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◆ Scene 1 – Somewhere Beyond the Citadels
A desert of shattered obsidian stretched under a violet sky.
In the center, a ruined tower burned with slow, unnatural fire.
Seven shadows stood around it.
None of them spoke. None of them needed to.
They were Weapon Holders.
One stepped forward — a woman cloaked in molten cloth, her arms wrapped in chains that hissed with heat.
“The seal is broken.”
Another answered — a man with eyes like razors and hair that floated behind him as if underwater.
“The heir walks. The throne stirs.”
“And the ghost beneath his skin awakens.”
They all turned west — toward Dilonia.
“Then we march.”
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◆ Scene 2 – Citadel Dilonia, Medical Wing
Ares opened his eyes slowly.
He wasn’t in the arena. He wasn’t in a dream.
He was in a bed — something soft,
