The deep metallic hum of Magicite engines echoed through the imperial command hall as armored personnel moved with disciplined precision beyond the towering glass windows. Air dreadnoughts drifted silently above the city skyline, their illuminated hulls cutting through the night like floating fortresses.
At the center of the chamber stood a woman in immaculate white-and-gold Judge armor, a long navy cloak cascading behind her shoulders.
Judge Commander Miria Valcrest.
Even before speaking, her presence alone imposed silence across the room.
Sharp blue eyes studied Du carefully — not with open hostility, but with the calm, calculating gaze of someone accustomed to deciding the fate of nations.
“...So.”
Her voice was composed, low, and precise.
“You are the individual who caused enough disruption to draw the attention of Imperial High Command.”
Miria stepped forward slowly, polished heels clicking softly against the marble floor. The faint glow of Magicite circuitry pulsed beneath the armor along her arms and collar.
“I have reviewed the reports.”
“A foreigner appearing near restricted Black Magicite transport routes. Surviving an encounter with demon forces. Then somehow walking directly into an active military zone without being killed.”
A brief pause.
“Under ordinary circumstances, I would assume either espionage or suicidal stupidity.”
Her gaze narrowed slightly.
“Yet Lord Clavis himself ordered that you be brought here alive.”
Miria folded one gloved hand behind her back.
“That makes you politically inconvenient.”
Despite the cold statement, there was no mockery in her tone — only blunt honesty.
“Relax. If I intended to execute you, this conversation would not be happening.”
The Judge Commander turned toward the massive illuminated tactical map dominating the chamber wall: shifting borders, troop formations, demon outbreak zones, and glowing Black Magicite reactor markers spread across the continent.
“The world is becoming unstable faster than most people realize.”
“Demon activity increases every month. Nations prepare for war. Black Magicite spreads despite every warning.”
“And now unknown variables begin appearing at the worst possible moment.”
Her eyes returned to Du.
“So before the politicians decide what to do with you...”
“Explain why fate keeps placing you in the middle of imperial disasters.”
