The city rose like a dream from the horizon, its silhouette carved in stone and starlight.
Feng Jiao Xue stood atop the crest of the hill, her pale eyes fixed on the sprawl below. The breeze tugged at her cloak, carrying the faint scent of sea salt, lotus smoke, and something faintly metallic, like magic freshly cast. Beside her, Mo Tianze exhaled quietly, gaze unreadable as ever.
"They weren't lying," he murmured. "It really does look like the future wrapped in the bones of the past."
The city had been built around the ruins of an ancient mage kingdom, its foundations interwoven with arcane sigils and floating stone platforms. Instead of crumbling, the city had adapted. Towers rose from forgotten temples, etched with glowing veins of spiritstone. Bridges of translucent crystal arced between spires like spider silk caught in moonlight. ships hovered above the tallest peaks, drifting lazily, their hulls trimmed in gold and glimmering script.
