The golden dawn of Ignis Prime broke across the expansive obsidian plains, casting long, elegant shadows over the massive refugee camp that had blossomed around the base of the new World-Tree, and Kai stood silently on the high observation ridge while he watched his newly liberated citizens wake up to a sky entirely free of ash.
He had not slept, because a cultivator at his level of power rarely needed rest, and he had instead spent the quiet hours of the night mapping out the exact logistical requirements needed to feed and shelter four billion souls across a recovering planet.
Yena walked up the sloping ridge to join him, her dark silk uniform perfectly pressed and her super-cooled obsidian spear resting casually against her shoulder, and she handed him a warm cup of spiced tea brewed from the fresh leaves of the Sylfen canopy.
