The Tower appeared the next day.
It did not fall from the sky.
It simply existed.
A massive golden structure stretching far beyond the clouds. No one could see its top.
The streets around the entrance were already full when Yuna arrived.
Police barriers.
Military trucks.
Thousands of people staring up at the impossible structure.
Some looked excited.
Some looked terrified.
Most looked confused.
Yuna stood quietly at the edge of the crowd.
She had seen this scene before.
In the previous timeline, humanity had treated the Tower like a miracle.
An opportunity.
A new frontier.
It did not take long for them to learn the truth.
The Tower was a test.
And failure meant death.
A voice echoed inside her mind.
The Tower of Evolution is now open.
Players may enter.
Good luck.
The crowd erupted.
Some people cheered.
Others hesitated.
Stolen novel; please report.
Yuna did not.
She stepped forward.
The moment her foot crossed the glowing entrance, the world dissolved into light.
A cold sensation ran across her skin.
Then the light faded.
Stone walls surrounded her.
A wide circular chamber stretched before her eyes. Torches burned along the walls, casting long shadows across the floor.
Floor One.
Just like she remembered.
New players appeared around the room one after another.
Confused voices filled the air.
"Where are we?"
"Is this real?"
"What the hell is going on?"
A blue window appeared briefly in Yuna's vision.
Class Assigned:
Soul Ascetic
The window vanished.
Yuna barely glanced at it.
Her attention was already on the far end of the chamber.
A large iron door slowly opened.
The first monsters stepped into the room.
Small wolf-like creatures with black fur and glowing eyes.
Shadow Wolves.
Easy enemies for experienced climbers.
Deadly for beginners.
The wolves charged.
Panic exploded through the room.
Several players screamed and ran.
One man tried to fight.
"Mark, wait!" someone shouted behind him.
He swung wildly with a rusted sword the system had just given him.
The wolf dodged easily.
Its jaws closed around his throat.
Blood splattered across the stone floor.
Mark collapsed.
His eyes widened in terror as life left them.
Yuna froze.
Something slammed into her mind.
Suddenly she was not standing in the chamber anymore.
She was somewhere else.
A small apartment.
Mark was there.
Laughing as a little girl ran across the living room.
His daughter.
The scene shifted.
A hospital hallway.
Doctors speaking quietly.
Cancer.
The girl crying.
Another shift.
Mark sitting alone at night.
Holding a photograph.
His final thought echoed in Yuna's mind.
I don't want to die.
The vision shattered.
Yuna dropped to one knee.
Her heart pounded violently.
Her breathing became uneven.
The stone chamber returned around her.
Mark's body lay only a few meters away.
The wolf that killed him was already moving toward another player.
Yuna pressed a hand against her head.
"What... was that?"
A faint system message appeared in her vision.
Memory Fragment Recorded
New Ability Detected:
Death Memory
The words faded quickly.
A skill...?
Yuna stared at Mark's body.
This ability had never existed in the previous timeline.
The Tower did not forget the dead.
It stored them.
Their memories.
Their fears.
Their final moments.
And somehow...
She could see them.
Another wolf lunged toward her.
Yuna moved instantly.
Her twin blades flashed.
The monster collapsed in a single strike.
Yuna didn't even remember swinging.
Around her, players slowly began to realize the wolves could be killed.
Fear turned into desperate fighting.
But Yuna barely noticed.
Her gaze remained on Mark.
The memory of his daughter still lingered in her mind.
A cold realization settled deep in her chest.
If every death felt like that...
Climbing the Tower again would be far more painful than she imagined.
The Tower remembered the dead.
Now so did she.
