Noise was the first thing that pulled him out of his reverie.
Not a single, distinct sound, but many layered together: rising voices, laughter, hurried footsteps, exclamations of joy. The restrained anticipation that had filled the place finally shattered. The celebration had begun.
Daverion slowly lifted his gaze. In front of the palace, the crowd had grown until every available space was filled. The atmosphere was no longer one of waiting, but of open enthusiasm, of shared joy. The event was finally about to begin.
Several figures appeared from the main entrance. One person at the front, accompanied by two others on each side. Their bearing made their role clear: the leader in charge of welcoming the guests, flanked by his vice-coordinators. Behind them, more officials began to arrive, each assigned to specific tasks, coordinating the flow, announcing names, maintaining order.
The first guests made their appearance.
They were not the most powerful, but they were influential figures. The greatest merchant of the dynasty arrived first, recognized by everyone. Most of the inns belonged to him. Murmurs rippled through the crowd; many pointed him out, others whispered about his wealth and influence.
Next came the head of the bank. The air grew heavier. For cultivators and mortals alike, that figure represented control, resources, stability… and debt. Respect followed instantly.
Then arrived the owner of the Red Zone of the Yu Dynasty. Her entrance was different. Smiles appeared, curious looks followed, comments filled with morbid interest and admiration. Some looked uncomfortable; others were clearly delighted.
With each arrival, the crowd reacted. They commented, grew excited, compared.
Daverion watched in silence.
Not far from him, though they did not dare get too close, Dael and Mateo followed every arrival with rapt attention. Their eyes shone, their bodies tensed.
"Do you see them?" Dael murmured, almost holding his breath.
Mateo nodded slowly. "I never thought I'd see them this close."
Then the viscounts arrived.
Five in total.
Each arrived by their own means: finely decorated carriages, spiritual beasts restrained by seals, floating platforms sustained by energy formations. The aura surrounding them was unmistakable. Not aggressive, but present, like a constant pressure.
When the first descended, applause began. When the second arrived, it intensified. By the third, it had become open ovations. The fourth and fifth made shouts echo across the entire venue.
The children playing near Daverion stopped completely. They stared wide-eyed, pointing, imitating stances, pretending they themselves were important figures.
"They're huge," one said, impressed.
"I'll be like that," the other declared, puffing out his chest.
The parents watched them with a mix of pride and nervousness.
Then came the scholars.
Respected figures, wrapped in sober robes, with deep, stable auras. Their mere presence brought sincere smiles to many faces. Some cultivators bowed their heads; others clasped their hands in greeting.
When the Grand Scholar appeared, the atmosphere changed completely.
The applause was unanimous.
Daverion lifted his gaze… and the scholar met it.
There were no words. Only a slight, precise nod.
Daverion returned it in the same way.
For Dael and Mateo, watching from a distance, it felt like a blow.
"He… greeted him?" Dael murmured.
Mateo clenched his teeth. "Why…?"
What they felt was not hatred, but an uncomfortable mix of astonishment and envy. Something did not fit, and that unsettled them.
The children's parents noticed as well. They saw the gesture, recognized the scholar… and then looked at Daverion.
Without saying a word, they drew a little closer to their children.
The marquises arrived next.
And then, the place exploded.
Shouts, cheers, ovations echoed throughout the venue. The auras were overwhelming. The air vibrated with contained power. Each marquis descended surrounded by guards, symbols, and banners.
The children jumped with excitement.
"Look, look!" one shouted.
"They're stronger than the others!" said the second, completely fascinated.
Daverion remained seated.
Then, the fervor reached its peak.
The generals were arriving.
The first appeared mounted on a colossal spiritual beast. The second arrived in a carriage covered with defensive formations visible even to the least sensitive. The third had yet to appear.
The crowd felt the power. There was no need to see it; the aura was enough.
That was when it happened.
One of the carriages advanced slowly toward the palace. Inside was a general. He was waiting for his son.
From the Red Zone, a young man suddenly appeared, pushing hurriedly through the crowd.
Yu Wei had left the Red Zone late. His father's carriage was already moving, advancing slowly toward the palace, and he could see it in the distance, imposing, surrounded by the iron presence of Yu Tian. The general did not descend or turn his head. He knew his son would arrive. He always did.
Yu Wei quickened his pace.
People moved aside when they recognized him. Not out of respect, but out of habit. They knew who his father was. They knew what it meant to block his path. Adult cultivators moved quickly, merchants lowered their gaze, servants pressed themselves against the walls.
But the children did not.
They kept playing.
Two small bodies ran straight across his path. Yu Wei collided with them head-on. The impact was not strong, but it was enough to stop him.
That was enough.
The children fell to the ground. They got up immediately, confused, and bowed awkwardly.
"We're sorry."
Their parents reacted instantly. Pale-faced, they rushed forward, bowing again and again.
"Forgive us, young master, it wasn't intentional, please—"
Yu Wei looked at them as if they were dust.
His brow furrowed. Not from pain. From audacity.
"My path was blocked," he said coldly. "That is insolence."
He turned his head slightly.
"Cut off their hands."
The three guards of Yu Tian moved without hesitation. Their steps were firm, synchronized. Daggers appeared in their hands as if they had always been there.
That was when a voice spoke.
"Stop."
It was not a shout. It was not an order filled with anger. It was simple.
The guards did not stop.
They took another step.
And then, their bodies stopped responding.
Movement died halfway. Muscles tensed, breath trapped, the sensation of being suspended inside their own flesh. Fear pierced them immediately, raw and absolute. They did not understand what was happening. They tried to move forward. They couldn't. They tried to step back. Nothing.
Yu Wei frowned.
"What are you doing?" he shouted. "Cut off their hands!"
There was no response.
Frustration turned into irritation, then into something closer to fear. Yu Wei opened his mouth to order them to attack Daverion.
No sound came out.
His throat closed. His lips trembled. The air did not respond.
"Silence," Daverion said.
The word fell like an invisible slab.
The last guard tried to move, forcing his cultivation, shifting to the side to go around the other two. He took a step.
And froze beside them.
Daverion laughed.
It was a soft laugh, almost amused, as if this were a curious game. For them, it was horrifying. There was no open mockery, no evident cruelty. Only an absolute certainty of control.
"Cut off their hands," Daverion said.
The bodies obeyed.
The three guards turned, not toward the children, but toward Yu Wei. Their feet moved without permission, their arms lifted while terror tore through their chests. They felt every step. Every heartbeat. Every drop of cold sweat.
Yu Wei saw them approaching.
The color drained from his face.
"What are you doing?! Stop!" he tried to scream.
He couldn't.
The children's parents stood frozen. They understood nothing. The children watched the scene without comprehension, too young to grasp the real danger, too close to the edge of something they could not see.
For the rest of the celebration, nothing was happening.
Laughter continued. Conversations flowed. It was as if that space had been torn from the world and placed in another dimension, one where only a few existed.
The dagger descended.
A drop of blood fell to the ground.
"Stop."
The voice was dominant, heavy with crushing authority.
The bodies froze.
But the guards knew. They had not stopped because of General Yu Tian's voice. When that order rang out, they were still completely out of control. The pressure restraining them did not come from him.
Daverion raised his gaze, thoughtful.
"I don't want to end up killing a lot of people over a single person," he thought. "And more importantly… if I do, the future will change slightly from what I planned."
The pressure vanished.
The three guards collapsed to their knees, trembling. Yu Wei regained control of his body and immediately stumbled backward. They did not look at the children. They did not think of punishment. They did not think of pride.
Only of surviving.
They fled in disarray, terrified, disappearing into the crowd as if hell itself had brushed against their backs.
The celebration continued.
And Daverion remained where he was, watching.
Inside the carriage, Yu Tian slowly closed his eyes.
He understood what had happened thanks to the necklace.
Without it, he would have been like everyone else, ignorant, detached, convinced nothing unusual had occurred. The necklace, bestowed by the emperor himself, resonated faintly against his chest, reacting to the blood of his lineage, connecting him to his son. Through that link, he had felt the pressure, the interference, the force that had taken control of the guards.
Cold sweat ran down his back.
Even so, his caution was not enough.
The curtain of the carriage was pulled aside sharply. Yu Wei entered with quick steps, his face rigid, fists clenched.
"Father," he said with a voice full of resentment, "you have to cut off their hands."
Yu Tian opened his eyes slowly. His gaze was cold, distant, proud. There was no surprise on his face.
"Don't worry," he replied calmly. "The time will come."
His tone was lofty, confident, like that of someone who never doubted his position or his destiny.
Outside, Daverion looked at the carriage.
Just this once, he thought. I'll allow it. There won't be another chance.
A soft laugh escaped his lips.
Another carriage advanced. Another general descended. Attention returned to protocol. It was Yu Tian's turn.
Daverion began to walk.
His direction was clear. His intent, obvious.
He stepped without hesitation onto the path reserved for guests.
Dael and Mateo saw him instantly. Their eyes widened in disbelief. Their hearts skipped a beat.
"What are you doing?" Dael said, moving to stop him. "You can't be there."
Mateo moved beside him, speaking quickly, nervously. "If you do that, everyone will be against you. Even the emperor."
Daverion did not stop.
The children's parents also raised their voices, not daring to approach. Their words reached him weakly, laden with fear. Daverion turned his head, looked at them, and smiled. There was no mockery in his expression. It was a broad, calm smile, as if none of this mattered.
A street vendor selling food nearby took a step toward him to try to stop him. When he saw that smile, he froze. The impulse died in his chest.
The children watched without understanding. They did not understand why Daverion was walking toward the welcoming path, nor why he was doing so directly in front of a general.
Yu Wei laughed from inside the carriage.
The crowd began to murmur.
When Daverion reached the center of the path, all eyes fell on him. Comments rose like a chaotic tide.
"Who is that?"
"I don't know him."
"Why is he stepping in front of our dynasty's general?"
"How disrespectful."
"Only important people can stand there."
"What is a young man doing in that place?"
Mockery mixed with sarcasm.
"Throw him out!"
"Arrest him for his stupidity!"
Nearly seventy percent thought the same.
A few said nothing. They knew no sane person would do something like this. And if someone did, it was because they had the means… or were completely insane.
The leader in charge of welcoming the guests approached. His posture was rigid, his expression controlled.
"Do you have an invitation, sir?"
"No," Daverion replied.
A voice came from the carriage, dripping with malice.
"Why are you talking to him? Arrest him!" Yu Tian ordered. "This is an offense to the entire dynasty."
He would not have dared provoke him on his own. But Daverion had stepped forward willingly. Now he could use it as a pretext, an excuse to turn the entire dynasty against him.
The leader hesitated.
He could see it. He could feel that Daverion was not ordinary. But the crowd pressed in. The general commanded. And that young man, through his own actions, seemed to have become an enemy of the dynasty.
He made his decision under Yu Tian's influence, whose cunning was no coincidence. There was a reason he was a general of the Yu Dynasty.
Daverion looked at all of them.
To him, they were nothing more than ants. Dogs.
If a dog barks, is it worth getting angry? It barks because it dislikes you. So what? It is still a dog.
The leader lost control.
He attacked.
In an instant, he was in front of Daverion. His sword left its sheath as he advanced, the blade aimed straight at Daverion's heart. When the tip was about to pierce him, Daverion took three steps back, each one precise, measured, escaping the blade by the smallest margin.
Then he stepped to the left.
The leader advanced, chasing where Daverion had been. When he reached the point of the third step, he turned his head to the right.
There was Daverion.
Smiling.
Daverion's leg was already raised. When the leader finished turning, the leg came down. The impact was brutal. The leader's body was sent flying and slammed into the ground.
The floor caved in.
A crater formed beneath him.
The crowd did not process what had happened immediately. Silence lasted for a heartbeat. Then they saw the shattered ground, the fallen body.
Fear.
Concern.
Consternation, especially among those who had mocked him.
Before those emotions could fully settle, the leader rose with a snarl and attacked again. His sword descended with force. Daverion raised his left arm and intercepted it.
The metal shattered.
The leader was grabbed by the neck and hurled into the guest entrance. The structure collapsed on impact. Dust, rubble, screams.
"Sorry," Daverion said clearly. "I haven't made you feel true terror yet."
His aura was released.
Power erupted.
The ground trembled. Buildings collapsed. Walls cracked. Even the palace shook. Some of those who had mocked him fainted instantly.
Yu Tian panicked.
His son lay unconscious on the ground.
Some were terrified. Others were astonished.
Dael and Mateo couldn't close their mouths. They had seen Daverion defeat the leader with impossible ease.
The parents were terrified. They thought of their children, of how close they were to someone like that.
The children, on the other hand, were fascinated. They had always liked the powerful. That was why they admired the generals. But now… their obsession shifted to Daverion.
All of that lasted until the power fully unfolded. Then everyone felt fear. Even them.
The leader, under the crushing pressure, stood up once more. Debris flew. He attacked again. He was fast. The ground cracked beneath his feet as he launched himself at Daverion.
Daverion looked at him.
"Enough," he said. "There is no redemption for someone this stupid."
He hadn't even realized he was being used by the general.
"I gave you two chances," Daverion continued. "There won't be a third."
The leader closed in. When he reached Daverion, he threw a punch with his right arm. It was a feint. He leaned left and attacked with his left arm. Another feint. Using that momentum, he spun and positioned himself behind Daverion in a single motion.
Everything happened in seconds.
A dagger emerged from his sleeve. A smile appeared on his lips. He pressed it toward Daverion's head.
The dagger pierced through.
But it wasn't real.
Before contact, Daverion had taken a single step forward. With that one step, he placed himself behind the leader.
The afterimage dispersed.
The leader froze. He knew he had failed. He looked around. There was nothing.
Then he heard a voice behind him.
He turned halfway and saw Daverion. A palm approached. It wasn't a strike.
It was a slap.
The sound exploded.
The leader's head burst apart. The body fell lifeless.
Screams. Panic. Terror.
Daverion showed no killing aura.
From the body emerged a condensed soul, deformed by fear and anguish. It had lost its body. Its cultivation had been reduced. But that no longer mattered. It was certain it would lose its soul as well.
It did not understand why it had not been destroyed completely.
Yu Tian regretted it.
He felt rage. Anger. Fear.
He did not understand why Daverion did not attack him. He hadn't even looked at him.
Yu Tian could only wait.
Wait for the emperor to.
Before everything happened, the palace was wrapped in a deceptive calm.
Inside one of the inner chambers, isolated by formations and barriers, the emperor was speaking with several high officials. They discussed the celebration, the expected guests, and the political balance that such a gathering represented. None of them had yet perceived what had happened at the entrance. The place was designed to keep all external noise far from imperial ears.
In another sector of the palace, the emperor's eldest daughter, along with several ladies and attendants, was preparing for the event. Ceremonial garments, ancient jewelry, rituals of etiquette. Everything proceeded exactly as planned.
In the inner gardens, the emperor's son rested in a chair, eyes half closed, enjoying the tranquil air. His mind wandered, unaware of any disturbance.
The palace guards occupied their usual positions. Vigilant, attentive, but without alarm. They perceived the flow of power at the entrance, yet did not react. They trusted the leader appointed to receive the guests. That was their duty. That was their role.
It was not until the leader's body was sent flying and slammed violently into the entrance structure, raising dust and debris, that the guards reacted.
Their expressions changed.
Several rushed immediately toward the entrance.
And then it happened.
Daverion's power was released.
An overwhelming pressure swept across the city like an invisible wave. The palace guards froze for an instant, instinct screaming danger. Without further hesitation, several turned and ran to notify the emperor.
At that same moment, the emperor's son abruptly rose in the garden. The eldest daughter lifted her head, the air around her trembling. Both extended their senses toward the palace exit.
What they perceived made them go pale.
Panic. Chaos. Pure fear.
And a presence.
Lyra, the emperor's daughter and Theron's granddaughter, felt the power with a clarity that froze her blood. Her eyes widened.
She recognized it.
It was him.
The young man who had greeted her grandfather at that restaurant. The one who had shared a conversation impossible to forget.
With a knot in her chest, she thought she should have accepted his invitation. This could not be a coincidence.
Meanwhile, among the guests who had already entered, confusion spread. Some stopped. Others retreated. A general decided to return immediately toward the entrance. Several hesitated. Many chose not to approach any further.
Then, inside the isolated chamber, someone burst in.
He arrived agitated, breath uneven, his body still vibrating from speed.
Before he could speak, everyone present felt the aura.
Immediate caution.
The emperor stood up abruptly.
There were no more words.
They left their halls.
Five arcs of light emerged from the palace, piercing the sky. Each left a different trail. The brightest, the most dominant, was yellow: the emperor's.
As they advanced, the sky trembled.
Yu Tian, at the entrance, smiled.
At last, the emperor had reacted.
The crowd's morale lifted slightly. Some regained their courage.
But then something else happened.
A sixth arc appeared.
Faster.
More dominant.
More ancient.
In an instant, it surpassed the five and arrived first.
The emperor stopped short.
"Greetings, Father."
The voice echoed.
Absolute silence followed.
Everyone stood stunned.
The former emperor had arrived.
A voice rose throughout the city.
"Greetings to the former emperor!"
Like an echo, the entire city responded.
"Former Emperor!"
"Former Emperor!"
Those who had fallen into fear shouted with fervor.
Many hoped Theron would deal with Daverion, especially those who had mocked him.
Voices were heard.
"Capture him!"
"He's a transgressor!"
"Murderer!"
Half shouted. The other half did not dare.
"Silence," Theron said.
A single word.
Everything fell quiet.
Theron stepped forward and, before everyone's incredulous gaze, made a slight bow toward Daverion.
"How have you been?" he asked. "I didn't think you would accept my granddaughter's invitation."
Daverion nodded.
"I did not expect this welcome."
Silence reigned.
No one expected someone above all others to bow like that.
The emperor was shaken. He stepped forward immediately and bowed.
"I apologize," he said firmly. "I did not know you were a respected guest of my father."
The leader, if he could still think, would have known he had no salvation.
Yu Tian knew it as well.
From that day on, the dynasty would have one less general.
"Greet the great guest of the former emperor," the emperor ordered.
"Greetings to the great guest!"
"Greetings to the great guest!"
The crowd obeyed.
Dael and Mateo were completely bewildered.
They could not believe that the young man who had approached them was now someone before whom all the guests they admired had to bow.
The children greeted him with joy.
The parents did so with astonishment and respect.
Even the ice cream vendor raised his voice, excited.
"I can brag that I sold an ice cream to the great guest of the former emperor!"
Daverion looked at Yu Tian and at the leader's condensed soul. He spoke to them in a voice only they could hear.
"This is where what you can understand ends."
"When you die, the future stops showing itself."
Theron looked at the general and then at the leader.
"Kill them," Theron said.
A figure emerged from Yu Tian's shadow and killed him instantly.
The leader's soul was destroyed immediately by one of the emperor's attendants.
And so, under the trembling of the city, the welcome that no one would ever forget came to an end.
The atmosphere changed.
Mockery was extinguished like embers under rain. Where there had once been sarcasm and contempt, only respect, fear, and restrained reverence remained. No one dared to ridicule. The strong were respected, and that young man had proven it without needing to repeat it.
Before crossing the entrance, Daverion turned his head.
He looked at Mateo and Dael.
He greeted them with a simple, natural gesture.
Theron noticed and, following his gaze, greeted them as well. Murmurs immediately spread among those present.
Who could they be to receive such recognition?
Mateo and Dael felt their chests fill with joy they could barely contain. The children were also greeted, along with their parents, who could hardly believe their fortune. The vendor looked up, stunned, and smiled proudly at the thought that he had sold food to the former emperor's guest.
Daverion advanced alongside Theron.
The emperor walked behind them.
Then the sky tore open.
It was not lightning or thunder at first; it was a silent that opened the firmament as if fabric had been cut from the other side. From that wound descended a black dragon, vast and ancient, and upon its back stood a human figure.
He was a man of attractive features, pale skin, black hair like a moonless night, and eyes even darker, deep, alien to this world. His presence carried something different, a contained rigidity, a calm learned in another reality. There was something in his bearing that betrayed a distant origin, as if the rules of this sky did not fully belong to him.
The Seventh Sovereign.
The clouds dispersed around him. Within a radius of ten thousand meters, the sky became clear and still, while beyond that boundary clouds piled up, unable to cross the invisible limit.
The Seventh saw Daverion.
He smiled.
He stood atop the dragon and stretched his body, like someone preparing muscles before a long-awaited confrontation.
Lightning began to form around him.
It was black.
Some bolts detached from his body and shot toward the dynasty. One struck a massive park, with a lake, pavilions, and life. In the blink of an eye, everything turned to ash.
Three strikes fell within seconds.
It was so fast that Theron could not react in time. When he tried to move, he recognized the color and stopped. They were tribulation lightning, lightning of punishment, among the most powerful.
He had never seen a man control them.
There was nothing he could do.
He looked at Daverion.
"So it was you," Daverion murmured, "the piece that moved before it should have."
The Seventh descended from the dragon.
His body launched toward the dynasty at unimaginable speed. The sky thundered in his wake, black lightning following him like living extensions of his will.
A flash.
That was all they managed to see.
Daverion raised one hand.
Those who needed to be saved vanished from that place.
Then he unleashed his true power.
What he had shown before was nothing.
Fire surrounded him, but it was not ordinary fire. It was primordial solar fire, scorching, absolute, capable of melting reality itself. Everything around him would be destroyed even before touching it.
The two fists collided.
Compressed lightning and solar fire met.
The thunder that followed shook the world.
Destruction expanded from the point of impact. Structures began to melt, black lightning tore through the air amid molten metal and ash. The most powerful dynasty on the planet crumbled in seconds.
The impact swept across the entire territory.
All life, all fauna, was erased.
In the city, infernal heat and colliding lightning filled the air.
Suspended in the sky remained Daverion and the Seventh Sovereign.
"This is as far as I can see," Daverion said.
The Seventh frowned.
He did not understand.
The world trembled.
Everything froze.
Daverion advanced through the frozen air and observed him closely.
"Not bad," he said. "That's why I said it would be entertaining."
A dry sound echoed.
Like a mirror shattering.
The sky fractured.
The earth split open.
Everything to the right and left of Daverion cracked apart, and behind those fissures there was only white, emptiness, nothing.
The world began to rewind.
Thunder unraveled.
Destruction stopped expanding and collapsed back into itself. Liquid metal rose, reassembling. Ash gathered and returned to life.
Black lightning retreated through the sky, returning to its source. The devastated park came back into existence. The lake reappeared.
The fists separated.
Solar fire contracted around Daverion. Lightning returned to the Seventh's body.
The black dragon reappeared beneath his feet.
The clouds returned.
The in the sky closed.
Theron and the emperor withdrew from the entrance, their arcs of light returning to the palace. The emperor's voice faded from the sky. The crowd stopped bowing.
And time continued to move backward.
Until only Daverion remained at the guest entrance.
The general stood behind him, horrified as he remembered how a figure had emerged from his shadow and killed him.
The leader trembled, paralyzed by fear as he remembered his own death.
Around them, people were still mocking and jeering.
Daverion stood there, indifferent. Only he knew.
For everyone else, the world had moved on as if nothing had happened. Yu Tian and the leader retained incomplete memories, confused sensations that dissolved at the instant of their deaths; they only remembered dying. Beyond that point, the future ceased to exist for them. They could not recall the torn sky, nor the sovereign descending amid lightning, nor the total destruction awaiting the dynasty.
That knowledge belonged only to Daverion.
He was the only one who had seen the end.
The dynasty reduced to ash, the land scarred by lightning of punishment, life erased as if it had never existed. A complete, real, inevitable future… now canceled.
That was why he had pushed them to that limit.
Not to punish them, but to warn them.
The future was not a rigid line, but a fragile web, sensitive to the smallest acts. A word spoken or withheld, a step taken or avoided, an order executed or restrained. Even something as simple as the fall of an apple could tilt the course of the world in opposite directions.
A minimal action was enough to open different paths.
Some led to power.
Others, to absolute ruin.
Daverion observed Yu Tian and the leader. Both were still there, alive, ignorant of the disaster they had brushed against. He did not need to explain anything. Even if they did not understand, the future had already been touched, and that contact would leave traces in their decisions.
Time continued to move forward.
Far away, beyond the sky of that world, in the silent void of space, a ship traveled through the darkness without emitting a sound. Its black structure reflected starlight.
Inside, a man stood.
Three figures accompanied him, motionless, like shadows.
He was a man of attractive features, pale skin, black hair like a moonless night, and eyes even darker, deep, alien to that universe. His presence did not belong in that world, as if he had been brought from elsewhere, from another origin.
Suddenly, he slightly furrowed his brow.
An inexplicable sensation crossed his mind.
An echo.
An instant of disconnection, as if something that had already happened slipped through his consciousness without form or name. It was not a memory, but neither was it a simple impression. It was an uncomfortable, persistent déjà vu.
For a moment, he thought he saw fire and lightning overlapping.
Then, nothing.
The man exhaled slowly and smiled faintly.
"It wasn't an attack…" he thought, without knowing why. "Not that kind."
He did not understand the origin of that certainty, but something inside him told him that when he met Daverion, it would not be through open destruction or a clash that razed the world.
It would be different.
It would be a discreet meeting, measured, filled with intention.
The future had changed direction.
And those who were meant to meet had already felt each other, even though they had not yet looked into one another's eyes.