The moment Ace settled into the cushioned lounge of Room 1, the heavy doors sealed behind him with a muffled click.
Inside, the chamber hummed faintly with protective runes etched into black steel, threads of spirit-glass crossing the ceiling like a spider's web, all shimmering with quiet power.
Beyond the wide, viewing window, the grand auction hall spread out in solemn majesty.
Chandeliers of black crystal hung suspended in drifting fog, their light filtering through layers of smoky enchantment.
Rows upon rows of tiered seating formed concentric rings around a raised central stage of polished obsidian.
Every seat was nearly filled. Robed nobles of the Evernight Council, emissaries from distant cities, cloaked figures whose identities were hidden behind masks. Each person present here was of high status and had a cultivation base of at least an Abyssal Master or above.
