The grey corridor terminated abruptly within a vast, vaulted chamber that defied the sensation of the platforms below. The air was noticeably heavier; not purely institutional, but weighted with a sense of personality and old age.
The weight of escorting pressure lifted, and no fresh stream of functionaries awaited them.
A single woman stood near the chamber's middle, tall even by their standards, her long dark hair framing an uncovered face of unusual character. She was clad in layers of cloth that flowed into thinner plates of dull gold, and her gaze swept slowly but deliberately across the nine of them.
Zeus felt a strange sense of unease at the sight of her - this was not another filter.
'You are the nine who should not be here,' she said at last. 'Unlogged. Intact. Extracted from an active sentenced design. The lower tiers loathe anomalies of categorisation. I do not.'
Athena's grip on her spear subtly adjusted. 'You know what happened to our universe.'
