The Five Summit Emperors were not men who lingered when they smelled profit. Eldric watched their eyes track the lighting boards, and the estimator.
He knew what they wanted, the same thing old powers always wanted when a new rule appeared. Monopoly.
"Follow me."
They answered without words. A few quick gestures sent sons, daughters, and disciples away, back toward their lofty mountains and the comforts of distance.
The five stayed behind, faces calm, hands loose, already negotiating in their heads.
Eldric tapped his fingers at empty air. The space rippled like disturbed water. The arena vanished.
They dropped into a hidden passage below, a corridor that felt older than the stone above it.
Ancient arrays glimmered along the walls, lines of light stitched into the dark like veins.
Even the Summit Emperors paused, not from small minds, but from honest awe.
The world was vast. Its secrets were vaster. None of them asked a question, not yet.
