CHAPTER 29: THE WATCHERS DESCEND

The sky cracked open like glass.

Not a Rift. Not Pulse lightning. Not E.E.A. tech.

This was clean. Deliberate. Cosmic.

From beyond orbit, three streaks of silver light descended in perfect formation, burning through clouds without sound or flame. They moved without resistance — gravity bent around them.

Everyone on Earth stopped what they were doing.

Because the world itself seemed to pause.

---

In Abuja, Confidence watched the live feed from twenty different hacked satellites. "They're not from this system," she whispered. "Not from Beacon networks. Not even from Riftborn archives."

Ken stared. "You're saying they're not part of anything we know?"

Emmy stepped forward, eyes glowing faintly.

"They're Watchers."

Confidence turned to her. "You've seen them?"

"No," Emmy said. "But the Root remembers them."

---

Atop the Obudu Plateau, Anthony and Chi-Chi watched the sky blaze as the three Watchers descended — landing in perfect synchronization on the ruined Beacon platforms scattered across the continent.

Africa. Asia. South America.

They didn't speak.

Didn't move.

They just stood there — seven feet tall, featureless, silver-skinned, with cloaks made of starlight. Their presence distorted space. Trees bent toward them. Pulse lines realigned in their orbit.

Chi-Chi stepped back instinctively. "That's not a person."

Anthony clenched his fists. "That's a judgment system."

And then... all three turned to face him.

Though miles away, he felt it — like a hand on his soul.

> "YOU HAVE BROKEN BALANCE."

"YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE ANCHORS."

"YOU HAVE CALLED US."

> "WE HAVE COME."

---

Suddenly, Anthony was no longer standing on the Plateau.

He stood in light.

Pure. Endless. Cold.

And before him were all three Watchers — not physical now, but conceptual. They shimmered like equations made of stars.

> "YOU ARE THE PRIME REWRITE."

"THE CODE HAS SHIFTED."

"WE DO NOT JUDGE YOUR EXISTENCE."

"WE JUDGE YOUR INTENTION."

Anthony tried to speak — but found he had no voice.

Only thought.

"Why now?"

> "BECAUSE YOU TOOK CONTROL."

"BECAUSE THE SYSTEM NO LONGER CONTAINS YOU."

"WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO, ANTHONY RICHARD?"

"REBUILD?"

"DESTROY?"

"REPLACE?"

Anthony stepped forward.

His pulse burned behind his ribs — not wild anymore, but focused. Aligned.

"I plan to give the world back to itself."

The Watchers didn't respond right away.

Then:

> "THEN YOU WILL BE WATCHED."

"UNTIL YOU ARE CHALLENGED."

"AND IF YOU FALTER…"

"THE RESET WILL BEGIN."

---

In the real world, Anthony collapsed to one knee as the vision ended.

Chi-Chi caught him before he fell.

"What did they say?"

He stood up slowly.

"They're not stopping me. Yet."

"But?"

"They're... watching. Waiting for me to become the next mistake."

Chi-Chi narrowed her eyes. "Then let's not give them a reason."

---

Elsewhere — far from any Beacon, any Watcher — a storm moved across the Sahara.

It wasn't wind.

It wasn't rain.

It was Goliath Locke.

Fully active. No longer glitching.

Its Pulse signature had stabilized into a deep black-red resonance. It no longer sought Anthony out of programming.

It sought him out of belief.

> "TARGET CLASSIFICATION: FALSE UNMEASURED."

"REALITY CORRUPTION IMMINENT."

"RESET PROTOCOL: GOLIATH PRIME."

It activated a Rift drive.

And vanished.

---

Back at the base, Emmy clutched her Beacon shard as the signal warped.

She gasped. "Something's coming through The Well."

Confidence turned. "What now?"

> "It's not another Beacon…" Emmy whispered. "It's a breaker key."

Ken frowned. "The hell is a breaker key?"

Emmy looked up.

"It's what the Beacons use to shut themselves down."

---

That night, Anthony sat alone beneath the stars — but they didn't look right anymore.

They shimmered with silver patterns, like the Watchers had stitched something new into the sky.

Chi-Chi approached, quiet.

She sat beside him.

For a while, neither spoke.

Then she asked, "You gonna tell me what they really said?"

He looked at her.

"They want to see what kind of god I'll become."

Chi-Chi scoffed. "That's stupid. You're not a god."

He smiled faintly. "I know."

She turned to him, serious.

"But you're the only thing standing between this world and whatever comes next."

He didn't answer.

Because he wasn't sure that was a compliment anymore.

---

Far beneath them, in the lowest level of The Well, a crack split across the core.

From within it, a new voice whispered — one that hadn't spoken in a thousand years.

> "Stark…"

"Watcher…"

"Failure…"

"Come find me."