Chapter 51 - Chapter 21 – Echoes of a Cracked Throne

The dawn barely touched the jade rooftops of the Imperial Palace when a shudder ran through the foundations of the structure. First it was barely a sigh beneath the earth, a murmur that seemed to emerge from the very bowels of the continent. Then, the vibration intensified, filling the air with a silent pressure that seemed to want to draw sighs from everyone present. It wasn't a common tremor; it was something deeper, ancestral, as if the world itself were awakening after centuries of lethargy.