No. Merely helping it remember how it flowed once through the heart of this world.
She draws the broken edges together, light flowing through the seam. The old ward dissolves, and a new one forms in its place, its pattern cleaner and stronger than the original design.
When she steps back, the gear stands whole again.
I release the binding magic. The gears resume their slow turning.
Minutes pass.
The first beam of sunlight spills down through the Mirror Shafts. It pours into the cavern like liquid dawn.
Morvane hums against my skin. The armor plates warm along my spine as the ancient enchantments within the metal drink in the returning light. Around us, the entire Selen District brightens as the mirrors above catch the growing blaze of the Surface sun.
For the first time in months, Krystopolis breathes beneath radiant daylight.
The Onyx Horns roar in celebration, the sound crashing through the district like a colossal wave.
The People rise, the emerald jewels on their chokers lighting up. Freeing their voices.
Thousands begin chanting at once.
“Resh! Resh!”
The sound strikes the marble like a hammer.
“Resh! Resh! Resh!”
The chant grows louder with every breath.
I stand beside Auryn, motionless, the weight of Morvane steady across my shoulders as the city calls to their deity.
The rhythm changes.
At first, only a few voices chant in dissonance.
“Sokâr!”
Then more join.
“Sovereign!”
The sound spreads outward through the crowd like fire through dry grass.
“Sokâr! Sovereign!”
“Sokâr! Sovereign!”
Auryn goes very still beside me. The chant grows louder with every heartbeat. Within the Bond, her emotions churn—surprise first, then unease.
I keep my mask in place as I turn to look at the Priests. They wave their hands, signing furiously, trying to dim the jewels on the crowd’s necks to silence them. But they are drained from the Turning. They do not have the mana to pivot the spell so quickly.
Deep beneath the surface calm of my thoughts, a colder realization forms.
The city is beginning to understand what she is.
And when that understanding spreads far enough…
She will break, Iridias.
