As we left the spire behind, its ancient silhouette fading into the distance, the weight of what we''d discovered pressed heavily on my shoulders. The morning sunlight felt sharp and intrusive, like the world outside was rushing to remind us of its normalcy—something the spire had utterly disrupted.


    Raijuu trotted ahead, his tail swishing with satisfaction. His mood was contagious. For all the mind-boggling implications of the celestial alignments, the ancient devices, and whatever thatst mechanism was, I had to admit: It felt good to breathe fresh air again.


    "Are we just going to ignore how insane that ce was?" Kijin asked, adjusting the straps of her gear as she walked beside me.


    "Pretty sure that''s not possible," I replied. "But if you have any ideas on how to exin it to the Explorer Association without sounding like conspiracy theorists, let me know."


    Kijin grinned. "We''ll stick to the facts. No mentioning secret cosmic cults. Yet."


    Ahead of us, Asakawa was scrolling through her phone, her expression unusually focused. The light caught her face just right, making her look effortlesslyposed even after days in a dungeon.


    : Asagao out here casually glowing. Queen behavior.


    : Someone screenshot this. Frame it. Worship it.


    : Tsukasa, you don''t deserve her presence.


    "Asagao, anything interesting?" I asked, trying to distract myself from how chat was definitely making me look bad in real-time.


    "Nothing unusual yet," she said, slipping her phone back into her pocket. "But once we report this, things are going to move fast. You ready for that?"


    "Are you ready to handle chat fawning over you for the millionth time?" I countered, earning a small, rare smile.


    Kijin cut in with a smirk. "Forget the Association; I''m more curious about how Grandma''s going to react. You calling her, or should I?"


    I sighed, already dreading the conversation. "I''ll handle it. But if she starts lecturing me about ancient curses, I''m putting her on speaker."


    The call to Grandma went about as well as I expected.


    "You found


    what


    ?" she asked sharply after my brief exnation. "And you didn''t break anything?"


    "Why does everyone assume I break things?" I muttered.


    "Because you do, Tsukasa. Now, what exactly are you nning to do with this discovery?"


    I nced at the team for backup, but Kijin only gave me an unhelpful thumbs-up. Asakawa looked mildly amused, which somehow felt worse.


    "Take it to the Association, obviously," I said. "They''ll want a full report."


    Grandma''s pause on the other end of the line was unnervingly long. "Be careful, Tsukasa. You don''t know what kind of people this might attract. Not everyone values knowledge for the right reasons."


    : Grandma dropping truth bombs.


    : This is why we love her. No nonsense.


    : Someone get Tsukasa a notepad. He needs this wisdom.


    We reached the city byte afternoon, the familiar sights and sounds of bustling streets feeling oddly jarring after days of eerie silence. As we walked, Raijuu kept close to my side, his usual energy subdued—he probably sensed my growing tension about whaty ahead.


    "We should regroup at the café," Asakawa suggested. "The others need to be brought up to speed before we contact the Association."


    Our usual spot wasn''t fancy, but it was private enough for strategy sessions. Inside, the smell of coffee and pastries was a wee change from stale dungeon air. Panda and Mimika were already there, surrounded by a chaotic sprawl of maps, notes, and half-eaten sandwiches.


    "Boss!" Panda called out, waving me over. His enthusiasm was as infectious as ever, though the nervous energy in his posture made it clear he wasn''t quite sure what to expect.


    "What happened?" Mimika asked, her eyes wide with curiosity. "Did you find something crazy?"


    "That''s one way to put it," I said, sliding into a chair. "Let''s just say the spire wasn''t your average dungeon."


    Kijin and Asakawa took turns breaking down the details, from the celestial device to the inscriptions that hinted at a civilization far beyond our understanding. The newbies listened with rapt attention, their expressions ranging from awe to mild panic.


    : Panda looks like he just realized he signed up for a cosmic horror movie.


    : Mimika''s ready to dive into the spire herself. Brave soul.


    Asakawa finished by pulling out a rough sketch of the celestial alignments we''d uncovered. "This is just the tip of the iceberg. If our theories are correct, this could redefine how we understand dungeons altogether."


    The table fell silent, the gravity of her words sinking in. Even chat seemed unusually quiet—until someone inevitably broke the tension.


    : Or it''s just a fancy light show. Who knows?


    : ssic Asagao, making it all sound so cool.


    : Tsukasa, try not to break the actual iceberg when you find it.


    With the team updated and ns in ce, we turned our attention to logistics. Asakawa, ever the nner, outlined the next steps with her usual efficiency.


    "First, we secure the site. Then, we contact the Association with a detailed report," she said. "And after that... we see where it takes us."


    "And by ''where it takes us,'' you mean more danger and chaos, right?" Panda asked nervously.


    "Wee to dungeon exploration," Kijin said with a grin, pping him on the back.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    As we wrapped up the meeting, my phone buzzed. The name on the screen made my stomach drop: Kamishiro Rion. The flood of messages that followed was predictably chaotic.


    "Yo, Tsu-kun! Saw your spire posts. Crazy stuff! ?? Let''s talk!"


    "Why haven''t you followed me back yet? Rude."


    "Also, I found something wild. You''re going to love it. Or hate it. Probably both."


    I groaned audibly, drawing curious looks from the team. "Rion''s back."


    "Of course she is," Kijin said, not even trying to hide her amusement.


    "What does she want this time?" Asakawa asked, though her tone suggested she already knew the answer.


    "She says it''s ''wild.'' Which probably means trouble," I muttered, already bracing myself for whatever chaos awaited.


    : Rion''s about to hijack the story. Buckle up, folks.


    : Poor Tsukasa. Can''t catch a break.


    With our immediate ns set, I decided to deal with Rionter. The spire report came first—after all, even Rion couldn''t outshine ancient cosmic mysteries.


    Probably.