LOGINThe Cathedral of St. Jude was bathed in a light so pure it felt like a judgment. Today was the day of the Royal Investiture, the moment Leo Draven would officially become the Protector of the Realm. Thousands gathered outside, their cheers muffled by the thick, ancient stone walls, while the high
The weeks following the "Great Glitch"—as the official palace records called it—were the most delicate in the history of the realm. While the public celebrated a swift recovery of the kingdom’s infrastructure, the Draven estate became a high-security sanctuary for a population that didn't officially
The North Wing of the palace was a place of soft carpets and muted sunlight, designed to be a sanctuary for the future of the realm. But as the Dravens sprinted through the gilded corridors, it felt like a labyrinth of ice. The silence here was worse than the screaming of the machines in the High Co
The High Court chamber, usually a sanctuary of measured speech and ancient law, became a slaughterhouse of chrome and code. The grey smoke was so thick that the only things visible were the glowing blue optics of the Twelve Judges. "Lucien, get down!" Kaiser’s voice boomed over the hiss of the gren
The surface of the harbor was a churning cauldron of black grease and freezing foam. Kaiser, Izora, and Caspian collapsed onto the swaying deck of the salvage barge, the massive crane still groaning under the tension of the warehouse roof it had just ripped away. "Leo!" Izora scrambled to the edge
Benedict paused by the tall window, the rain casting streaks across his reflection. He stared at himself, at the monster he had willingly become, and smiled. Monsters did not regret. Monsters survived. Let her mother protect her now, he thought, a sneer tugging at his lips. Let her husband shield
The rooftop door creaked again louder this time, the sound dragging across the silence like a blade across metal. Unity spun, rifle already raised, her eyes narrowing into the scope in one smooth, trained motion. Nothing. No figure. No flash of movement. Just the door, swinging on tired hinges,
The red room door hissed open once more. Kaiser leaned heavily on Izora as they crossed the threshold into one of the estate’s private medical quarters, his steps stiff and uneven. A medic tried to approach with a stretcher. Kaiser waved him off with a glare that could kill. “I said I’m fine,” he
“Get her back inside,” Kaiser barked hoarsely, brushing off a medic who’d rushed in from the left. His voice was frayed at the edges, shredded, but not broken. Never broken. “No” “I thought…” Izora’s breath shook. The words collapsed in her mouth. She couldn’t finish. She didn’t know how. Tears
Izora’s hands closed around it. She sat down slowly on the edge of the couch, back straight, lips pressed together. The screen lit up. Her mother’s room. Soft light filtered through pale curtains. The heart monitor beeped steadily. Tubes ran from her arm, IV fluids still dripping. A nurse adjuste







