Awakening

The Rubik's Cube made a very soft sound as it turned for the last time in Ron's hand.

But after that one turn, the air in the inner chamber underwent a qualitative change.

The string that had long been pulled taut throughout the entire space went completely slack in that instant.

Ron placed the Rubik's Cube on the tabletop and watched the geometric body reset.

This arrangement should have been the Rubik's Cube's true "completed state."

The biocomputer structure Alexander had left behind, after the final set of solutions finished running, quietly dissipated as well, leaving no residue behind.

The Rubik's Cube no longer turned, nor did it restructure itself. It lay there silently, no different from an ordinary toy.

He rose and looked toward the entrance that led deeper inside.

The entrance had opened soundlessly.

Ron did not walk over at once.

He stood where he was for a moment, reached into his Space Pouch, and took out a new deck of divination cards.

After Chloe advanced to Archwizard, she had given him the divination cards she often used, saying they "would work better than ordinary cards."

After two thorough shuffles, he stopped and began posing his questions in his mind.

The first question—had anything been overlooked on this trip?

He drew a card and turned it over.

[High Tower - Reversed]

On the face of the card was a High Tower struck by lightning, bricks and stones flying outward from its top.

Reversed meant that the arrival of disaster could no longer be avoided.

But one key detail had been inverted: the source was not external, but internal.

Ron stared at the card for a long time.

The tower card was an old friend of his. It was a symbol of stability, as well as the embodiment of