The aftermath of the Second Trial did not fade gently.
It hardened.
Victory on Var'Khal had not crowned a champion. It had revealed fault lines. The imperial court did not celebrate. It recalibrated. Succession was no longer theoretical. It was imminent.
One day after the recall from the demon world, the announcement came.
It did not arrive as a proclamation shouted across plazas or carved into the sky. It arrived as a synchronized transmission that rippled across every imperial channel, from the Core World's highest judicial spires to the furthest listening outposts at the empire's edge.
Seven figures appeared in projection, seated in a circular arrangement of light.
At the center stood the imperial arbiter, expression unreadable.
"The Third and Final Trial is hereby declared," the arbiter said.
The chamber holding the candidates fell silent.
