The Sovereigns did not depart after the crushing weight of the truth was finally spoken. They remained gathered in the sealed chamber beneath the Imperial Palace, their massive presences compressed into human-like forms so that the very fabric of Astralis would not tear apart beneath the strain of their existence.
Even with their power held back, the air felt thick and saturated with a heavy, suffocating meaning that no mortal language could ever fully contain.
Celestine stood like a living wall between Vahn and the door to Valen's sleeping chamber. Her hands were clenched so tightly that her nails pressed deep, pale crescents into her palms, and her knuckles were white with the effort of holding herself together.
"A child," she said, her voice trembling with a fury that felt like it could ignite the room. "You are standing in my home, in the seat of our life, and you are speaking of a child as if he were a mathematical variable. You are talking about my son."
