The field around the tower grew quiet after sunset Workers returned to their tents exhausted Guards lit lanterns around the perimeter casting circles of warm light across the grass The sky carried no moon only a dim glow of faint starlight flickering behind drifting mana haze The air felt heavy still almost expectant

I sat near the base of the tower finishing last checks on the diagrams Leron brought me hot tea and sat beside me saying he could not sleep Solen walked the perimeter scanning for disturbances The apprentices worked quietly inside the warehouse preparing neutralizing stones in case tomorrow’s trial overwhelmed the vent rings

Everything felt too calm Too controlled Too silent

Around midnight a guard shouted from the north perimeter I sprinted with Leron following close behind We reached the lantern line just as three dark figures vanished behind a cluster of trees Guards chased them but the shadows swallowed their forms as if they melted into the darkness

We found footprints leading toward the tower marks in the dirt like someone dragging heavy objects We followed the tracks and discovered two strange clay jars buried shallowly near the purification ring Their surfaces covered with spiraled runes and small cracks that pulsed faint red

Black market sabotage

I ordered everyone back then carefully unearthed the jars The glow brightened The jars hummed faintly vibrating like throbbing veins They contained compressed red black dust mixtures unstable deadly designed to detonate using any activation surge from the tower

Someone wanted the tower to explode during the trial Someone wanted the people to blame us Someone wanted the council to abandon the project entirely

Solen examined the jars saying they were recently placed maybe minutes before we found them The saboteurs knew the guard rotations They knew the trial details They knew exactly where to plant the jars It confirmed the worst A council insider fed information directly to the Ash Guild

We neutralized the jars but fear tightened in the workers’ voices If saboteurs infiltrated the field how far would they go next

Leron suggested we postpone the trial I shook my head firmly If we delayed the Ash Guild would only strike harder They fed on hesitation They used fear like fuel I told him delaying the trial would be the real victory for them Leron swallowed hard but nodded

Guards doubled their patrol routes Workers stayed awake sharpening tools or checking storage crates Apprentices layered extra runes along the tower’s foundation reinforcing weak lines The entire field turned into a living fortress prepared to survive the night

But despite all precautions the night tested us again

Near the second hour after midnight the tower pulsed unnaturally The glow from the stabilization ring flickered sharply as if something tugged at its energy I pressed my hand to the stone feeling its rhythm It was uneven unstable fighting something unseen

Then I saw it

A faint mist curled around the tower’s upper ring A pale drifting smoke with dots of shadow inside It was not natural haze nor leftover magic

It was emotional resonance fear induced mana echo the kind that formed when panic or rage swelled across a district

Someone somewhere stoked fear deliberately sending emotional energy toward the tower stirring instability inside the purification runes The Ash Guild used public conflict itself as a weapon

Solen arrived beside me He raised his staff and chanted softly stabilizing the ring temporarily I added chalk lines to reinforce the structure Leron placed grounding stones around the base Together we restored the pulse from frantic to steady

But the message was clear The Ash Guild had found ways to strike without stepping onto the field They could attack the tower by manipulating emotion by planting fear by using crowds as catalysts

The kingdom needed this trial more than ever

Guards continued searching the perimeter and found more markings spirals etched into trees shallow symbols carved into stones All signs of saboteurs who tried to use chaos as efficiently as technology I walked the field examining each one erasing them carefully Their presence made the night colder than the air around us

By the time dawn pushed faint orange light into the sky the field looked exhausted Guards slumped against crates Workers rubbed tired eyes Apprentices leaned on each other Solen closed his eyes while gripping his staff tightly Leron sat beside me half asleep but refusing to leave the tower’s side

But the tower stood tall unwavering Its rings glowed steady Its pulse calm Its presence stronger than the darkness we fought all night

Dawn broke

The full load trial would begin in hours despite everything Because stopping now meant surrendering the future

I looked at the workers the apprentices the guards their faces tired yet determined They fought through sabotage curses dark clouds poisoned fear and even emotional attacks

Tomorrow had arrived

And today the tower would either save the kingdom or fall with us