The night air in Duskhaven City was thick with the scent of ozone and the distant hum of high-voltage ambition. Standing on the balcony of their modest apartment, Dominic Mylod pulled a encrypted smartphone from his pocket. The device was sleek, devoid of markings, and linked to a satellite network that bypassed every civilian tower in the country. He swiped across the screen and hit a speed-dial contact that only four people in the world possessed.
The call was answered on the first ring.
"Lord," a voice boomed—deep, resonant, and vibrating with the kind of authority that comes from commanding legions. This was Tom Marriott, known to the public as the Five Star Battle God and to the Dragon Temple as one of its four Great Pillars. He was the man who had delivered the legendary dowry to t
