The night was draped in a thick, velvet darkness as Thor carried me across the rooftops of the Secluded State. To anyone watching from below, we would have been nothing more than a passing shadow, a trick of the moonlight. But for me, perched on the massive shoulder of a General of Blood, the world felt like it was finally beginning to align with my will.
We arrived at the outskirts of the city, where an old, weathered mansion stood hidden behind a veil of overgrown trees and tangled vines. This was the place Thor and Ren had secured—a sanctuary for the innocent and a meeting ground for the powerful. As we landed silently in the courtyard, the air itself seemed to change. It was no longer the stale, dusty air of the city; it was charged with a raw, primal energy that made the hair on my
