Filling the crevice was an utterly exhausting task. The walls around me were made of a thick layer of Ice coating the mountain's rocks. If I wanted the foundation for my tower to be as stable as possible, I needed to tie the Ice I was conjuring into that already existing coating. Then I needed to anchor the coating to the deeper rocks. Amusingly, both of those tasks had roughly the same difficulty, just with slightly different connotations.

Manipulating the coating of Ice was difficult because it had been infused with, quite frankly, insane levels of Astral Power. Without the need for a conceptual change to make Eternal Ice, I was fairly certain this entire crevice would be composed of it, and due to those levels of power imbued into the Ice, working with it was a chore and a half.

The rock beneath it was, comparatively, easier. However, working through a thick layer of Ice was difficult at the best of times, but here? Here, it was even worse. Due to the Nexus, the influence my affinity to Ice had over my Astral Power was even stronger than usual. Great when working with Ice, not so great when trying to avoid influencing the Ice and working on the layers below it. That meant a good portion of my Astral Power was essentially ineffective while working on the rocks, requiring me to work even harder. But with constant work and continued focus, I managed. Slowly but surely, building up the foundation of the tower I wanted to build.

As I was working, I considered what would be needed to conceptually change the Ice I was conjuring to become Eternal, how I would have to twist things so the tooth of time would crack when trying to gnaw on my tower, but this was a step too far, at least for now. I would have to investigate further in the future, learn a little more and solidify my conceptual understanding of time and the extreme apex of elemental Ice. I wasn't quite there yet, but eventually, I would undoubtedly get to that point.

At the same time, I made sure to future-proof things down here. I wanted this to be more than just a massive chunk of Ice, plugging up the crevice that contained the Nexus. While I was pretty sure that the Throne would allow me to wield the Nexus' power while sitting on it, I had a feeling that immersing myself in the Astral River, down below the surface, would have beneficial results. I wasn't quite sure what they might be, but I could tell that closing off access to it would be foolish.

So, instead of a singular, monolithic chunk of Ice, I was carefully adding a stairwell to the Ice I was conjuring, opening up exploration at a later date. If I wanted to walk down those stairs, it would take some time, but I would be able to visit and explore the Nexus if I so chose.

Plus, I needed to continuously add Runes to the walls and the rocks, increasing the materials' strength and lessening the chance that anybody who wasn't me would be able to influence these materials. I had no desire to let some future moron who was trying to bring down my tower have the ability to manipulate its very foundation. Instead, the foundation would be fused to the mountains themselves, as enduring as they were and just about as challenging to bring down.

Maybe I should consider anchoring the mountains, too. It might be possible to secure their roots to the very core of the world through the Astral River, but that might be a project for a later time. I had only a vague idea that it might be possible, nothing beyond that, let alone any actionable plans.

For now, anybody trying to break the foundations of my tower would have to break these very mountains, which was, well, it was good enough. At least for now, it would work out just fine. I would be able to expand on that in the future. Hopefully, once I was done with the entire thing, it would take damage on a continental scale to disrupt the foundation of my tower, meaning anybody trying to attack me would have to circumvent the protective magic I was planning to wrap around the tower. And with the Nexus's power at my fingertips, those protective wards would be impressive, especially as I could make their improvement a continuous field of study, similar to a hobby.

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Eventually, after what might have been two, maybe even three, days of constant spellcasting, only pausing briefly to sustain my body, I could see a change in the darkness above me. Stars were finally starting to become visible, the crevice no longer blocking their light. I couldn't quite tell how far I still had to go, but I now knew the end of this particular work was in sight. At least a temporary end, once I reached the surface, I still wanted to build my tower, but it would mean reuniting with the rest of my family.

Grinning to myself, I redoubled my efforts, channelling a little more Astral Power, only to realise trying to hurry would likely mean the tether I had been carefully weaving all this time would snap. So, instead of hurrying things along, I doubled down on my focus, making sure that I didn't make any mistakes in my exhilaration.

"Mom's back!" I could hear Luna's voice above me, filled with excitement and moments later, I could see the faint, golden light she could conjure with her divine magic break the darkness some thirty metres above me. In that light, I could see Luna poke her head over the crevice, looking down at the barely visible Ice I was constantly conjuring to serve as the foundation of my tower.

Feeling the exhaustion due to the continuous spellcasting creep up on me, I closed my eyes, pushing it away to the best of my ability. I could push myself to finish this last bit, then I'd be able to sleep for a bit.

An unexpected sound made me open my eyes again, just in time to see Lia jump into the crevice I was now filling with Ice. She expertly used the walls to push off and slow her descent, her agility allowing her to do so despite their nearly perfect smoothness. It was quite impressive, making me blink tiredly as she landed in front of me.

"Mother," she greeted me, relief obvious on her face, "You're alright."

"How long was I gone?" I had to ask their reaction a little over the top for the time I thought I had been gone.

"A little over three days," she replied, "We thought you'd be back in an hour or so, not that it would take you days," she explained, reaching forward to touch me, as if to assure herself that I was real. Her touch was quite pleasant, making me realise just how long I had been sitting in the same posture, unmoving. Maybe channelling that much Ice Astral Power hadn't been all that healthy.

"Apologies," I bowed my head a little, the gesture feeling slightly strange given that Lia had taken a clearly submissive posture while I was comfortably sitting on my throne. "Things didn't work out quite as I had imagined. I'd like to finish what I'm currently doing, then I need to sleep and rest for a bit before I can tell you about my experience, unless you have a pressing need?" I asked, remembering that Lia hadn't received any Astral Power from me since I had climbed into the crevice, meaning she might be quite hungry.

"I'm fine," she responded, shaking off my concern, "We didn't do a whole lot up here, just keep watch and worry. We could both feel that our connection with you remained, but that only meant you were alive. Neither of us could tell whether you were hurt or needed assistance. If not for the Crone's insight, one of us might have gone after you, even without knowing if the journey was one without return."

Thanks to my exhausted mind, it took me a moment to parse Lia's statement, and once I did, my thoughts stuttered to a halt. It was a good thing that the Grandmother had stopped either of my daughters from climbing after me. The crevice would have been quite a hazardous place to explore for either of them. But that didn't tell me how the Grandmother had known and, just as importantly, how she had conversed with Luna. To the best of my knowledge, the pair hadn't communed directly, only with me as an intermediary, but apparently, that had changed now.

Shaking my head, I brushed these questions aside and closed my eyes once more, continuing my work. Eventually, I felt the world around me open up and realised I had reached the surface. Relaxing my control, I tied everything off, binding the tether to the throne so it wouldn't snap and then, finally, I could rest. And I knew no more.

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