Ace suddenly opened his eyes.
He was back, at the Tower Climb.
For a moment, he simply stared.
The stone steps, the distant hum of qi, the silent tension hanging in the air, it was all the same.
Cultivators below him still struggled upward, oblivious to what he had just experienced.
The seventeenth step.
That was where he was currently standing at.
His body was slick with sweat, but it was not from the climb.
The memory of Sarah's voice, the mutilated bodies, the searing pain, it all lingered like a curse etched into his bones.
Without a word, he turned and began walking down.
The descent was far smoother.
Each step downward felt lighter, easier than the climb, for the tower itself was letting him go.
On the eighth step, he crossed paths with Xiao Thao. The young cultivator looked up, tense and uncertain.
Ace paused, placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You can do it," he said quietly, his voice firm despite the turmoil inside.
Then he walked on without turning back.
