Chapter 168 - The Broken March

The Tower of Final Authority fell away behind them like a monument to administrative certainty being eroded by forces too vast to acknowledge its relevance. The ash wings that now adorned Selena's transformed back beat with rhythms that seemed to harmonize with cosmic frequencies beyond mortal comprehension, each movement creating ripples through dimensions that had been sealed against bureaucratic oversight. The pain of their emergence had settled into a constant burning sensation that spoke of power derived from sources that existed in opposition to the current cosmic order, but which were being systematically channeled through apparatus designed to serve administrative purposes.