Rain lashed down as Valerian stood before the towering obsidian gates of the Conclave—black stone veined with crimson light, pulsing like a living heart. Thunder boomed across the skies, and shadowed figures lined the high balconies above. Silent. Watching.
His cloak billowed in the storm winds. Selene, Seraphine, and Lira stood behind him, but only he would be allowed to step forward. The weight of their presence pressed against his back—their faith, their fear, their unspoken prayers all tangled together like chains around his chest.
Only he was the Marked One.
"Valerian Argonus," the gatekeeper's voice echoed like stone grinding against steel, each syllable reverberating through the courtyard with unnatural force. "Bearer of the Obsidian Seal, accused of harboring a forbidden System fragment, and invoking the Shadow God's Pact. Do you accept judgement?"
