Authority, aura, and grace...there was no denying it. Lucas had seen many figures of power in his lifetime, monarchs wrapped in jewels, generals plated in steel, and even cultivators who carried themselves with a haughty pride that bordered on arrogance. Yet none of them, not one, could compare to the Empress of Lechia. Sitting high upon her throne, veiled and untouchable, she was the very embodiment of control. Her presence alone was enough to silence an entire hall filled with envoys, nobles, and warriors, and it was done without a single word. Lucas had to admit, with a grudging respect he rarely gave, that she was the most graceful human he had ever seen.