The impossible pillar of white light continued piercing through the night sky.
Far away from Velaris, countless survivors stared at the strange phenomenon with fear, confusion, and desperate hope.
But inside King's Territory…
The light was not the only thing dividing the living and the dead.
Outside the Lord's Palace, smoke from funeral pyres drifted through the cold night air.
The flames burned quietly, consuming what remained of those who had fallen during the Beast Tide.
Every now and then, a piece of timber collapsed inside one of the pyres, sending a shower of sparks into the darkness. The sickly smell of burnt flesh clung stubbornly to the night air, refusing to fade no matter how the wind shifted.
Survivors sat nearby in silence.
Some held onto the hands of their injured family members.
Some stared blankly into the darkness.
Others simply slept wherever they could, their bodies too exhausted to care about the uncomfortable ground beneath them.
