Chapter 243: Ferderica (2)
“Hmmm...” The Tower Master stood on the rooftop, silent and still as a statue, eyes fixed on the distant horizon. His gaze was unwavering, piercing through clouds and sunlight toward a place beyond sight, the holy land of Ferderica.
He had been up here a while, unmoving, his robes fluttering in the faint breeze that curled around the spires and domes of the Mage Tower. The sky was impossibly wide. Far away, just beyond the curve of the earth, was the stronghold of a god.
“You’re still worried about them?” The voice came from behind him, a crisp, young man’s voice, familiar and edged with dry amusement. “If you’re that anxious, why not go yourself instead of just sending messages of regret?”
It was Elian, his best disciple, the one he trusted most. The Tower Master gave a weary smile and answered with a ripple of thought, “You know I would, if it were possible.”
Elian nodded, acknowledging the truth. After all, there were rules, binding even for the greatest mage on the continent. The Tower Master’s true self was here, anchored to the Mage Tower. However, across the continent, hundreds of his avatars moved ceaselessly, righting wrongs, putting out fires, keeping chaos at bay wherever they could. If not for his intervention, the land would be twice as wild, twice as broken. He might have seemed idle now, but his hands, through magic, were everywhere.
“So why not stop watching and just let it go?” Elian said with a sigh. “Didn’t you already decide there wouldn’t be a problem? You’re starting to sound like an anxious old man who can’t leave his grandchild alone at the riverside.”
“Watch your tongue, young one. But...” The Tower Master laughed a little, but there was truth in Elian’s words.
If it were Ketal, he would get out, one way or another. If he ran, or fought, he’d do it in his own way, and things wouldn’t get out of hand for the outside world. That was Ketal’s nature. The Tower Master had weighed all the possibilities and convinced himself there was nothing to fear.
However, still, something felt off. There was a warning, deep in his bones. A prickle of unease he couldn’t quite shake.
Is it really okay to just watch from afar? The Tower Master’s intuition whispered that something was coming, something he shouldn’t ignore. Maybe I should go check for myself.
He was just about to give the order, to set his magic in motion and see with his own eyes, when the world shook. It started as a ripple on the edge of vision, a disturbance so profound it seemed the earth itself had skipped a heartbeat. Something, far away, had stirred.
On the distant horizon, a wave of power surged. It rolled outward, a tidal wave of force so great it seemed to bend the world itself. Most mortals would never even know it had happened, as the sensation was beyond what any normal human could perceive.