The golden gate did not open with fanfare or violence. It simply dissolved—molten light flowing away like water—revealing a boundless plaza of white marble suspended in an endless sky. Pillars of crystallized starlight rose into infinity. At the center stood a single, impossibly tall throne of pure radiance, empty.

  No heralds appeared. No choir of angels sang. Only silence—and the oppressive weight of being watched.

  Varka took one step forward, boots ringing against the marble.

  “Cowardice doesn’t suit gods,” he called, voice echoing into the void. “Come out. Face the knight who climbed your stairs.”

  Nicole’s mental voice was steady beside him. They’re listening. They always listen. But they rarely answer with words.

  A voice answered then—not from any direction, but from everywhere and nowhere. Calm. Ancient. Cold.

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  “Mortal. Remnant. You trespass where even Archons fear to tread. State your petition.”

  Varka’s grip on his claymore tightened. “My petition is simple. Undo the curse on Nicole Reeyn. The punishment placed on her kind for daring to love. Remove it. Now.”

  “The law is eternal. Love between divine and mortal fractures the order of creation. The price was set long before your bloodline drew breath.”

  “Then change the law,” Varka shot back. “You sit above us playing at fate. I demand to rewrite it.”

  A ripple of amusement brushed across their minds—like frost on glass.

  “You would dictate terms to Celestia?”

  “I would fight for them,” Varka said simply.

  The throne blazed brighter. From its seat rose a figure—not flesh, but a towering silhouette of light and shadow, faceless, crowned with halos of spinning celestial mechanisms. It regarded them without eyes.

  “Then prove your worth. A trial. Threefold. Survive, and perhaps we will entertain your insolence.”

  Nicole stepped forward, placing herself between Varka and the silhouette.

  No. This is my curse. My people’s sin. Let the trial fall on me.

  The silhouette tilted its head.

  “Very well. The first trial begins.”

  The plaza shattered.