The footsteps grew clearer.
They did not echo loudly. They didn't need to. Each step carried intent, and intent carried weight. The harmonic hum threading through the hall deepened, not in volume, but in depth, as if reality itself leaned forward to listen.
From behind the imperial dais, space bent.
A corridor of folded distance unfolded like a curtain drawn aside by invisible hands, revealing the inner sanctum passage reserved for only one bloodline.
The Kael'Dri.
First came motion in the shadows; six silhouettes stepping forward in perfect unison. They emerged without announcement, without flourish, yet the pressure in the hall spiked instantly.
Galeno led the formation, his massive frame contained within a tailored black suit that did nothing to hide the truth of what he was. Each step he took sent subtle tremors through the marble floor, the very earth recognizing its elder. His eyes were calm, ancient, unyielding.
