The sixth tower loomed above Evershade, stitched from breath and echo. Its spiraling form blotted out the sun, casting the city into twilight. The wind carried its voice, repeating fragments of memory, lies, and truths alike.
Zephyr Vale stood at the center of the storm, his eyes glowing with symbols that no one else could see. He was trembling, but not from fear. From weight. The weight of listening.
Cassian Thorn stepped closer, coin fragments hovering around him like stars. "Zephyr," he said, voice sharp, urgent. "What does it want?"
Zephyr's lips parted. His voice was not his own.
"It wants everything."
---
The Echo Deepens
The stitched child's fire flared, casting shadows across the trembling streets. "The sixth tower does not choose lightly," they whispered. "It has chosen the listener. And through him, it will speak."
Nova Quinn staggered, her fractured glyph spilling symbols into the air. "If it speaks through him, then he becomes the echo. He becomes the tower."
Lyra's marked palm burned, ink dripping onto the cobblestones. "Then Zephyr is no longer just a listener. He is a vessel."
Juno Blaze raised her blade, her eyes narrowing. "And vessels can break."
---
The City's Fear
The people of Evershade screamed as echoes flooded their minds. Forgotten wars replayed in their veins. Betrayals long buried resurfaced. Lovers remembered promises broken centuries ago.
The headmasters collapsed, clutching their temples, their lies unraveling in public view. The stitched ones glowed brighter, threads vibrating in resonance with the sixth tower.
Cassian clenched his fists. "This isn't memory. This is overload."
Zephyr's voice cracked. "It's not overload. It's repetition. The tower repeats until the world fractures."
---
The Listener's Trial
The wind wrapped tighter around Zephyr, lifting him from the ground. His body glowed with spirals of light, symbols etched into his skin. He screamed, but the scream was not his. It was the tower's.
Nova translated quickly, her voice shaking:
"The loop cannot close. The loop must break. The listener is the fracture."
Cassian's coin fragments pulsed violently. Lyra's mark bled faster. Juno's blade trembled in her grip. The stitched child's fire roared.
Zephyr's eyes burned. "I hear it all. Every truth. Every lie. Every silence. It's too much."
Cassian shouted, "Then let it go!"
Zephyr shook his head. "If I let it go, it will drown the city. I have to hold it."
---
The Loom Intervenes
The sky cracked again. The Loom appeared faintly above the sixth tower, threads of fire weaving across the clouds. It pulsed once, twice, thrice.
Cassian felt the final thread in his hand burn hotter. The stitched child's fire flared higher. Nova collapsed, glyphs spilling uncontrollably. Lyra screamed as her mark seared deeper. Juno raised her blade against the sky.
The Loom whispered through the wind:
"The listener carries the burden. But burden is not destiny. Choice is."
---
The Choice
Zephyr fell to his knees, the wind howling around him. His voice was hoarse, broken. "I can't hold it forever. The echoes will consume me."
Cassian stepped forward, coin fragments glowing. "Then give it to me."
Lyra gasped. "Cassian, no. You're already the stitcher. If you take the echo, you'll collapse the loop entirely."
Nova's glyph flared. "If he takes it, the towers will burn."
Juno's blade gleamed. "If he doesn't, Zephyr dies."
The stitched child's fire pulsed. "The listener must decide. Not the stitcher. Not the scholar. Not the warrior. The listener."
---
The Listener Speaks
Zephyr raised his head, eyes glowing with spirals. The wind screamed, the sixth tower pulsed, the city trembled.
He whispered, voice trembling but resolute:
> "I will not break. I will listen. And I will speak."
The echoes surged through him, symbols spilling into the air, weaving themselves into a new spiral above the city.
Cassian's coin fragments aligned. Lyra's mark steadied. Nova's glyph rearranged. Juno lowered her blade. The stitched child smiled faintly.
The sixth tower roared.
And Zephyr Vale spoke its first true word:
"Begin."
---
The spiral of echoes descended across Evershade, rewriting the city's sky. The people gasped, some in awe, others in terror. The towers hummed in resonance. The Loom pulsed violently.
Cassian turned to Zephyr, his voice sharp. "You've bound yourself to the sixth tower. Do you understand what that means?"
Zephyr's eyes glowed brighter, his voice calm, steady.
"It means I am no longer just a listener. I am the echo."