Vexia led Nox to the deepest chamber beneath the courthouse, a place that had once held the city's most dangerous criminals. Now it would serve a different purpose. She had spent hours weaving protective wards into the stone walls, layer upon layer of containment and shielding.
"This should hold whatever happens during the process."
Nox examined the crystal in his hand. It pulsed with the same void energy that flowed through his core, but older, colder. More complete.
"How long do you think it will take?"
"Unknown. When you absorbed the World Seed Fragment, the process was almost instantaneous. But this..." She gestured at the crystal. "This is different. More complex. It might take hours, or days."
"The city needs to be ready to function without me."
"It will be. Elisa can handle military threats, Serian can manage the people, and I can coordinate everything else. Your old teammates are integrating well with our forces."
