Dawn did not arrive with a gentle sunrise. It arrived with the deafening, bone-rattling roar of the Aether-Nova Engine powering up.
Lucifer stood on the high balcony of the central keep. He wore his dark leather armor, the heavy iron gauntlets locked tightly into place.
The ruby-red Blade of Ruin pulsed on his hip, completely synchronized with the steady, calm heartbeat inside his chest.
Beside him stood Elara. The Twilight Sovereign had re-equipped her Mythic Void-Weave armor. The dark, iridescent scales shifted seamlessly over her skin.
She looked completely refreshed, the exhaustion of the previous days entirely erased. Her golden eyes burned with absolute, predatory focus.
They looked out over the Silver Citadel.
The celestial dimension was quiet. The surviving angels were huddled in the lower sectors, completely terrified of the massive black mountain hovering above their golden highways.
