While the expansion proceeded with almost insulting smoothness, Radeon stood in the minting hall.
Gold ran in channels. Heat pressed on faces. The air tasted of metal and smoke.
He had taken much of the Vision Crystal and infused it with his own essence.
What had once carried dreams, pleasure, illusion, a seven colored glow that made men hungry, became something else in his hands.
The crystal darkened. Black and white. Dark crimson. Dark purple.
He sprinkled the powder into the molten alloy as if seasoning a stew.
Calyx watched from the side and shivered. His whole being screamed safety and danger at the same time.
The contradiction made him feel like his ghost nature did not know how to stand in its own skin.
The press came down and minted the first coin. Radeon picked it up while it was still warm.
On one face was a peaceful man with twelve arms. Each arm showed dark veins, like roots under skin.
On the other face were nine stars set inside an eclipsing sun and moon.
