The return of the Second Expedition had not yet happened.
Days passed.
Then weeks.
Tower City continued expanding beneath the shadow of the Celestial Tower while humanity waited for news that refused to arrive. At first, people remained optimistic. Commander Reinhardt's expedition had spent months inside the First Floor while only days passed outside. Most assumed the Second Expedition simply required more time.
Yet uncertainty had a way of growing.
Every additional day without communication fueled speculation.
Had they reached the Second Floor?
The Third?
Had they discovered new civilizations?
New rewards?
Or had they encountered something worse?
Nobody knew.
The Tower remained silent.
As always.
And because the Tower remained silent, humanity filled the silence with theories.
Thousands of theories.
