[VOLUME 13: THE PRIMEVAL ASCENSION][ERA: THE POST-DIVINE AGE][LOCATION: THE PRIMEVAL SANCTUARY - DUSK]
The carriage did not gradually slow to a halt; it stopped with a heavy, final thud that rattled Elara's bones.
Outside the warded windows, the world had ceased to be a world at all. They had passed beyond the blizzard, beyond the breathable atmosphere of the mortal realm. Here, at the absolute apex of the frostlines, the sky was a bruised, swirling canvas of violent purples and bleeding gold.
They had reached the edge of creation.
"We are here," Li announced, his voice devoid of its usual silken cadence. It was tight, thrumming with a dangerous anticipation.
He didn't move immediately. Instead, his golden eyes flicked to Aldren. A silent, ancient communication passed between the two cosmic sovereigns—a mutual acknowledgment of the sheer, terrifying danger of the ground they were about to step onto.
