Chapter 186 - Song of the Fallen

The first notes reached them when they were still three layers above the deep Empire's heart, drifting upward through the cosmic architecture like smoke from a fire that had been burning since the first star learned to die. At first, Selena thought it was merely the humming of the vast machinery that surrounded them the background resonance of devices that existed to reshape reality according to algorithmic precision. But as they continued their descent, bound together by chains of bone-light and shadow-lightning, the sound resolved itself into something far more heartbreaking.