Three days after the return of the Imperial Reconnaissance Unit, the Empire remained consumed by a single topic.
The survivors.
Not the Tower.
Not the First Floor.
Not even the mysterious Calamity.
The survivors themselves.
Initially, most citizens had focused on the broad details contained within Commander Reinhardt's report. Entire worlds hidden inside floors. Different time flow. Cities existing within the Tower. Such revelations had naturally captured public attention. Yet as scholars, military analysts, and noble officials began studying the surviving soldiers more closely, a different reality emerged.
The men who returned were not the same men who entered.
That realization unsettled everyone.
Aurelion stood within one of the Imperial Military Hospital's private wings while quietly observing a soldier undergoing examination. The man had been a healthy veteran before entering the Tower. Physically, he remained alive. Mentally, however, something had changed.
