The departure of the Imperial airship left a heavy silence over Silverwood Spire. The sky felt emptier, but the air was thicker with tension. The meeting with Captain Kiera Dawnbringer wasn't an end, but a beginning—an official announcement that the game had escalated to a global level. For the Elves, it was confirmation that their alliance with Nihil had placed them on the chessboard of giants. For Nihil, it was the sound of an hourglass being flipped. His time in this silver cage was running out.
He did not return to the Grand Library the next day. He had found what he sought. Instead, he locked himself in his chamber, with only Elara Moonveil permitted entry. Spread across a large table in the center of the room was a copy of an ancient topographic map of the continent. Nihil had redrawn it from memory with terrifying precision.
