The still court did not remain still for long.
Continuity light thickened in the high arch until the stone itself seemed to lean in. There was no suggestion of full figures stepping through, no face to judge by. A pressure and a voice resolved through the gate, heavy enough that residual force in Zeus's bones took the shape of iron filings clinging to a magnet.
"Seed line intact," the voice said. "Not as solitary remainder. As bonded war-line."
Athena raised her spear, fingers tightening around the shaft, but did not present it as a challenge. "Then speak plain. Did we pass?"
The light passed over them, racing up and down the lines of nine plus Nyxara and Vespera and Sable. It lingered on the war-pact sigils, the living lines beneath them. "You entered as hunted survivors," the voice said. "You stand as a company that held under violence, appetite, loyalty strain, and loss. First deep trial is complete."
