The graceful silhouette of the Ivory Island drifted among the clouds above Bastion. Contoured against the golden sun, it looked both beautiful and peaceful from the ground… however, the atmosphere within the walls of the Tower of Hope was far from tranquil.
In fact, it was tense and somber despite the suffocating power of the five people gathered in a spacious council room on one of the great pagoda's seven floors.
Sunny, Nephis, Cassie, Effie, and Kai were seated around a table, wearing grim expressions. Cassie was talking, and the more she said, the heavier the mood in the room became.
Sunny heard each word clearly and grasped their meaning flawlessly.
At the same time…
He found himself getting distracted as his newly altered mind spread far and wide, absorbing thousands of different perspectives with the same degree of focused clarity.
It was a strange state of being, and one he was still failing to get used to.
