Construction on the three Hazard Towers accelerated once the second generation Magic Risk Indicator was completed. The towers had risen from foundation stones to towering structures of crystal channels and reinforced steelwood frames. Each tower stood nearly four stories high, pulsing with gentle light. Enchanters lined the walls with runes. Diviners aligned the cores. Adventurers guarded each perimeter. Aerilon felt like a city preparing for war, though its enemy hid not in armies but in shadows and curse currents.

Evan stood at the base of the northern tower holding the new device. Garron and Elira stood beside him. Draven patrolled the surrounding fields with a squad of adventurers. Mira checked off progress marks on a large clipboard. The guild master supervised the final rune activations. Workers tightened bolts and fused crystal conduits.

Evan raised the device and initiated the synchronization sequence. The crystals in the tower responded instantly. Blue light streamed through the mana drift channels. Purple arcs traced probability waves across the surface. Golden resonance pulses stabilized the flow. As the light traveled up the tower, the hum deepened. The tower awakened.

Elira smiled with relief. The resonance is stable she said. Garron patted Evan on the shoulder. One tower done. Two more to go. Evan checked the readings. The alignment was perfect.

They moved to the second tower in the southern district. It stood on the foundation that the Umbra Brokers had previously attempted to sabotage. This time the tower radiated steady light that repelled curse residue. Evan felt a moment of pride. Their attempt to collapse the project had failed.

He calibrated the second tower. Golden rings pulsed upward. The resonance stabilized again. Mira shouted from below It works. The workers cheered. Even Draven cracked a small grin.

The final tower in the eastern district required the most caution. The area’s mana flow was naturally unstable. Elira and Lira worked carefully to align fate resonance paths. Evan stood at the heart of the structure placing the device into the relay node. He activated the harmonization spell. The tower vibrated with low rumbling tones as if awakening from deep slumber.

For a moment the light flickered. Evan tensed. Elira steadied the alignment. Mira recorded the readings. Garron held his shield ready. Finally the pulses stabilized. The third tower stood fully active.

The moment the three towers activated simultaneously, a wave of energy washed across Aerilon. The city felt the shift. Lanterns flickered. Air currents swirled. Rain stopped mid-fall for half a second. People paused in the streets confused by the sudden sensation.

Evan opened the device and stared at the incoming readings. The towers were sending regional data to him faster than anything he had imagined. Numbers streamed across the surface. Colors shifted. Vibration patterns pulsed like waves across a map only he could see.

Mira stood behind him with wide eyes. What do you see. Evan whispered The region. All of it. Mana drift patterns. Probability curves. Curse density. Everything at once. Elira leaned in. Is it manageable. Evan nodded slowly. Yes. But only because the new device is strong enough. Without the stabilizer this would overwhelm us.

Draven arrived. He looked over Evan’s shoulder. What does it show. Evan ran his finger through the incoming signals. The towers had detected seventy-three minor mana instabilities. Twenty-one curse pockets. Fifteen probable monster migration paths. Three areas of major instability.

Then Evan froze. A fourth reading appeared. A massive pulse from the western forest. The same forest that had fluctuated during the Calibration Crisis. Only this time the pulse did not rise slowly. It surged instantly. Like a heartbeat striking the land.

Evan’s eyes widened. This is a major event. Garron stepped closer. How major. Evan answered Quietly but firmly. If the curve continues it could trigger a region wide curse storm.

The guild master approached. What is happening. Evan turned the device toward him. The numbers glowed bright red. The golden stabilizer pulsed violently. The forest is entering an unstable cycle he said. The Umbra Brokers tampered with the Enclave. Now they have triggered a new surge elsewhere. If the storm forms Aerilon will be exposed.

The guild master grew pale. What must we do. Evan took a deep breath. We need a full-scale regional scan. All three towers must synchronize their highest output. It will reveal the source of the instability. Without knowing the source there is nothing we can stop.

The guild master nodded. Do it.

Evan stepped into the tower relay chamber. He placed the device on the central cradle. Mira stood by his side recording numbers. Elira held her hands over the energy flows. Garron guarded the door. Draven remained outside overseeing adventurers preparing for possible evacuation.

Evan activated the full-scale scan.

The world seemed to hold its breath.

The tower lights brightened until they illuminated the sky. Mana flowed across the region like waves. Probability currents swirled into spirals. Curse density patterns formed rippling shapes across the land.

Inside the relay chamber the crystals rotated faster and faster. The light became nearly blinding.

Then the scan completed.

Evan stared at the final readings. His heart pounded.

He whispered The Umbra Brokers have created a convergence point. A ritual site. And it is growing.

Elira gasped. Garron’s eyes narrowed. Mira covered her mouth. Even the guild master stepped back.

The convergence point was enormous. Unstable. Dangerous. And located deep within the western forest.

Evan looked up. The towers gave us the truth he said.

Now we have to confront it.

The city waited for his next move.

And he had no time to hesitate.