When the war ended—
nothing returned to what it was.
---
Not the road.
Not the nodes.
Not the region.
---
And not—
Kael.
---
The system pulsed.
---
[Dominion Core Stabilized]
[Empire Framework Established]
---
Elara stood beside him.
Liora did too.
---
Not behind.
---
Beside.
---
Equal.
---
Because this—
was no longer his rise.
---
It was—
their empire.
---
Kael looked out—
over everything he had taken.
---
Everything he had built.
---
And everything that would come next.
---
Then said quietly:
---
"This is only the beginning."