The path to the Imperial Dungeons was a descent not just in altitude, but in moral clarity. Klaus followed Melo, the Emperor's Shadow, away from the freezing, sterile light of the Throne Room and into the bowels of the Main Estate.
Melo, a figure clad in tight, dark purple and silver, moved with a silent, gliding efficiency. His face was entirely obscured by a black mask, with only two slits for his eyes, which themselves were hidden beneath a deep shadow. He was less a guard and more a trained instinct, a deadly extension of the Emperor's will.
