Chapter 208: Final Tower World (2)

"There is absolutely nothing here," Dillon said, spinning in a slow circle. "Just... nothing."

"Look," Elise said quickly, pointing her glowing staff straight ahead...

Nathan followed her finger. Miles and miles away, sitting right on the perfectly flat horizon, something broke the endless white. It was a massive structure. It was tall and pale, with giant, sharp spires reaching up into the empty white sky. It was way too far away to see any real details, but Nathan could feel it. A heavy, freezing pressure was radiating off the building, rolling across the flat ground like a cold wave.

"That’s the Shepherd’s" Smithy said, his voice tense.

Nathan started walking. "let’s go knock on the front door."

They walked for what felt like hours. But the World never changed. The flat, bone-white ground stayed exactly the same. The giant castle on the horizon didn’t look a single inch closer. It felt like they were walking on an endless treadmill inside a white prison.

’This place is completely wrong,’ Mirko said. She sounded deeply uncomfortable. ’There is zero mana in the air. There is no life at all. It feels like this World is already dead.’

’It is not dead,’ Kuro corrected her softly. ’It is just waiting. The Shepherd has lived in this place for so long that the World has totally forgotten what life feels like.’

Shiro kept a close eye on the sky. ’The Young Lord should not stay out here in the open. The longer we walk in this empty space, the heavier the Shepherd’s pressure becomes.’

Nathan nodded, his legs starting to ache. "We just keep moving."

But the giant structure still refused to get any closer. Nathan’s breathing grew heavy. The silence was starting to mess with his head.

And then, the whispers began.

They came from everywhere at once. They sounded like hundreds of faint voices overlapping each other, speaking in strange, broken languages Nathan didn’t understand. He caught tiny pieces of words—names, begging, crying, and screaming. The horrible sound made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

"Do you guys hear that?" Elise asked, grabbing the sides of her head.

"Yes," Nathan said loudly, trying to block it out. "Ignore it! It’s just the Shepherd trying to crawl inside our heads!"

But the whispers only got louder. They turned into a buzzing drill pressing right against Nathan’s skull. The pain spiked sharply behind his eyes.

Suddenly, his new Starfall Cloak flared to life. The fabric shimmered with a bright blue light, and the freezing pressure in his head vanished instantly. Next to him, Elise’s Glacial Crown glowed brightly, forming a protective barrier of cold logic around her mind.

A tiny burst of static crackled on Nathan’s collar.

"The new gear is doing its job," Vex’s raspy voice came through the small star-shaped communication pin. "The cloak is catching the mental interference. But it is running on a battery, Cross. It won’t block him out forever." ℴ

"Thanks for the heads-up, Vex," Nathan said out loud. Hearing a voice from their own world made him feel instantly better. He turned to the team. "We need to find the real path. Walking straight isn’t working."

He blinked and triggered [Hunter’s Insight].

The endless white World shifted. He wasn’t looking for mana signatures or monster tracks. He was looking for a break in the magic. And there it was. A very faint, glowing silver trail painted on the bone-white ground. It zigzagged across the plain, completely ignoring straight lines, leading right toward the distant castle.

"I found a path," Nathan said, pointing his bow. "Follow my exact footsteps."

They followed the invisible trail. Almost immediately, the trick broke. The giant structure finally started getting larger. The flat white plain slowly turned into heavy, pale paving stones.

The structure wasn’t just a building. It was a massive, ancient castle. Its walls were made of white stone and covered in horrible, twisting carvings that made Nathan’s eyes hurt if he looked at them for too long.

Sitting right in front of the massive, closed front gate were two figures.

They were not human. They were incredibly tall and sickeningly skinny. Their bodies were wrapped tightly in clean white robes. Their faces were totally smooth and blank, just like the Emissary they had killed in the Shattered Throne. But unlike the Emissary, these two things actually had eyes. They were deep, empty black holes that seemed to suck the light right out of the air.

"The Shepherd’s personal servants," Smithy warned, dropping into a low stance. "The Watchers."

Nathan pulled an arrow from his quiver and locked it onto the string. "Then they can watch us walk right over them."

The two Watchers didn’t flinch. They didn’t pull weapons. They just stood perfectly still, their empty black eyes locked onto Nathan. Then, they spoke at the exact same time.

"The Shepherd has been expecting you, Nathan Cross."

Their voices were totally flat and dead. They showed zero emotion. A fresh chill ran down Nathan’s spine.

"Then he knows exactly why I brought my bow," Nathan said.

"He knows," the Watchers said together. "He knows absolutely everything. He has been watching your every move since the very beginning. Since you found the flower field. Since you survived the corrupted portal. Since the exact day you woke up in this world."

Nathan’s blood ran cold. "How—"

"The Shepherd sees all. He knows all. And now, little rabbit king, he will finally let you look him in the face."

With a loud, heavy grinding noise, the massive white gates of the castle slowly swung open.

There was no light inside. Just pure, suffocating darkness.

Nathan looked back at his party one last time. They were definitely scared, but they were ready. Nobody took a step back.

"Let’s finish this," Nathan said.

They stepped past the Watchers, walked through the gate, and the darkness swallowed them whole, the massive white doors slamming shut behind their backs with a final, deafening BOOM that sounded entirely too much like a closing coffin.