The world fell silent, for between heaven and earth there was only the sound of aether rushing through the depths of the soul.
All life across Terra, even on the New Continent on the far side of the planet, could see that High Tower. It bent and spiraled like a helix, yet soared to an unbelievable height, rooted in the planet's continental landmass and thrusting straight into the dark, unknown reaches of space.
People in the cities stared up in shock. The streetlights, appliances, terminals, and all manner of tools related to the Void Realm and psionics beside them briefly failed. They could not hear anyone else's voices, could not sense their connection to others, and the tools in their hands became mere scrap metal. Amid the dark silence, the civilization they relied upon was fragile beyond measure.
In that instant, they felt as though the entire world had abandoned them, as though they were no more than isolated islands in an endless sea of silence.
And people in the mountains and wilderness raised their heads, no matter where they were—underground, within the bellies of mountains, or in the depths of seas and at the bottoms of lakes.
The people among the mountains could see it, and so could those by all waters—they could always see it. A pure-white High Tower extended forth from a perspective beyond the material world, plunging deep into darkness and overlooking the world below from within the profound, shadowy, infinite universe.
They could feel the trembling. The earth, rivers, mountains, oceans—everything quivered faintly. Schools of fish leaped from the sea, birds startled through the forests, and all living beings felt a collective fear.
It was like humanity losing civilization and wisdom, like schools of fish losing oceans and rivers, like birds losing the sky and