Heena ascended the white marble stairs with a smooth, feline grace. The physical sensation of simply walking without the agonizing, crushing weight of the blood clot in her skull was euphoric. She felt the cool marble through her thin silk slippers. She smelled the rich, heady aroma of burning amber and sandalwood pouring out from the pavilion doors. The Vitality Booster made the world hyper-vivid, turning the Imperial Palace into a sensory masterpiece.
As she crossed the threshold into the Grand Pavilion, the sheer scale of the empire's wealth washed over her.
The banquet hall was massive, supported by towering pillars carved from solid, ancient cedar wood, each one intricately etched with soaring dragons and gilded in pure gold leaf. The ceiling was a masterpiece of painted constellations, while massive, glowing pearls the size of human fists were set into bronze sconces along the walls, casting a soft, ethereal moonlight over the room.
