Another message appeared on the transparent golden screen, the tower logo still prominently displayed behind the entire notification window.

[Required Bloodline Threshold Met]

[Commencing Awakening of Ascension Tower]

[Scanning for Suitable Energy Source Nearby...]

PING!

[Energy Source Detected: Worldbreath Mana Condenser]

[Beginning Integration Process]

Leon watched with wide eyes as the massive spherical orb suddenly lifted into the air completely on its own, defying gravity.

WHUMMM!

It floated toward the tower’s sealed gate with steadily increasing speed, pulled by some invisible force. The moment it made contact with the surface—

SHIMMER! ABSORB!

The orb didn’t bounce off or press against the barrier. Instead, it simply phased through the gate like water passing through a permeable membrane, disappearing completely inside the tower’s internal structure without any resistance.

Leon was watching Everything unfold with a genuine smile spreading across his face, relief flooding through him.

Finally! It’s actually working!

He felt overwhelming relief wash through his entire body. His causality hadn’t gone to waste after all—every single point had been worth it.

More than that, he was genuinely excited now. This treasure seemed way more powerful and sophisticated than he’d even imagined before purchasing it.

The tower began glowing from within, brilliant light emanating through previously invisible seams in the white stone surface. Geometric patterns lit up across the entire structure like circuitry activating.

However, the very next message made Leon groan audibly in extreme displeasure.

[CRITICAL ERROR]

[Insufficient Energy for Ascension Tower to Achieve Full Operational Status]

[Awakening Sequence Will Be Forcefully Shut Down in 10 Seconds Unless a Sufficient Energy Source Is Provided]

[10...] [9...] [8...]

Leon’s enhanced mind raced desperately, trying to think of any solution.

Fuck! What can I possibly use? I have absolutely no causality left! Nothing!

Monster cores wouldn’t work—he knew that instinctively. He’d already absorbed all the valuable high-rank ones, and even if he hadn’t, they wouldn’t even begin to compare to the massive orb this glutton tower had just consumed whole.

There’s nothing. I have nothing left to give!

[7...] [6...]

Then another message appeared from the system just when he’d completely resigned himself to having no choice but to give up and watch the tower shut down.

[ALERT: Alternative Suitable Power Source Detected in Proximity]

[Secret Realm Core Identified: Mythical-Ranked Treasure "Dimensional Hourglass"]

[This Artifact Meets All Criteria to Serve as Primary Power Source for Ascension Tower]

[Permission Required from Master of Dimensional Hourglass to Proceed with Integration]

[WARNING]

[Using Secret Realm Core as Power Source for Ascension Tower May Lead to Unexpected Results and Permanent Alterations]

[Proceed at Your Own Discretion and Risk]

[5...] [4...] [3...]

The countdown was running out catastrophically fast! Only barely ten seconds total to make this absolutely monumental decision about using his dimensional realm’s core—the very foundation of this pocket space.

Shit! Do I risk it?! What if it destroys the entire dimension?! No, that’s just absurd! my dimensional hourglass is mythical ranked treasure!

[2...]

Fuck it! Let’s do it! I have no choice!

Leon didn’t know if he’d ever get this opportunity again. What if he had to provide another massive orb just like before to keep this hungry tower active for even a single attempt? That would cost millions more casualties for another try.

And finding another suitable energy source—considering the absolutely absurd power level required just for the awakening process—would definitely take astronomical resources and time. Likely hundreds of years to locate something appropriate, or maybe he’d never even find one.

So he decided to take the opportunity right in front of him, even though the outcome was a completely unpredictable gamble.

[1...]

Leon mentally confirmed the order with absolute certainty just as the final second was about to expire completely.

[CONFIRMATION RECEIVED FROM MASTER OF THE DIMENSION]

[INTEGRATION COMMENCING IMMEDIATELY]

He also sensed someone arriving rapidly toward his location through his constantly active spatial awareness.

I know exactly who that is.

WHOOSH!

Seraphine landed gracefully beside him, immediately grabbing both his hands with genuine worry written clearly across her beautiful face.

"Leon! Is Everything alright? What was all that massive commotion earlier?! The pressure—everyone felt it!"

Her voice carried both concern and urgency.

Leon patted her head gently with one hand and said with forced calmness, "Everything’s fine. Don’t worry."

But Seraphine’s sharp amethyst eyes told him immediately she wasn’t even remotely satisfied with that inadequate explanation. Her arms folded across her chest in that characteristic gesture of determination, though her body language betrayed her true feelings as she trembled slightly from enjoying the affectionate head pat despite her stern expression.

While this interaction happened between them, from deep below the tower’s foundation, thousands upon thousands of thick luminous strands of pure concentrated mana began stretching outward in every direction like roots spreading through soil.

Both Leon and Seraphine could feel it clearly—they were close enough to the tower to sense the massive energy redistribution happening throughout the dimensional space.

Seraphine’s expression became significantly more serious. Her arms were still folded, clearly waiting for a real, complete explanation.

She would have arrived much earlier if it weren’t for his uncontrolled power pressure slowing her down, Leon realized with guilt. I need to be far more careful with my strength.

Seeing her completely unyielding stance, Leon started explaining methodically from the very beginning—the purchase of the three items, the activation failure, the impossible power requirement, the bloodline evaluation, Everything that had transpired.

Seraphine listened intently to his entire explanation. She’d been worried for nothing regarding his actual safety, she realized. He hadn’t been injured or in danger.

Still, when he finished, she scolded him firmly with genuine concern in her voice.

"You need to take into consideration how close you were to the main settlement! The people of this dimension could have been seriously hurt or even killed by your uncontrolled power release! You’re so much stronger now—you can’t just unleash your full power without thinking about the consequences!"

Though privately, she admitted his anger was completely justified, given the astronomical price of those items. She’d have been absolutely fuming, too, in his position.

Leon nodded seriously, accepting the criticism. "You’re right. I’ll be much more careful from now on. I honestly didn’t think about the collateral effects in that moment of frustration."

Then she stepped forward and hugged him tightly, her voice softening considerably. "Sorry. I was too harsh without knowing Everything first." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The main reason for her panicked reaction was that she’d been genuinely terrified something catastrophic might have happened during his cultivation session or construction work—that he might have been injured or worse.

I do care about the people living in this dimensional realm. But above all else, above Everything, I care about him more than anything.

She didn’t voice that intensely personal thought aloud—it felt somewhat embarrassing and uncomfortably dark to admit. Before meeting Leon, she would never have even considered the idea of sacrificing many lives for one person’s sake. But her fundamental values and priorities had completely changed.

She also secretly feared he might not like that such a dark, possessive aspect of her personality existed if he knew.

So instead, she asked a practical question while still hugging him—this was genuinely important to address.

"What do you think will happen now, Leon? Should we evacuate everyone out of the dimension as a precaution? Just in case something goes catastrophically wrong?"

She’d been listening very carefully to his explanation about using the dimensional realm’s core as a power source.

Leon tightened his protective embrace around her. "Let’s wait and see what actually happens. I don’t think it’s genuinely dangerous—when the tower absorbed the orb, nothing catastrophic occurred. When it connects to the core, I believe the tower will just activate normally without destroying anything."

Seraphine found his reasoning sound and logical, so they both turned their full attention toward the tower.

Suddenly, without any warning, the land beneath their feet started rumbling violently.

RUMBLE! SHAKE! CRACK!

It felt exactly like a powerful earthquake at first—though nothing particularly dangerous for highly trained awakened individuals like them, especially standing on completely flat, open ground. Even normal people in the settlement would be relatively safe from this level of shaking.

Until Seraphine’s voice rang out with sudden concern.

"Leon! This isn’t just an earthquake—the actual ground itself is expanding! The land is growing!"

"Yes, I noticed that too," Leon replied calmly, his mystical eyes tracking the unprecedented changes occurring across the dimensional landscape.