Chapter 18 – Whispers Before the Climb
Second Tower Arc: Prelude
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The morning sun didn't rise—it peeked, like it was afraid to wake the monsters inside Lucian's estate.
Somewhere in the garden, a scream echoed.
"She's on the roof again!"
Neo sprinted out in pajamas, face pale as death. "RIV! I SWEAR TO—GET DOWN FROM THERE!"
Atop the cracked old estate roof, little Riv crouched like a squirrel with godlike confidence. Wearing oversized training goggles and gripping a wooden sword, she pointed dramatically at the clouds.
"I SEE THE ENEMY APPROACHING! ACTIVATE... PHASE ONE: OPERATION 'BEAT-THE-BUTLER!'"
Neo collapsed to his knees, defeated. "She named the operation what?!"
From the bushes, the butler sighed softly, his uniform pristine as ever despite his grim face. "Sir Lucian," he muttered, "she's begun fusing military terms with bedtime stories. You said I could handle her. You lied."
Lucian stood on the porch, sipping black coffee like it was his last salvation. "You're telling me. I went to train in the woods and came back to find she made you her sidekick and rebranded herself Commander Riv the First."
He turned to the figure beside him.
"Any thoughts?" he asked flatly.
The succubus yawned beside him, wearing a stolen bathrobe and sipping honey tea like royalty. "You're all adorable. I'd adopt you if I wasn't technically your eternal demon reward."
Lucian shuddered. "Don't remind me."
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Four Months Later – Lucian's Estate, Early Morning
Time had passed strangely since the trial. Lucian had trained hard—though 'training' included fighting trees that talked back, outsmarting the Book's cryptic memory games, and dodging the succubus' increasingly desperate attempts to flirt.
She called it "emotional bonding." He called it "horrific assault on personal space."
Now the estate was a little livelier. Quieter, sometimes. But something had changed. Grown.
Neo was stronger. Sharper. Protective of Riv, but… different. Like he'd started understanding what it meant to be someone's guardian.
Riv, on the other hand, had grown wilder.
She climbed things. She poked at forbidden items. She licked a cursed scroll once just to see what would happen.
Lucian asked the Book how to parent her.
> "Try not to die. That usually helps."
"Helpful," Lucian muttered.
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In the Training Yard
Lucian stood facing a tree that had been carved in half vertically from a strike he didn't remember throwing.
His hands still sparked faintly with unstable light.
The Fifth Week—Unity—was changing him. No longer a flicker, it now responded when his heart was focused. But he still didn't understand it.
Behind him, the Book hovered like a sarcastic shadow.
> "You've grown, Creator. Not just in strength. But in stubbornness."
Lucian turned. "I take that as a compliment."
> "Don't. Your trial was only the beginning. The Tower waits. And this time, you won't climb it alone."
He narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
The Book flipped its pages without answering.
Lucian scowled. "Seriously? The dramatic mystery thing again?"
> "Promise."
"…What?"
> "You made me a promise. Before your last battle. About what you'd seek inside the Tower. Do not forget it."
Lucian's chest tightened. The memory surfaced like a whisper.
Find the truth. About the First Creator. About the origin of the Weeks.
He clenched his fist. "I haven't forgotten."
The Book glowed softly. For once, it felt… almost approving.
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Inside the Estate
Neo was making breakfast.
Correction—he was trying to.
Eggshells floated in a bowl of purple batter.
"Is this… food?" Lucian asked.
Neo looked up, deadpan. "It's edible."
Lucian sniffed it. "It just growled at me."
The succubus peeked in. "My magic might've leaked into the pantry. Sorry! Some of the ingredients are... emotionally unstable."
Neo blinked. "Emotionally unstable eggs. Wonderful."
The butler entered with Riv hanging upside down under one arm, covered in paint.
"She attempted to rewrite the house's wards using fingerpaint and the phrase 'Open Sesame' in seven languages. I have failed as a caretaker."
Lucian blinked. "Wait. That actually sounds like it might've worked."
The succubus smirked. "It did. I saw your basement start bleeding yesterday."
Lucian nearly dropped his coffee.
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Later That Day – The Hilltop
Lucian stood at the edge of the hill, cloak rippling. In the distance, the Tower had reappeared.
No one summoned it.
It came on its own.
Black stone. Floating rings. Endless height.
This was no ordinary climb.
This was the Second Tower.
Neo joined him, arms crossed. "You really going?"
Lucian nodded. "Yeah. I need to understand what I am. Not just what I can do."
Neo looked away. "...Don't take too long. Riv's teaching me how to summon ghosts. I think she summoned Grandma last night."
Lucian smiled. "I'll be back. And next time, I'll understand everything."
The Book shimmered in his hand.
> "Then go, Lucian. Face what only you can. And remember—no one climbs the Tower the same way twice."
Lucian took a breath.
Then walked forward.
The world shimmered.
The Tower opened.
And the Second Arc began.
The
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