Chapter 90 – The Tower Master

The moment the mysterious man stepped through the gate, Kael stopped.
Not because she was afraid.
Because something finally connected.

A memory.
A voice.
A habit.
A smile.

Small things she had ignored for months.

The way he sometimes knew things he shouldn’t.
The way he never seemed surprised by the Tower.
The way he occasionally looked at Kael as if he already knew the answers she was searching for.

The way he spoke about higher floors without ever admitting he had climbed them.

And most importantly—
The strange familiarity she had never been able to explain.

Mira noticed her expression.

“Kael?”

Kael didn’t answer immediately.
Her eyes remained fixed on the man’s back.

The crystal sphere in her hand suddenly grew warm.
Then hotter.
Then almost burning.

Golden light erupted from its surface.

The mysterious man stopped walking.

For a long moment, nobody moved.

The vast gate behind them slowly closed.
Its sound echoed across the entire floor.

Then the man sighed.
A long, tired sigh.

“I was hoping to wait a little longer.”

Aerin blinked.

“Wait for what?”

The man turned around.

And smiled.

A real smile this time.
Not the calm, controlled expression he always wore.

A familiar smile.

Kael’s eyes widened slightly.

For the first time in years—
She spoke his name without hesitation.

“Riven.”

Silence.

Then Mira’s mouth fell open.

Aerin stared.

Neither of them moved.
Neither of them blinked.

For several seconds, their minds simply refused to process what they had heard.

Then Mira pointed.

At him.

At Riven.

At the man who had traveled beside them for so many floors.

“You…”

She pointed again.

“You?”

Riven rubbed the back of his neck.

“Hello, Mira.”

Mira looked ready to throw something at him.

“You’ve been with us for months!”

“Technically yes.”

“You let us worry for over a year!”

“Technically yes.”

Mira immediately picked up a rock.

Aerin grabbed her arm.

“No.”

“Let me throw it.”

“No.”

“He deserves it.”

“…Maybe.”

Kael ignored both of them.

Her eyes remained on Riven.

Alive.

Actually alive.

Not a clue.
Not a rumor.
Not a trace.

Him.

Standing right in front of her.

For a moment she didn’t know what to say.

Months.
Years.
Floors.
Shards.

Everything had led here.

Riven smiled softly.

“You found me.”

Kael crossed her arms.

“Obviously.”

Aerin laughed.

Mira laughed.

Even Riven laughed.

The answer sounded exactly like Kael.

After all this time.
After all these floors.

She was still herself.

The laughter slowly faded.

Then the crystal sphere rose into the air.

Everyone immediately became serious.

Golden light spread across the fiftieth floor.

For the first time, they properly looked around.

The final floor wasn’t a battlefield.
It wasn’t a castle.
It wasn’t a throne room.

It looked like a world.

An endless sky stretched above.
Clouds floated beneath their feet.
Ancient structures surrounded them.

At the center stood a massive crystal formation connected to the floor itself.

Countless golden chains extended from it.

And every chain was connected to Riven.

Aerin froze.

Mira stopped breathing.

Kael stared silently.

The chains weren’t physical.
Not completely.

But they were real.

Binding him.

Holding him.

Keeping him here.

Riven’s smile weakened slightly.

“That’s the reason.”

His voice became quieter.

“The reason I couldn’t leave.”

The crystal sphere floated toward the chains.

Light touched them.

Immediately the entire floor shook.

Ancient symbols illuminated everywhere.

The Tower reacted.

Not violently.

Excitedly.

As though something it had waited for was finally happening.

Riven looked toward Kael.

“There is something you need to know.”

The crystal sphere rotated faster.

Golden light filled the sky.

Memories appeared.

Not theirs.

Ancient memories.

Images from long before any of them were born.

A civilization.
A Tower.
A family.

And a child.

A girl.

The girl stood before the newly created Tower.

The crystal sphere in her hands looked identical to Kael’s.

The moment Kael saw her face—
She froze.

Because the girl looked exactly like her.

Not similar.
Not close.

Exactly.

The memory continued.

The girl spoke.

“This Tower will protect the world.”

The image shifted.

Years passed.
Ages passed.

The Tower remained.

The family vanished.

History disappeared.

Only the Tower endured.

The vision faded.

Kael stood speechless.

For perhaps the first time in her life.

Riven finally spoke.

“The Tower belongs to you.”

Nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

The words felt impossible.

“What?”
Mira whispered.

Riven nodded.

“Not directly.”

He looked at Kael.

“But your bloodline created it.”

“The Tower recognizes you.”

“That’s why it reacted differently.”

“That’s why monsters changed.”

“That’s why paths appeared.”

“That’s why guardians recognized you.”

“That’s why the shards chose you.”

Everything suddenly made sense.

Not completely.

But enough.

Kael remembered every strange moment.
Every impossible coincidence.
Every unexplained feeling.

The Tower had known her from the beginning.

Or perhaps—
It had been waiting for her.

The crystal sphere finally reached the chains.

Then shattered.

Not breaking.

Transforming.

Golden light spread through every chain.

One by one—
They disappeared.

The bindings shattered.

The Tower trembled.

The sky glowed.

Then silence.

Riven looked at his hands.

The chains were gone.

For the first time in years—
He was free.

Nobody spoke.

Then Mira launched herself at him.

“You idiot!”

Riven barely had time to react before she hit him.

Aerin joined moments later.

Laughing.

Kael stood nearby.
Watching.

The corner of her mouth lifted.

A genuine smile.

Small.

But real.

Riven noticed.

And smiled back.

“Good to see you too.”

Kael rolled her eyes.

“Don’t disappear again.”

“Not planning to.”

For a while they simply stood together.

No fighting.
No climbing.
No mysteries.

Just four friends.

Together again.

Months later, the world nearly exploded with rumors.

Team Snail returned.

Alive.

After disappearing beyond the thirtieth floor.

Many people celebrated.

Some were suspicious.

Some demanded answers.

Some refused to believe their story.

But Team Snail shared very little.

The truth was too large.
Too dangerous.
Too unbelievable.

So they kept most of it secret.

The strongest team in history quietly returned to normal life.

At least on the surface.

Aerin visited his family.

Mira returned to the orphanage.

Riven finally walked beneath an open sky.

And Kael reopened her shop.

Just as she always wanted.

Yet some things had changed forever.

Because occasionally—
When Kael touched certain ancient materials—
She could still feel it.

A distant connection.

A heartbeat.

The Tower.

Waiting.
Watching.

Not asleep.

Not gone.

Simply waiting.

And one evening, long after their return, Kael found a letter resting on her counter.

No sender.
No signature.

Only a single sentence.

Written in unfamiliar handwriting.

“The other Towers have begun awakening.”

Kael stared at the words.

Then slowly smiled.

Outside, the sun began to set.
A new adventure waited somewhere beyond the horizon.

And for Team Snail—
This was not the end.

It was only the end of the first climb.
End of Volume One – The Tower of Snail Team
To Be Continued…