📍 Location: Earth – Day 5 of the Tutorial Phase
Tower Floor In Progress: Tutorial Floor 5: The Iron Clock Tower
General Population Death Toll: 0
Player Death Toll: 2.8 Billion
Remaining Players: 67.2 Million
Remaining Earth Population: ~6.3 Billion
✉️ Subject: June He – News Anchor, Global Live News (Shanghai Bureau)
4:00 a.m.
She sat beneath bright lights, voice polished, face painted to hide her fear.
"...we continue to receive irregular signal pulses from the so-called 'Tower Zones,' but no government agencies have responded to our data queries."
Her co-host fidgeted. He had lost his brother three days ago. Like all the others — he vanished without a trace.
The Tower's mark hung in the sky behind her. A glowing golden sigil — unmoving. Always watching. Cameras couldn't record it. Satellites couldn't scan it.
"This isn't science fiction," she whispered during a break, staring at her coffee.
"This is something ancient pretending to be new."
Outside, people stared up at the sigil like it might answer them.
It never did.
🔔 Subject: Elder Pak – Seoul, South Korea – Temple Grounds
Candles flickered on the altar.
The monks had fasted for four days. No answers. No visions. Only silence.
Elder Pak pressed his hands together.
"We gave it incense. Prayer. Blood."
"And it gave us... nothing."
The Tower did not recognize faith.
It only recognized strength.
A boy in the back screamed in the middle of prayer.
He said he saw his sister inside the Tower. Bleeding. Screaming. Trying to reach him through the mirror.
Elder Pak silently blew out his candle.
🛰️ Subject: USAF Blacksite Omega – Colorado, USA
Inside the bunker, four-star generals studied the feeds.
Their drones evaporated when sent near the Tower fractures. Their satellites jammed. EMP shielding fried.
One man stood by the wall. Young. Trembling.
"Sir... it's not military."
"This isn't a weapon."
"This is a verdict."
The general said nothing.
They'd launched a test nuke into a minor distortion two days ago.
The warhead never landed.
The Tower responded by burning a four-mile crater into Nevada. Silently.
No explosion. No noise. Just... absence.
The Tower had issued its first warning.
📡 Subject: Vatican Emergency Broadcast – Rome, Italy
The Pope had vanished on Day 2.
A cardinal now read from Revelation, but the livestream cut out every time he mentioned "Heaven."
Across the city, churches burned without fire.
Not even demons answered now.
🎥 Subject: Civilian Perspective – Jakarta, Indonesia
A woman on TikTok livestreamed herself every day since her twin brother vanished.
She laughed, sang, joked with chat.
On Day 5, she set her phone down and simply whispered:
"It's too quiet.
Even the sky won't talk anymore."
🎙️ Worldwide Emergency Broadcast — Day 5
At 17:00 GMT, the Tower finally responded.
The golden mark in the sky shimmered.
Every language heard the same message:
[THE TOWER DOES NOT NEGOTIATE.]
You had your chance.
Now only the chosen speak for you.
Eleven floors.
Eleven days.
One gate remains.
On the Twelfth Day...
We descend.
People screamed.
Some cheered.
Most prayed.
None of it mattered.
✨ Meanwhile… In the Tower
Wang Ling stood at the top of the Iron Clock Tower, arms folded, staring up through a crack in the ceiling.
He could feel it now.
The edge of the Tower… touching the Earth.
"Five floors left."
"And then the gates open."
He turned.
Yue waited in silence behind him, still breathing.
"The world still thinks it can beg its way out of this."
His eyes narrowed.
"But the Tower's already inside their bones."