The Starborne Spire was not a structure one approached. It was a destination one was permitted to witness. It rose from the center of a windswept, high-altitude plateau, a needle of pure, milky crystal that pierced the clouds, catching the first and last light of the day in a way that seemed to hold the sun itself captive. There were no walls, no gates, only a series of floating, interlocking platforms that spiraled lazily around the central spire, connected by bridges of solidified light. It was a place of breathtaking beauty and profound isolation, a fortress of the mind.
The journey had been a silent, grinding trial. Ren had withdrawn into a shell of intense focus, using the monotony of travel to rebuild the walls inside himself. He practiced feeling the beastlines without reacting, ac
