The ornate doors swept open with the gravity of cosmic inevitability. Zhang Ruoyun glided through first, her very presence making reality hold its breath in anticipation. Behind her came Annabelle, Bella, and Whisper—each radiating the casual authority of beings who'd learned to navigate the delicate politics of universal power.
The assembled families were trembling with barely contained excitement.
Robert, Tessa, and Helena were already positioned strategically around the chamber, watching the family representatives who sat on the edge of their seats, faces flushed with the desperate hunger that came from glimpsing power beyond mortal comprehension.
Tessa found herself remembering that chaotic day when everything changed. The memory brought both nostalgia and a twist of embarrassment she'd never admit out loud.
