun to move.
And whether Alex's theory was right or wrong...
He couldn't shake the feeling...
That someone else already knew exactly what the System was hiding.
Rain drummed steadily against the windows of the hotel room.
Tom remained seated on the edge of his bed while Alex stood near the window, his eyes fixed on the distant silhouette of the tournament arena.
The city below was peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Tom finally broke the silence.
"So..."
"What are you thinking?"
Alex was quiet for a long time before answering.
"I'm thinking about the Watchers."
Tom's expression hardened.
"They'll come?"
Alex nodded slowly.
"If my theory about the tournament is correct..."
"And if the System is truly hiding the real prize..."
"...then it's only a matter of time."
Tom folded his arms.
"You know them better than anyone."
Alex let out a quiet sigh.
"...Because I am one of them."
The words lingered heavily in the room.
"I know how they think."
"I know how they move."
"And I know..."
"...they never ignore something that threatens the balance."
Tom looked toward him.
"What are you going to do?"
Alex remained silent before finally speaking.
"...I'll have to come up with a way to delay them."
Tom frowned.
"Can you?"
Alex slowly shook his head.
"Not forever."
"They're too powerful."
"Too organized."
"But..."
"If everything goes according to plan..."
"...I might be able to buy us a single day."
He looked toward the rain-covered glass.
"One day."
"That's all."
Tom stood.
"A day could make all the difference."
Alex nodded.
"It could."
"Or..."
"It could change nothing."
Tom smiled faintly.
"You've always been terrible at sounding optimistic."
Alex almost smiled.
"I prefer being realistic."
He reached for the door.
"If I can delay them..."
"The others get one more day to prepare."
"One more day to recover."
"One more day..."
"...to remain ordinary teenagers."
Tom watched him quietly.
"...Be careful."
Alex rested a hand on the doorknob.
"I always am."
Without another word...
He stepped into the empty hallway.
The door clicked shut behind him.
Silence.
Alex slowly walked through the dimly lit corridor until he reached a balcony overlooking the rain-soaked city.
He leaned against the railing.
"...Any ideas?"
For a moment...
Nothing answered.
Then...
A familiar voice echoed within the depths of his mind.
"You're asking me for advice?"
Alex closed his eyes.
"...Humour me."
The voice chuckled.
"Interesting."
"The great Watcher..."
"Unsure of his next move."
Alex ignored the sarcasm.
"I don't have the luxury of making mistakes."
"No..."
"You don't."
The voice grew quieter.
"If your goal is to delay the Watchers..."
"Don't fight them."
Alex's eyes slowly opened.
"...Explain."
"You know them."
"They don't chase prey."
"They chase purpose."
"Give them something they cannot ignore."
"Something greater than the tournament itself."
Alex frowned.
"A distraction."
"Exactly."
"Not a battle."
"A question."
"Make them doubt where they should be."
"Watchers investigate uncertainty."
"Exploit that."
Alex fell silent.
His mind immediately began piecing together possibilities.
"...It might work."
"It might."
"Or you might die."
Alex gave a quiet, dry laugh.
"...Comforting."
"I'm not here to comfort you."
"I'm here to remind you..."
"Every move from now on carries consequences."
The voice faded back into silence.
Alex looked out across Voidspire.
The rain continued to fall.
"...One day."
He tightened his grip on the balcony railing.
"That's all I need."
Whether he truly believed that...
Even he wasn't sure.
Tom remained alone in the room.
The rain outside had softened into a quiet drizzle.
The door Alex had just closed still seemed to carry the weight of his words.
"...A Watcher..."
Tom leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.
"So that's your secret."
He wasn't angry.
If anything...
It explained far too much.
How Alex knew things no ordinary awakened should know.
How he always seemed one step ahead.
How he never looked surprised.
Tom closed his eyes.
"...You there?"
For a few moments...
Silence.
Then a familiar voice answered from the depths of his consciousness.
"I'm always here."
Tom smiled faintly.
"...Alex finally admitted it."
"That he's a Watcher?"
"You already knew."
"I suspected."
"Knowing and suspecting are two different things."
Tom rested his elbows on his knees.
"...This changes everything."
"Does it?"
"It does."
"If he's willing to trust us with that..."
"...then we may finally have a way to learn more about the Watchers."
The voice hummed thoughtfully.
"Perhaps."
"But don't mistake trust for complete honesty."
"There are still things he's hiding."
Tom nodded slowly.
"I know."
"But it's a start."
He looked toward the rain-covered window.
"We're going to need every piece of information we can get."
"The Watchers."
"The gods."
"The demons."
"...Even the Midnight Church."
The room suddenly felt colder.
The voice became unusually quiet.
"So..."
"You've finally said their name."
Tom's smile disappeared.
"...I never forgot them."
"No."
"You never did."
He stood and walked over to the small desk in the corner of the room.
A blank sheet of paper rested beside an ink bottle.
Tom stared at it for several seconds.
"...Help me."
"With what?"
"A letter."
The voice sounded almost surprised.
"A letter?"
"For Arthur."
Tom picked up the pen.
"But he must never read it now."
"He'll only open it..."
"...when the time is right."
Silence filled the room.
Then...
The voice asked quietly,
"Why?"
Tom didn't answer.
He simply looked at the blank page.
The voice spoke again.
"Tell me honestly..."
"Do you have doubts..."
"About coming back alive after this tournament?"
Tom's grip on the pen tightened.
The rain outside seemed louder.
"Is it because of them?"
"The Midnight Church?"
Tom slowly closed his eyes.
"...Yes."
The single word barely escaped his lips.
"I've crossed paths with them before."
"And people like them..."
"...don't forget."
"They finish what they start."
The voice remained silent, allowing him to continue.
"If they truly appear..."
"If everything we've feared begins moving..."
"...there's a chance I won't make it back."
His gaze drifted toward the wall that separated his room from Arthur's.
"I've accepted that."
"What I can't accept..."
"...is leaving Arthur without answers."
The voice finally spoke again.
"Then write."
"Not because you're certain you'll die..."
"But because words left unsaid become regrets."
Tom dipped the pen into the ink.
"...You're right."
The tip of the pen hovered above the paper.
For a long moment...
He couldn't bring himself to write the first word.
Then, slowly...
The pen touched the page.
"To Arthur..."
Outside...
The rain continued to fall over Voidspire.
Unaware that, in one quiet hotel room...
A letter had begun that might one day change Arthur's life forever.
Tom placed the final period at the end of the letter.
He carefully folded the paper once...
Then again.
He slid it into a plain envelope.
Without writing anything on the front, he melted a small drop of wax over the seal and pressed his thumb into it.
The letter was complete.
"...Only when the time is right."
He quietly slipped the envelope into the bottom of his travel bag, beneath his spare clothes.
No one would find it by accident.
Only Arthur.
If the day ever came.
Tom leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.
"...It's done."
The familiar voice returned.
"You feel lighter."
Tom let out a quiet laugh.
"...Not really."
"You're still thinking about them."
"...Yeah."
The room grew noticeably quieter.
Even the rain seemed to soften.
Tom spoke first.
"...The Midnight Church."
The voice remained silent, allowing him to continue.
"I grew up believing they were righteous."
"They called themselves servants of humanity."
"They preached sacrifice."
"Order."
"Purity."
"As a child..."
"I believed every word."
He closed his eyes.
"They raised us to believe that certain people were born as disasters."
"People whose existence alone threatened humanity."
"Their sermons always ended the same way."
He remembered the words perfectly.
«"A single life may be sacrificed... so that millions may live."»
Tom slowly lowered his head.
"I never questioned it."
"Not then."
"I was just a boy."
The voice quietly asked,
"When did you begin to doubt?"
Tom smiled bitterly.
"When I finally left their walls."
"When I saw the real world."
"I met people they would've called monsters..."
"...who were kinder than anyone inside that church."
"I met ordinary families..."
"People trying to survive."
"I realized..."
"...the Midnight Church wasn't protecting humanity."
"They were controlling it."
"They weren't a church."
"They were a cult."
Silence followed.
"They believed anyone who carried certain signs..."
"Certain abilities..."
"Certain destinies..."
"...should be eliminated before they could become a threat."
He looked toward the wall, imagining Arthur sleeping peacefully in the next room.
"If they ever learned who Arthur truly is..."
"...they wouldn't hesitate."
"They'd mark him for death."
The voice became more serious.
"And when they realized you had left?"
Tom's eyes darkened.
"They called me a traitor."
"They said I'd abandoned humanity."
"They sent people after me."
"Not to bring me back..."
"...to silence me."
He clenched his fist.
"I barely escaped."
"If it hadn't been for the Hollow Choir..."
"...I'd already be dead."
The voice was quiet for a long moment.
"The Hollow Choir..."
"Those who stand against the Midnight Church."
Tom nodded.
"They found me before the Church did."
"They hid me."
"They gave me a new purpose."
"They taught me that protecting people..."
"...isn't the same as deciding who deserves to live."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"They saved my life."
The voice finally asked the question that had lingered between them.
"Do you think the Midnight Church will come for Arthur?"
Tom didn't answer immediately.
Instead...
He looked toward his travel bag.
Toward the sealed letter hidden inside.
Finally...
He whispered,
"...I don't think."
"...I know."
The rain outside suddenly intensified, striking the windows with renewed force.
Tom slowly stood.
"If they're coming..."
"...then they'll have to get through me first."
The voice answered with quiet conviction.
"Then prepare yourself."
*"Because old ghosts..."
"Have a way of finding those who escaped them."
Tom walked to the window and looked out over the lights of Voidspire.
For years...
He had outrun his past.
But now...
With Arthur standing at the center of a fate greater than any of them understood...
He feared that the past had finally caught up.
The rain had eased into a soft drizzle.
Inside another room of the hotel...
Sunny lay flat on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
Across the room, Rivien was already asleep, one arm hanging over the edge of the mattress.
Sunny glanced over.
"...Lucky."
He quietly climbed out of bed, making sure not to wake him.
He walked over to the window and watched the rain slide down the glass.
His reflection stared back at him.
For once...
He wasn't smiling.
"...I'm falling behind."
The words escaped as little more than a whisper.
A small metallic dagger appeared in his hand.
It wasn't forged from steel.
It was one of his own creations.
He twirled it effortlessly between his fingers before making it disappear again.
"...Creating..."
"I've gotten better at that."
He could create blades.
Tools.
Shields.
Simple machines.
Even temporary constructs.
But...
It wasn't enough.
Arthur was improving every day.
Kierran had become faster.
Lucas' instincts had sharpened.
Even Rivien was growing stronger.
Sunny clenched his fist.
"...And me?"
"I just keep making things."
He sighed.
"No."
"...That's not true."
He quietly opened his travel bag.
Hidden beneath a change of clothes...
Were several ordinary daggers.
Unlike his constructs...
These were real.
The leather grips were worn.
The blades carried faint scratches.
Evidence of countless hours of secret practice.
No one knew.
Not Arthur.
Not Rivien.
Not even Alex.
Whenever the others slept...
Sunny would slip away.
Finding an empty clearing or an abandoned building...
Practising over...
And over...
And over again.
Throwing.
Drawing.
Blocking.
Learning how to fight at close range.
Because he had realized something.
"If someone gets close enough..."
"...I won't have time to create."
His eyes narrowed with determination.
"And if I waste too much Aether creating weapons..."
"I'll lose before the fight even starts."
He looked at his hands.
"They rely on too much Aether."
"Too much."
He remembered something Alex had once said.
"Power isn't measured by how much Aether you spend..."
"It's measured by how little you need."
Sunny smiled faintly.
"...Then that's what I'll master."
"Efficiency."
He summoned a small knife into his palm.
This time...
Instead of flooding it with Aether...
He used the smallest amount he could manage.
The construct appeared.
Its edges flickered.
It almost collapsed.
Sunny held it for several seconds before it stabilized.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"...Better."
He let it disappear.
Again.
A little less Aether.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Each attempt became slightly cleaner.
Slightly more stable.
Slightly cheaper.
Hours seemed to pass without him noticing.
Until finally...
He leaned against the wall, exhausted but satisfied.
"...Flow State..."
He looked toward the sleeping Rivien.
"...I'm coming for you too."
He had watched Arthur enter that mysterious state.
The calm.
The precision.
The absolute control.
Sunny clenched his fist.
"I don't just want to create."
"I want every creation..."
"...to become an extension of myself."
Outside...
The rain finally stopped.
Above the clouds...
The moon emerged.
And for the first time...
Sunny felt as though he had discovered the next step on his own path.